Book 6 Chapter 18.14 - Leaving
When night descended, life in Steel Gate continued as normal without much difference. All of the flames of war were isolated outside, not affecting this place.
Under the darkness of night, Madeline stood before a warmly furnished little villa. She sized up this little house, and then reached out her hand to push open the door. The door immediately silently opened up. One could see that the lock was broken into two pieces, the surfaces as smooth as a mirror.
Inside was a small living room, the coffee table covered in cloth, on it all types of firearm components. Kane sat on a couch, currently fully concentrating his attention on cleaning a component. Only when Madeline's figure was cast over the coffee table did he notice another person had appeared in the room. Kane suddenly raised his head, his right hand calmly placed on his legs, and only after seeing that it was Madeline did he release a breath of relief. He stood up with pleasant surprise, saying, "You came back! Where's leader?"
Madeline didn't reply, instead looking carefully at Kane. Only after a while did she say, "Your genes are already extremely unstable, if you use your abilities any further, they will collapse within half a year. If you properly take care of yourself, you can live another four or five years."
Kane laughed, and then said, "Not using abilities won't do! At the very least, I have to repair Li's blade every so often. She's simply gone mad, always coming back covered in injuries. Not having a good weapon won't do."
"Moulding Ability? If we are talking about her blade, if you use your ability three more times, you will undergo genetic collapse." Madeline said.
Kane chuckled, and then said in a carefree manner, "It's fine! I am someone from the wilderness, so I never expected to even live past thirty years of age. I'm now already over forty, already lived long enough. I don't have any other abilities, only able to use this type of method to help protect this bit of foundation leader left behind."
Madeline nodded, and then said, "It is good as long as you understand. Then, I'm leaving."
"Wait! Where's leader?" Kane called out to Madeline, asking urgently.
"I do not know either." Madeline said. She then pushed the door and left. Kane shook his head with a bitter smile, helplessly sitting back into the couch.
Cirvanas was waiting outside the door. When he saw Madeline come out, he followed behind her, disappearing into the darkness.
The night was extremely long.
In an abandoned house, Madeline sat on the roof while holding her knees, face buried behind her knees. Her silver-gray long hair rose and fell in the wind, bits of stellar splendor flickering about, only disappearing after they traveled far into the distance. A faint glow of radiation was released from the clouds in the sky, outlining her silhouette that gave off a bit of bleak beauty.
Cirvanas was in a room, quietly laying there, looking at the ceiling covered in dust, unknown what he was thinking.
Where was Su?
This question repeatedly wandered about in Madeline's sea of consciousness, impossible to get rid of. This night, no, not just this night, almost every night, only when she hugged herself would she no longer feel the coldness and loneliness. However, from the depths of her chest, every minute, there would always be a strong and forceful pulsation, the unstoppable torrent of energy declaring her existence. The nucleus and her heart tangled together, forming one body, no longer any distinguishable difference between them. This heart wasn't hers, yet it was. From the moment it entered her body, she naturally grasped many of its uses. As the nucleus and the Heart of Darkness gradually merged, her level of authority continuously increased as well. At the very least, when the Heart of Darkness was in Su's body, this high of authority had never been unlocked.
With each pulse of her heart, it meant endless energy and great power. However, when Madeline felt its pulsation, she would always feel as if her eyes would become uncontrollably sore. Whenever this happened, she could only look up into the sky and wait for this feeling to pass, or, like right now, bury her head in her knees.
Late into the night was her time alone. Cirvanas would quietly hide himself to avoid disturbing her.
Where was Su? In reality, this question long had an answer. His final traces, were precisely in the depths of Madeline's chest. That was why, when it was dead of night, Madeline would always hug herself.
However, sometimes, when night and her embrace couldn't warm her heart that had long been torn apart, she would gently caress the heavy sword, letting the rough sword edge cut through her palm, watch as the ice-cold blood scattered over the sword body, letting the bone penetrating pain activate her long numbed nerves.
Just like what she was doing right now.
In the darkness, when Cirvanas heard the sound of droplets from an unknown place, he could only bite down on his completely pale lips.