The darkness was gone. Instead, the world was now bright blue. Small white dots were in the sky, it was snowing. Connor had time to look down at the white-covered surface.
He let out a groan as he hit the ground. Fortunately, the snow softened the impact. Lumi landed next to him.
"Where are we?" mumbled Connor, before gasping in pain.
He was too tired and exhausted to function. Lumi still had enough energy to stand up and dust off the snow.
Now that she's free from the Void...is she gonna abandon me? Her goal was accomplished after all...
The sunlight revealed the angel's elegant face as she gave the boy a serious expression. "I have an offer."
Connor looked confused.
She continued, "Now that I'm out of that hellhole, I still need to find a way to ret- wait, nevermind. I might never be able to return...but, anyways. Here's the offer: I could form a contract with you. It's similar to a bond with a magical beast. Like that, I'll share my mana core with you. You'll even be able to regenerate your right arm."
"Alright let's do it," said Connor immediately, "I'll be the attacker and you'll be the healer."
"Uh...yeah," she said, cringing at the corny dialogue.
She did an incantation and, it was as if time stopped. A golden aura flowed out of her. And a link was formed.
"Woah, okay this is weird."
He could feel all the mana in the atmosphere, way more clearly now. His own mana core wasn't the only source anymore; now, he had access to a more purified one.
"So, how do I regenerate my arm?" asked Connor excitedly, his breath visible in the cold air.
The mana makes the cold less worse...but I need to find a town or something. Where are we? It must be way up north of Centuria, maybe outside of Norva. And wasn't it autumn? How is it snowing?
"Just focus most of your mana in the stump of your missing arm, I guess," said Lumi distractedly as she looked around.
They were in a snowy plain, with some pine trees surrounding the area.
The boy's vision shook as particles of light appeared around him.
Is this the invisible world? thought Connor, Or maybe I'm just hallucinating.
His vision soon returned to normal, but he had already understood what he needed to do. It was similar to channeling mana. Soon enough, he felt mana drifting towards the injury of his missing right arm. Both from the outside and the inside. It was slow, so he wandered around the plain.
"I see a town!" exclaimed the fallen angel.
"Where?"
"I'm enhancing my vision to see it."
As he advanced against the cold, Connor felt the increasing mana gathered into his stump implode, as a sharp pain shot from it. The light formed the structure of his right arm: bones, muscles, nerves, skin. And when it disappeared, his arm was fully regenerated.
Connor looked amazed as he moved his right arm around and clenched his fist. "This is amazing."
"I know right? Be grateful that a great angel like me is providing mana to a lowly-"
He interrupted, sharing a thought. "Hey, you also have access to my mana core now. I'm not an expert, but maybe you could use foreign mana to regenerate your wings. We could try that once I recover myself."
She gave him a doubtful look, but forced a smile. "Maybe."
"That kinda looks like the alps," commented Lumi, pointing towards a long mountain range in the distance.
Warm lights. When they got closer, they saw a cozy, snow-covered town, illuminated by the glow of lamplights.
"I have silver hair. They'll think that I'm a demon," said Lumi, before vanishing.
"Wha-"
"Now that I'm in daylight, I can turn invisible," explained a female voice.
There was no shadow. And she didn't leave any footsteps in the snow.
"How are you leaving no footst-"
"I can hover, like, one inch off the ground with my damaged wings."
Damn, I would've liked a rare affinity like light mana...but instead I got pyro, but it's fine, I guess.
Connor knew which nation they were in as soon as he entered the town. It was the Federation of Neustria. French chatter was heard all around the streets.
"We're probably in the Normandy province."
Lumi whispered a comment. "Well, that's funny, cuz on Earth there's a region in France with the same-"
A passerby stopped to look at Connor. "Ça va? T'est perdu?"
"Um, yeah," answered Connor uncertainly.
"Ah, tu parle anglais. What are you doing here all alone?," said the man, pointing to a nearby building, "The police station is over there."
He walked back into the crowd.
Most people didn't give him any attention, but some glances were turned his way. After all, it was unusual to see a tired 14-year-old walking in the streets with damaged clothing.
Connor was cold, exhausted and desperate. He asked some random passersby.
"Is there a way to go to Centuria? Is it safe now?"
"Centuria? Qui voudrais aller dans ces ruines? Le trajet vers Norva, ça prend quatre heures à calèche. C'est cher," said a street vendor.
Connor had no money. He looked at his watch. It was worth at least one gold coin.
The pawn shop owner examined the silver watch. "Woah, this is a fancy watch from years ago. I'll buy it for three gold coins! How about it?"
"Uh, what do you mean years ago?"
"Eh? I mean what I said. This model is from almost a decade ago."
"But it's brand new. From 714."
"Yeah, that's right. 714 was nine years ago, buddy. You're tweaking. I don't know what you're on," said the man, handing three gold coins.
Once he stepped out in the cold streets, Connor supported himself against a wall.
"714 was nine years ago? No way...I mean, I only spent nine hours in the Void..."
Next to the boy, Lumi had a look of pity, as if she just remembered something.
"How long did you spend in the Void?" she asked.
"Nine hours."
"Then it means that nine years have passed in the outside world. I'm sorry that I didn't mention it sooner."
"WHAT? No, that's impossible!" screamed Connor, agitated.
People passing by gave him strange looks.
"It's time dilation. One hour in the void is one year in Etheria," said Lumi, lowering her voice, "I'm sorry. But you have to accept it."
Shellshocked, Connor wandered aimlessly on the streets. He stepped on a crumpled newspaper, before picking it up.
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Journal de la Fédération. Vendredi 4 décembre 723
La tragédie de Centuria...9 ans plus tard.
Il y a 9 ans, une fissure c'est ouvert au coeur de la capitale du Royaume de Norva. Comme vous le savez, cette événement s'est passée immédiatement après l'assassinat de Zelon Wezel, l'Archimage de Centuria, au main du roi des elfes et d'un seigneur démon.
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After glancing at the top headline, Connor stopped reading. He barely understood french, but grasped one thing: it was true, nine years had really passed.
The interior of the hotel was made of oak wood and white stone. Connor payed for a two-bed hotel room. The fallen angel was invisible, so the innkeeper looked at him with confusion. It cost 15 silver coins. One gold coin was worth 30.
Connor plopped himself on his bed. He lay there, immobile and without thinking. Across the room, Lumi sat on her bed.
"Nine years, huh? I guess it's not too bad. My family wasn't in Centuria during the festival so they're alive and well. Monika and Kazuto...I don't really know. They probably survived? I'll have to gather info. Catch up on what I missed out on."
The angel looked a bit surprised that the boy could still talk.
"How did you end up in the Void, anyways? You don't have to worry about the passage of time and all."
"Time is important to me. And, I got kicked out of Heaven...for being a lesbian."
Connor's eyes widened. "What?"
"Just kidding. They're not homophobic like that. I got kicked out for falling in love. That's the reason."
"Angels can fall in love? And aren't you thousands of years old?"
"I'm 74! That's really young for an angel."
Damn, that's old as fuck, thought Connor, grateful he didn't say that out loud.
"Still, I should be more grateful. I couldn't have survived without you."
He thought she was gonna act arrogant and, with an ironic tone, say: That's right! Now bow down to me, you lowly human!
Instead, she replied with."I could say the same thing to you. Thank you."
"I'm already back in my world. So, how are you going back to yours? You want to reunite with your lover, right?"
"She probably moved on. I want her t- Nevermind. I'm forever banished from Heaven. But I could still go to Earth, somehow. There has to be a way."
Lumi had a serious expression. She then told him that she was gonna head out and gather info.
***
Later that day, after taking a shower, Connor went out to buy some new clothes. Then, he went to sleep. The clock on the wall displayed 4:19 p.m. when woke up.
Lumi appeared in the doorway. "I found a way to go to Norva."
"Wait, really-"
"Join the military. There's a regiment that arrived here. Fighting in the Void has made you an E-rank. You should be able to join. And I heard they were heading to Norva. They'll provide transport and protection. It's perfect!"
"Aren't you a low-S-rank? With your mana core, I should be powerful enough to travel on my own."
"I lied...I'm B-rank. But I had my reasons, okay? I said it from the start. I was using you. Sorry."
Connor stopped.
"Well, I can understand that," he eventually replied with a look, not of anger, but of disappointment and resignation, "But, why the military? Why would I voluntarily risk my life?"
"You can find a way to get a safe position, like as a cartographer or something. And it won't be as bad as the Void, right? What choice do we have? We're stranded in a town, in the middle of winter, with limited resources. We won't last a week!"
Connor stared into empty space, not looking at Lumi. The distance between them was further away.
***
Connor sat at the terrace of a restaurant, observing the military unit in the distance as he ate.
"Go on," said Lumi, while munching on some pasta.
Her silver hair was hidden with a ridiculous pom pom hat. Connor wanted to laugh, but the situation was too grim.
Sighing, the boy stood up, and walked towards the army's camp. He could see a few army tents set up. Horses and carriages were posted around. Fifty or so soldiers could be seen outside. Most of them looked to be teens. He wondered what they were doing out here.
One look at me and they'll definitely reject me. I'm not built for this. Let's hope that they're not desperate for recruits.
"Hey, boy. That area's restricted," said a gruff voice.
Connor turned around to see a middle-aged soldier carrying a mana-charged rifle on his shoulder.
"I'm trying to get recruited, sir. Can I join?" asked the boy.
The man laughed, before getting crushed by a horse. It came crashing down from the air. Both of the animal and the man lay dead.
Connor stood frozen, shocked...but somehow, he didn't feel as shocked as he would have. The horrors of the Void made him used to gore...he didn't think it was a good thing.
In the distance, gunfire and sword clashes were heard. A heavy pressure emanated from the base camp. A lone, horned figure stood at its centre. A demon. Its aura alone probably was what blasted off the poor horse. Connor tensed up. On top of killing two lives, it was currently rampaging around, easily ripping apart soldiers.
The boy took a deep breath, relaxed, focused himself...before running the other way.
I'm not built for this.