Chapter 24 - First Encounter

CELESTINA VILLARAMA's POV

I almost lost my balance as I felt myself slowly drifting away from this realm. I don't know if I should be glad that finally, I'll be able to return to the original world where I was born... or should I be anxious that I'll end up leaving everyone that I've met in the Realm of Xenon so far.

"Hey, Celestina, come back to your senses! You're here with me in this realm now, you can't just be selfish again and disappear without a word," said a man that had a familiar way of speaking. His accent was definitely one of his assets. "You can't leave me here all by myself!" The man yelled at me, and when his voice finally reached my conscience, I realized that I was still together with Frost in the same dungeon.

"F-Frost..." I softly called for him.

It was a little bit late for me to remove my grip on his collar when he was the one who made sure that I won't let go of him at all. Those kinds of gestures really indicate just how terrified Frost was of the possibility that I'd run off somewhere distant, away from his reach.

"You don't have to force yourself to talk to me if you're feeling weak."

"I-I think that the herbs... a-are doing its job," I stuttered. "My control over my muscles is about to fall. Even my own mouth is hindering me from uttering a single word, and as you said... I'm just forcing myself."

"That's impossible, Celestina. The herbs that I gave you have been guarded for years in the exact same place where I got it and were never touched by anyone else, so, it's unlikely that there's going to be a side effect after consuming a single leaf." Frost refused to believe what I said and by that time, I began to feel hopeless.

It's like Frost won't listen to anything that I'll further tell him since he thinks highly of himself, he probably thinks that there would be no room for miscalculations according to the plan that he conducted.

"It's cold..."

My lips were shaking due to the intense cool temperature that surrounded my body. The cold air that brushed through my skin was making me numb. Frost gently assisted me as he held me in between his arms. I don't know how it was possible, but his embrace was efficient in warming me up.

'Give it up, Celestina,' murmured by a voice inside my head. It's most probably the wolf inside me. 'You have to get back to your world. Your life wouldn't be put at risk here, yes, but there's nothing to replace your life there. That man merely wants you to be trapped in this realm, he's deceiving you. Stop getting tricked by every word and action that he does to you,' she added.

She has a point...

I unconsciously formed a smile on my face before I totally lost my consciousness soon after Frost released his grip on my body. I no longer heard his voice calling out for me and neither did I feel his touch, so I don't know anymore if he still remained by my side as my whole conscience was brought to a completely different location.

I'm fully aware of what occurred before I got here in this vast place where there wasn't anyone to interact with other than myself. My legs and down to my feet weren't getting wet despite the ground being filled with water. It was quite deep since it reached about the level of above my knee. I can't determine if it was morning or night as there was no presence of neither the sun nor the moon. The only one giving illuminance within this darkness was the streetlights that were lit up, which were all momentarily getting shut.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" I softly asked, though it still resonated.

"You and I finally meet, Celestina," uttered a woman's voice. I turned around to search for her and when I saw a figure standing from a distant position, I halted. "I apologize if I had to force you to meet with me here. It was an urgent matter and I don't have any other means for us to meet, especially now that you've reunited with that man."

That man? Could she be referring to Frost?

"What do you want with me? Who are you?"

"You have to remove the curse placed upon by the moon goddess if you want to set me free from your soul," she replied, which made me realize that it was Celeste who was speaking. "You're going to set me free from this burden or else, I would be the one making your whole life disastrous, whether it be in the Realm of Xenon or in your precious world."

"There's no way that you would be able to get inside my world... right?" I tried to sound like I was provoking her, but considering how I wasn't so sure about it, I'll surely end up losing.

A laughter came from her direction. "Why is my host such a fool?" Celeste questioned herself, degrading my own worth. "If I want to, then I definitely can, honey. Knowing that you went in here through the use of a portal... What makes you think that it wouldn't be quite possible that I can actually do the same?"

I hissed. "Don't you dare touch my family! Don't even think about laying a finger on those innocent humans," I warned her as if I would be able to do anything to stop her.

"I told you: bring me out of your body and I won't do whatever that displeases you, Celestina. I can do whatever it takes to make my statements come true."

"Do whatever it takes? Then why can't you get yourself out of the situation that the Moon Goddess, Sarina, bestowed upon you?"

Celeste clicked her tongue as she went directly in front of me. I was kind of afraid for a second there, thinking that she would randomly burst out due to anger upon hearing what I said. "You and I will never get along... won't we?" She held onto some strand of my hair as she gently twisted it to play with it. "Sarina's curse isn't that hard to break, I know. If only she didn't prevent me from revoking her curse, then I swear, I wouldn't be bothering you right now."

It took me a long time to figure out what she was trying to say all this time.

"M-Master Siege... is the key?"