Gellio finally reached the banks, rough and unkempt, being the last reaches of the impact of the Hellstone bomb. Yet Gellio only focused on the lake, as if it called out to him in a silent prayer. It was strange yet he couldn’t take his eyes off its beautiful surface.
Gellio mindlessly took out a bit of blue fire out of himself, and put it up to his black hand. And again, without thinking about it, he put it up to the surface of the beautiful lake. Surprisingly, Gellio could still see the blue flame underneath the surface.
“Strange...so then I could enter that place? This lake...I feel the need to go in. To...see what’s underneath it.”
And slowly Gellio dipped his feet underneath, feeling it to be right. He walked into the water, feeling every drop in his body, carrying the spare tent on his back. Every step made him go a bit deeper, yet the lake’s beauty made him want to go further and further. It was a surreal feeling, just sumerging himself and then walking beneath the lake going deeper and deeper into the bottom. And Gellio didn’t feel the need to breathe or to do anything.
“Guess this hellstone dust I’m made of does not need me to breathe..I guess I’ll just keep going...and going..and…” Gellio stopped talking as he kept glancing at his path downward.
Gellio just walked and walked until he could reach the bottom. And the lake beneath the surface was a lot more beautiful than up top. Gellio just saw the streaks of light disappear into a gradient that melted to the natural color of the Lake.
During Gellio’s walk he saw that the lake was full of life. It was of a bright color, and all kinds of aquatic animals waltzed around him in all different kinds of motions, making him gasp and wonder at everything. He didn't even notice himself or the tent at his back. Gellio just stared at the marvelous lake that was beneath the surface.
Eventually, because of this, Gellio didn’t even feel himself reach the bottom. Yet when he did, and gazed up once again, he could see the most marvelous sight he had seen for a long time. All the life moving and feeding around him made him feel relaxed, the memories of his hate and frustration now nothing more than blurry images in his mind.
“It’s…beautiful…is this my…reward? Is this what I get…for surviving the Wasteland? Because…I can’t stop looking at it.”
He remembered the dead in him. He knew that they were peacefully inside the Hellstone body, and the lake just made him truly remember that.
The fish, the plants, and all surrounded and connected by the bright warm fresh water. He could not feel anything but happy and curious here. Just like if he was still that happy-go-lucky kid. Just like how he was before the Hellstone made him what he was.
After staring at it for countless hours, so much so that they flew by, Gellio once again decided to keep crossing the lake, slowly so he could still keep appreciating it. It was a mindless slow walk, yet he didn’t care. He could not get his eyes off this.
“Guess the world isn’t…only the Wasteland. Beauty and happiness can still exist…even in small and rare quantities…my…change has made it difficult to see but being here…I can finally appreciate the true beauty of the world.”
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