Arlen's room was modest, clean and somewhat empty.
The small room had a single window letting in the light of dawn. The desk was underneath it with a simple wooden chair. It held three books ; "Reflections on Flame," "Lightbearers of Past Ages," and "Sun & Moon" texts of history and religion. The last thing Arlen did before his final quest was sketching a woman in a notebook held open by a smooth river stone. She wasn't someone that Cael Knew.
A tall wardrobe with a mirror stood in front of the uncomfortable bed where Cael was sleeping or at least where an attempt to sleep was made.
His burnt eyelid was still open, its pupil fixated on the rising sun... until he heard three knocks on the wooden door.
"Lightbearer Arlen, apologies if I woke you, but I have a message from the Priestess."
A gentle voice of an old man echoed from behind the door.
The old man did not need to apologise as Cael didn't get a single wink of sleep.
He struggled to get up from the bed as if stuck to the sheets, his body aching, his muscles screaming, and his skin burning. When he finally managed to get up, the first thing that met his tired eyes was his reflection and the face that he no longer recognised stared back at him.
"..."
Crack
The mirror was broken to pieces by the flying knife that was strapped to his leg.
Many deformed versions of his image appeared, reflecting his worsening mood.
"A-Arlen?! What happened?"
Startled by the loud noise, the old pastor stumbled back from the door.
'I think I recognise that voice…'
Standing up, Cael took out the knife from the broken mirror and hid it back in its strap. Making his way to the door, carefully avoiding the shards of glass littered across the floor, he picked up the helmet and slid it on before opening the door.
"Good morning, Uncle Delric. Sorry if that startled you."
Getting in character, Cael bowed as he greeted Arlen's elder. He didn't know the specifics, but from their interaction — and his interaction with him — they were close.
"Great morning to you too. Although I never thought you'd be the wrathful type, son."
He returned his greeting and looked toward the broken mirror behind the helmeted Hero.
"Forgive me. I mistook my face for an Ashborn and attacked instinctively. I'm not in my right mind at the moment."
A lie. Cael was just angry. He reached for his face, but the helmet stood between it and his hand, so he settled for adjusting it instead.
"O-oh, I should be the one apologising. However, that is why I'm here. The Priestess wants to heal you. She thought you would have come on your own yesterday, but you never showed up."
Feeling bad for his earlier comment, the gentle old man got to the point.
"I don't think these burns are curable, Uncle Delric…"
Cael had tried all the healing potions he and Arlen had, none of them worked in the slightest.
"You doubt the Priestess' powers?"
Delric, surprised by Arlen's first time expressing doubt in the Priestess, opened his eyes wide.
"That was not what I meant, Uncle. Don't worry, I'll go visit her right now."
Cael, catching his blunder, shook his head and resigned himself to the encounter.
"...You're starting to sound a lot like him. He was a good kid. Just don't take after that foul mouth of his."
As if understanding something, the old man smiled and patted Cael's shoulder twice before turning to leave.
"She's waiting for you in her private quarters."
'Old man Delric, that kind old man.'
Cael couldn't help but smile under his helmet.
'The Priestess' private quarters… What kind of relationship did they even have?'
***
Cael never had an opportunity to meet the Priestess, even though Arlen always paid her a visit when he was around and he never really wanted to.
Solenne of the Veiled Flame.
The soul-seer of the cathedral.
Cael never liked her type but now more than ever, she was his nightmare. While he indeed didn't think she could heal him, the main reason he didn't go see her was because she might be able to see who he actually was if she used her power. And that would ruin his entire plans after.
'Should I just kill her?
No, that would be stupid…'
With who she was in mind, Cael couldn't come up with any plans to deal with her. The only thing he could do was try to negotiate with her to keep the secret. The Church wouldn't want their Hero to die either, after all. He was too important as a symbol.
'I'll have to figure out where her private quarters are first.'
He readied himself for the confrontation and to try to learn where her room is without drawing suspicion.
'He never spoke about her before… how should I even act with her? My best bet is to stay silent. I am grieving a friend after all…'
As soon as Cael entered the cathedral, a lot of people greeted him. Quite the outcry, considering how they treated him before.
The slum rat that he was hadn't even been allowed inside the cathedral, let alone welcomed and bowed to.
From the way they tilted their bodies, making way for him, he could roughly guess where her room was. And before long, he stood before a marble door. He knocked three times, mimicking old man Delric, and waited for a reply.
"Who's there?"
A warm, melodious voice came from the room.
"It's me."
Taking a risk, Cael said something Arlen often used to say.
"Arlen? Come in."
With a pleased tone, she invited her Hero inside.
"Excuse me."
Pushing the heavy door forward and peeking his helmet through, he stopped.
She was the definition of beauty.
Her long golden hair rivaled Arlen's in brilliance. Her figure hid beneath a white, flowy dress with golden accents — mirroring the Hero's armor in glamor. And her eyes were hidden behind a checkered blindfold. The Priestess radiated an air of elegance, class, and mystery.
"What is it? Go ahead and sit down."
Her face turned toward him, but she still had her head down.
Cael closed the door behind him and followed her instructions.
"I didn't recognize your footsteps. I almost didn't know you."
Although she could see more than anyone, she couldn't rely on sight for everyday use.
All power you gain has its setbacks.
So she honed her other senses but Cael didn't know that, and made a mistake.
"The burns are not making it easy for me to move."
If he had known about her superhuman hearing, he would've walked like Arlen.
Something like that wasn't difficult for him.
"Hmm. Your steps did sound careful and hesitant.
Yet that's more reason for you to visit me as soon as you got here."
Her tone became frustrated, as if betrayed by his actions.
'Arlen, don't tell me…
Why didn't he mention her even once!?'
Cael was just as frustrated.
"..."
He stayed silent.
"You're quieter than usual."
She faced him.
"Long nights."
Cael was trying to be as vague as he could, as he studied the Priestess' reactions.
"You once told me your sleep was always short and always shallow."
She reminisced, her eyebrows rising.
"Any sleep would be welcomed now."
He lowered his head.
Even with her eyes closed, Cael could feel her studying every inch of his body.
"Something in you reads differently today."
Wrinkles appeared between her eyebrows.
"Victory changes us."
Arlen always had a dry and simple response to suspicion.
"The flame around you burns strangely… as though it feeds on sorrow."
Her eyelids twitched as if she felt something odd.
"..."
'I have flames around me?'
Cael's heart was beating faster with each passing second.
The young woman raised her head to the ceiling and took her blindfold off her delicate face.
Then she opened her eyes.
Her silver pupils glistened as they reflected the world around them.
Witnessing that spectacle, Cael took his helmet off.
As she lowered her face to meet the Hero's, her eyes focused on his face — quivering at the terrible sight.
And they shook more violently as they looked at his soul.
With a scream, the Priestess closed her eyes and hid them behind her hands.
"You goo— Are you okay?"
Almost slipping into his usual manner of speech, Cael put the helmet back on and approached the shaking girl, picking up the blindfold that had fallen out of her hand.
"...Y-your soul. It has been veiled."
Her voice was strained, and she sounded scared.
"What do you mean?"
He knew he was cursed, but he didn't think this would be her reaction.
"When I tried looking at your soul…
The Worldwound's shadow appeared."
She started regaining her composure.
"Even demons have souls I can see. But yours…Yours is missing.
I'm sorry, Arlen. I can't heal you."