Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance Chapter 290 Goodbyes And... Confession?

Chapter 290 Goodbyes And... Confession?

Around 100 kilometers away from Quake City, a massive Phoenix landed on the cracked ground.
Mira, who was on the back of this Phoenix, looked at the sad expressions of her two companions and didn't know what to say. She's never been very good at goodbyes and it seems she still isn't very good at them.
Truthfully, Mira didn't mind leaving them or being alone and if she had it her way, she would have just said "Bye" and ran off to the city up ahead.
Should fate allow it, they'll meet again in two years anyway. To Mira, this amount of time was nothing. With how busy she'll be, she has no doubt that these two years will go by in a flash.
Part of Mira wished they'd be separated for longer because that amount of time is not enough for her baby chick companions to spread their wings.
"Are you sure we can't come with you, Mira? I promise we won't get in your way!"
Maria tearfully said, but Mira shook her head.
"I have my own path and my own things that I must accomplish within these next two years. I will barely have enough time to take care of myself much less try to keep track of you two. Even just having Rhydian with me is pushing it. Luckily, Elenei will be able to babysit the lazy wolf while I'm busy. If not, I might have left her with you two instead."
Elenei's mouth twitched as it seemed her status in the group had gone down yet again. Now instead of a mount, Mira sees her as nothing more than a babysitter! How long will this last before her status is reduced again and instead of being a babysitter, Mira starts seeing her as a baby?!
'Shit! That'll actually happen when I undergo Nirvana! I'll actually be a baby that she'll have to continuously take care of until my Nirvana finishes and I effectively evolve!'
Ignoring the grumbling Phoenix, Maria was about to speak up again, but before she could open her mouth Mira continued.
"This is also something you need to do. If you follow me for the next two years, I can guarantee that you'd fall behind me in strength and cultivation. I thought you were planning to keep up with me? Didn't you want to reach the peak of the Mortal World with me? What about ascending to Immortal Realm? If you don't find your own path now, I'll only leave you in the dust. Listen, in two years, I plan on breaking through to the Core Formation Realm using my personalized Core Formation Recipe. I expect you to break through even faster considering it's probably much easier for you to break through with your recipe than it is for me. We both need completely different things to break through to the next Realm and I can guarantee you that I won't be going out of my way to help you get the things you need."
Mira finished speaking and the usually silent Celaine decided to chip in this time.
"She's right, Maria. We have to go out there and explore the world ourselves. We have to find our own paths and find our own ways to grow in strength. Sure, Mira can take us to dangerous places, teach us how to survive, and provide excellent pointers that can accelerate our growth, but she has her own path that she needs to take in order to grow. If we follow her, even if we are pretty much equal in raw power right now, not only will our cultivation start to stagnate, but so will Mira's. We simply need different environments and resources. Plus, it's not like we'll never see her again. This is only a temporary goodbye."
Everyone was surprised because Celaine rarely ever talked so much, but her words seemed to calm Maria down a bit. It took her a few minutes to reel herself in. She knew they were correct, but she didn't want to separate from Mira just yet. It felt like their journey just started and now it's coming to an end just like that?
Still, she noticed the look of impatience in Mira's eyes that told her if she didn't hurry up, then she was just going to leave. So she held back her tears, ran up to Mira, and gave her a big hug.
"I know this is the right thing to do, but I'm still going to miss you. You better not die on me, you hear? I better see you in two years at the Battle Maiden Sect Recruitment or I'll have to hunt you down myself! And don't worry about my strength! The next time you see me, I'll be so strong that you won't even be able to last 10 moves against me!"
Mira gave a faint smile and patted her head lightly.
"I'm looking forward to it."
The two stayed like that for a while and right before Mira was about to wiggle her way out of the hug, Maria leaned in and whispered something in her ears that made her mind go blank.
"...I love you, Mira. Please take care of yourself."
She then felt a light peck on her cheeks before Maria ran away, hiding her completely red face with her hands.
Mira just stood there with the same expressionless look on her face, but in reality, her mind had stopped working and she didn't know what to do or say.
Meanwhile, in the F.LD.I.L, the Guardian was raging in his room as he watched all of this unfold.
"Dammit, Maria!!! What kind of shitty confession was that?!?! Don't be a fucking pussy and take her lips, dammit!! Fuck me!! You have to make things clear for this idiot because I guarantee she's only thinking you like her as a sister or maybe a best friend!! ARGH!! And what's with you running away after your confession?!?! How is that supposed to seduce her?! FUCK!!"
Back at Mira's group, only Elenei heard what Maria said, but she decided not to comment on it. Celaine, not having any idea what Maria just said or done, opened her mouth to say goodbye to Mira.
"I look forward to our reunion, Mira. Hopefully, my skills will have exceeded your expectations by the next time we meet and we can have a proper spar."
Mira finally snapped out of her daze and replied to Celaine like normal.
"That would be much appreciated as my scythe skills have stagnated. Hopefully, all of my time spent training you won't go to waste and you'll finally become useful."
Celaine smiled wryly at what Mira just said, but she wasn't offended. She understood that this was Mira's way of saying goodbye. She nodded at Mira who nodded back before sitting down.
Their way of saying goodbye was a bit odd, but it suited them well. They both understood each other enough to know that nothing more needed to be said or done.
A melancholic silence filled the surrounding air and Mira took this chance to send them on their way.
"You know what to do, Elenei. Take them a bit further towards the edge of the Continent and drop them off at a place you feel would be good for them. Also, take Rhydian with you because I don't feel like lugging her around. Come back to me when you're done. Also, while you're at it, try and wake up that dumb wolf."
Elenei nodded and before they took off, Mira gazed at Maria.
"Try not to die. I'll see you in two years. I'll be making a stop by Lunar Fox City right before the Sect Recruitment to pick up Dominique."
Maria stopped, removed her hands from her face, looked at Mira, and smiled shyly before covering her face again.
Mira sighed but was sure she got her point across to her. With all that out of the way, Mira said nothing else, turned around, and started walking in the direction of Quake City.
Nobody said anything after that, but Mira could hear Maria silently sobbing as she walked away from Elenei.
Eventually, the Phoenix took flight, and Mira was left all alone.
She felt a bit conflicted on the inside, but she knew this was for the best. Truthfully, Mira actually planned on having them accompany her in Quake City to gather experience and to try and break through to the Core Formation Realm, but those plans all changed when she inherited the F.LD.I.L.
She knew that there would be endless troubles on her path to power and she didn't want her companions to be caught up in these troubles. At least not yet. If they grow strong enough in the future and they know what they're getting into, then Mira wouldn't mind letting them join in on the 'fun', but right now they would only be a hindrance.
Also, over the years, Mira has started to like those two as they reminded her of the friends she used to have a long time ago. She didn't want to be the reason they died when she just started to like them.
As much as she boasted that she wouldn't care if the two of them were to die, Mira knew that statement was false. At least right now. In the past, she most certainly wouldn't have cared if they died.
But things are a bit different now as Mira has started seeing them as acquaintances. Maybe she's even started seeing them as friends, but it's just been so long since her last friendship that she can't remember what it even feels like to have friends.
Anyways, she wouldn't feel good if she was the reason her potential friends died.
Then, there was what Maria whispered in her ear. Mira didn't even know where to begin with that so she just pushed it to the back of her mind and decided to think about it later.
Truthfully, over time, the word love has lost its meaning to Mira. Many times someone said those three magical words to her and many times the same person who said those words to her ended up trying to kill her or take advantage of her.
To the current Mira, the word 'Love' is associated with a feeling of betrayal. That's why she doesn't know how to process what Maria just said because to her, Maria's words just put a timer on their relationship.
Based on Mira's past experiences, it was only a matter of time before Maria tried to kill her. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before her scythe removed Maria's head from her body.
Mira didn't want to think of such a scenario, so she decided to ignore it and focus on the present; such as making her way to Quake City.
It didn't take her long before Quake City entered her sights and all she had to do was enter, join the Mercenary Association, take some jobs, get the resources she needs, and leave.
But of course, things would never be so smooth sailing for Mira and she was already stopped at the front gate of the City by two large men who were looking at her like a delectable snack.