Chapter 443 - 436. Cerulean Sea
It was like an instinct, like a child crying out inside of him. At that moment, when the spread of cerulean canvas filled his vision; nothing else mattered.
Not the portal controller looking surprised at him dashing out. Not the other users blinking in wonder. None. Nothing. Not even Bassena.
All he cared about was getting as close as he could to that spread of blue. Unfortunately, the portal was located in an observatory over the cliff, so he could only go as far as the portal’s platform railing, feeling breathless when all he wanted to do was absorb as many scents as he could.
And then he felt a warm hand on his back, caressing him as if to ease his lungs so he could breathe again. And so he did breathe again, inhaling the air, the scent, the colors, the noise--
One by one, his senses were working again, and he basked in the sensation of something that used to be nothing more but a fantasy for him.
Zein was crying when he looked at his first clean lake in the Deathzone. But strangely enough, he didn’t want to cry now, even if his whole being was vibrating in unexplainable exhilaration.
The reason was simple; he didn’t want his vision to be blurred by tears.
He wanted to look at everything clearly with his own eyes, and feel everything with his remaining senses; locking them in his memory as best as he could. Because no matter how much he looked at portraits, they did not carry the slightly sticky wind, the warm sun, and the unique smell he couldn’t describe with his limited fancy vocabulary.
But it was alright. He didn’t need a fancy description. After all, he was already seeing and hearing and smelling and feeling everything by himself.
"It’s wonderful, isn’t it?" Bassena smiled, holding the guide’s waist the same way he did when they were on the yacht back in Rexon.
At that time too, Zein’s sight had never left the water--even if the lake was artificial.