Taken Horizon Origin, volume 2, Descension

Episode 20 : yearning demon -

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Hot water spat out of the shower head steaming against my skin as all the grime and sweat got melted away going down the shower drain. The conditioner in my hair got washed away flowing down my body to reveal a midnight navy mulberry color underneath the white bubbles.

My hair had gained some pallet of blue since Strife left, now looking like a dark blueing pitch of brown. The wet hair in my hands dripped onto the tiles of the shower floor and i contemplated the first time i ever met that strange man.

I was wounded and dying inside the throne-world of a god after being betrayed by my party and he saved my life. He was so forward back then, like he was programmed to only do what he needed. It wasn't until a while after i journeyed with him that Strife revealed some of his hidden humanity.

The spray of water from the shower contained to bathe me as I thought in silence with nothing but the splashing water to accompany me.

Chu-chu-chu!

Knocking banged against the door leading into the large shower room and i twisted around getting startled.

"Chancellor Qilin! Madam Talleen is here to see you!"

Unwinding my worried thoughts i chuckled at how I overreacted. "I'll be out in just a moment, Duan!" Twisting the showers nob the spray of hot water ceased and i stepped out of the steaming glass cubicle to grab a towel to dry and wrap myself with.

Once dry and all the bubbles were off my skin, i picked up a fluffy dressing gown pulling it over my shoulders and tying the belt tightly around my waist before stepping out of the shower room and into the cold wind of the corridor.

"Ah! Chancellor Qilin, your hair is still wet!" The maid that was banging on the door earlier quickly ran into the shower room and ran out throwing a towel around my head to then gently start draining the water out of my hair.

"Duan, we both know how my mentor doesn't like to be kept waiting." Not letting the maid finish drying my hair my feet took me down the corridor stepping across the soft carpets bare foot. "I'll be heading back into the shower once my conversation with her has concluded anyhow."

"But its such a waste to let such beautiful hair go unattended, miss Qilin!" My maid pleaded desperately earning a tired but grateful sigh from me

"You may dry it as i walk, Duan."

"Thank you, my lady." The maid pressed into the back off my head with the towel for the rest of the short length journey until i arrived at a single door at the end of the glamouring hallway. "I can rest in peace now knowing your hair has been dried, my lady."

A faint chuckle left my lips. "Get back to your work, Duan. You can't keep using me as an excuse to skimp out of your duties. What would the head maid think?"

Clicking her tongue it was obvious the girl didn't care for her work and was here purely for my health and benefit. As I shooed her away the face Duan made was like that of a cutesy wide eyed Yicka.

After a single knock on the door i stepped into the waiting room seeing a lightly pink haired woman standing next to a warm fire pit. With a curtsy in my gown i greeted her, "it's a pleasure to see you again, mentor."

Spinning around madam Talleen tapped her fan repetitively against her folded arms. "One-hundred-and-twenty-five seconds. You must be getting bold to make me wait that long, miss Seer." The same mocking but fragrant smirk that my master always had irked me greatly.

This however was the smile she put on whenever something interesting has happened. "I was in the shower when you arrived so please forgive my lack of courtesy, mentor."