The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 65: New Beginnings ⊱⊰

Remembering what happened in that mystical place, she exhaled, telling herself it was time to accept reality. The boy she once knew and loved would never return. If she kept having high hopes that he would change, she would definitely have trouble to fulfill her quest. She had lost yet another gem thanks to that wishful thinking.

Feeling disappointed to have lost another gem, Arisa touched her chest, looking for the pendant. She thought of how she could apologize to her team. She was so close to retrieving the Water Gem but failed due to her feelings. That failure was definitely avoidable. Even though her companions were kindhearted, she was sure that deep inside, they would be disappointed with the results.

Arisa blinked twice when her fingers didn't meet the smooth surface of her necklace. She examined her chest and realized that she wasn't wearing the item. With her heart racing, she looked around.

Could it be that he took it?

Arisa saw her cream-colored shoulder bag placed on the wooden nightstand by her bed. She quickly grabbed the bag and shoved her hand in it, looking for the item. It took several seconds for her heart to calm down as her fingers met the spherical item.

As she grabbed the necklace, Arisa released a deep sigh of relief. She didn't know what she would do if she lost such a precious item like Eklipta. Arisa's eyes widened when she examined the item. Besides the marine green spiral that awarded an extra detail in the silvery pendant, there was another one of deep blue color.

Arisa rubbed the item, not believing what she was seeing.

"This is..." Arisa couldn't find any words as she stared at the item carefully.

Zen. She closed her hand around the pendant, her heart racing. I don't understand you.

She placed her hand on her chest. Right when she was accepting that there was no hope of having him back, he surprised her by returning the gem.

Despite our differences, you still have a good heart.

The sound of a door opening pushed away her thoughts. Arisa gazed at the corner of the room and saw a white-haired boy, access the room, followed by two other people.

Kazuya didn't say a word and wrapped his arms around her. For a few seconds, Arisa remained speechless. She hugged him back, realizing that he must have been worried ever since she left the ocean to look for the Master.

"Thank goodness you finally woke up," said Thelma, folding her arms. "You had us worried there."

"I'm sorry for worrying you," said Arisa, her voice quiet.

Garoh shook his head. "The important thing is that you're fine. We should be the ones apologizing for not joining you in time."

As Kazuya dropped his arms, Arisa remembered that the last time she contacted her companions, Garoh mentioned that they would join her and Caris as soon as they could.

"To be fair," said Thelma, "those monsters wouldn't let us go. They kept popping out of nowhere."

"True," said Garoh. "Thankfully, Caris was there to assist you."

"Caris," said Arisa, looking around.

Arisa remembered that the little Oceanian was captured by Virgo's creature on that curious island.

"I'm here," said a quiet voice behind a strong-looking young man with short wavy hair.

Arisa recognized Aleki and smiled as she spotted Caris approach her bed. She was glad that Caris was able to escape from Virgo's hands.