O Thou of Little Faith (Helle/Alastair)

“Then carry thyself with the edge of a worn blade, a man that none may falter. It does one no good to walk with the air of incompetence. I was not befit for this role at first, but it was one I took with pride.”

That is but a portion of the advice she has for him. The rest shall come at his convenience, whether he asks or requires it. For now, it proves best to strengthen his resolve to continue forward. The push he needs is minimum, but a push, nonetheless, never proves unnecessary. Her head had risen as she spoke, leaving her eyes gazing out towards the ocean once more. She could not see his face, but his eyes radiated a passion that seemed to light the Reishi about them alight. He may not notice the reddening of the world, but her special bond with the world allowed her to make note of a many things.

“Very well. Let us be on our way. You do know how to swim, yes?”

She did not waste time stepping out towards the ocean, her feet stepping onto the air before her. The cliff proved a steady drop downward, but she did not fall. Instead, the air beneath hardened as Reishi gathered at her feet. Each step, secured by her ability to rend matter at a whim, took her down towards the rolling waves beneath them. Surely, Alastair would follow, for the platforms she had created did not disperse when she left them. Instead, they waited for them, leading down to her position right over the darkened waters. Her head turned up towards him, a pleasant smile on her face as if urging him down to her.

“I wish for you to witness something marvelous.”

“Our world is but a bubble, Alastair.”

As he reached her, the words she spoke barely reached him as the waters softly whined around them. Yet, he did not need to understand those words as they are. Slowly, as they stood next to one another, he would sense the collection of Reishi gathering. She would sigh before an orb began to materialize, forming a dome that distorted the world as one looked out of it. With a bit of fine tuning, soon, neither of them could even see its surface, its lining as smooth as glass, palpable and perfect. Her eyes shined with energy, her efforts at creating such a thing seemingly barely an afterthought.

“You have seen The City of Lights, America, and maybe even parts of the world I have yet to see, but, to truly understand why we exist; why the Vandenreich exist, we must delve deeper into the heart of our home.”

Slowly, the bubble around them began to sink, its surface shimmering as the currents around them began to bat at it in an attempt to fill the space they created. Yet, it held fast as they submerged and sank into the depths of the ocean. Alastair would witness a new world, one of darkness and invisible to mere human sight alone. However, quickly, like a light switch being flipped, he could see it all: the world beneath the sea’s surface. Fish swam all around, different species, shapes, and colors. He could see the coral below, the sand that swayed beneath, the way the city’s shore; crystalline and dulled by the lack of light, was home to a healthy ecosystem. Then, one would notice how it stretched on and on, things that one couldn’t even make out in the distance and below them. One could compare it to the sky in how seemingly infinite it all felt.

“There is more to life than simply protecting it, Alastair. Do you really understand what you are fighting for? Do you appreciate why you exist in this world? Tell me, are our lives more important than those that were lost that we still breathe?”

Her expression grew solemn as she allowed for a fish to penetrate their bubble, its body falling to the bottom unceremoniously. It sat there, slowly dying, flopping for a way to return back into the sea. Helle seemed unconcerned by its struggles, her eyes suddenly directly on Alastair as the power in her eyes spoke volumes of the weight she bears on her shoulders, of the lives around her that would die for her, of the ones that have died for her.

“Touch the fish, and you will sink.”

“Shall we bury the bodies of those yesterday and today for those tomorrow to climb over? You reach for the stars, yet, what do you believe is needed to touch them? Are the innocent so innocent? Is their ignorance to our pain and suffering all but willful? You watched comrades die, whether they wished for it or not. You hesitate wondering if you are worth saving, but what if you are as lowly as this fish to me. If I am revered and seen as a God, why should my life be risked for thee? Is every innocent person worth saving, Alastair? Is every life capable of being saved?”

Her gaze only hardened as she watched him stop and ask her such a silly thing. That hesitation should be his death, but he has yet to commit himself. He is at a crossroads, whether he is trying to preserve himself or pick her words apart. Such moments are not always available, and one must make their decision. Will he continue to pester her and allow the fish’s life to be extinguished, or will he be a hero that values the life of the future over his own? She will not budge to his silly notions if he does not have the resolve to carry them through.

As if he shall have the time to ponder if someone will come for him when millions ride on his immediate action. He must be one who knows his next action at all times, no matter what may come his way. If Jefferson haunts him, stills his actions, she shall show him a world that he must either steel himself for or become like paper and crumple before.