"Did you notice," Duke Raine's eyes shifted from looking out the carriage window to meet Isebell's. "Ashton has reached the fourth circle."
"What?" Aaron asked, surprised, feeling smaller than ever. But also, more motivated than ever.
"Although I was surprised, it was within my expectation."
Isebell was calm, her poise was radiating even in the private cabin of her family's carriage.
She sat still while her father observed her, holding himself back from asking what more she knows about Ashton.
She was like the shoreline. Calm and warm on the surface, with something ancient and unknowable swelling beneath the sand.
Then, like a distant tsunami finally reaching shore, a pulse hit her mind.
She flinched, only slightly, knowing what was about to happen.
" Hm hm. I will be back soon, father."
Isebell fell unconscious, as if a blunt instrument had turned the lights off on her. Her body was left inside of her carriage, traveling down an imperial road, but her mind and spirit was forcefully tunneled far away.
"Another blackout?" Aaron asked, without concern. "She hasn't had one in a long while." His tone sounded pitiful, dismissive of her condition.
"Yes," Leaning forward and placing Isebell's head into a more comfortable position. "That is why I am worried, son."
From Isebell's point of view, her conscious was seized, grabbed and launched through a tunnel of cosmic color. Opalescent and prismatic, like the innards of a dreaming crystal. She traveled fast, and so far, that the distance was incalculable.
The tunnel was devoid of emotion, but unmistakably hostile. Not cruel… just indifferent. As it narrowed, the friction between her soul and its shimmering walls ignited a burning, spiritual heat. It wasn't fire in any elemental sense, but punishment. Punishment of her mortal being within a place that rejects mortality.
But it was not her choice. She was invited somewhere, then forced to come.
As she approached the end of the cosmic highway, the pain of her soul was an afterthought. Isebell was hardened from the situation, she had experienced it multiple times throughout her life. She learned to shut down, await the end of her journey and enjoy the sights as much as she could.
The travels only took a few seconds. Seconds that felt like hundreds of years, but Isebell always wanted to come back.
"Welcome, little dove.." A serene voice welcomed Isebell as she shot from the cosmic tunnel.
The location was hard to describe, [This glass box. Towers of concrete that touch the clouds] Isebell noticed, she was taken and marveled at the view. It was divine to her.
She took a moment to gather her wits while taking in the scenery.
"Little dove... you have finally made contact."
Again, the voice of an angel whispered directly into Isebell's mind. This time however, her soul had been given a shell for her comfort, and she kneeled placing her head onto the reflective flooring.
"I greet the one and only. I greet the emissary of Aether, Mother Genesis."
Despite Isebell kneeling with her head low, she could still see Genesis from the reflection of the floor.
Genesis was only a white sphere of light, small and hovering over a desk.
The sight of her was different than when Isebell first came to this realm as a little girl.
Back then Genesis had the image of a goddess. Youthful to the human eye but her aura was ancient, it was a figure to comfort Isebell's young mind.
Isebell was only 6 years old back then, when Genesis initially ripped her soul through space and time. It was when she became diagnosed with Syncope, a condition that her family hid from the public, and one that Isebell used to hide from them.
Back then Isebell's essence almost faded from the travel, but Genesis pieced her back together. And gave her a mission.
Ashton Whey and Isebell Raine were destined to be together. Lovers placed in each other's hands from destiny.
It was the script James Rolten demanded.
But Genesis, in her longing, called Isebell's soul towards her. She had to ensure that Isebell not only would follow her destiny, but aide James as he unfolds a new one as Ashton.
She revealed to Isebell that Ashton was the incarnation of the god she called Aether.
That which birthed mana.
To guide him back to his throne, Genesis gave her a divine mission, help Aether transcend.
Genesis of course omitted the fact that in the event James fails to awaken and transcend again, she would erase this timeline and have her master start over.
She had grown tired of awaiting for her master's rebirth. She wanted to meet him. To kiss his feet and thank him not only for creating her, but to thank him for struggling back to her.
"Yes, Mother Genesis, I have finally met Lord Aether." Isebell, smiling and reveling in her mission.
"And how was he little dove? Had he awoken?"
The question was surprising to Isebell, Genesis was capable of observing the entire world. She could scan the entire world and read everyone's mind in a blink, but [Mother Genesis can't see Ashton?] Isebell realized.
"Mother Genesis, wouldn't you know better than I?"
"For whatever reason, I can no longer see Master's incarnation..."
Genesis not only couldn't see Ashton, but she also couldn't see any information related to him. It was all black when it came to him, but she could still everything else. It made her uneasy and she debated starting over, but Isebell was surprisingly reassuring.
"Worry not, Mother Genesis. I have not forgotten my mission!"
"I will trust you for now little dove."
Genesis's expressed confidence in her had made Isebell happy, but only for a moment as she was soon pushed back onto the cosmic highway.
It was a sudden departure, but Genesis had to send her away or risk Isebell's collapse.
The road home was much quicker for Isebell this time.
The journey back and forth, torturous to her soul, but it had strengthened it each time. A consequence deserved for her hurt and devotion.
As she opened her eye's, blood poured from her nose down to her chin.
"Isebell!" Duke Raine grabbing a handkerchief in fatherly concern. "Are you alright? Take this dear..."
His shouting awoke Aaron from his sleep, it was sudden and forced him to grip his sword. However, as he looked over and saw the situation, he laid back now. "Welcome back." he muttered.
Wiping the blood from her face, Isebell doesn't respond.
She only chuckled, thinking of Ashton.
[If Mother Genesis can't see him, then she shouldn't mind if I take a piece for myself. We are each other's promised after all.]