Chapter 1493 - Contact (2/2)

After anticipating this encounter for years, Vahn had already put a lot of thought into how he would convince Gaia. More than that, however, he really did just want to protect her, finding her existence to be one of the greatest tragedies he had ever encountered. Nobody deserved to be isolated from everything, and, while it might make her feel safe, Gaia would never be happy if she never broke out of her shell and experienced new things.

In the hopes of ensuring a better future for them all, Vahn adopted an apologetic smile as he said, "I promise you...I will never allow harm to befall you. Please, trust me. Nobody should be forced to live alone...afraid of the very world they represent..."

Since Gaia seemed sensitive to even the most subtle change in emotions, Vahn allowed her to feel the sadness in his heart. He wanted her to know that she wasn't alone, that someone understood the things she had gone through, even a little. He had felt this way even before seeing the awe-inspiring form of CHALDEAS and his encounter with Tiamat...

Though she didn't understand why Vahn was sad, Gaia felt her own sadness increase seeing him in such a state. He had such a pure and comforting aura, so it didn't seem right for him to be sad. Thus, albeit with extreme reluctance, she muttered, "I will trust...Master..."

Following the soft, almost inaudible words, the green mass of energy began to rapidly contract. This was similar to the times when Gaia ran away, taking the golden light with her. This time, however, a strange feather remained behind, suspended in the air.

Seeing the pure white feather surrounded by an incomparable mass of Holy Energy, Vahn felt like his body would disintegrate just bey remaining in its presence. A hazy black mist had even started rising from various parts of his body, the purity in her aura so great that even Spenta, an entity that existed to purify virtually all evils, couldn't compare in presence and magnitude.

Despite a strange sense of 'unworthiness', Vahn stretched out his hands, allowing the feather, less than 10cm in length, to rest in his palms. He noticed it was surprisingly heavy, but, before he could get an accurate grasp on its weight, light burst from within the calamus, blinding him in the process. At the same time, the weight of the feather seemed to disappear entirely, replaced by a soft, downy, feeling...

Once his eyes regenerated, Vahn found a thin, seemingly weightless, young woman curled up in his arms. She had skin fairer than white jade, rivaling polished porcelain in quality. Though she was very thin, almost painfully so, her overall height was around 160cm. She was clothed in a pure white dress that was so smooth to the touch that it almost felt ephemeral, giving the impression she would slip through his grasp without a moment's notice...

Though her dress was otherworldy, Gaia's appearance dwarfed it by quite a bit. To compliment her fair skin, she had free-flowing, pure-white hair. It cascaded from the top of her head in a graceful yet uninhibited manner. What surprised Vahn the most, however, was that she had several ahoge, three of which were greater than 15cm in length. This gave her a peculiar charm, but, having a rough idea of what ahoges represented, Vahn couldn't help but clench his teeth slightly...

Almost immediately after his jaw tightened, Vahn felt a soft voice echo through his mind, whispering, "Master...do not be mad...hatred is bad...it is like poison..."

Despite the words clearly coming from Gaia, the 'person' themselves didn't so much as twitch her brows, much less move her lips. She remained unmoving, seemingly lifeless, in his arms. If not for the fact she was radiating more vitality than he had ever seen, it would have been easy to mistake her for a lifeless doll...albeit one carved by the greatest craftsman that had ever lived...

After recovering his senses, Vahn held Gaia a little closer, asking, "Are you unable to move?" in a soft tone of voice.

Surprisingly, Gaia quickly answered, alleviating his concerns as she stated, "I do not remember how...I will try harder..." while twitching her brows.

Though it wasn't all that surprising, especially given Gaia's pure white hair, Vahn was stunned when he saw her eyelids part to reveal ruby-red eyes. Their interior even possessed a faceted quality, much like an actual gemstone. This was undoubtedly the result of some incomprehensibly powerful Mystic Eyes, as, just by looking into them for a brief moment, Vahn felt his consciousness being drawn into them. There were even mysterious runes dancing about within her pupil, but, in spite of his curiosity, Vahn dared not look too closely.

Like someone waking from a coma, or a very long dream, Gaia had a distant look in her eyes, unable to focus on anything. She had been using her 'perception' to sense the world around her for a very long time so it was strange to be seeing for the first time in millennia. Everything was simultaneously clear