'I've been thinking about it for some time now, but I still can't make sense of it. Why does The Oracle want Esme?'

As Rey sped through the air, his speed causing shockwaves as the space around him trembled, his mind was busy with thoughts as his eyes traced the trail of Esme's Mana.

His senses were also spread far and wide, so as soon as she entered his wavelength, he would sense her instantly.

Still, his head couldn't stop going through the condition that The Oracle gave him.

'Every Elf despises Half Elves. The way they treated Esme is further proof of that, and apparently it's because of the commands of Nature. Doesn't that mean The Oracle is directly responsible for this bigotry against Half Elves?'

Why would The Oracle want Esme in their presence then?

'Do they want to eliminate her? If that's the case, then is it really safe to do as The Oracle pleases?'

He didn't know what to think.

On one end, he didn't want to think that The Oracle had that nefarious intention. Even if they did, he wanted to assure himself that he could protect Esme.

However, on the other end he didn't want to take the risk.

'I don't want to put her in such danger. But if I don't do this, then my chance of saving Alicia has returned to zero.'

Rey was still in the process of sorting out these thoughts when he felt something enter his radar.

'ESME!' His eyes widened instantly as his heart skipped a beat.

In a flicker, he easily closed the gap that existed between himself and his target, creating a spatial rift as he rushed at full speed.

~VWUSH!~

His figure materialized behind her, and a shockwave followed his arrival due the built-up velocity he created from his sudden teleportation.

"Esme" He whispered, watching her from a distance of only a few inches.

The way her pure white hair flowed behind her felt surreal. Her long gown danced with the wind as the two of them remained stationary in the clouds. It seemed as though she was standing on a firm surface despite stepping on nothing.

"Rey? I didn't expect you to be done so quickly." She slowly turned and looked at him, her gem-like eyes greeting his glowing crimson ones.

At that moment, Esme looked like the prettiest thing in the world.

Rey didn't know if it was due to him viewing her, and the rest of reality with Light Mode Vision, or if it was just the atmosphere that caused it.

But he felt his heart race tremendously as he stared at her. Before realizing it, he closed the short distance between them and hugged her deeply. "I'm sorry for neglecting you, Esme. I I'm glad you're okay. You're safe. I heard everything from Kara! I should have been there, to I won't let such a thing happen again!"

Esme hugged Rey back, but in a softer manner than the tight way he gripped her and pulled her close to his chest.

It almost felt like he didn't ever want to let her go.

"I'm fine, Rey. I just decided to take a flight to clear my head. And well, thanks for worrying about me." Her last words were awkward, and her cheeks were flushed with shades of pink.

Rey couldn't see any of that, though, since he was hugging her.

He, instead, thought she was flustered by his sudden and overwhelming display of emotion, so right as Esme was making herself comfortable in his embraceabout to wrap her arms around him a little tighterhe pulled back.

"S-sorry! I guess I just got a little extra" He laughed with awkwardness, scratching his head like an idiot.

He noticed a slight look of disappointment in Esme's eyes, but the expression was quickly snuffed out. Instead, Esme gave a slight giggle and shrugged it all off.

"It's fine. I didn't mind."

"Whew I see"

After that, the next few seconds that existed between them were occupied by silence. They both looked at each other with similar gazeslonging, but also not longing.

"Are you mad?" Rey asked, his voice a lot calmer now that he now had full rein of his emotions. He never used [Dead Calm] with Esme, so the moment he sensed her presence, the Skill was instantly done away with. That accounted for his outburst of emotions.

Right now, though, he was being intentionally mellow.

"Mad at who?"

"The Elves? Me? I-I don't know, but you look a bit distressed concerned, maybe?"

Rey didn't want Esme to hide her pain from himnot anymore.

She had suffered enough in silence, and this only persisted thanks to his insensitivity. Now that he knew this, he wanted her to tell him everything.

"Oh, if you are referring to what happened earlier with those Elves, I'm fine. I got over my annoyance already." She responded.

Esme didn't seem to be lying, but Rey didn't know whether to believe her or not.

"You sure?"

"Yep! You rightly noticed my worry and concern, but it isn't because of them." Esme said, slowly turning away from Rey to point at something in the distance.

"Look at that."

For the first time since he sensed Esme, Rey took his eyes and full attention away from her and focused on the place where she pointed at.

That was when he saw it for the first timethe blight that scourged the land.

A far distance from where both Rey and Esme floated, stretching out for miles upon miles, was a barren wasteland.

The ground was darkened and completely bare. From where they stood, it looked like an ugly scar upon the beautiful lands that existed before the tainted lands came into view.

Everything about it seemed rotten and ugly, and it was a mystery that such a place could exist in the same paradise that was the Land of the Elves.

Rey had his widened eyes take all of this in, completely silent.

"What in the world happened here?"