150 The Artificial Seed-Myth Hath Blossomed (1/2)

When Reed entered the main bridge, every officer present in the room stood up and saluted him. More than a dozen Avunian crewmen bowed their heads and then gazed straight at Reed with their glowing eyes.

It was a customary salute that had been created several thousand years ago when the Avunians acquired their affinity for Anima. They had given Reed a salute he had not many years.

Both the Seers, Avunians who possessed the ocular mutation that allowed them to perceive the shadow of the soul, and Sirens, who possessed the extrasensory ability to detect Anima fluctuations with their long, glowing hair, reacted strongly when they noticed him enter the main bridge.

They knew the all too familiar shimmer of his soul and the distinct Anima fluctuations he created by instinct. The Nexus afforded every Avunian that piece of information, as they were all connected with one another through it. As such, it was not surprising that they all reacted the way they did when Reed walked into the bridge.

Every individual, be it Chosen or mortal, had their own distinct Anima-signature, a pattern of extremely minuscule Anima fluctuations they emitted naturally in a repetitive cycle.

For the Avunians, who had become capable of perceiving this mysterious spectrum of energy over the course of their long duration in Mulia, it was a second face to them that only they could see.

And all Avunians knew the faces of their royalty by instinct, for it was known to them subconsciously.

Reed, no longer disguised, was well-known as the Velvund in the East, especially given his status as a continental hero. His valiant efforts during the Twilight War had already become the stuff of legend in the eyes of many aspiring Chosen and mortals.

For the Avunians, it had been purely reflexive. They had not even seen his face, but already knew who he was the moment he stepped foot into the room from his Anima fluctuations.

To them, it was still shocking despite the fact that they had been informed by Velvund that the ”Lost Prince” had returned home. A thousand hushed, low-flying whispers floated across the Spirit of Bountiful Charity as the crew of the warship discussed the Stainless Prince's unexpected return.

There had also been informed that the Stainless Prince's beloved, the Lady Evergreen of the North had survived as well, which was another equally outrageous revelation on par with the return of the Lost Prince.

No one doubted Velvund's words, but they had still held a bit of skepticism over the entire announcement until... he walked into the bridge.

It was undeniable now. None could deny the startling truth of them. A genuine miracle had come true.

For everyone, this would be the first time they would lay their eyes on their missing prince since he had apparently disappeared in the chaos of the Twilight War almost three years ago.

He looked nothing like his former self, which was certainly surprising for the entire East. The Stainless Prince looked completely different from when they had last seen him. It initially confused many Avunians until they remembered that the prince was a human unlike them, a somewhat humorous lapse of their judgment.

Unlike them, who aged extremely slowly, the prince had all but grown into manhood in what seemed like a single day to them. His boyish features had already receded to make way for sharper, more refined angles around his face. The calm, composed expression on his face also helped seem older than he really was, giving him a slight aura of additional maturity befitting of a prince.

He had the visage of a proper young man now, not of a still-developing boy like in the past. What surprised most was how tall he had seemingly become since they had last seen him. The young prince was now, at the very least, over two heads taller than he had been before.

No longer could they look down upon him. In fact, a majority of the crew had to look up at him now. Many found the dramatic change in height pleasing and saw it as a sign of a strong and healthy bloodline.

When the prince stood beside the former King, many felt an odd sense of inspiration rising from their hearts for some strange reason. The sight of the young prince and the former King felt like it should have belonged in a painting. That particular memory-fragment would later become a piece of cultural history to be remembered...

It was as if they could see the former King's shadow within the young prince, if that were possible. Everyone in the East would experience the same uncanny feeling, much to the confusion of the populace.

How could such a thing be possible? No one knew, but many suspected that there was definitely a reason for that feeling, only serving to strengthen the legend of the Stainless Prince...

Lady Evergreen's reappearance was just as startling to the Avunians as the young prince's was, as many had thought her dead, too. When she entered the main bridge, all eyes turned toward her. The minds of the crewmen, especially of those who were male had turned into mush the moment they laid eyes on her.

To some, the changes that had occurred to Lady Evergreen in light of the three years that had passed seemed almost impossible to accept. Her beauty was frightening, unlike anything they had ever seen in a human, period. It was extremely unnatural. She had a form that was essentially the definition of perfection, which was not something that Avunians considered impossible for humans to possess.

Even the Avunians, who were all blessed with astounding natural beauty, by means of their race's innate connection to Nature, had only ever given birth to someone as beautiful as Lady Evergreen only a couple times in their race's history.

To put it bluntly, those few times had only arisen in the very distant past with their ancestors, the Alf. The ancient, High-Alven Queens of the yore had finally met their match in Man today, in the far future with Lady Evergreen.

For many young Avunians, both male and female, Lady Evergreen would go down as their first major crush and person of their affections, something never heard of in history -- that a human would ever garner the adoration of an entire generation of Avunians on the basis of their beauty.