There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 443 - 436. Cerulean Sea

It was like an instinct, like a child crying out inside of him. At that moment, when the spread of cerulean canvas filled his vision; nothing else mattered.

Not the portal controller looking surprised at him dashing out. Not the other users blinking in wonder. None. Nothing. Not even Bassena.

All he cared about was getting as close as he could to that spread of blue. Unfortunately, the portal was located in an observatory over the cliff, so he could only go as far as the portal’s platform railing, feeling breathless when all he wanted to do was absorb as many scents as he could.

And then he felt a warm hand on his back, caressing him as if to ease his lungs so he could breathe again. And so he did breathe again, inhaling the air, the scent, the colors, the noise--

One by one, his senses were working again, and he basked in the sensation of something that used to be nothing more but a fantasy for him.

Zein was crying when he looked at his first clean lake in the Deathzone. But strangely enough, he didn’t want to cry now, even if his whole being was vibrating in unexplainable exhilaration.

The reason was simple; he didn’t want his vision to be blurred by tears.

He wanted to look at everything clearly with his own eyes, and feel everything with his remaining senses; locking them in his memory as best as he could. Because no matter how much he looked at portraits, they did not carry the slightly sticky wind, the warm sun, and the unique smell he couldn’t describe with his limited fancy vocabulary.

But it was alright. He didn’t need a fancy description. After all, he was already seeing and hearing and smelling and feeling everything by himself.

"It’s wonderful, isn’t it?" Bassena smiled, holding the guide’s waist the same way he did when they were on the yacht back in Rexon.

At that time too, Zein’s sight had never left the water--even if the lake was artificial.

But this was hundreds, perhaps thousands of times bigger than that lake, and it was very much real, so Zein had no idea what kind of adjective would be fit to describe what he thought and felt about the endless spread of water in front of him. In the end, he just nodded.

"Would you like to go down now?" Bassena offered.

Immediately, Zein parted his lips to answer, but he stopped. Bassena waited patiently, and in the end, Zein shook his head.

"No," he said. "Let’s go to that reservation of yours."

"We don’t have to--"

"No," again, Zein shook his head. "We’re about to get hungry, so it’s better to fill our stomachs first," the blue eyes shifted toward the cerulean sea. "Later...I want to enjoy it to the fullest. I don’t want to be disturbed by feeling hungry or thirsty in the middle of it."

Bassena blinked slowly, carefully preserving the expression Zein had right now; one of impatience, but also a great self-restraint and determination. It was almost like a student holding back from having fun until the exam time was over.

This unexpected child-like disposition only came out once in a blue moon--such as the first time Zein tasted fruit or chocolate--and Bassena had this bubbling desire to immortalize it.

And yet, he was afraid it would disturb this lovely mood, so he did nothing but capture it with his eyes, and framed it in the gallery of his mind.

"Well, in that case," he bent his waist and offered his hand like a gentleman of old times. "I shall make sure the reservation is satisfactory."

Zein raised his brow at the esper’s antics. But they were on vacation, and he felt light and happy, so he took the outstretched hand with a beautiful smile on his lips.

"Lead the way, then."

* * *

When it came to Zein, Bassena always meant everything he said. So when he said he would make sure Zein was satisfied, he delivered beyond what a normal person would.

Baseena did not joke around when he said there was a seafood feast waiting for them, because it was, indeed, a whole feast.

A big table, enough for a big family on a big holiday to sit around, was reserved just for them. On top of it, was everything Cerulean Sea could provide; all were of the highest quality and as fresh as possible. Just listening to the staff naming every kind of crustacean, every fillet of fish, and what kind of cuisine they would taste best in, completed with the right wine to pair them with, took almost half an hour.

It was a personal seafood buffet just for them. Or rather--just for Zein.

With every explanation, a chef would come to process it--grilling, frying, steaming, or slicing it raw--all to Zein’s preferences. They would turn it into a gourmet meal by command, and bring it to the table overlooking the sea.

The restaurant, just like the portal, was located in the same big observatory on the cliff that enabled the visitors to feast their eyes upon the vast sky and sea. If they were to use their binoculars or the telescope at the observatory decks, they would be able to see an Island.

"That’s the Tower of Varna?" Zein asked while savoring his new favorite thing; sweet shrimp.

"Yep," Bassena nodded without looking, busy putting more food on Zein’s plate. "Espers with water-related ability usually go over there, because the inherent skills and artifacts coming out usually have something to do with it."

"Hmm..." Zein closed his eyes for a bit--both to savor the flavor on his tongue and to recall something. "I don’t think there’s any shard falling to the sea in the East, but..."

"But that means we will need to build a fleet to defend the border at the sea," Bassena smiled and raised a king crab’s leg in front of Zein’s face. "But why are we talking about work again?"

Zein chuckled and chomped on the exposed crab’s meat. "It just comes naturally," he shrugged. What did Han Shin say about it again...occupational hazard or something?

"Well, if you’re curious, we can go there when we’re on a cruise later," Bassena looked out to the sea. "The ship would circle the island once, and there will be an hour’s time for the guests to come down and look around."

"Will an hour be enough to reach the tower?"

"Certainly not," Bassena smirked. "But tourists are only there to say they reached the Island of Varna. Those who want to go to the Tower will have to alight and continue on their own."

"Hmm..."

Zein had never gone to any other tower besides the Tower of Ophiucus, so it sounded rather fascinating. Seemed like different towers had different characteristics. Pictures did tell him that each tower had different shapes, but it seemed that aside from the floor system, everything else was different and unique to each.

But then again, even Temples that only took care of guides had different buildings, management, and policies, so it was natural for Towers with even more varied patron deities to have different characteristics.

It made him wonder though...

If he was able to unite all of the scattered shards fragment of Setnath in the Deathzone, what shape would it take?

Would it invite another deity to become a full-fledged Tower or Temple? Or would it become an ownerless beacon?

CLAP!

Zein’s ponder was abruptly shattered by the sound of Bassena’s clapping hand. "Come on, Zein. Cooperate with me."

Zein laughed and continued with his feast then, getting rid of all necessary and unnecessary thoughts. There would be time for that, but not now. Not here.

Now is the time for him to feast. He ate as much as he could, trying as much variety as he could stomach. Radia did not lie; the taste was indeed different at the source. The chefs who prepared the dish were those who had honed their skills just to prepare seafood, so the taste became even more exquisite. He had thought that the only thing he would enjoy by the sea was...well, the sea itself. But turned out that eating sea delicacy was good enough to stave his mind off the sea temporarily.

But that meant the moment he started to get full, his mind immediately wandered off to the sparkling blue, which had now become violet and orange as the sun lowered itself more and more.

Looking at the fidgeting guide, Bassena asked teasingly. "Want to have some dessert?"

"No."

The answer came out rather curtly, and Bassena couldn’t help but laugh. He did not bother with the proper exit now, just grabbing the guide’s arm and pulling Zein by the waist as if they were about to dance. In the moment it took Zein to blink, they were surrounded by pitch-black darkness, and suddenly, Zein felt his feet sink.

He stared at Bassena, who now had the blue sky behind him. And then he looked down, at the soft soil--no, and--that gave him a weirdly pleasurable sensation. And then, Bassena grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

Ah...the sea.

It was on his feet.

It was in his heart.