Beyond the Deep Water

Lake of Lights

The wind blasts Camille's face, but she manages to keep her eyes open. She's astounded with disbelief, immediately enthralled with the glistening lights of an ocean of stars reflecting in her eyes. Speechless, Camille tries to control her breathing, but the mind-blowing scenery is breathtaking. She reaches a hand out to touch the mirror in front of them. Camille can see the shock in her eyes looking back at her, but also the pleasant smile on the god's face. Axl has formed a barrier that keeps her safe where she can breathe.

"How can this be possible?" Her voice is a soft whisper in the vast space. Axl lets go of her hold of her, but she automatically grips on his arm. She hesitates to take a step forward, but she falls captive to the hypnotizing heaven. She contemplates the image of them floating in a crystal ball in the middle of a million stars. There's nothing beneath their feet or above; a notion of emptiness explodes in the pit of her stomach to see nothing where she can stand. She grins as she catches sight of the Blazers as they dance within the orbs of light as they gather as much light as they need, taking off with unbelievable speed. Camille's jaw drops with delight. The endless galaxies connect with an invisible current of energy that lets everything expand and circle around itself, mysterious yet hypnotizing to the human eyes. Dusty curtains of divine orbs flow like a never-ending river beneath them. "Magic..." Camille repeats with fascination, holding in the desire to do what the Blazers have done, jump into the light, and float with it. Let her whole existence feel alive and grateful to have this chance. Such a unique experience fills her eyes with unexplainable tears. She's stuck in a dimension where anywhere she looks, every direction she turns, there's nothing but perfection. Axl says nothing to let her enjoy the experience.

"Am I dreaming?" She asks breathlessly, looking down at the fantastic view underneath. Her hand touches the texture of the barrier filtering oxygen for her. Camille turns to Axl and smiles with gratitude for letting her see something she never thought possible. "Magic," she says again with glittering eyes that infatuate him without realizing it.

"This is not magic, Camille. This is life..." Axl corrects her, adoring the exciting and innocent reaction on her face. Doing something simple but powerful in her eyes only to take her burdens away. Without realizing it, Axl has begun to spend his time thinking in ways to see her genuine smile, feel the purity of her soul when she's genuinely happy.

"Life..." she repeats in disbelief.

"This is the Lake of Lights," Axl explains as a particle of light filters through the barrier and lands on Camille's fingertip, disintegrating with a tiny explosion as it makes contact with her skin. Her eyes light up, filling her soul with serenity and warmth. "The light represents life. Every soul in every world, every galaxy in the universe, ends here." Axl continues as he points out to a gentle flow of light traveling in a line towards the vastness of the infinite space.

"It does not matter where you are from, what is your value in your lifetime. Species, or ranks. The light is what you have inside. Do you see a difference?" the god asks with a patient tone that soothes Camille's heart.

"No..." she breathes out, unable to express what it feels like to see such a symbolic event.

"Life is all the same, Camille. The path is all the same. Perhaps what makes it different is the journey and what you learn from it," Axl explains as Camille thinks back to her world. "Your experiences bring you to this path, a place where we all have the same value," Axl adds, which also makes her question her path, her destiny, and a mission that brought her to this world. Was her awful life in Primavera Town part of her journey?

"Everybody has a mission to exist for. Everyone has to go through different journeys as gods do as well." Axl's voice soothes her soul. He watches her eyes become lost with the fascinating gases of sparkle and shiny dust. She smiles, making sure to cherish this moment, but sadness touches her heart.

"Humans have the tendency of making drastic decisions because of unpredictable troubles or frustration, but in the end, everyone comes here. Here, where the Great God of Life and Destiny sends you into a new life, and probably the same path," Axl lets Camille know the reason he's hard on humans.

In her eyes, a god would never be able to understand what it is to walk in a dark cave where the walls close in a soul, suffocating it until it makes it crazy enough to make heartbreaking decisions. Feeling lucky for having the courage to hold on for as long as she has, to be able to enjoy this magical moment. She turns to look at Axl in the eyes. Looking at his blue eyes glitter with the magical lights, Camille can't help but wonder, can she go back to her world now? Live with these memories, the thought of waking up in Primavera Town makes her sadder than the idea of not seeing her family and Adam again, which immediately turns into guilt.

"My journey..." she wonders, remembering Azzel words when she first woke up on the beach. Azzel mentioned that she's here for a reason, and thanks to that reason. She can be here, contemplating giving up the idea of going back to a world where she's continuously abused by a man she believed to be her father. "Is this my path?" the thought of staying here, protected by a god, and never suffer, seems tempting, but deep down, the guilt of having a better life away from Adam doesn't make her happy at all.

Axl watches the glimpse of despair in her eyes as her mind goes back to him. Something that makes him wonder if this is his path, Axl can feel his heart opening up to her. Saving Camille is giving him a purpose he has forgotten about. There something about Camille that's changing him. Unlike an average human that struggles through the darkness, Camille has chosen to stay alive. Although there's an ominous threat watching for her, and it's gaining force.

"I cannot tell you where your path will take you. We all have a decision to make, even if it is a difficult one," Axl hints at Camille's struggle to choose to stay here or go back to her world. Although the thought of bowing down to the great gods makes his blood boil with ire, Axl has learned to suppress any sentiment that can make him weaker. But now, thanks to Camille, he finds himself considering negotiating a way for the great gods for someone else's sake.

"I have brought you here because I believe it is time for me to face that difficult decision," raising his mystic eyes to the emptiness above, to see beyond what Camille can see. Axl takes a deep breath. "Your journey has brought you here, where now you have to choose, either you take on it, or you go back to your world to continue where you left off..." Axl waits with strange desperation to hear her answer.

His eyes dive into her soul, looking at her conflicting decision to stay free from torture or go back to keep fighting to survive for the sake of others. In reality, Camille doesn't want to go back to a world where she doesn't feel wanted. A place, she can't find happiness or bring happiness to her loved ones. Axl notices the slight tremble on her shoulders. Camille looks up into his mesmerizing eyes as she takes a deep breath, hoping that Adam can forgive and forget about her. Camille locks his smile deep in her mind and opens her heart to feel his protective spell.

"I have nowhere to go, I don't belong there, but I doubt I belong here..." she reminds him with a heartbreaking tone. The beautiful sky illuminated in Camille's mesmerizing eyes and, for the first time, the powerful God of Water, someone that holds a reputation for being ruthless and cold, now feels his heart thump. Filing up with her pain, Axl slowly lets the images sink in, the image of the tearful girl praying as the darkness haunts her, manipulating the vicious monster that busts in her room to destroy her.

"I wonder..." Axl keeps his thoughts to himself as he looks up beyond the galaxies where the lone star struggles to blink.