~VWUUUSH!~

The lights of the hallowed shrine shone brighter as it welcomed Rey back into its inner embrace.

As the young man felt the cool ground of the sanctum, breathing in its air and staring at the statuewhose bright eyes were beginning to dimhe took in a deep breath.

"Huuu" Then, he exhaled slowly.

He did all of this to calm himself, controlling the rabid emotions that threatened to burst through the threshold and consume him. That's right! Rey was feeling a myriad of emotions as he reappeared in the world as he knew it.

He felt frustration, rage, disappointment, confusion, sadness, and a bunch of other feelingsall coming at him at once, nearly overflowing within his stationary form.

Still, even with all of these, Rey maintained a straight facade.

'In the end, I had to accept the deal' His thoughts trailed as he leaked out more heavy exhalations, doing his best to breathe deeply.

'I had no real choice, just as she said. Even when I tried bargaining, all of it fell through.'

Apparently, he had overestimated The Oracle's interest in the Elves. What was at the top of her priority was an heir, and Esme was a perfect candidate for that.

'She returned me here without letting me get too many words in. I guess she has no doubt that I'll follow through with the deal'

Rey truly didn't like being used like this.

He hated being a mere piece in a game that he didn't even understand. Perhaps that what caused his ever-growing frustration.

No that wasn't all.

'How could Esme just leave me like that? We could have at least talked it out' In a way, Rey felt mad at her for just choosing the option that would most definitely end with the both of them separating. However, he couldn't completely get angry at Esme.

He also felt incredible guilt within himself.

'If this is truly what she wants, then am I not standing in the way of her goals? Should I really be doing this?' He thought to himself, mulling over his choice once again.

'Do I really have the right to do this?'

Contemplation wasn't helping in calming his emotions. In fact, since they only made the burden on him worse, he decided to postpone the act.

'I just have to help the Elves, and I'll find a way to get the replacement somehow. Esme will be free, and Alicia will be saved. I'll have my cake and eat it at the same time there's no need to overthink anything.'

Rey felt like his head was hurting, even though it really wasn't.

He was just feeling tired.

'I should get out of here.' After one more deep breath, he activated his Spatial Magic and vanished from the Shrine.

~VWUUM!~

That exact moment, his scenery changed and he found himself inside his lodgewithin the luxurious room that the Elves had presented for him.

Everything was immaculately arranged, but it all felt utterly bland and uglyalmost like the entire place was a dump.

'I guess this is only natural, considering how amazing The Oracle's Domain is'

He felt like crumpling on his bed and forcing himself to sleep. At the very least, that would reduce the burdens that assailed his mind at the moment.

Maybe he could also dream of having Esme by his side

'That'll have to wait for now, though.' As his gaze turned to the entrance of his abode, he narrowed his eyes.

He had a visitor, and it wasn't someone he could really ignore.

In a breath, he found himself right before his door, twisting the knob so he could see his guest and not keep her waiting.

"Kara" He murmured, seeing her brilliant face as he opened the door.

Her green hair looked messy, and her glasses also seemed a little out of place. She also seemed to be out of breath, which meant it hadn't been long since she arrived at his place.

It made Rey a little relieved that she wasn't waiting for him for too long. After all

"... I'm not really in the mood to see anyone."

His thoughts were in disarray, and the one thing he needed more than anything was rest. He even shut Emil out of his thoughts, so she couldn't hear him and he couldn't hear her.

At the moment, he didn't want any kind of interaction.

"I understand, Sir Rey, but I have just made an important discovery that I think will interest you."

Rey rolled his eyes and sighed. He really wished people could get the message the first time he spoke, but it seemed he just had to drill it in.

'Should I have just ignored her from the start?'

"It's about Esme"

"Esme? What about her?" His energy returned almost instantly, and the dead look in his eyes completely vanished.

His heart nearly jumped for a moment, but he controlled it at the last moment.

Even Kara was a little startled by the suddenness of his reply, as well as the switch he made from lethargy to enthusiasm. It took her about a second to compose herself before speaking again.

"N-not really about Esme, but it's in close relation to her. I found out about her mother!"

"Ciela?" Rey's eyes widened slightly.

He was a bit curious about how Kara got to piece together the information about Ciela, and how she was related to Esme, but that didn't stop the disappointment that was now creeping on his face.

'I'm sure she worked hard to gather the information, but I already learned about her from The Oracle. There's nothing new here' He just didn't know how to break it to the overenthusiastic Kara, who was now gushing very hard the moment Rey mentioned her name.

"Y-you already know? Amazing! As expected of you, sir!"

"Well yeah. In any case, you really should leave now" Rey mumbled, his sigh resuming as he felt a slow pull of depression tug at him.

"Hm? You don't want to see her or anything?"

"Huh?"

Confusion played on both Rey and Kara's faces as they stared at each other. Before Rey could open his lips to ask her what she meant by her words, Kara went on to ask another question that made everything clear in an instant.

"I mean she's being confined by the Elves. Don't you want to see her at least?"