Chapter 36: The being.

As they struggled to bring Elera back to her room, suddenly, a deep magnetic voice came from the front.

"What is happening here?"

Startling the guards and the maids, they lifted their eyes toward the source of the sound. 

Elera's gaze also followed suit, and once everyone synchronously lifted their gazes toward the source of it, Elera was the first to jolt from the stillness.

"Liam!"

She immediately broke free from the guard's clutch, running straight ahead towards Liam as she threw herself into his arms. 

Liam, after returning from such a long day, was quite startled at Elera's sudden behavior. Subconsciously, he opened his arms wide and hugged the little woman deep within his embrace.

"Liam, you're back!"

Elera snuggled her head against the firm chest of the man before her, her eyes shining as she looked up into Liam's eyes lovingly.

 Liam wasn't used to this emotion. He was a bit unsure how to respond. But deep within, it felt... comforting. Though on the outside, his complexion remained the same, as if his facial muscles were petrified.

"I am back."

Liam replied, patting the woman's head.

'It feels nice... knowing that I am needed unconditionally.'

'And if every time I return home from now on, just to be greeted with such a warm welcome. It's quite nice, I must admit it '

'This feeling of being wanted'

Liam gleamed at the sight of this, dotingly patting the girl's head as she tightened her embrace against him. As Elera continued to cling to him, 

He held Elera close, allowing himself to bask in the simple joy of her presence, feeling a sense of peace settle over him in her embrace.

The guards and maids exchanged relieved glances, their worries alleviated by Liam's return. It was quite a problem to deal with Elera since she held a certain special status within the territory.

With their Lord back, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that order would be restored to the castle once more.

The warm session kept on going for a while, with Liam and Elera wrapped in each other's embrace. 

And finally, Liam tapped Elera's head softly, breaking the tranquil moment.

"Elera, have you hugged enough?"

"Mhmmm?" 

Elera shifted her eyes upwards towards him, responding with her silly smile, offering no other explanation. 

Seeing this, Liam could only sigh speechlessly.

"I will attend to you later, but for now... I have an important thing to do"

"Yes, I will be waiting for you" 

Elera replied, releasing her grip from his body.

 The scalding touch that had penetrated through their clothes had left her feeling quite breathless, though she managed to hide her flushed complexion.

As Liam departed, Elera watched him go, a mix of emotions swirling within her. 

---

The distant echoes reverberated through the corridor, casting a solemn atmosphere as Liam made his way towards his bedroom.

 His pace was unhurried, yet there was an underlying sense of readiness in every movement, a silent expectation of what was to come.

With each step, the sound of his footfalls echoed against the walls, a rhythmic cadence that mirrored the steady beat of his heart. 

His gaze, bottomless, scanned the surroundings calmly.

As he approached the door to his abode, his steps faltered ever so slightly, a fleeting moment of hesitation betraying the calm facade he presented to the world. 

His hand reached out hesitantly towards the doorknob, fingers curling around the cool metal with a sense of trepidation and uncertainty.

"It should be fine..." 

Liam whispered to himself, the words a quiet reassurance in the stillness of the corridor. 

Yet, despite his outward confidence, there lingered a shadow of doubt in the depths of his mind and he continued within with his monologue.

'Since such beings favor me, there should be no harm to come my way'

'I hope... '

He added at the last of the sentence.

Liam's seemingly hesitant hand managed to muster up some force as finally, the doorknob was pulled.

 The door creaked open, accompanied by soft knocking sounds as it swung aside to reveal what lay beyond.

In his mind, Liam was bracing himself for an otherworldly sight, perhaps expecting to encounter a divine being or some ethereal presence beyond comprehension. 

He steeled himself for the unknown, prepared to face whatever awaited him within the confines of his chamber.

But as the door opened fully and he stepped inside, Liam's expectations were shattered by the simplicity of what greeted him. 

The room was bathed in a soft, warm glow, the light casting gentle shadows against the walls.

"You have finally come."

A sound echoed within the chamber, devoid of any recognizable syllables, yet somehow conveying its message directly to Liam's mind.

 It was as if the sound itself held meaning beyond language, transcending the limitations of speech.

Liam's gaze swept across the room, searching for the source of the voice.

 And there, standing before him, was a figure bathed in the soft glow of the room's illumination. It was not the divine being he had imagined, nor was it an ethereal presence beyond comprehension.

Instead, it was something altogether different. 

And in that moment, a message subconsciously emerged within his mind. 

A mortal will never be able to comprehend what he can't understand.

Taboo.

The figure before him was human in form, yet there was an otherworldly quality to their presence, an aura of eternal power that seemed to emanate from their very being.

 Their features were ageless, their eyes deep pools of knowledge and insight that seemed to pierce through to Liam's soul. 

Liam can't seem to see and yet the presence was there before him. It was a strange feeling as if an oil was moving about among the water, divided and yet unreachable.

For a moment, Liam was transfixed, captivated by the enigmatic figure standing before him. 

He felt a strange sense of familiarity wash over him, as if he had known this being for eternity, yet had only just met them at this moment.

"Can you feel it too?"

The being remarked, seemingly to notice Liam's gaze. 

Hearing this, Liam hesitated for a moment as he grappled to find the suitable words, but then... it seemed as if the words were undeeded and he muttered.

"We are the same, aren't we?"

 Liam's voice was barely a whisper, though the meaning within it was something that he didn't dare to believe.

The figure smiled, a knowing glint in their eyes as they regarded Liam with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

"Yes, we are the same"

"We could even be categorized as one"

They replied, their voice echoing with a sense of authority that commanded respect. 

"And I am the same as you, the same goes for you being me for what I am"

"..."

Liam remained silent under this revelation, his thoughts swirling with a mixture of confusion and intrigue.

 Despite his apparent loss for words, his complexion remained distant as ever, betraying little of the tumultuous emotions raging within him.

Noticing Liam's reaction, the being spoke again, their voice carrying a hint of nostalgia.

"Even your reactions to this current occurrence are the same as mine. How nostalgic."

Liam didn't reply, but his gaze remained fixed on the enigmatic figure before him, silently awaiting further explanation.

Seemingly attuned to Liam's unspoken thoughts, the being continued, their words resonating with a sense of certainty.

"We share the same origin"

They said, their voice carrying the weight of ages past. 

"And within this vast infinity, you are only the second one who bears a resemblance to me in origin"

"Origin?" 

Liam finally muttered, his mind grappling with the implications of the being's words. 

It was as if countless threads of fate were continuously weaving between them, binding them together in an unbreakable bond.

"Yes"

The being confirmed, their expression serene as they gazed at Liam with an intensity that seemed to pierce through to his very soul.

 "The origin of truth. The origin of eternal and constant"

"And most importantly, the origin of celestial"

And hearing this, finally, the truth was uncovered for him to understand.

'Possessing the origin of celestial makes me the second one that is similar to this being?'

'I never expected that copying the form of the celestials from that franchise would give me such a surprise'

Liam silently thought within as his gaze wandered about towards the unrecognizable being before him. Seemingly wanting to see the true form of it, but alas... 

It was as if an abyss of darkness was presented before his gaze, no matter how hard he tried, his gaze was ultimately consumed by it.

"You can't see me in my true form and you are unable to. The consequences are too huge, which might even implicate this world of yours to be broken"

"Now, we wouldn't want such a thing to happen, do we?"

The being chuckled.