Chapter 510: Oasis

The carriage slowly stopped as they reached the end of the Withered. Sighing, Iris got out, with the Celestials behind her. Maeve had left shortly after she answered her questions, and for a good reason: she had nothing to do in the Kingdom they were going to.

’Oasis... the biggest Kingdom when it comes to size... but there’s a reason for that...’

Iris waited as the gate separating the Withered from Oasis slowly lifted. It was hot in this part of the Kingdom, a lot hotter than anywhere else... and of course.

That’s because Oasis was made up of a desert.

As the gate fully lifted, sand drifted in, carried by the rough winds of the Withered. It was weird how the two didn’t accept each other, how different they were. It was as if the barrier was more than just a wall.

’Or maybe just the curse that everyone says the Withered is under... well, curse, it’s more that it doesn’t have a God that blessed it.’

Most history books talk about how every Kingdom was blessed; when? That is unknown, but few speculate that it happened when the battle of the Gods happened... this was private information; not many knew about the war... not even she was supposed to know, but she eavesdropped.

Oasis was blessed by Freedom itself; many of its people stand by this blessing. That’s why Oasis is considered the Kingdom with the most Freedom; there are a lot fewer laws inside it. And people are a lot more social, open to whatever. They also love wandering around in the huge desert.

Many live for it, not having a home.

It’s a weird place.

Very different from the Withered, who didn’t get Praise’s blessing and were reduced to this...

’But I do wonder: why have all the Vessels awakened in the Blue Rose... well, and the Withered, because of the Abyss, but still, shouldn’t the Vessel of freedom have been born inside Oasis... very strange.’

Standing on the other side of the gate was a man; his chocolate skin protected him from the heat. He wore clothes that revealed a lot more of his body because of the heat. Markings ran across his body to show the family he was part of.

Seeing her, the man knelt, offering his hand. "Princess Iris, how have you been? It’s good to see you again."

Iris chuckled, walking over to him and grabbing his hand, making him lift his head up at her. "It has been a while, Idris. I’ve heard that you’ve become the strongest adventurer there is, the second only to the King. I congratulate you."

The Celestials watched from behind as they glanced at one another. It was probably a surprise to them, so friendly, but truly, it wasn’t; Idris had been one of the most promising Adventurers in the Guild, a system inside Oasis, which is also their army.

The King had even taken an interest in him, so of course she had to have met him when she was young, for example, really. He wasn’t young, but also not old; if she was correct, he should be twenty-nine at the moment, amazing, really.

To become that strong at such a young age, who else could do better?

... ’Well, Keres... but he doesn’t count.’

"I see you have grown into a very beautiful lady." He let go of her hand, getting up on his feet. "I welcome you into Oasis, all of you. I will be coming with you on this journey to the castle, so there aren’t any surprises. There are many mercenaries and bandits in these deserts, since there’s no law against it."

Iris chuckled, moving past him, and after years, entering Oasis felt... nostalgic. She remembered the first time she came to this place; she had to admit she had been pretty scared at first, since she didn’t like being away from home, but she quickly adapted to it. Also, because the temperature was very different in this place... and she wasn’t used to it.

Which was also the case this time... they were going to have to change whenever they could... she should probably have dressed better; she knew this was going to come, but she didn’t remember just how hot it was exactly.

’What a beautiful place.’ Iris heard Praise say inside her mind, a bit caught off guard, since she didn’t talk that much, only whenever she needed to, and it was weird to have a second voice inside your mind.

’It is, isn’t it? Such a bright and huge desert.’ Putting her hands on her hips, she took a deep breath, some sand flowing into her mouth, making her cough.

As she did, she also caught the attention of some camels that were carrying the carriage that they would take across the desert,

Iris tilted her head at them, watching as they followed, imitating her.

’Cute.’ She thought, smiling.

"Princess? Are you coming?" Idris called out to her, as she was the only one who hadn’t entered the carriage yet. She quickly made her way to them and got in. "Sorry, got caught up in the memories."

Getting into her seat, she sighed. But then smiled, looking back at Idris. "How’s Farah?"

The man rolled his eyes playfully. "Of course you ask of her, eh? The Princess is just fine; she was very happy to hear that you are coming. I know you two were very good friends."

And they were... very good friends. When she was inside Oasis, she was also always around. She was one year younger than her, but it felt like a lot more, as Farah was really childish, at least was. She had no idea if she had changed.

But from her reaction to her coming, she probably hasn’t.

Farah was an early awakened... well, early; she was born with her Affinity, unlike her, who got it pretty late, at least for royalty, since she still awakened earlier than anyone else.

It made her chuckle remembering how many accidents Farah’s Affinity caused; she never failed to make her laugh, so really, she couldn’t wait to see her again.

She did wonder how she was going to fit in with the other Celestials... well, really, they should try to fit in, since, just like they had no power over her, they also had no power over Farah; she was a Princess after all.

Until then... the long road through the desert awaited...

How much she wished she could just get over it faster. All she could do was watch through the window, seeing people occasionally...

Speaking of which, it looked like there was a camp near them... but there was only one person inside. ’A solo adventurer; he must really feel the freedom...’

She... did feel like she had seen him before for some reason... His red eyes and black hair; he also looked her age...

’It’s probably just my imagination.’

...

...

...

Reaching the city, Iris swung her feet in excitement as the carriage rolled in front of the castle. Opening the door, she waited patiently as Idris guided them to the throne room, where King Rashid, his beautiful wife Nadia, and, of course, Farah were sitting.

Seeing her, Farah instantly rose from her seat, running towards her. Iris’s eyes widened as she was caught off guard. The girl had grown, so she had no idea if she was going to be able to hold her, and she panicked as Farah crashed into her, bringing both of them to the ground. Her beautiful, long, black, curly hair fell onto her face.

"Oh..." Farah panicked, quickly getting off Iris as she realized what had happened. "I’m so sorry!" The girl said, her brown cheeks getting slightly red.

Iris chuckled at this scene, getting up on her feet and hugging the girl before pulling back and staring into her light brown eyes. "It’s fine, I missed you too."

But as they were reunited, the King spoke up, cutting it short. "It’s very nice to see you two still care so much for each other, and it hurts me to stop you... But this is really important, so I must interrupt you two."

Iris looked beyond Farah, at Rashid, nodding, as she patted the girl’s head and walked towards the King, kneeling in front of him.

Seeing this, the Queen quickly leaned forward, stopping her. "Oh, come on, Iris, we’ve been beyond that for a long time; there’s no need for you to kneel."

Iris chuckled, a bit embarrassed, as she rose back to her feet, a big smile on her face.

...

"Now... I know this is sudden, and has no place in this talk; it just wastes time... but before we get into the stuff about the Wonderland... we have a visitor recently."

...

Iris’ eyes widened, surprised. "A visitor?"

The King nodded... "Yes... a very important person.

The Fallen, in the flesh.

I didn’t know who he was at first... maybe because I wasn’t in the best mood... after all, when he had entered the throne room, he was already covered in blood."