Chapter 727 The Oracle's Last Words
"Was this… the best choice?"
Rey now had Esme in his arms, and The Oracle was now holding the unconscious Ciela. After she fell unconscious, Rey had used his Spatial abilities to bring her to him, and afterwards gave The Oracle the Vessel she required.
With their deal sealed, there was practically nothing left of their exchange. It was time for Rey to return home, and for The Oracle to start her business.
But…
"I feel like I just did a horrible act, depriving her of her wish."
Rey's guilt was eating him up, and he turned to The Oracle to hear her opinion on it.
"Indeed. Ciela should be more compatible with me anyway, so having her as the Vessel is a lot more beneficial to—"
"Not that, idiot! I mean… ahem… sorry about that."
"It's fine. It takes one to know one."
"W-whoa! Where did that come from?" Rey was more than surprised to see the usually emotionless and detached Oracle throw a jab at him in such a way.
It even made him smile a little.
"A-ah…" The moment he smiled, he realized that this had to have been The Oracle's plan all along.
This was her way of cheering him up.
"Thanks… Oracle?"
"You're welcome, Rey." The two of them exited the space where Esme was in through another door that suddenly appeared before them, and once they did so, they returned to The Oracle's golden palace. 'Does that mean she could have brought us to Esme directly? Then why didn't she?' Rey wanted to ask, but quickly decided against it. The reason she chose such an elaborate method was probably to have a discussion with him, and based on how productive it was, he didn't regret a second of it. The only problem on his mind was Esme… and one other issue.
"What about Alicia? Is she—?"
"She has been healed already." The Oracle's response was swift, almost as if she could read his thoughts. Upon hearing this, he smiled and nodded.
'I can heal her curse with [Tempora], but that would mean reverting her Stats and Skills that have evolved due to summoning Dagon. That won't be good in the long run, so this arrangement is far better.'
Other than relief, however, Rey didn't feel much about the news.
Perhaps he thought it was already a given, or because he already had some way to save her, so he didn't feel as excited as he thought he would be. Either way, that ate away at him too.
"I should be leaving now." Rey muttered, almost in a defeated tone. "Thank you for everything."
"It's nothing."
As The Oracle said this, Rey began to feel the spatial pressure around him loosen. The difference between how he was willingly leaving the Domain this time, and how he was forced to the last time played in his mind, causing him to smile wryly.
So much had changed in such little time that he didn't know how to properly acclimate.
"One last thing, Rey."
The moment he heard his name, Rey looked up to see The Oracle's concerned expression.
"Be very wary of that Familiar that you keep close. The one you trust so deeply and place in charge of your affairs."
The moment he heard this, a brow went up and he blurted out. "Ater?"
"That thing… even I am unaware of what kind of entity they are. They are filled with sheer malevolence and unknown elements. Definitely… definitely malicious." Rey already knew most of these things about Ater, but there was a certain ominousness that rang from The Oracle's warnings that seemed very legitimate. He didn't like the eerie feeling he got about Ater afterwards.
'I mean, even the System told me to stay away from him, but… '
How possible was that at this point?
'Even though he claims to be bound to me, I guess there's no real way to verify his claim. It's also possible that he could find a workaround, given all that he knows. It's possible that he's up to no good too…'
Rey still felt like he could stop him if push came to shove, though, since most of Ater's attacks wouldn't have an effect on him.
'I suppose I'll be more vigilant for now…'
"Thank you. I will take your counsel seriously." He bowed, smiling broadly at The Oracle, who exchanged his gesture.
"Mhm…"
"Bye."
"Yeah… bye."
It struck Rey that this would probably be the last time he was going to lay his eyes on the entity before him. Something about their farewell sounded too lackluster and unsatisfying.
He wanted it to be more memorable—at least, for her.
"Your name?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you remember your name?"
"A-ah… I believe I was once named Emilia."
"Well, Emilia… sorry for hitting you during our last meeting, and for being rude and annoying."
"Haha… it's fine." She chuckled, covering her lips as she smiled at him.
"You… I won't let you down! I promise!"
"Alright then, Rey." The Oracle—no, Emilia—waved at him and blessed him the sweetest smile he had ever seen in his life.
"Take care… always."
"Su—!"
~VWUUUUSH!~
Before Rey could get the last word in, the spatial rupture around him erupted and he and the girl he carried were sent back to the Shrine, leaving the standing Oracle all alone in the vast space.
She stood there for a few seconds, staring into empty space.
Then—
"I have to admit… I am a little envious of you, Esme…" She muttered, slowly turning away to look at the floating figure of her new Vessel.
"You have someone who would go to any lengths to save you."
The closer she got to the floating Elf, the nearer she got to her demise. However, Emilia was not sad at all.
To her, she had already perished the moment she became The Oracle.
"If I had even one person who stood up for me back then… would I too have been able to escape the shackles of fate?"
It was too late to ponder about that now.
Her time was up, and it was time for a new Vessel to carry on the eternal role of being a slave to the ones above.
To play a game with a concluded end.