Black Star

Page 92: Stairway to the Sky

3rd person's POV

Night arrives and the humans are back. They are damn tired but satisfied at the same time; they were allowed to see a bunch of cool villages and places and explore at their likings once they were explained the laws. They met so many friendly races and they saw where and how each kind live peacefully among many others. They also saw wild animals that looked like they came straight out of a fantasy books. Wolf-dogs with a deer skull on their heads, they saw moss unicorns, their favorite so far is a bluish deer used as steed in the nearby villages. The head, the antlers and forelegs of a stag, the wings and the hindquarters of a bird, with a beautiful peacock tail, it breathes fire and a steed cannot be more epic than that. They would have sold their souls to ride it once, but since they were transporting a patient, long stops weren't allowed.

Byakkomaru informs the humans that tonight they'll eat at the beach, Atlanta's orders. He happily adds that Astraea is awake and he's in the terrace drinking his favorite tea. Needless to say, most of the mages bolt to the destination and when they spot Mars, the Lord opens the way with a smile.

He's really back! They look at him tranquilly admiring the stars and when they cry his name, the Lord of the Sun turns confused first, then unravels his kind smile that officially breaks the humans' control. The fact that his hair is down, his forehead covered makes the scary Lord so soft now and amplifies the humans' feelings to hug him.

Astraea welcomes the Black Bulls in his arms and let them hug him as long as they wish, and when they are satisfied, of course it's the children' turn. Even Father Orsi hugs the king of foreign lands and cries his heart out for the relief he is overwhelmed with. Denara stays by his father's side with tears in his eyes, and Mars himself encourages the heir to go. The moment Millenaria meets Leo's teary eyes and trembling lips, the Lord knows the kid got really scared and confused. That's why now a very father-like smile adorns the ruler's face as he opens his arms to invite the younger inside them as well.

"Did you really think I'd leave my favorite nephew?" Leo takes only his hands and holds them gently, which makes the Lord chuckles. "You will not hurt me, Denara. Your uncle is tough enough to handle a hug from someone like you."

Byakkomaru spread the word and after Leo, all the constellations summoned themselves to the temple just to hug their Lord and shower him with their love, care and loyalty. Gesture that warms Astra's heart beyond expectations; all those people are the chains that kept him in the world he hates so much, and now even if it was so painful to do so, it was all worth it.

Only one person is left and everyone is waiting for him. When he will be there, he'll lose his composure as fast as bolt; which oddly enough everybody is exited for it. Despite his ramping tongue, Oberon keeps himself under strict control to be the pillar the lands need, so now that he's about to show his true colors without caring who sees him vulnerable, is what everyone wants: the Lord of the Sun melting the cage of the Lord of the Moon.

They hear very fast steps, someone is running so fast to almost trip. A smirk appears on everybody's face as they form a wall to hide Astraea and bring more shock to his soulmate. Oberon literally lunged himself through the curtains and stops with his chest crazily going up and down. His ornaments ring loudly as his long hair becomes like a whip for how fast he's turning his head around to search what he's looking for.

"Where is he?" he demands an answer and he won't wait, that's the reason everyone paves the way with a warm smile for him to gaze upon the person he wanted to see.

The hard breathing triggered Astraea's caring side, so he moves his attention from the stars to the inside of the room. The moment his gold orbs lock with the icy ones, he slowly puts down his cup as the reaction kicks in. His eyes grow wider, his mouth falls open and with instability, he stands up. A crying blue star makes him fall on the ground. Unconsciously, Astraea secured the man with his arm during the fall and made sure he did not got hurt in any way by holding himself on the rail. Oberon literally wrapped himself around the taller's torso and sank his face into his neck to cry his soul out, while the other is staring ahead, like he is gazing into an empty abyss. His body knows and remembers because it reacted immediately to Oberon collision, just his mind is processing all too slowly. But when it fully clicks, that's when the real deal begins.
With a almost crying expression that only children can pull off, Astraea lifts his knees to cage his friend into his own hug as he moves one hand to that mass of blue and pushes it more into his skin. Fully enclosed, Astraea let himself go. He cries so loudly that his voice cracks, he chokes and doesn't know what to do with himself because he never was overwhelmed with emotions like that moment. Oberon disappeared inside the giant's arms, only his blue hair and vest are what remain visible, but that still warms people's heart to the point of finding the reunion adorable.

"Let's leave them alone for a bit." Atlanta speaks with his heart swelling with a warm happiness. "We should make dinner in the meantime."

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With that being said, the humans split the chores with the constellations in charge of the said tasks. Now they are in 3 teams, one stays in the kitchen to cook, one is at the beach to set the tables and the last is the one who likes to chill at the natural hot springs and not lift a finger. The kitchen team discovers that Atlanta is a very skilled cook. They didn't think at the fact that handling knives require dexterity, just like swords or spears; in fact the Lord is capable of chopping whatever ingredient without even looking and his knowledge is passed down on to whoever wants to learn.

The beach team though is not having fun. The air there is heavier, Byakkomaru is instructing them about the future events that may be happening. Tonight someone has to tell Astraea what happened to Y/n and they'll need to be ready for anything. A monster blinded by wrath could come out, or a heartbroken man. There's no in between.
That's why that location was chosen; despite the snow is there as well they are far from the palace and houses, so if the Lord goes insane they can try and restrain him with heavier manners without worrying about citizens. Susanoo swam to that shore and will wait underneath the ocean to defend or attack, whichever the situation will require.

When Atlanta arrives with the other team and food, the tension raises. He discusses with the tiger that if anything bad happens, he'll be taking over the task of fighting Astraea, but he points out that if he uses his Grimoire, he won't be a match.

"If he uses spells, we have no choice but to be four against one." suggests Byakko and Julius gets curious, politely asking who are the other two helpers. "Leo and Oberon. By the way, should we call Andromeda and Libra too just in case?"

"The more we are, the bigger are the chances to calm him down." Mars nods to the suggestion. "He's weaker due to the slumber, I should be able to pin him down, but I don't believe his mana decreased at all. We mustn't let our guard down, he will moved by a strong rage as well."

Just in time, when Byakko returns with the warriors, everyone hears Oberon's cheerful vocabulary in the distance. Aslan seems to be escorting them, since he fires back to his father roasting him even harder. Once in sight, they witness what everybody thought: Oberon and Aslan are fighting again. They can't keep their hands off each other and while they spit the worst insults they can think of, Astraea is walking right behind them with a soft smile. A smile that could turn into a flat line, or into jaws that will devour everything.