Chapter 14:

Chapter 14: Bargain

SOLARIS: Journey Through Another World

Morningstar shook Alice's hand, meaning he was willing to make a bargain. He sat down, leaning back against the wall. Alice sat across from him. " Can you cure entropy poisoning?" She needed to know; the answer to this question would determine everything. Morningstar stared at her blankly before answering, " Yes... I can." She did her best to suppress her excitement, but she couldn't help but smile.

" What I want is simple, cure my friend. After that, I'll help you with... I'll make you something!" Alice proposed her side of the bargain, though she had nothing else to offer Morningstar. He was a super-powerful being, but having been in prison for years means he's missed out on tons of new dishes, and that's something she can take advantage of! It was perfect.

" Make something? Like...food?" He asks, now intrigued. Fortunately, Alice had been stocking her inventory with food over the course of her journey, only the items that wouldn't spoil. For this demonstration, she pulled out a sweet. This one she had picked up during the Crown Prince's lunch, it was a tart, a small round crust filled with a sweet orange jam made from some fruit she'd never heard of before, Lady Astar had called a "kua tart". She holds it out to him, and he hesitantly takes it. Carefully, he inspects it, poking at the sweet jam in the middle, some of it stuck onto his finger, which he also hesitantly licks off. His expression lightens up, and he decides to eat the whole thing in one bite. He seemed to like it, " This, what is it?" He asked, dusting his hands off.

" Kua tarts, I'll get you even more food like that if you cure the entropy poisoning." Alice holds her hand out to close the deal, which Morningstar gladly takes.

" That power you wielded, when did you first become able to wield it?" he asks midchew. Fortunately for him, Alice had grabbed more than one kua tart, which she gladly shared with him. He had pointed directly at Alice's center when he asked the question. Was he referring to the energy she had used in her final cleave? " Just now, during the fight, it kinda just happened?" She said, though he didn't look too convinced about it. " Soul energy, it's what you humans refer to as Blessed. There are a lot of people here who can use it; in particular, I can feel two beings who wield it in tremendous amounts." He must be referring to the Scholar and Hana.

" You, on the other hand, have a minimal amount," She couldn't tell if he was just being brutally honest or insulting, " Though over time your reserve will grow, and with it the powers you will wield." To demonstrate, he holds his palm open, forming a ball of pure energy. Morningstar's ball of energy was a sharp, bright red before it swirled into a deep blue. He dismissed the ball and rested his hand back on his leg,

" Where is your friend? I'd like to remove the entropy soon; there's no telling when it'll progress." He says, standing, extending his wings. He had quickly readapted to speaking, and he also quickly adapted to moving again. " So, who's the Valued one?" She asked again, hoping this time he'd answer. Morningstar didn't answer again; he simply picked her up in his arms and lifted off. He flew slowly, as if getting used to carrying someone while he flew.

" The Valued one is a being as old as my Father, an ancient demon, so to speak," He had answered her question. Alice listened eagerly, keeping close to him; they were a long way up and falling would for sure kill her.

" The Valued one is someone, as I said before, who existed long ago. His physical being was destroyed by the Yrvials First-" His sentence was cut off when something slammed into him, throwing them both off balance. Morningstar was able to maneuver them both to land on the roof of the closest skyscraper, though it wasn't a nice landing. Alice found herself in the embrace of Morningstar's wings; he had cushioned her fall. He set her down and put himself between her and the Scholar, who now stood floating in the air. Pulling up beside him was Hana. Upon seeing Alice, her expression soured. Hana tried reaching Alice, but Morningstar reacted fast enough and pushed her back with his wing. " Step away from the girl, Morningstar," The Scholar threatened, " No." He growled back. It didn't make sense, he had no reason to defend her, and the kua tart couldn't have been THAT good...could it? Morningstar reeled his arm back; his hand was wide open, allowing for a ball of energy to form in it. Morningstar would whip his arm fast at the Scholar, forcing the ball of energy to shoot as a powerful laser. Unfortunately, the Scholar was able to deflect it skyward, and the laser condensed in the sky before it exploded, blowing away the clouds and rendering the night sky cloudless.

"I'm with them, he's with me, so that means we're all allies here," Alice says, pushing past Morningstar's wing. Hana rushed over and checked to see if she was alright. The only injuries she had were from her fight with the sub-level prisoner.

" This wasn't from him, if that's what you're wondering. I almost subdued a sub-level 2 prisoner, but he killed him." Alice says, pointing her thumb behind her, "...He protected you?" The Scholar asked, Alice had come to he conclusion about a while ago that she did not like this guy, " Yep, and you can't have him. WE made a deal," she says,

" A deal?"

" Yep, he promised to cure Cleo of Entropy poisoning in exchange for some goods," Alice smiles and shrugs. Hana lets out an annoyed sigh as she rubs her forehead, " Very well. I trust you can make it back on your own. I need to stay back and make sure things are ok here," Hana allowed it, she jumped down from the building before the Scholar could say anything, all he could do was glare at her before following after.

" Alright, now let's go," Alice holds her hands out, waiting to be picked up and flown back to Yvrial. Nothing. She peers back to see Morningstar lying face-first on the floor. She walks over and crouches down; she could see that he was still breathing. So he must've fallen asleep, guess that move he did then took more energy than he expected. Alice lets out a sigh and sits down. She tried to ignore it before, but Morningstar's name was green, which was good, which meant he was a friend. The thing that still kinda scared her was that his level was unknown. The quarter moon shone down from high above, somewhat illuminating Morningstar's face. When she first met him, his face was terrifying; he was constantly glaring, paired with the scars and his rough-lookingness. But now it looked nothing like that; his expression was relaxed, peaceful. His blond hair fell to the side; it reminded her of another person she knew who had blond hair, though he was an ass. Alice drifted her gaze to the moon. It's been a while since she's seen him, she wondered how he was doing.

In her wait, Alice herself fell asleep, only waking up to the bright light from the sun. When she sat up, Morningstar was already awake. He looked hungry. But so was she, but she didn't have anything to eat for breakfast. " Let's go," Morningstar says, picking her up and taking off, this time at a much faster speed. They managed to arrive in Yvrial in no time. Alice directed him toward the Adventurers guild, but took a detour to Cleo's home first, as she needed to get a shirt on the man, who knows what'll happen if she doesn't. Unfortunately, none of the shirts were big enough; fortunately, Alice had her jacket in her bag, which just barely fit. Morningstar wore it over his wings, which he said was fine; the jacket was zipped up, covering him fully. They decided to walk back. Quite a few people stared at Morningstar, and when they entered the guild, everyone went quiet. There was a small moment of silence where everyone just stared before they went back to what they were doing. Alice knocked on Clairs door before opening it, "I'm back," Alice announces,

" Welcome back-" Clair was writing something when she greeted her, looked up and saw Alice and her new friend. She looked confused, but accepted it, " I take it this is how you plan on fixing whatever it is that's afflicted Cleo?" She asked, going back to working on whatever it was she was doing before. Off to the side was a small bed; one of the couches had been removed to make room for it. On top lay Cleo, who looked just about right, aside from the now larger entropy lines crawling on her face. Morningstar crouched down and examined Cleo before grabbing her wrist. He closed his eyes as his sharp red aura drifted down from around his body, from his hand into Cleo. The aura slowly drifted around her, and, slowly but surely, the dark lines began receding. Cleo whinced, as if in pain. Alice held herself; she trusted Morningstar. This would work. Morningstar set Cleo's arm down as she calmed, sweat beading her face, and the dark lines were gone. Morningstar staggered to his feet as Alice helped him sit down on the couch. He decided to lie back.

" As expected of the Lightbringer," Clair said, wiping Cleo's face with a cloth. Morningstar said nothing; now all she had to do was wait. Alice sat down next to Cleo, when Clair cleared her throat rather loudly, perhaps there was something stuck in it. " I believe you owe me an explanation regarding the commission in the village, how Cleo ended up like this, and him," She says, nodding at Morningstar. He looked from Clair to Alice, confused. So Alice explained everything, from the commission to the disciples' involvement, Cleo's poisoning, the whole ordeal with Hana, but before she could get to the part with the prince and Ko'An, Morningstar also cleared his throat loudly, something he must've picked up from Clair when she had done it mere minutes ago. Right, Alice understood why.

" Part of my bargain with Morningstar was that I'd get him something to eat, could you...?" Alice asked, smiling sheepishly. Clair could do nothing against Alice's charm( Clair also cares for Alice greatly), so she went down and ordered a large portion of food from the restaurant. Alice would continue telling the rest of the tale to Clair after all the food arrived.

Clair and Alice continued to go over the details they had, though they would wait till Arthur returned from wherever it is he went to fully discuss it. Morningstar thoroughly enjoyed his meal, and it seems like he's gonna be here awhile. Moments later, Cleo would awaken from her slumber with no recollection of anything past them leaving the village. Alice broke down into tears and embraced her dear friend in a hug. She would hold on for a while, only letting go when Morningstar(ordered by Clair) pried her off.

-MAIN OBJECTIVE-

PARTAKE IN THE ADVENTURERS ASSESSMENT AND OBTAIN A RANK

Reach Level 900

REACH DIAMOND RANK IN 5 MONTHS AND HAVE ARTHUR JOIN YOUR TEAM

~~SUBDUE MORNINGSTAR(1/1)~~

THE STARS BECKON YOU, ANSWER

-SIDE OBJECTIVES-

~~FIND AND CURE CLEO OF ENTROPY POISONING~~

~~CAPTURE THE ESCAPED SUBLEVEL PRISONERS(4/4)~~

PROFILE: ALICE

LEVEL 57

ATK:223