The sanctuary of Belice was her inner world, it was the life she carried within herself. Although it seemed that they never left the forest of the village, it was undeniable that the environment brought a completely different feeling. It was more calm and relaxing like a long dream.
A temple embraced by beams and plants, with painted windows and burning incenses spreading the aroma of herbs, was the place chosen for Cale's rest. The demigod had changed his clothes to light white robes, exposing his legs and arms. Coming out of the hiding place that his robe was wearing made him uncomfortable.
And he hated the idea that he had become used to hiding since his exile in the World of Chaos.
"My lord."
Turning to Yvaine, he realized that she had not yet rested. The goddess approached slowly, with concern on her face.
"What? Are you afraid I'll go to jail again?"
"It is something possible to happen. Within the Dream World everything is possible, and dreams can hold the mind hostage. All care is little."
"I thought you knew what was going to happen. The stars didn't tell you anything like that?"
Yvaine reached out, and from her palm the bright spots were weak, smaller and opaque. They could hardly be seen.
"The Dream World is out of my reach. I'm no help this time. I can only pray that the Universe will have mercy on you, and cover it with Your cloak to protect it from evil."
A heat spread over Cale's shoulders, feeling the echo of those words. Yvaine's sincerity reached him to the point where she would bless him without noticing. Opening a smile on his lips, Cale caressed the goddess' head with affection.
"Thank you. I count on you to keep everyone together and rested. And that goes for you too."
A fine smile appeared on her lips, and with a bow of head, she accepted such request from her master.
So, Cale left the small room where he changed clothes, and returned to the center of the temple.
Quiet and relaxing, only the small group was there. Koa raised his tired eyes to Cale, and gestured to the altar where he was lined with a quilt covered by a thin blanket. Cale hesitated for a second, his pragmatic side questioning the theatricality, but he lay down on the altar and stared at the white ceiling. Around, silence dominated the space, without being uncomfortable. It was as if the whole world was on pause, just so he could breathe in peace.
In front of the altar, a statue of a woman sitting on a tree branch, embracing and leaning over a world, seemed to veil what was about to happen. Her closed eyes radiated a deep calm.
Was it a statue of Belice? Or was it just an unknown figure to decorate the temple? A squeeze in Cale's heart reminded him of the evil smile of the being who tortured him, and his ears remembered the echoes of his father's screams trying to save him five hundred years ago.
In the end, there he was, inside the temple of one of the gods who probably despised his existence. Clenching his fingers, he did not let himself be bitten by the desire for revenge. Not until he had Aries back.
Turning his head, Cale could see the huge dragon fallen outside, the golden silhouette and imposing even in his forced rest. He wanted to be able to lie close to Aries, feel his scales and protect him with his own hands, but the effects of his curse were too dangerous to stay outside the temple and the care of others. He sighed, turning his attention to Koa.
"Let's get started."
Koa walked silently around the altar, holding Myrrha's censer tied to a golden chain. He swung softly, spreading his smoke around Cale, enveloping him in the white mist of earthy and sweet smell. The aroma began to numb Cale's senses, softening the edges of his consciousness. He felt a gentle warmth spread through his chest, and the breath deepened, slower, more rhythmic.
The voice of Koa emerged as a distant murmur, a deep and old song.
"Go to sleep. Find the flame. You will calm the storm. You will awaken the truth."
The smoke danced, and the white ceiling above Cale began to curl, the lines dissolving in a whirlwind of soft colors. The heat in his chest intensified, a gentle but irresistible pull. He closed his eyes, feeling himself fall through veils of light and shadow. It was not the darkness of emptiness, but the softness of ethereal clouds. Cale's mind, always so sharp and cynical, surrendered to the torrent. He was light, weightless, falling into an abyss of silks and whispers.
Then the impact. Not a violent fall, but the touch of something vast and pulsating. Cale opened his eyes.
"Wow... "
The surprise that escaped from Cale's lips was seen against the immense chaotic space. The infinite sky was orange, being impossible to say if it was an dawn or a dusk. The barren field filled with withered trees and corpses was shaped by a red river that led to the giant sword stuck in the ground.
Cale took a step, wide-eyed processing so much information that saw before him.
"This is... a battlefield?" he passed by a fallen corpse, holding a spear and his face expressing fury "But are these... statues?"
Crouching, Cale touched the face of the body feeling the coldness and hardness. It was a statue, but it seemed so real that it could be scary. Rising again, he continued to walk through the vast grey desert.
"The Guardian of the Warriors will stand up, brandish his sword and guide everyone!"
Besides the whispered voice that made Cale stop and look at the huge sword. Those whispers came from it.
Passing by him, a ghostly figure walked with heavy steps dragging his sword. A tall, muscular man with open wounds and blood running down his skin. On his head a crown of thorn that squeezed his skin, making thin trail of blood. Cale's body trembled to recognize him and his arm stretched out to touch him, but unable to follow him.
Cale just watched the ghost of Aries cross the river of blood towards the giant sword stuck in the earth. And in a short time, the fallen statues rose from the ground and crawled following him.
"It looks like a general leading his army" murmured Cale, walking among the statues "But why do you look just one of many?"
His steps, although calm, quickly led him to the ghostly figure of Aries. He was not seen, not felt by that Aries, who marched alienated. It was clear in his countenance that the burning fire in his eyes only saw an incessant search for something beyond the battlefield.
"Is that the true meaning of being a Warden of Warriors? Just guide them through the battlefields without rest? Without end?"
The earth trembled, screams echoed in unison making all the dream environment become even more crimson before the war. Cale stopped walking, just watching with a sad expression on his face.
It was like seeing Aries in constant war over the title.
Turning by heels, Cale chose to roam the vast field of war. The brandishing of stone spears and swords and the sound of them breaking as the statues broke was just a background sound. Cale, the master, was looking for some clue from his subordinate.
Only that even wandering on those sands, Cale did not see an end.
When his legs began to sag, he saw the same ghost before passing him for the second time. Aries walked leaving his army behind, as if he had never stopped to battle.
"Where are you going, Aries?" he called, although he knew that ghost would not answer him.
Without choice, Cale followed him. Even if his feet sank in the sands, or get wet in the crimson river, Cale did not take his eyes from the ghost until it disappeared and everything around him faded.
The intense glow made Cale cover his eyes. An immense heat enveloped him in a gentle embrace, making the weaving marks vibrate in harmony. As the heat dissipated, Cale opened his eyes slowly.
And again the surprise involved him.
The reddish sky had given way to a bluish and nocturnal sky, with bright stars at its high point. A huge, thick tree shone on clear green leaves, with crystal-clear vines hanging from the tips of crystal flowers.
When Cale approached and touched one of the crystals, he noticed in its facets the mirroring of Aries memories.
"Well, a little dragon" he smiled from the corner, looking closely at the image of Aries in his form of baby dragon trying to climb into a gazebo of the Academy of Othea "How lovely."
All the crystals contained memories of all the centuries that Aries lived. Precious and beautiful, bright and composed a delicate inner world never seen before. Cale avoided stumbling carelessly when he walked under the huge tree.
A garden of memories. He could spy as much as he wanted, stopping his walk to see the ghost standing. He still carried his sword, the crown of thorn still clinging to his head. But now the green eyes are lost in an uncomfortable whiteness.
A ghost could get lost in that Dream World?
"What are you looking at now... ah."
A giant crystal stretched across the sky and earth, reflecting Cale's face... and something else.
When he approached, he saw himself there, entwined with Aries. The scene unfolded with an almost cruel sharpness. Their bodies united in the darkness of a distant night, every touch, every breath, recorded with unshakable precision. Intensity, desire, but above all, tenderness.
Cale has petrified.
For a moment, he felt that he should not look. It was not for him. It was something sacred. Too intimate even for those who lived it. As if spying on it now was violating something that could only be felt, not reviewed.
He passed his hand slowly over the crystal, but without touching it. The heat on his face revealed a stubborn blush, and a strange hint of shame ran through his stomach. Not by the act itself, but by the realization of how much that had been kept. How much it meant.
"That's..." he muttered, in a lower tone than usual. "Strangely satisfactory."
The tip of hia smile wasn't mocking this time. He was tired. Honest.
"It seems that even losing reason that night, you still liked. In the end only avoided me for shyness, huh Aries?"
He tried to laugh, but came out like a sigh. It was easy to play... more difficult was to face how much it hurt to know that that feeling remained stuck there, kept as a crystal — inaccessible.
The ghostly figure watched the memory in silence, white and empty eyes like those of a statue. Finally, without any apparent emotion, he turned around and marched again, crossing the crystals as if leaving something behind.
Cale hesitated for a second before following him.
"Very well..." he muttered again, this time more seriously. "Let's see how far you will take me."