From our position, the citadel didn't seem far, just a couple of miles away. By my estimate, it was only a couple of hours' walk, not a few days.
"But that doesn't make any sense; it doesn't appear to be days away. Only a couple of hours."
"Grandheart is just that big; it doesn't matter where you are. It'll always appear as a looming tower, watching your every move. It's another one of my beloved's creations, ensuring peace and harmony in the lands."
"It doesn't matter where you are? Even if you are on the edge of the Order Dominion, you can still see it?"
"Yes, exactly right. Rather impressive, don't you think?"
These lands were much more dangerous than I first thought. The forsaken creature was only my first taste of this danger. It seems that Ickni and her whole dominion are a prison built for control.
A cold sweat appeared all over my body at the thought of being the odd one out in a shackled world. My lack of a sacred band would invite trouble into my newfound life. If I stayed in this Dominion, it would only mean despair.
My mind was growing more desperate by the second. I didn't want to experience any more brutality. I also didn't want to be confined and used for whatever power slumbers inside me.
Ickni, the Dominion of Order. The one who would most definitely only invite despair into my life if I continued down the path towards Grandheart. I had to escape Lilia while she wasn't awful to be around, to be honest, she was still a servant of Ickni and couldn't be trusted.
"Um, I think I'm going to go this way instead. I'll just head to the new Dominion. I don't have a sacred band after all and… Don't want to be a burden…"
"... … …"
"No, no, no. You can't leave now, you either come with me or I'll kill you. I'll give you five seconds to decide."
Lilia was smiling, but the joy didn't reach her eyes; they were completely hollow, as if the energetic Lilia had been completely erased and replaced by an obedient machine. Her hand was firmly secured around the pommel of her sword, awaiting the opportunity to split me in two.
"Don't even think about it. If you command those spears to protect or kill, I'll reduce your time to zero. While they are unknown, I don't believe they'll pose much threat at the moment."
"They will move in response to threats. How can you be so confident?"
While I appeared confident on the outside, I was anything but, taking anything I had to not break out into shivers and drop to my knees at Lilia's hostility and malice, overwhelming any part of my body.
"Four."
She didn't respond to my question; she was absolutely confident in her own abilities and knew that my newfound centuries wouldn't pose any real threat to her. Her confidence was expected after all, they didn't move to protect me when she collared me, also destroying my mind.
"Three."
Lilia's body shifted towards her sword, preparing to cleave me in two in one fluid motion. Her training and expertise were blatant even to my untrained eyes. In an actual battle, I won't last a second against her.
On Earth, I had never seen a sliver of combat, always keeping away from the public eye and keeping to myself. Because of my normal features, I never caught the eye of any bullies or criminals. So my combat experience against Lilia was a perfect zero. I was no match; she and I knew that.
"Fine. I'll come with you, I surrender."
Lilia's joyful persona soon returned in full, a wide smile on her face, looking relieved and slightly amused. The machine built for killing was completely gone, the light swirling within her eyes being testament to her switch.
"Good. Perhaps you aren't that stupid after all. Well then, shall we get going?"
Lilia outstretched her arms, waiting for me to jump into them, apparently adamant on carrying me to Grandheart. I didn't feel practically inclined to accept her proposal, not wanting to ruin my reputation as a man. Luckily, my mind wasn't so dense as Lilia suggested; ideas about getting there were already running through my mind.
"No. I will not be carried like a newborn. I have another idea on how to get there."
"Huh? What else but me carrying you? It's not like you can just sprout wings when you want. I wish I could put these inconveniences away sometimes."
Can't they put their wings away? How odd. Most of the stories I've read about angels involve them disguising themselves as humans, but these angels seem different, not allowed to hide their divinity. Although from her earlier words, I doubt anyone would willingly want to put them away.
Being reduced to a wingless vermin was most likely worse than death in this world. And unfortunately for me, I was one of those wingless vermin.
"I can't possibly see any other solution to your wingless status."
Shutting out Lilia's words, I concentrated on controlling the floating spears above me, commanding them to lie parallel to the ground. It took quite a while until they obeyed my commands; the spears of pure light eventually lowered to the ground.
Although they were gigantic, I still felt that I would be able to jump on top of the pommel of one of them, allowing it to carry me to Grandheart. While I didn't consider this a noble solution to my troubles, looking frankly ridiculous, it was still better than being carried like some child.
Thankfully, I was able to climb onto it using the small gaps as leverage. From the spear top, I had a much better view of the surroundings, seeing a meadow filled with golden and lilac trees. Never had I seen such a majestic sight; it was truly fitting for a land of the divine.
"So how are you gonna move it if you aren't moving? They are sentries, aren't they?"
Without responding to Lilia, I focused solely on the spears, willing them to move, acting as my carriage. Much to my surprise, they gave no resistance to my orders, launching back into the air, heading towards Grandheart at a staggering speed, nearly knocking me off. It took everything I had to stay rooted to the colossal spear.
Just like that, I had saved myself the embarrassment of being held like a child heading towards Grandheart with my own power. But could I really stay mine? This power isn't originally mine, so can I truly call it mine?