GUARDIAN OF THE END

"Why are you sitting down there?" Amber asked.

Jason was startled the moment he heard her voice. He had expected Amber to not wake up for at least ten more minutes yet she had surprised him.

"How long have you been awake for?"

"More than five minutes. Tell me, why are you sitting down on the floor?"

"I was waiting for you to wake up." Jason replied before lifting himself from the floor.

He shook the dust of his clothes and looked at Amber with observant eyes. His mana vision was activated and he could see that her mana flow and blood flow had returned to normal.

"Looks like your body is almost back to normal. You might experience the occasional sharp pain." He commented.

"Physical pain isn't something that I can't handle," Amber chuckled. "How long was I out for?"

"Around two weeks. You created quite a mess using that much divine energy." Jason went ahead and launched into a narration of the events that had transpired near the lake.

Amber listened to entire story with a tired expression on her face. She shifted her body a bit and made some space for Jason to sit on the bed.

"I guess I lost control over myself. That place must be hellish right now…" she muttered in a regretful tone.

"Actually…" Jason sat down on the bed. "Grandma used her magic to heal the place before bringing you here. The area is still the same."

Amber's eyes widened in surprise before a smile appeared on her face. Jason could almost see some tension leaving her body once she had learned that the lake was still intact.

"That place is special to me. Grandma used to take me and Andrew there when we were tired of training or just wanted to distance ourselves from our family." Amber sighed. "It was the only place I could think of when I learned that grandma was dead."

"How did you even get there? From what I know, that place is pretty far away from your home."

"I don't know. I just wished that I was there and the next minute, I was standing beside the lake. It was almost as though I had used teleportation magic," Amber replied in a confused tone.

Jason on the other hand was trying to come up with something that will explain this. However, he didn't really need to do it.

[ Its one of the powers that I granted you. ] A feminine voice echoed inside the room. [Certain landmarks that you marked as important can be visited by simply thinking about them. ]

A few seconds later, Flamey appeared around Amber's neck. The magma salamander was wrapped around her neck in a cozy manner.

[ I should have known that it would be your powers. Since you have jurisdiction over the entirety of land, you can allow your vessel to travel much easily. ] Hestia commented.

[ I didn't think Amber would be able to use it that way. If I had known that, I would have made sure that she would never leave her home. Cut me some slack, Hestia! ] Flamey pouted, or at least that's what it seemed like.

[ Yeah, yeah, whatever. Also you seem to be growing quite big. Do you think its safe for you to be hanging around the neck of a girl like that? ]

[ It is completely safe since Amber is my vessel. I can control m form anyways so she won't have to face my dragon self. Can't you do the same? ] Flamey questioned.

[ I actually forgot about that… ]

Hestia suddenly appeared beside Jason in her teenage wolf form. Her body slowly started shrinking before she became the size of a wolf cub.

[ Thank you for telling me that, Hephaestus. ] Hestia thanked Flamey.

[ Don't use my that name. I hate it. Mother deliberately chose that name despite knowing that I would be a girl. ]

[ I know. She can be like that sometimes. But we are gods so it doesn't really matter what gender we are. ]

[ You mean ex-gods, right? ]

[ Yeah…]

Jason and Amber exchanged a silent glance while listening to the conversation between the two guardians.

Both of them knew that their guardians had been ex-goddesses but they had no idea that they had known each other that much.

Jason silently gestured for Amber to get up from her spot and let the two guardians chat amongst themselves.

Amber nodded and gently peeled Flamey off her neck. She placed the salamander on the bed and stretched her body.

"I am moving after a long time…" she muttered.

"We have remained still for a longer amount of time." Jason smiled. "Let's go outside."

He grabbed Amber's right hand before activating the runes. The moment they appeared inside his room, Jason dashed towards the window and jumped out of the room.

[ There's nothing present in your room. Isn't this a bit excessive? ] The system questioned.

'It just feels a bit awkward. At least I can talk in a relaxed manner when we are present outside the house.' Jason countered.

"That was quick," Amber commented in a surprised tone.

"You will be surprised to see what you can do as well. There are many changes in our body after leaving that place." Jason replied.

"I guess that's true." Amber sighed before she started walking towards a tree in the distance.

Jason followed her, occasionally activating his mana vision to check on her body conditions. After all, she had only woken up a few minutes ago.

Amber settled down in the shadows of one of the tree before staring at the semi-cloudy sky.

"Jason, have you ever wondered why we became the vessels of the apex guardians?" Amber suddenly questioned.

Jason fell silent as he tried to come up with an answer to her question. Hestia had became his guardian during his fight with Amber in the tournament.

Was it simply because Hestia had found him the most compatible at the time or was was some other force working on it?

[ You could have ended up with Hecate, who was an apex guardian as well. Unless your body is too good of a vessel, I can't simply say that all of this was a coincidence. ]

'But I know my body is the perfect vessel guardians like Hestia or Hecate could ask for. I have thunder, dark and light elements, a supreme bloodline and three divinities.'

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}

[ I guess that's true… ]

Jason remained silent for a few more seconds before finally answering Amber's question. "Personally, I don't know. Things happened very suddenly and though I have asked Hestia about this, I don't think I can give you a concrete answer."

"I see… I can't find an answer as well. Flamey told me that I was the perfect vessel for her so thats why she chose me. I am still wondering whether there is something else she isn't telling me." Amber muttered.

"Everyone has their secrets. Hestia and Flamey know more about the world than both of us combined do. They have seen many things and probably know what they should tell us and shouldn't tell us."

"I guess…"

Amber slowly slumped down on the ground and closed her eyes. Jason didn't say anything and instead shifted his gaze towards the sky.

Gentle wind was slowly moving through the area, providing them with a nice resting spot. Jason wanted to sleep as well but there was more training that he had to do.

"It would be kind of nice if things remained this way. Both of us simply lying underneath a tree without having to worry about anything else…" Amber muttered in a low tone.

Jason had almost not heard her words. However, since he did hear them, he couldn't help but agree.

"Unfortunately, this world isn't nice." He sighed. "It strives on cruelty, pain and suffering. But then, there are moments like this as well. Though they might not last long, they are enjoyable…"