‘Look… It’s Isla Goldsmith… How beautiful.’
‘… I heard that she is already a multi-millionaire at the mere age of 14.’
‘What? How is that even possible? She’s still a kid.’
‘She’s a very cruel and cunning businessman. She had founded several successful businesses and grew them on her own. Talk about an insanely talented person.’
‘She’s destined for greatness, isn’t she? I doubt anyone can beat her.’
Such comments were something that Isla heard basically every single day. Whether it was when she went to school in her luxurious limousine or when she was attending one of the countless gatherings of the upper echelons of society.
People would always look at her. Not only because she was an insanely beautiful girl with an appearance that would take anyone’s breath away and a presence that would put her at the center of attention wherever she went but also because she was simply a cold genius.
She was good at everything and could do anything she wished to do. She created her own projects that made her very rich at a very young age without much help from her family. She proved to be the perfect heir to this massive conglomerate that was the Goldsmith family.
People knew that she was the only person capable of handling such a massive wealth. Even those who were trying to make her fall could only admit that she was truly a horrifying enemy to have.
However, none of them ever questioned how Isla reached that point. Not even a single soul looked at her and considered the hell she had been through and what she had been hiding her entire life from the masses.
After all, beneath all those layers of cold ruthless, and unforgiving logic was someone who had lost a lot and had been through a lot.
Yet, now, the most unexpected person had told her something she had never heard before.
‘Give yourself a break.’
Three words and yet their effect was very profound on her. Isla stared at Arthur’s back silently, trying to contain that idea.
‘Give myself a break? No, I can’t do that… I can’t do that.’ She thought to herself. ‘If I do. I will fall. I can’t let them know or see.’
Isla feared that if she even relaxed for a moment, those who wished for her downfall would find the opportunity to topple her down. She couldn’t afford to relax.
“I can’t…” Without realizing it, Isla muttered those words under her breath. Arthur heard it and turned around to look at her.
“You can’t?” He raised an eyebrow.
That snapped her out of her daze and she looked up with a frown. “No, it’s…”
“You do realize that if you keep killing yourself over something, it will eat you away before others can do anything?” He asked.
“…” Isla blinked.
“I can see that you hate showing a weak side and in all honesty, I don’t disagree with that. But, if you keep trying to put on a front, sooner or later it will crack in the worst way possible. So, just take a moment and have a breather. Leave some room for when tough things happen so that you can be ready for them.”
The girl pursed her lips slightly and she closed her eyes. For some reason, she couldn’t find a way to refute Arthur’s words. Perhaps because deep down she realized those words made her feel different.
This boy had looked at her in a different manner than everyone else and that made her inexplicably delighted. Someone had understood her and what she was feeling. Isla wished to have a moment where she could truly relax and breathe.
She wanted to stop thinking about what she had to do the next day and what step she had to take in her plan next. Even someone as smart as she was would quickly start losing their mind as they constantly stay on the edge, ready for any possibility.
Without realizing it, Isla’s tense body relaxed a little and her clenched fists opened. The only thing she could think of at that moment was the words Arthur had told her.
“Anyway, I think we should start moving now. We don’t have the time to idle around.” Crouching down, Arthur traced the grass beneath him. “I think we should try and move in that direction.” He then pointed up. “If we can somehow outpace the fog, we could find our way out.”
“…”
“Isla?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. Ehem, we can do that.” Isla shook her head quickly and focused on the situation again. ‘I can’t think about such stuff now. I will leave it for later.’
As much as she was now filled with many thoughts, she knew that they didn’t have time to waste.
“Good. Can you run?”
The girl nodded her head and drank a few potions to regain her lost health and stamina. “I can.”
With that, the duo dashed away, disappearing into the fog. Using all their agility points, they cut through the thick forest.
Around them, the fog started manifesting into clouds as they launched at them from all angles. Without saying anything to each other, Arthur and Isla immediately went into work.
Using Frost Flame, Arthur slid down, destroying several clouds in one swipe then jumped on his legs, dodging the last one before blasting it down.
Meanwhile, Isla used gravity, smashing the clouds into the ground, and turning them into puddles of water. With each swing of her arm, the clouds would stop moving and fall down.
Using their immense power, the two cut their way through the clouds with ease. Their cooperation was top-notch after working together for days. They understood what the other was doing and acted accordingly.
They swapped positions, using their unpredictability to take down all the enemies around them. Their swift movement almost looked like a dance. A very graceful and beautiful dance. Not even the fog nor the ripples of energy could stop them.
“Keep going, the fog is getting thicker,” Arthur said as he looked at his partner. “I feel something changing.”
Sliding to the side, Isla blasted another cloud as she replied. “We need to move faster.”
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The two knew that they were quickly cracking the fog’s illusion using their speed. Since the fog can’t keep up with them, it could only try to take them down. However, it realized quickly that it was dealing with two monsters that could not be stopped.
‘Faster. We’re breaking through.’ Feeling the air on his face, and the entire forest starting to shake again, far more violently than ever before, Arthur quickened his steps.
Everything turned into a blur. It felt like the two of them were swimming from the deepest parts of the ocean toward the surface and that surface was now but a small distance away from them.
Arthur’s hand stretched forward, seeking to find the way out. ‘Close… So close…’ He mused as he grasped the air around him.
The fog became a white cloud that wrapped around his body, almost like a comforting bed rather than a lethal enemy.
All for one single moment.
*Swish*
The moment when he breaks that surface.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3