Chapter 152 – Calm Days – VII
The mountain breeze whispered between the ancient jade stones of the pavilion as Glenn, seated on a simple wooden chair atop the roof, finally experienced a corner of that place which, ironically, had always been his.
The air was fresher up there, free from the oppression of walls and the perfumed hallways he had only used to sleep after exhausting training sessions with Lesley and Elian. For six months, the royal consort’s pavilion had served as a shelter, but never as a home, and now, more aware than ever, he realized just how much he had overlooked.
The sky above looked like something out of a dream. A dark canvas dotted with countless pulsing stars. From time to time, a shooting star crossed the heavens with the grace of a flaming feather. And farther north, like a living painting, an aurora borealis waved softly in shades of green, blue, and violet—ethereal veils dancing above the vastness of the world.
Glenn couldn’t appreciate the beauty with the same enthusiasm he might have had at another time. His mind was in full turmoil, spinning in circles since the conversation with Elian.
The Broken Rose Society...
The same group that nearly killed Vex and Athena... the same group possibly behind the dungeon event that almost claimed the lives of all his companions.
Too many coincidences. Far too many to ignore.
Elian’s words, though raw, had relieved part of the corrosive anxiety Glenn carried in his chest. After all, it wasn’t like Selene or Lesley had deliberately thrown him and his group into a living abyss, right? It wasn’t some twisted test disguised as a mission...
Right?
"Right..." I repeated to myself, but the word found no strength inside my chest.
Because deep down deep down I still had doubts. Doubts that pulsed like invisible thorns.
And the strangest part was what came after that. Whenever those thoughts began to take shape, a strange discomfort would take over me. As if some hidden part of myself swallowed those doubts into nothingness, drowning the fear with a confidence almost... almost... indescribable. That was the only word I could form.