The path to Ophelia's house felt like it grew longer with each pained step.
Walking along the bare, dirt path, felt no different to his unwinnable fight against Rael over a century ago.
Yet, even still, Cassiel would manage to stop just before Ophelia's door, wavering before it filled with guilt.
.....
Releasing a deep sigh, Cassiel finally brings himself to knock on the door.
Waiting a couple moments, he'd knock again after getting no response.
It went on a couple more times, before Cassiel grew frustrated, not with Ophelia, but with himself.
"Forgive me." He mumbles, moments before forcing the door open.
The house was empty, not even a faint wisp of mana floated around.
However, that is only what was believed by everyone who had came in before him.
Walking around a corner, Cassiel stops before a rug placed just before Jenk's old bed, before stripping it away, revealing a hidden cellar.
"This wretched cellar... Jenk beat me almost black and blue every day calling it training... surely it wasn't any different for Albus." Cassiel mumbles, reminiscing with a smile.
Opening the cellar, Cassiel slowly retreats inside, taking careful steps to not spook Ophelia of whatever she may be doing.
.....
Reaching the bottom, surges of mana spring out wildly towards the cellar entrance Cassiel had just descended from.
Despite the mana being strong enough to almost overpower his own, Cassiel could feel familiarity in it.
Stepping into the cold, barren room, Cassiel turns to his left to see Ophelia meditating in the midst of the large cellar.
Not wanting to disturb her, Cassiel leans up against the corner of the wall hugging the entrance, preparing himself to watch for hours if needed.
This, however, would only backfire.
.....
Days would pass to no avail as Ophelia continued to meditate.
The mana surges had begun ringing through Cassiel's head, enough to make him leave the cellar for hours at a time to recuperate himself.
Finally, however, a loud thud would rush echoing out the cellar entrance, alerting Cassiel as he sat above lounging around.
Bolting down the cellar, Cassiel would stop just at the corner, peeking around it to see Ophelia standing, examining her hands as a small crack was spread across the wall nearest to her.
Whether it had been in rage, or in anguish, Ophelia began breaking down.
"Damnit... DAMNIT! Why can't I-"
Suddenly, however, she stopped, before spinning around to stare at Cassiel.
"C-Cassiel?" Ophelia choked, staring at the last man to have been near her love.
Filled with guilt, Cassiel was too nervous to say anything, which only brought him to look down in shame.
However, in a surprise, Ophelia darted forward fast enough to catch Cassiel off guard.
Latching her arms around him, she embraced Cassiel for a hug, tears welling in her eyes.
Standing there awkwardly, Cassiel didn't know how to respond.
"Cassiel..." Ophelia wept.
"It wasn't your fault."
Instantly, a wave of relief washed over Cassiel, bringing a couple tears to his eyes.
"Thank you." He'd mumble, before sharing the hug with Ophelia.
.....
An hour would pass as the two moved out of the cellar to talk.
The exchanged words between each other saved the both of them from a lot of guilt, relieving Cassiel of a burden he held close, whilst giving Ophelia the closure she sought.
Finally, however, Cassiel would get around to asking her what she had done over the last two years.
Despite a bit of hesitation, Ophelia gave in knowing she could trust him.
"I... have trained nonstop, Cassiel, for the last two years, without a single break. I've completely devoted myself to the bow, not for myself, but for revenge. I want to be the one to split Rael's head with an arrow... it's the only way I can get back at Falvi for what he has done."
"I see..." Cassiel responds with a sorrow filled voice.
He had only two options; to tell Ophelia it wasn't Falvi who directly killed Albus, or to hide the truth, taunting the fact that her revenge-filled training would've been for nothing.
Cassiel couldn't bring himself to do the latter.
"Barakiel is the name of the man who killed Albus, Ophelia." Cassiel broke, staring at the ground.
Silence would fill the room for a couple of minutes.
"Then I'll pray he has family left on Seraphim." Ophelia would say coldly, her voice filled with anger, surprising Cassiel.
A faint smile spread across Cassiel's face after learning it hadn't broken her spirit.
"That reminds me, Ophelia, what was it that had you so angered down there?" Cassiel questions, worried yet curious
"Well, over the last couple of weeks, I've come to a stand still in my mana circulation, I can't seem to find out the next step to expand my veins." Ophelia states meekly, embarrassed.
"There is a way to solve that, you know."
.....
Outside the back of the house, Cassiel stood in the field just fifteen meters away from Ophelia.
"Come at me with all you've got, don't hold anything back!" Cassiel orders as his sword forms in his hand.
Smirking, Ophelia pulls her the string of her bow as far back as she can, before launching a bright arrow into the sky.
Exploding over fifty meters in the sky, a cloud of light forms within seconds, raining arrows down towards Cassiel by the dozen.
Taken by surprise, Cassiel rushes out his shield magic, pushing it up into the sky to block the arrow rain.
As Cassiel was focused on her arrow cloud, Ophelia took the chance to fire three arrows towards him in quick succession, catching Cassiel off guard as he's only able to dodge two of them, allowing one to graze his cheek, drawing blood.
Smirking, Cassiel launches three orbs towards Ophelia, all of them in different directions.
Shooting the top and left sphere, Ophelia ducks under the last one, only to be caught by surprise as it turns around, slamming into her side, exploding against her.
Grunting, Ophelia is given no time to act as Cassiel appears in front of her, cleaving his sword straight down at her with all his might.
Dashing to the side, Ophelia shoots out a barrage of tiny arrows towards Cassiel, each just about an inch long, forming what looked to be a beam of light all together.
Forming a shield around himself, Cassiel is pushed back by a couple of meters before the beam disappears all together.
As his shield dissipates, Cassiel charges forward to where Ophelia was prior, before realizing she was gone.
Leaping backwards out of instinct, Cassiel just barely manages to dodge Ophelia's attack as an explosion of light forms a crater in the ground where he had just been.
Sliding on the ground, Cassiel changes his stance.
"We'll get nowhere like this, Ophelia. Figure out what it is that's stopping you, or you'll never have that revenge you seek." Cassiel growls, growing impatient after noticing the issue.
Sword in hand, Cassiel drives it through his heart, before pulling it out with a flame, undergoing his Formless Seppuku.
Disappearing from sight, Cassiel slams Ophelia into the ground from above.
"Think, Ophelia. It should be obvious, even to you." Cassiel continues, hammering into Ophelia with his words.
Holding her on the ground, Cassiel picks her up by her overcoat, before tossing her to the side by over ten meters.
Dashing towards her again, Cassiel leaps into the air with his sword over his head.
Moments before reaching her, however, Ophelia would become engulfed in a sphere of light, before it pulses off from her, launching Cassiel back.
Then after, three arrows are launched towards him.
With a quick swipe, Cassiel aimed to cut through all three of them, only to cut through two as the last arrow swerved his attack, puncturing into his thigh.
"There you go, Ophelia. You've collected yourself now, haven't you?" Cassiel cheers proudly, gazing softly at her.
Panting, Ophelia gives him a thumbs up as her bow fragments away.
"Thank you, my king." Ophelia jokes, heading back inside just behind Cassiel.