~~Celeste's house

My lady? a soft voice spoke within Celeste's head.

Ragnarok?

Finally, the voice said releasing a tired sigh. I have been trying to talk to you for a long time now.

"You know that it has to be difficult. You are in another dimension after all," the blond responded as she sat down on a couch.

Yes, I am aware, but our bond is stronger than that. Distance cannot come between us, it cannot be a barrier. Only death can suceed. But we cannot die. So our bond is eternal.

"I formed you that way." But still, she could only hear the masculine voice; there was no physical appearance of Ragnarok. Well, he was still locked up in the deities dimension. The distance could not allow him to manifest physically. "Has it started already?"

Yes, I can feel your other half leaving me, he paused for a moment, are you certain that the fragments of your soul will not scatter around this dimension?

"Affirmative," the blond answered. What she had told Isabel was only half truth. She had indeed created Ragnarok from half of her soul. But over the years, her other half gave birth to a spirit which became her weapon. Her other half then merged with it and become one. This made it impossible for her to retrieve her other half. But even so, Celeste still called him Ragnarok. When she released her full power, her soul would return to her, temporarily. She could not keep it from leaving her body as it was now attached to Ragnarok.

Before she was sealed, she had attempted to get her other half back, but she never found a way. That is why she could never reach her full potential. Added to the fact that a small part of her soul is already missing. This had no consequences to her health. Nonetheless, it restricted her from crossing a certain barrier. But she had found a way to restore everything. That's why she's here.

'How long do you think it will take for your other half to separate from me?'

"I do not know, but be patient. I have already activated that portal. Once my other half completely separates from you, it will search for me. The portal will keep calling for it. Once it finds the way, it will return to me. Then, I will come to get you."

'Fine,' the voice said before becoming silent.

Celeste was not worried though. Ragnarok was patient. She knew that he could wait for some time until she's fully prepared. This meant that he was lonely in the other side of the world. But for her plans to become fruitful, it had to be like this. Ragnarok knew her better than anyone. He was a part of her after all, and only she could speak to him, and wield him.

It was not on her plans to take the Commander's crest again, but she knew that Alaric was not going to take no for an answer. The old man would have surely fought her until she had no breath in her body and she was not going to have that. It would not have been good for her health if they continued fighting. She had to lose her evolution gradually. If it were to disappear at once, her body would not be able to handle it. This would be a hazard for her. At this stage, unnecessary risks had to be removed. The situation was delicate and needed to be handled with care.

Things were progressing well for her though. No matter what she's doing, she will always have time to further her plans. She just had to make sure that nothing else slowed her down. It would only give Alaric the illusion that he was in charge of everything. Ragnarok would bother her much if anything slowed down his retrieval. The man could be noisy sometimes. But it was nothing she could not handle.

"You are back already." Callus said as he walked towards the blond. He took a seat close to her and stared straight at her eyes.

"What is it?"

"Yesterday, you had been expecting me to return, but never explained." He was curious as to how she would know that he would return to her. She had not said anything more to him.

"You, Callus, is the only soul who kept me from doing anything dangerous– per those things belief. But that is not the truth. And they were just being generous because of the plans they had for me." Celeste remained calm. Certainly, since the deities planned for her to die, she had decided to give them a dying wish. This man had been the only person she ever loved. Those deities was aware of it. Callus would also keep her busy: push her away from any form of evil thoughts– again as per those deities beliefs.

It was true that he was the only man she had ever loved, but he had no control over her. Sometimes, he could be forceful in a scary way, but when situations were serious, she always emerged on top. He was her man and did not have a final word in her actions. She had never once asked for his opinion when she wanted to do certain things. She had never urgued with him when he wanted to leave her for the new job he was offered. She wanted him to be happy and make his own choices, but now, she would not allow him to leave again.

"Generous?"

"You see, Callus, as it is now, I am dying." Celeste revealed earning a wide eyed look from Callus.

He stared at her for some time seemingly frozen. A life without Celeste? He could not imagine it. The last two millenia had not been easy for him without her, but that was soothed by the fact that she had been alive. She was only sealed, and he could always speak to her. He had always known that someday, she would be released. The thought kept his sane and able to continue with his life.

But the idea of her dying? It never crossed his mind and never thought it would be possible. He had always thought she would live for eternity. Perhaps she was just joking? No, Celeste would never joke about something like that. By the look on her face, it was indeed true.

"You are dying? But how? Why?" He seemed to have gotten over his shocked stuptor. His eyes still bore straight into Celeste as he questioned. He wanted to know and understand the situation. Last time, they had been told they were going to seal her, not kill her. One might not be able to see the difference in having her sealed and killed. But he could. With her being sealed, he knew that she could always be released and walk amongst them or she could escape since nothing ever seemed to tie her down. Death was another story. If she died, she could not return back to life and he would be responsible for that.

"That is another story for another time." Celeste suddenly stood. She was not going to explain it to him. It is best to keep him in the dark for the time being. She could not have him following her everywhere to ensure that she was fine. "Have no fears. Only those fools believes that I will die, but they should know better."

Callus nodded and released a sigh of relief. "I thought I had lost you there for a second." He was very relieved. Although he got the feeling that Celeste is hiding something, he contented himself that she's still with him. He was not worried about being given false hope. Celeste would never do that to him. If she was dying, she would tell him the truth and there was nothing he could do about it. That was how they handled their relationship. But he was also aware that she does not tell him everything.

"What did Alaric want with you?"

"He was offering me that Commander's crest by force. I refused and we clashed swords a few times before I chose to agree." Celeste frowned slightly. She forgot the damn thing. She would have to return to Alaric to take it. It was still amusing that she, who stood above all beings was going to be wearing something she deserted ages ago. Being a Commander is below the goddess of this dimension. But for the time being, she would have to comply. Still, she had never thought she would wear that thing again.

For greater glory ahead, she would have to endure.

"So you are taking your old division again?" Callus asked as he crawled towards Celeste and rested his head on her chest. He could feel her cold body giving him no comfort. Every time he hugged her like this, she always released a warmth that was only reserved for him. But it was not there anymore. Still, he refused to dwell on it. As long as she's here. "Things should be interesting from now on."

"Certainly." Celeste just nodded.

"You know, when you walked out on me, I thought you were mad at me. I thought you no longer wished for me to be by your side."

"Callus Gilmour!"

That was not good! Callus thought. Whenever Celeste called by him by his full name, she was going to tell him how much of a disappointment he was.

"How can you say something like that? You thought I no longer wanted you by my side? You are the one who left me so you could babysit those sleep obsessed fools. You left on your own and I made no complaints. Even if I no longer wanted you by my side, you have no rights to complain."

The cold and hollow feeling he felt from her body was transferred into her voice. Yes, things have changed. She never used a tone like that to him. Even when he had done something unpleasant, she always talked to him with love and care. She never gave off a hollow feeling towards him. Perhaps other people, but not him. "I get that I was wrong to leave you, but I wanted the job. You were also offered the same position, I thought you would take it too."

"Me? Body guarding those things? Never. You should have known better. No one forced you to take that post even when I was not going. You did it on your own will." Celeste had a stern tone. The conversation is starting to get on her nerves.

"I know and I will always regret leaving you in the first place. But once I took the job, there was no turning back. I had sworn with my life that I would protect the deities until my body could no longer allow me to." His determination can be heard as he spoke. Despite his feelings, he won't take his words back after he had sworn to protect the Royal Family.

"For the only man who was rumored to be the only one I cared for, you don't act like one. Perhaps I was too kind to you?" Celeste narrowed her eyes on Callus.

"Too kind?" He felt a shiver run down his spine. He feared what she would do if she was no longer going to be too kind to him. He had seen how she treated other people. He did not want to fall victim to that.

"Yes. Had it not been it, then I would have killed you for betraying me."

Callus remained silent. He knew that she's telling the truth. This is a conversation he was not going to win. He had a fair victory sometimes, but when it came to things like this, Celeste always won. Perhaps it was because he sometimes strayed away from her. But she was always there for him. Now though, things were really different. Celeste was not the same as she was back then, perhaps towards him.

"I am sor..."

"Callus, if you ever do something like that again, I will destroy you. I love and care for you, but should you decide to betray me again, I will not hesitate you kill you.

"Really?" he dared. She had never been able to lay a finger on him even when he left her to join the deities. All the time he had known her, she has never spoken anything good about the deities. Her dislike of them was somewhat legendary. She never hid that fact to anyone, not even the Council.

At the beginning of their relationship, he was not used to Celeste's cold ways. During those days, he was still a young and playful man. He was not not used to an emotionless person walking next to him. She offered him little comfort. He knew she loved him that is why she even bothered to spare him some care, but it was not enough. He ended up leaving her without saying a word. Once she found him was flirting with a another woman. Celeste never freaked or seemed angry. A day later, he found out that she murdered the woman.

When he went back home, she told him she would kill him if she ever did something like that again. It was the first time that she threatened him. He's the man, but she was far more powerful than him. He felt as though he was the woman in their relationship. Whenever she was furious with him, she would leave him alone for a few days. She made it clear that he was hers and would not share him with anyone. Anyone who attempted to drink where he drank would be killed. That was the law.

After that incident, she showed him more love than previously. She held him with warm hands. She cared for him more than she had been. That was the turning point of their relationship. From there, she was never cold towards him. She was always being kind and loving. Perhaps it was because she was afraid that he would leave her. If he had done that, someone would have surely been killed brutally.

"It would surely hurt to kill you, but I can erase the pain from my heart." Celeste remained indifferent as she said these making Callus a bit nervous.

"People don't turn emotions on and off like that." Shaking his head, Callus tried to hid the burning sensation that's beginning to build in his eyes. He refused to believe what he just heard, but then again, this was Celeste. Maybe she could really do it. "You have also not been fair to me."

Raising his brows, Celeste gave him an amusing look. "Explain."

"You trust Isabel more than you trust me, my love." That was the truth. He would be surprised if she even denied that.

"What makes you say that?" Celeste looked at him with a blank face. She was not worried by his question, not even the slightest. She had made it obvious that she trusted Isabel more than she trusted him.

"She knows more about you than I do and I know that you share some personal things with her." It did not pleased him at all. He was her lover. She was supposed to share things with him, not Isabel. It's not a secret that the two had been friends long before she met him, but he was her man.

"What more do you want, Callus Gilmour? You have my love and I trust you. Perhaps not in the same level as Isabel, but you have what is most important. If you are not satisfied with that, show me that I can depend on you." Celeste said sternly before vanishing in thin air.