373: Live
"...Whose recommendation was this again?"
"M… mine. What, just because you're some big shot now you think my recommendations are no longer valid? Unfilial, very unfilial."
"Ms. Angela… it's a desert."
Emptiness. A vast nothing of emptiness.
That was perhaps the best set of words Van could think of to describe the wasteland he now finds himself in. For miles, there was nothing but sand; even the whispers in the air were singing its coarseness.
If it wasn't for his increased durability, then Van would probably be blind right about now as the endless onslaught of sand showered through his eyes. He was currently in the process of choosing where to build the 10th Realm, and seeing as although Angela was able to master Charles's skill, she still was not confident enough to be bringing more people with her.
This was only the 2nd Fragmented World they have checked, and it was already proving to be more difficult than Van initially thought it would be. It was just choosing a place to build their home, their kingdom… he had no idea it would be this complicated.
They had to think of the terrain, wildlife, sustainability, and many more others-- something in which the land they were in now completely lacked. It did remind him of Egypt… if it was destroyed.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Let's just go."
After a long and awkward stare across the horizon, Van decided he had enough, "How many more times can you teleport?"
"As long as Latanya could heal me," Angela muttered, "Meaning we can probably finish checking all the potential Realms today if we want to."
"That's good. I want to find our new home as soon as possible. And… like Gerald, I want to bury someone dear to me there."
"...Charlotte?"
"Yes," Van nodded before looking Angela straight in the eyes, "Can I ask… why didn't you show yourself to her? She… treated you like a sister."
"I… have no excuse. When my sister and I got to this world, your mother was the first being I saw; she was waiting for me. We… we were going to places and doing things that needed all of my attention, and before I knew it; thousands and thousands of years had passed. Yes… I have no excuses. I tried finding the others, I saw Charlotte… but seeing her condition, I wasn't used to her like that. She was always headstrong, not letting anything get in her way. I… couldn't bear-- No, I have no excuse."
"...And where are they now?"
"My sister died a hundred years after we got here," Angela said without any hesitation, "As for master Evangeline, she disappeared a few thousand years ago. I have been trying to search for her, no luck."
"Did… Evangeline say anything before she left?"
"No. But before her disappearance, she became slightly erratic. We were always moving from one fragmented world to the next as if trying to search for something, this is how I came to find this land."
"Do… you know what she was trying to find?"
"Nope, no idea," Angela said as she shook her head, "She always tells me everything, but this… this no. I thought she might be hiding something important to me, but when I tried snooping around, she disappeared."
And once again, Angela's random whispers to herself sang to Van's ears. Van let this continue on for a few minutes, hoping to hear something important. But alas, they were just her usual ramblings.
And finally, after a few more minutes, Angela has had enough of talking to herself and held Van's hand.
"Shall we go, Mr. Evans?"
"...We should have gone an hour
And before Van could even finish his words, he felt his insides twist and almost wanted to come out from his body. If there was one comfort from this sensation, it was that there was no longer any sand coursing through his skin.
"Why… are you covered in sand?"
"Take all of Ms. Angela's suggestion off the list," Van slightly groaned before quickly taking off his shoes, showering a torrent of sand in the once clean floor that he now finds himself in.
"...Must have been quite the land."
"It was fine when I last visited it. I swear all of you are so ungrateful, ungrateful!" Angela then shook her head as she looked at all the people that were now in front of them-- Vanya, Latanya, Skylar, Surtr, Gerald, Sarah, and Queen Nori, who seemed to have still not returned to the Realm of the Frost Giants.
"When… was the last time you were there, Ms. Angela?" Vanya then said as she patted Van's hair clean of the dust that stuck to it.
"...About a thousand years or so."
"..."
"I think we are wasting our time, kid."
Sarah's sighs were clear for everyone to hear as she too, stepped forward, "I am confident the floating world I was… am living in is the best place for you to give birth to a new civilization. It has forests, its own sea, rivers, sustainable wildlife that has already settled in-- it is also of a decent size. Bigger than all of the 9 Realms excluding Midgard. Perhaps its only disadvantage is that it's probably the farthest from all the choices we have."
"The very reason we are here is for King Evans to be able to choose a Fragmented World, Sarah," Athena then opened up as she looked Sarah straight in the eyes, "But still, I do think your words have merit. If what you say is true, then that would be the most ideal place to build a kingdom in."
"I agree with Van's lover," Gerald lightly clicked his tongue as he rested his back on a wall, "If Miss Sarah has been living in that place without any problems for more than a hundred years, then it's the best place to be in."
"Whatever. If Master Van is there, then that's my kingdom," Latanya then said with a shrug.
"It's your decision, father."
"...Very well," after hearing everyone's opinion, Van could only let out a sigh and nod, "Miss Sarah, can you discuss the location with Ms. Elton?"
"No problem."
Sarah and Angela then moved to the side as everyone in the hall became silent. Afterward, Angela raised both her hands, placing them on the temples of Sarah's head.
"Got it."
And not even a minute had passed, and Angela already returned to Van's side.
"After I teleport us there, I would need to rest," she then let out a short but deep sigh, "Sarah wasn't lying when she said it was quite a distance away."
"Is… it really that far?" Van blinked a couple of times before looking at Sarah, "Then how did you arrive so fast in the Palace?"
"You'll find out when you get there."
"...Alright?" Although Van was still slightly confused, he still stretched his hand for Angela to hold, "We'll be ba-- Huk!"
And once again, before he could finish his words, Van almost puked out his insides. With him being completely caught off-guard with Angela suddenly teleporting them, he truly could no longer hold it in.
The sound of him retching echoed throughout the lush field of grass that surrounded them. He refused to eat before all of this, but it would seem that yesterday's contents were still able to escape from his stomach as they now littered the ground.
And before he could even stand up, a small, squirrel-like creature approached him; or rather, his puke. It then started helping itself to it, causing Van to slightly squint his eyes as he stood up. The squirrel seemed to have come from the skies, as Van could see two more of them gliding towards his puke.
"This is…" He then turned away his attention from the rodents, focusing on the deep, blue horizon that seemed to dearly want to present itself to them. For miles, almost an endless sea; with the lands beyond almost invisible to the eye.
Van then turned around, only for him to see a forest teeming with life. And even through his fettered breaths, he could hear the whispers of all the animals that lived there.
"...It's beautiful here."
"It's alright," Angela quickly added before falling butt-first on the ground, "You should have seen mine when it was still teeming with life. And also, stop being so distracted and look there."
"Hm?" Although Van was still overwhelmed with the lay of the land, he still turned his eyes towards where Angela was pointing to, and as he did so, he saw two silhouettes.
One was Sarah.
"How… are you here?"
"The one you've been with for several days now is my Blood Clone. But that's not important right now," Sarah, who was now peacefully standing near the edge of the cliff, nonchalantly brushed Van's confusion away as she placed her hand on the other silhouette-- Andrea.
Or at least, that is who the statue looked like.
"W… why is something like that here?"
"I… this is where I buried her. She wanted to be buried somewhere with a view of the ocean… but this was the best thing I could find; a vast sea, free from all the chaos and madness of the world. It's normal, just the way she would have liked it."
"So… She… she's right there?" Van could not help but stutter as his legs moved by themselves towards Andrea's grave.
"Yes. I… I wanted to give you the chance to say goodbye to her alone," Sarah then said as she stepped away and walked towards Angela, "I think… this is also the place she would have wanted for you, kid. A place where you can finally stop surviving. And just…
....Live."