Chapter 10: Perfection

At the doorway, Aria was standing, wearing a distant smile. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were covered in dirt. Sensing another mana alongside Shawn's, she tilted her head in confusion.

Seeing Aria's condition, Shawn covered his face, while Celestia's jaw dropped in surprise at seeing her like that.

What the hell are you doing, Aria... at least brush your hair after returning to the temple. I feel terrified; how am I supposed to make Celestia understand why you are in this condition?

"Child... You are..." Aria tried to remember, but before she could, Celestia stood up, pointing her finger at Aria while looking at Shawn.

"Did you not say she was meditating? Why is she in such a condition, then?!" She raised her voice.

"Oh... Now I see. You are that little child who often cried in frustration whenever she met me... How fortunate to see you after a long time. So, how are you, Princess Celestia?" Aria clapped her hands.

"Don't change my name! My name is Celestia, not Celestis!" she screamed at her.

"Hehe... as cute as always," Aria said as she patted her head, stroking her hair.

Feeling embarrassed as her face turned red, Celestia pushed Aria away, dashed off with eyes filled with tears, and screamed, "I hate you, you stupid, blindfolded moron!"

"Princess Celestia! Wait!" Shawn called after her, but she didn't stop. He turned his face toward Aria.

"It hurts!" Aria screamed in pain, clutching her knee because when Celestia pushed her, her knee hit the table.

"Geez! Just bear with it for now. Celestia is the priority; if something happens to her, we will be doomed for sure!" He dashed off to Celestia's side, leaving Aria in pain.

Still hurting, Aria managed to stand up. "I will never be able to understand her. Anyway, since Shawn is not here, while dinner is cooking, I will sneak in and enjoy the mountberry wine he hides behind the closet, hehe."

She walked back to her room cheerfully, humming. Reaching her room, she quietly turned her doorknob.

"I am back~ Where are you, my dearest—" She noticed Celestia's mana on her couch, and her expression changed as she sensed the disturbance in her mana signature.

"Don't tell me..." The words were whispered from her lips as Celestia hiccuped. Celestia's face was entirely red, her eyes were still tearing up, and she lifted a bottle of wine, ending up finishing it completely.

"Hehehe..." Celestia giggled.

Aria stood stunned as she caught the wine's rich aroma. Hesitantly forcing a smile onto her face, she asked, walking shakily toward her with a cracking voice, "C-Celestis..."

"Huh? I have told you, don't call me that! You blind fool!" she scolded her.

"Ahh... Sorry, Celestia... could you calm down and bring that bottle to me?" She walked cautiously.

"This?" Celestia pointed at the bottle and tossed it up. It hit the wall, breaking the glass as the pieces spread across the floor.

"Hehe... How do you feel now, huh! This is my revenge against you for always bullying me," Celestia talked between hiccups.

Aria's head went down as her bangs covered her blindfolded eyes. She clenched both fists in anger as a sudden wind erupted outside, throwing things across the room while the entire temple shook with the sheer force of her wrath.

In other rooms and areas of the temple, people panicked, hiding beneath the beds and covering their heads, thinking it was a natural disaster.

"Whaa... Everyone, hide beneath the tables and cover your heads! This might be a calamity, we need to visit..." Before the High Priest could suggest anything, a heavy holy book sculpture fell on him, knocking him unconscious.

"High Priest!" the people screamed, running to him.

In Aria's room, Aria, furious, stepped forward as dark mana erupted from her. She walked toward Celestia, her tone completely changing. "YOU... HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY PRECIOUS TREASURE AND EVEN EMPTY IT ALL?!"

The couch blew back as Celestia swung with it.

"Weeeee... hehe."

Reaching her, Aria drew her sword from her waist and raised it above Celestia.

"Any last wishes, Princess...?"

"A wish...? Hehe." Celestia looked at her. Under the influence of the wine, the image of Aria transformed into an angel from heaven. Still sitting on the couch, she hugged her. "I know, you came from the divine realm to make my wish come true! Then... I want Aria to be erased from my life foreveeeeeer!"

Hearing her say that, Aria sighed, calmed down, and sheathed her sword at her waist. "I am leaving you, but always remember: never touch another person's things. You may think it is okay, but the person who owns it might feel hurt by it." She turned to walk away to call the maid, but the edge of her clothes was caught by Celestia.

"If you knew this all along, then why did you steal my parents from me...?" Celestia's tone shifted as Aria turned back to her. Celestia continued, "If you knew the person who owned it might feel hurt, then why didn't you stop? Why don't you leave me alone?"

Seeing Celestia frustrated, Aria tried to calm her down by reaching out to her, but Celestia slapped her hand away.

"Don't you dare touch me! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" she screamed, panting hard as her breath became heavy.

"I was the precious treasure to them, but as soon as you showed up, they turned their faces away from me! 'Aria did this, she did that, you should learn from her.' I am exhausted from all of this!"

"Celestia, I..." Aria was speechless.

"Why... Why... Why?! Why do you need to be a perfect being? I have tried, I tried so much, but why can I still not even reach you?" Her voice broke. "Why can't I become someone like you... so they can acknowledge and accept me for who I am?" Celestia covered her face, her tears spilling through the gaps of her fingers as she cried out loud.

Aria walked over, hugged her, and started stroking her head. "Sorry, Celestia... I never knew you were hurt this much back then... If I had known that before, I might have left them alone... But Celestia, you are wrong about one thing."

"Huh...?"

"When I was first brought there, I was quite jealous and felt confused after seeing you. Back then, your mana was bright—too bright, filled with excitement, love, and care. You treated me like your big sister, always calling me to play and chatting with me... I felt conflicted and confused. Knowing myself, I never enjoyed it or talked back to you, yet you always invited me. You were growing back then, and you even tried to help me, whereas I was stopped, as my time had been stopped."

She paused, her smile warming as she continued, "Thank you, Celestia, for bearing with me at that time. I am really grateful to you..."

Hearing this, Celestia buried her face into the hug and held her tight. After a few moments, she fell asleep, and the sound of quiet snoring followed. Aria slowly sat beside her, letting Celestia's head rest on her lap.

"Good night, Celestia."

Meanwhile, outside the temple:

"Princess Celestia! Where are you? Princess Celestia!" Shawn was wandering around the grounds, searching for her.

How is this section feeling to you as the story builds up the emotional tension between Aria and Celestia?