The Celestial Way

Chapter 16.3 - Changing Ways

The gardens at the back of the mountain were as beautiful as ever. Fresh, fragrant smells came from the trees and plants which populated the hanging terraces. Shafts of light poured down from the vertical gap of the natural enclosure. The floating monuments swirled in a spiral pattern, crystal surfaces catching rays and scattering them everywhere like a shower of tiny suns. The glowing grasses around the lake pulsed, everbright, a hazy illusion causing the gardens to seemingly float above the clouds themselves.

Enjoying this breathtaking splendor were multitudes of refugees, constantly strolling up and down the broad walkways. People of all kinds and shapes ambled along in groups, talking and laughing, or paced by themselves, content to just take in the tranquil atmosphere. The more audacious individuals were taking baths in the numerous fountains or swimming in the lake, and those who preferred to stay around more permanently had even settled in tents, organized in discrete clusters or as lone retreats upon secluded ledges on the ridges.

Airo and Veralla were on one of the topmost terraces overlooking the entire area. They stood at the edge of the terrace, watching the crowds below go about their chosen activities. The hidden base had become much more bustling lately as the number of evacuated settlements increased, and the gardens subsequently have also seen a noticeable rise in visitation and traffic.

"Wow, there are so many people around!" Veralla remarked in wonder.

"Hmm," Airo mused, leaning on the terrace's engraved parapet, holding a bottle in his hand. He was here for the first time, and his steel-grey eyes were visibly taking in the sights. "Have you not seen more when we were to Kryoon?"

"Yes, I have, but it was different then. I was not among others, I only watched them from afar. Being surrounded by so many people now is... new to me. Overwhelming at times, yet kind of nice. It makes me happy!" In spite of her words, there had been some downsides – it had become difficult for her to meditate in the gardens, so she had to move into the stone keep at the training grounds. It was nice there, too, yet she missed the quiet celebration of life that were the gardens during early mornings.

"I see," Airo said. He took a sip from the bottle. His words still echoed with sadness and a distant, subtle anger, but there also was a... differentness. Like something had opened inside him.

Oh, different! Yes, she almost forgot!

"Airo, do you eat meat??"

"Hmm? Sure," he shrugged, a barely perceptible gesture under his power armor. "Though I am not particular about it. As long as I get to procure dinner, I do not care much what it consists of."

"You have to stop eating meat!" she urged him.

"Hm. Why?" he asked.

"Because living beings are hurt and killed in order for their meat to be taken and then eaten by others!"

"What? No, no, the meat made around here comes from the nanofabricators."

She paused, taken aback by this information. "Really?"

"Yes. Apparently every conceivable type of food is nanofabricated in this day and age."

"So you do not actually... eat meat?"

"I cannot say for certain," he replied, gazing again at the gardens and the crowds below. "In my previous life, plenty of the food was also nanofabricated. Yet there were many products which were produced the old-fashioned way. Back then, I could tell the difference. Today... not so much. The times have indeed changed."

She tilted her head to the side, her wings flapping idly. It was her turn to say, "I see. And what about the difference in resonance?"

"I do not know what you are talking about."