"It’s a long story."
As I said that, the others approached and sat down on the sofas in silence beneath Alicia’s gaze... They looked tense and afraid.
Well, I suppose they had a reason for that... I mean, her gaze was somewhat intimidating. If someone wasn’t used to it, they might think she held a grudge against them.
Among them, Ellen was the calmest, as if she had grown used to this at some point in her life.
"So, are you going to tell this story?" Alicia raised an eyebrow as she asked when she noticed that I remained silent.
I was still thinking. In truth, there wasn’t anything I could hide, or even needed to hide.
Maybe I should start getting rid of that mentality... I don’t know.
My eyes met hers, those eyes that resembled a sea of crimson, and what had happened a few minutes ago with the girl named Emeris returned to my mind.
After a few more moments of silence, I opened my mouth to speak.
"I think this is obvious, but the first thing you should know is that Talia died... She died at the beginning of our disappearance five months ago in the Cradle of Shards."
She tilted her head, her white hair falling to the side, while the expressions of the others deepened and darkened as they remembered it.
"After Talia bought a small old sphere from an old merchant as a lucky charm, she recited a few words. That action activated the sphere that transported us to a ritual chamber inside the ruins located within the Cradle of Shards."
I spoke calmly, explaining the most important things and leaving out the smaller details that were easy to infer, while the others remained quiet.
"That enchanted chamber was consuming our lives, but in the end we managed to disable its magic and survive... It turned out that the missing residents had ended up there, and all of them were dead."
"When we carved a path out, we found ourselves in vast ancient ruins inside the Cradle of Shards, and after a few obstacles, circumstances led us to one of the exits where a bridge stretched over an abyss of mist that concealed whatever lay below."
Alicia never interrupted me.
"And as I said, circumstances led us to follow that bridge until we found an ancient active teleportation gate... I don’t know how that could be possible, and we didn’t have time to find out because from that mist emerged the Fallen Star Shard itself."
"In the end, we managed to escape while Talia failed."
I paused for a while until Alicia calmly asked,
"Where did the gate take you?"
"The Ancient Earth." I answered, my words echoing through the room.
At that, her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Really?" She even asked for confirmation.
I nodded as I continued.
"There, after we landed in a vast desert, we regrouped and headed north."
Before I could continue, Alicia, who had regained her usual expression, asked,
"What was the Ancient Earth like?"
It was the first time she had interrupted me, so I answered.
"Different environments and landscapes, day and night lasting nearly a full week, with a shattered moon floating beneath the stars."
She nodded in understanding.
"After heading north, we found a city inhabited by humans."
The others lowered their heads as they looked at the floor while Alicia’s gaze dimmed, but she let me continue.
"At first we thought they were humans who had survived the catastrophe, but it didn’t take even a day before we discovered otherwise."
I fell silent for a moment as I remembered what had happened.
"The city was an ascension ritual performed by an ancient being... Perhaps it was trying to gain a new dimension for its consciousness or transform itself into something else, dividing itself among tens of thousands of humans in pursuit of greatness."
Alicia clasped her hands together and rested her chin on them as she leaned forward toward me, listening attentively, while I sank deeper into those memories.
"We nearly became part of that ritual... It’s complicated, but the reason we’re here is thanks to a woman named Arthania, the only person who managed to remain herself until the end."
"And in the end, we left after learning about the existence of ruins somewhere on Earth that might be connected to Aetherion."
I took a moment before continuing.
"With a clear destination, we traveled across the planet... Many battles here and there and many problems as well, but in the end we arrived and found those ruins."
"There, we struggled a little to get inside, but in the end we found another teleportation gate and passed through it."
Our gazes met as I saw my reflection in her eyes.
"And here we are."
The room fell silent for a while as each of us stared at the other.
None of the others said a word, leaving me to handle everything... What blind trust.
The next moment, I sighed as I tried to ease the heavy atmosphere... Or at least tried to.
"That is the short summary... Telling everything would take a lot of time, and this isn’t the right moment for it."
I gestured toward everyone and their miserable condition... Torn clothes and limbs wrapped in bandages.
Especially Ellen and her arm.
Alicia looked at them while leaning back in her chair before speaking in a calm tone.
"You probably want to see your families now, but you need to understand that isn’t possible."
Kyle opened his mouth to respond, but her firm words stopped him.
"It will take a few days to sort this out, especially since your appearance in this manner doesn’t help."
Disappearing and ending up on Earth wasn’t something simple, so it was obvious that this would carry certain consequences if it were revealed to the public immediately.
No one objected to her words... Perhaps they were afraid to.
"Then where are we supposed to stay during this period?" Ellen asked calmly.
Alicia remained silent for a few moments as she thought before standing up.
"At my residence."
With that, space began to distort around us once again, not giving us any chance to even stand up.
In an instant, the office changed and transformed into what looked like an open area with some furniture here and there and a staircase leading to the upper floor, while behind us stood a double door that looked like an entrance.
Izel, whose leg failed to react in time, fell onto her backside like a small child who had lost their balance.
"Ouch... Damn you." She even cursed because of the sudden transition.
The next moment, she realized exactly who she had cursed and her eyes widened as she saw Alicia’s sharp stare, so without hesitation she hurriedly apologized.
"I... I’m sorry, it was a slip of the tongue."
Alicia ignored it as she directed her gaze toward Izel’s legs, which were still wrapped in bandages, and then toward Ellen’s arm.
After that, she pulled out her phone as she either sent something or made a call before putting it away again.
I looked around as I asked, "Where exactly are we?"
She answered immediately.
"A residence located on the edge of the Axis."
"Then... should we make ourselves comfortable or what?"
She raised an eyebrow at me.
"Just wait."
We did as she said and waited in silence for a few minutes until one of the doors opened and an old man appeared, wearing a black suit and rectangular glasses.
His sleepy eyes paused on us in surprise.
It was obvious that he was a servant, and Alicia’s words confirmed it. "Take care of them and call a trustworthy healer from the household."
The orders were brief, leaving the rest to the old man, who nodded and replied with a quick bow.
"As you wish, my lady."
Alicia gave me one last look before heading upstairs.
"Come after you’ve cleaned yourself up."
I nodded while feeling the strange gazes of the others.