Chapter 36: Reunion
Chapter 36: Reunion
To see Saint Solenne, the divine beacon of pure light, immaculate grace, and solemn modesty throwing her arms around him was a sight that defied all logic.
"M-Master...?" Rael stammered, his mind short-circuiting as her voice vibrated against his chest.
The Saint’s head remained pressed tightly against Rael’s shoulder, her slender body trembling slightly. Slowly, she released her tight embrace, though her delicate hands remained resting on Rael’s shoulders. She tilted her face upward. Tears of overwhelming relief bubbled at the corners of her brilliant sapphire eyes.
"Master... it's me!" she whispered urgently, her eyes sparkling with absolute adoration.
Rael stood frozen in place, staring down into Saint Solenne's face with complete, utter bewilderment. He searched his mind, trying to make sense of the situation. Saint Solenne? I only met her a few weeks ago. Sure, we have a mutual contract, but our bond isn't anywhere near deep enough for her to cry, hug me, and call me 'Master'!
Rael scratched his head in confusion. "...Who?"
The possessed Saint puffed out her cheeks slightly, a look of genuine hurt crossing her divine face before she stated her name clearly.
"It's me! Vels!!"
She smiled radiantly, her eyes shining with pure delight as if expecting an instant, joyous reunion.
Rael’s shock. He stared at the face of Saint Solenne, completely unable to reconcile the legendary holy figure with the name she had just uttered.
"W-What?! How?!" Rael spluttered, waving his hands in frantic confusion. "And why in the world are you inside Saint Solenne’s body?!"
"Vels" currently animating Solenne's physical vessel raised a hand to delicately wipe the tears from her cheek.
"Because Saint Solenne is my most faithful and devoted priestess in this world," Vels explained smoothly, her tone filled with casual endearment. "Her soul matrix is the only one compatible enough to act as a temporary conductor for me to descend into this plane."
Rael’s headache intensified. He massaged his temples, stepping back a pace. "Descend? What on earth do you mean 'descend'?"
Vels slowly lowered her hands from Rael's shoulders. She folded her arms beneath her chest, offering a sweet, graceful smile as she began to unpack the incomprehensible reality.
"Well, Master... it has been roughly 25,000 years since you disappeared from this universe," Vels said softly, her voice filled with deep nostalgia. "During those long millennia... I, Vels, achieved divine ascension. I transcended into godhood."
Rael froze. He shook his head violently, as if trying to clear water out of his ears after a deep dive. He cleared his throat, tapping his ear with a finger.
"Ehem... yeah, sorry. Could you repeat that one more time? I think my hearing spell has a bug in it."
Vels giggled, stepping closer once more. "To Saint Solenne, to the Church of Light, and to the entire Empyrium Empire... I am worshipped as the Supreme Deity, Goddess Vale. I am known by many holy titles across the continents. But to you, Master... I am simply Vels. Your faithful summon."
Rael stood entirely motionless in the middle of the ruined corridor.
Goddess Vale... Vels... 25,000 years... my summon... divine ascension...
The sheer weight of the information slammed into Rael’s brain like a runaway freight train. The logical boundaries of his gamer mindset, his understanding of the world’s timeline, and the absurd reality of his former game summon turning into literal gods collided simultaneously.
A strained, hollow laugh escaped Rael’s lips. "Haha... ha..."
A foolish smile spread across his face, his eyes rolled back into his head, and his body went completely limp as his consciousness shut down from pure cognitive overload.
THUD.
Rael collapsed face-first onto the plush carpet, out cold.
Vels blinked, staring down at her Master’s prone body in genuine panic. "O-Oh dear! I think... I think I was a bit too rushed in delivering the news..."
Before Vels could lean down to tend to Rael, the air behind her exploded with sheer, murderous fury!
BOOM!
Back from being blasted through the outer stone wall, Vhal’zhar materialized in a flash of dark crimson light! His monstrous frame blurred across the hallway, his clawed hand thrusting forward with mountain-crushing physical force aimed directly at Vels's throat!
"YOU INSECT!! DO NOT TOUCH MY MASTER!!" Vhal’zhar roared, his voice trembling with terrifying rage.
CLANG!
Vhal’zhar’s lethal strike froze dead in mid-air, coming to an abrupt halt exactly one inch from Vels’s skin. An absolute, invisible barrier of pure divine authority locked his fist in place.
Vels didn't even flinch. She turned her head slowly, looking at the towering vhal’zhar body with an amused, condescending smirk.
"Owh... brother," Vels purred, her multi-layered divine voice mocking him gently. "You are always so protective, playing the loyal, obedient pet whenever Master is awake. But now that Master is back... I can do the exact same thing. In fact, I will steal your spotlight and become Master’s undisputed favorite."
Vhal’zhar’s dark eyes narrowed into slits of pure venom. His mind was entirely focused on one singular priority, the intruder before him had just knocked his Master unconscious. In Vhal’zhar’s eyes, Saint Solenne or whatever monstrosity was controlling her was an absolute enemy that had to be eliminated.
Vels, noticing the bloodlust gathering in the hallway, narrowed her eyes. "We cannot fight here. Mortals are far too fragile."
With a flick of Saint Solenne's slender wrist, dense divine mana surged out, enveloping both Vels and Vhal’zhar in a blinding dome of golden light.
FLASH!
In a microsecond, the hallway vanished.
When the light faded, Vhal’zhar found himself standing in a boundless pocket dimension a vast, desolate plane of floating white clouds beneath a pale blue sky.
Vels stood thirty paces away, floating effortlessly in the air. Her stolen face bore an arrogant, haughty smirk as she looked down him
"Brother... you have proven your loyalty by remaining by Master's side for these 25,000 years," Vels stated coldly, her voice echoing across the empty realm. "I do not question your devotion. But did you truly think that simply waiting in the physical realm would bring Master back to us? Sometimes... you need to raise your intellect and actively reach out across the cosmos to summon Master back to this world!"
Vhal’zhar gritted his teeth, his death aura flaring violently as dark, slimy shadow-mana seeped from his skin.
"Quiet, mortal!" Vhal’zhar snarled, ignoring her bizarre words. "You think stealing temporary strength to boost your power makes you invincible?! I will find the flaw in your barrier, and I assure you... I will tear your head from your body!"
Vhal’zhar thrust his arm into the air. The atmosphere around his hand turned viscous, like dark liquid glass, as he reached deep into his personal sub-space. With a violent tug, he unsheathed his signature weapon, a massive, pitch-black broadsword covered in jagged abyssal runes.
"I will free your head from your neck!" Vhal’zhar declared, his eyes turning pitch-black.
Vels let out a light, mocking laugh. "Kukuku! Foolish beast. You are standing inside my divine realm. You can never hurt me here, brother."
Vhal’zhar’s brow twitched furiously. "You keep calling me brother! BROTHER! BROTHER! Who in the hell do you think you are?!"
Vhal’zhar lunged!
His body blurred at absolute, light-speed velocity, his massive broadsword cleaving through the atmosphere with enough kinetic power to split a continent in two! The blade screamed toward Saint Solenne's slender neck-
Vels remained completely calm, not even lifting her hands.
"Because it is I, Vels," she spoke softly. "Your sister. Don't you remember?"
WHOOOOOOSH!
The massive edge of Vhal’zhar’s blade stopped dead in mid-air, a fraction of an millimeter from her soft neck skin. The sheer atmospheric shockwave blasted past her, parting the clouds for miles behind her, but Vels’s hair didn't even flutter.
Vhal’zhar’s broad chest heaved. His pitch-black eyes widened in utter disbelief as he stared at the face of the Saint.
"...Vels?" Vhal’zhar rasped, his voice cracking.
Vels smirked, her divine eyes softening slightly. "Yes, brother. It's Vels. Long time no see."
Vhal’zhar stumbled back a step, lowering his massive sword slightly, though suspicion still burned in his chest. "P-Prove it! Prove that you are truly the Vels I knew!"
Vels sighed, shaking her head. "Very well. You and I were primordial summons created by the great Master Rael Voss. We grieved endlessly after his sudden disappearance, waiting through thousands of agonizing years. Over time... many of our fellow summons gave up, lost their minds, or died of broken spirits waiting for a Master who never came."
Vhal’zhar’s breath caught in his throat. He shook his head slowly. "No... that's..."
"Furthermore," Vels continued, her tone dropping into a serious, sacred murmur. "Master is not a native of this world. He is a human soul from another realm a gamer who nurtured us from mere creature into living, high-tier primordial entities. Only we, the original Primordial Summons, possess this absolute truth. Is that sufficient proof for you, brother?"
Vhal’zhar’s hand trembled. The black broadsword slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the cloudy floorboards of the pocket realm.
To deliver the final absolute proof, Vels relaxed her divine control, releasing a tiny, concentrated pulse of her original primordial core aura.
It was a unique, unmistakable mana signature an ancient, nostalgic frequency that only the original creations of Rael could recognize.
The moment that pure, ancient aura touched Vhal’zhar’s senses, all remaining doubt disintegrated.
"I-It really is you... Vels?!" Vhal’zhar gasped, his monstrous face twisting into a complex mix of shock, joy, and annoyance. "You... you have returned! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"
Vels smirked mischievously, placing a hand over her mouth. "Ah... throwing you through a stone wall was the single greatest satisfaction I've held back for twenty-five thousand years."
Vhal’zhar’s jaw twitched, but he was too stunned to argue. "Tch... whatever. The last time we met, you were nowhere near this absurdly powerful! What happened to you?!"
Vels let out a long, weary sigh, waving her hand dismissively. "That long story can wait for later. Right now... we must head back and ensure Master is alright."
The moment she mentioned Rael, Vhal’zhar’s eyes snapped wide open, his murderous fury instantly reigniting!
"YOU!" Vhal’zhar roared, pointing a clawed finger at her. "I saw Master collapse unconscious on the floor! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"
Vels rolled her eyes, sighing deeply once more. "He just went into shock from the heavy news I delivered, okay?! Don't get your tail in a twist. Now... are we going back to tend to him, or would you prefer to leave Master lying unattended on a hallway carpet while you scream at me?"
Vhal’zhar froze. The furious tension in his shoulders melted away as cold sweat broke out on his neck.
"...Fine," Vhal’zhar grumbled, snapping his fingers to recall his broadsword into his sub-space. "Let's go back."
Vels smiled gracefully. With a wave of Saint Solenne’s hand, the pocket dimension shattered, returning them instantly to the physical world.