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Chapter 24 ~Karma~

  Acacia shoved Chausse to a corner away from prying eyes. "You have three seconds," Acacia said, her voice dangerously calm, as Kel's fire flared. "Before he decides you're better off as ash."

  Chausse gulped, his eyes fixed on the flames. "We...we saved you. They were going to kill you, but when you didn't die, they freaked. Thought you were some kind of unkillable monster."

  "He is right!" Barcello's voice rang out as he limped and joined Chausse to defend him but lowered his voice as he looked around. "We just...we made it sound like the Flow Society was terrified of you. It was the only way to get them to leave you alone although some are still skeptical especially because of a guy called Elric or something and because you seem like a monster."

  Bella tightened her grip on her crutches at his words. Acacia glanced at her but said nothing.

  "And why did you do that? What's in it for you?" Edwin questioned.

  "I only did it because you saved my life, I don't know why you did it but I always repay a debt." Barcello replied and Kel's fire slowly went out.

  'Oh...he was the guy I afflicted with my butterfly at random.' Acacia remembered as she studied the guy's face. "Then what's with the nickname?"

  "That...was his idea..." Barcello gulped and pointed to Chausse who bowed his head.

  "I'm sorry! I just thought it would be cool! They bought in because they see the Apex Conquerors as the counter to the Flow Society. And you know, looking around, you guys are one of the few Kin groups still alive and most of your members are still intact." Chausse explained and peeked up at them.

  "Whatever, I have things to do anyway. You can raise your head." Acacia sighed and shifted her hold on the orb. Barcello had a look of relief while Chausse raised his head. She glanced at both of them for a moment. "Can you get me a pen and a paper?"

  "Huh? For what?" Chausse asked.

  "So you can use my name to gather followers but can't get me a simple pen and paper?" Acacia tilted her head and raised a brow.

  "....I will get it right away!" Chausse gulped and disappeared out of her sight to get a pen and paper.

  "Senior!" Poppy's voice rang out as she ran towards Acacia and hugged her tightly, Henry followed after her while panting as if he had been running.

  "You are alright." Acacia ruffled Poppy's hair and Maximus hugged Henry who struggled against his hold in protest. "Where is Tosic?"

  "He is helping the rest to rebuild the place." She grinned up at Acacia.

  "That's good." Acacia smiled back at her. She looked back up and noticed the beast-men clearing the place up from the mess of the explosion. Chausse soon came back with a wrinkled paper and an old pen.

  "I'm not sure the pen would work though." Chausse commented.

  With a determined tug, Acacia collected the pen and paper away from Chausse. She pulled away from Poppy and pressed the warm, pulsing pink orb into Poppy's palms. She pressed the wrinkled paper against the wall and the pen scratched uselessly on the paper just as Chausse had predicted. Frustration flickered across Acacia's face. She slammed the tip of the pen against the rough wall a few times and wrote on the paper again.

  This time it began to glide through the paper easily. She started her letter with a small smirk tugging her lips.

  "Elric,"

  "This letter is from Acacia, I want to see you one last time. To understand why you did what you did, surely there's an explanation from your side.

  Be at the old factory, where we lived, today. I have the Orb of Wishes. If you fail to appear, I will shatter it at dawn tomorrow.

  You have one chance."

  Acacia folded the letter and bit her thumb. A butterfly merged from the cut and carried the letter, flying up to the sky to deliver the letter. Barcello was in a bit of awe at the sight.

  "What does it do?" Poppy asked in awe. Henry poked the orb with curiosity.

  "It...helps me beat up bad people." She patted her head and collected the orb. "I will be on my way, I will be gone for a while but I will come back."

  "Are you sure you don't need us?" Kel asked.

  "I do need you but not right now. I want you guys to focus on rebuilding this place and our status, we should take advantage of every opportunity. Don't worry, I will be fine and if either of you needs help, just communicate with me through the butterfly." Acacia started to walk away but stopped in her tracks. "I will bring Elric back so that you can handle him yourself."

  Bella blinked and was a bit surprised by Acacia's promise. With a slow, graceful motion, Acacia unfurled her wings, their red hue catching the light, much bigger than her body now. The crimson wings were so eerily beautiful, a dark contrast against the backdrop of a lush verdant palette.

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  In a swift motion, she disappeared into the sky, the warmth of the sun on her skin, the gentle caress of the breeze. A temporary sense of comfort and tranquility. She flew in the air and looked down at the magnitude of the damage caused by the explosion. She shook her head and focused on her destination, her grip tightened on the orb and she finally reached the place.

  She settled softly onto the cracked earth before the mangled ruins of the building. The air hung thick with dust and the scent of burnt wood. Her heart twisted, a physical pain matching the devastation before her. She noticed a book on the floor and tilted her head, it was half burnt and torn. She saw Zephyra's name on a burnt page and picked up the book.

  "I wonder what she wrote?" Acacia looked at the journal but could barely read the contents in it since all the pages were torn and burnt, leaving behind scraps of pages with half sentences.

  "Now let's wait and see if our dear Elric will show up." She connected with the butterfly and saw that the butterfly just arrived at the other part of the city. The part the Flow Society bothered to improve and renovate. She disconnected from the butterfly as it was still on its journey. She waited for the butterfly to return and turned her attention to the journal, trying to read the contents even though it was impossible.

  Three hours passed and she played with the pink orb out of boredom, moving her mana to the vines to strengthen the orb. She heard some noise and looked up to see a mini sky craft that landed in front of her. She grinned as her butterfly flew back to her, she snapped her fingers and it disappeared. 'Time to put my acting skills to the test, I must not mess this up.'

  The door slowly slid open and Elric walked out, donned in the white armor probably for protection. She could see the skepticism in his face and the change of expression as he noticed the orb. He walked towards her with a hint of desperation in his gait but was stopped when Acacia backed away.

  "Why did you do this? If you tell me why, I will give you this orb." Acacia offered.

  Elric POV

  He stared at her blankly, his gaze occasionally flickered towards the orb. 'All I need to do is talk and she will give it to me but I can't just say anything or else she will think it's a lie.'

  "I did it because of duty." Elric replied. He watched Acacia's expression expecting a reaction but he got nothing.

  "Zephyra is dead...." Acacia suddenly said.

  'What? I guess that's to be expected, she must've died in the blast but that's not my concern—'

  "You don't care, do you? You just care about this stupid orb." Acacia scoffed and threw the orb up in the air. The sight caused Elric's heart to spike but he relaxed when it landed in her hands. "It's funny how this is the first time you have ever shown emotions in front of me. You must want that wish badly."

  The image of Erla dying body in his arms suddenly came into memory and he frowned at Acacia. ''If I knew she had the orb I would have gone after her instead of Bella.'

  "Why aren't you using it to bring Zephyra back?" Elric asked.

  "....I don't want to be cruel and bring her back to this hell hole. Whose to say she will survive another incident like this? What if she is not happy? What if she is not the Zephyra I know? I think it's best that she is in a safe place." Acacia hesitated before she responded.

  "Then you simply don't care about her enough because if you do, you will do everything in your power to bring her back." The air shimmered, and Elric was there, a whirlwind of sudden violence. His fist connected with Acacia's stomach, a sickening thud that drove the air from her lungs. He ripped the orb from her grasp, then teleported away, the sound of her desperate gasps echoing in the sudden silence.

  "Don't do... something stupid." Acacia groaned out.

  'She is not attacking me, has she been weaken from a fight or something else?' Elric studied her expression for any deception. He glanced at the orb with hope stirring in his heart. "Is it stupid to love someone so much, you are willing to do all to see their face again? If it's stupid then I'm the most stupid man."

  He brought the orb in front of his face and took a deep breath. "O Orb of Wishes, in this moment of desperate need, answer my calling." He waited for any signs and the orb started to glow a bright pink light.

  "No!" Acacia ran towards him but he simply tapped his armor and a barrier pushed her away.

  "For centuries, I, the Orb of Wishes, have woven miracles into the fabric of existence.Yet, let it be known: for every gift, a balance must be struck." A deep ominous voice spoke through the orb.

  "I...I wish to bring back Erla Rion from the dead, what is the cost of my wish?" Elric stammered as he felt an overpowering presence with the orb. 'I has my doubts but it's actually real.'

  "The cost of your wish is a life, a life for a life is a suitable balance. Now which life will you surrender for Erla Rion?" The Orb of Wishes continued.

  'A life....I could use...' Elric glanced at Acacia and her eyes widened as if she understood his thought merely from his face but he didn't care.

  "I choose Acacia's life, the one standing in front of me." Elric replied to the orb and a heard a deep amused chuckle.

  "Splendid, do you have anything belonging to this Erla Rion?" The orb replied.

  "Yes," Elric quickly ran towards the sky craft and grabbed a small star shaped pendant. He came back out of the sky craft and kept a tight grip on the orb.

  "Good, now your wish has been granted." The orb replied and the pendant suddenly disappeared from his grasp. Elric looked at Acacia and saw her body twist. A scream erupted from her throat and she fell to the ground.

  'I am sorry but I have no choice.' Elric had a determined gaze as Acacia felt to the ground, he walked towards her limp form and has her body change. Her brown hair turned blonde with ringlet curls, her wings disappeared and a light yellow dress appeared on her body with the star shaped pendant on her neck. Her facial and body structure changed entirely.

  Suddenly the orb's bright pink light faded and it turned into a bunch of black vines in his hand. He was a bit confused by the sight of the vines and threw it away. 'It must have disappeared since my wish is done.'

  Elric knelt down next to her and cradled her body in his arms. He brushed her hair out of her face and waited for her to wake up. 'It is really you, Erla. Please wake up.'

  She stirred and opened her eyes, the familiar brown eyes gazing up at him before she shoved him away harshly. "Who are you? Where am I? Where is this?"

  "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I am your best friend, remember?" Elric felt crushed by her reaction and slowly stood up. He walked towards her in a non-threatening manner.

  "Friend? I don't remember any friends...." Erla replied and hugged herself.

  "It's fine, maybe it's because you just...um woke up. There was an explosion and you hit your head. You might remember when we go back home." He replied and gently stepped closer when she didn't try to run away. Erla looked around the place, probably buying his story and slowly nodded her head. Elric sighed in relief and stretched out his hand to which Erla reluctantly placed her hand on his.

  He helped her to stand up and hugged her tightly, his face buried in the crook of her neck and he felt her stiffen against his hold. "Let us stay like this for a little longer before we go."

  ".... okay." She replied in a soft voice and stayed still, letting him hug her.

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