Chapter 55: Vigil
Jörmungandr was confused.
As Anubis scrambled into camp, holding desperately to the form of a young, weak girl, he contemplated why he felt such intense emotion.
In his freedom from his sleep, he had seen and learned many things. He had seen morality and anger, the consequences of negligence, the brutality of man; he had learned the importance of giving thanks, of manners and the need to understand others.
He had felt many things as well, but despite this precious wealth of experience, he could not yet understand why Anubis—calm, almost annoyingly slippery, Anubis—would be so shattered over the young girl's position.
He had hovered over her body while she slept on a bed of animal pelts in one of the tents, and had refused to move or even speak, only grasping her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb while he soundlessly mouthed words that were indiscernible.
Nor could he understand the reactions of the others, as he could see no reason as to why they were connected to Anubis's reaction to an unknown girl.
Fenrir's expression was neutral, but tense, his younger form's arm wrapped around his distraught Priestess's shoulders while she sobbed into his shirt, trembling and aching from some unknown source of irritation. The girl's older sister—who had finally fully recovered from an injury she had acquired prior, with it taking longer due to minor infection—stood close to the girl, her expression worried and anxious in seeing her younger sister appear so... emotional.
Ime was staring blankly at the golem he had given her, her eyes occasionally wandering over to Anubis's side before flinching back, as if the sight inspired bad memories.
Laura had a grim expression, her brow tight and her mouth a thin line, as if holding back pain.
Truth stared down at ground blankly, as if seeing something in the dirt and the grass that no one could see, save for his brother Dare who stared with him, however, his expression was as grim as Laura's.
Perhaps most confusing was Asta, who floated behind him, ethereal and somber, her gaze compassionate as she gazed at the young girl, the god, and the sobbing Priestess.
"Why... are they sad?"
It was a subconscious slip of Jörmungandr's thoughts, and quiet enough to go relatively unnoticed in the stuffy atmosphere, but Asta heard him.
Her eyes shifted to him, and her ghostly presence passed by his arm, his senses prickling as he felt the brush of her fingers, and he immediately turned to look at her, his attention almost pathetically easy to gain.
Then she said something that silenced any uncertainty and confusion, leaving him in indescribable turmoil.
" What if that was me on that bed?"
And then she left, her ghostly body floating a few centimeters off the ground as she slipped away from him with her snake, Leviathan, curled around her wrist.
Dare quietly looked up to ask about his Patron's sudden movement, as he still lacked the ability to see or hear the apparition that was the famous Asta, only for his silver eyes to widen at the sight.
Silent tears dripped down Jörmungandr's face, and it was the first time since Asta's corpse was found that such despair was etched upon his face as he faced the limp body of Anubis' priestess.
He could understand the vigil now.
If Asta was not still around, if no pieces remained, then...
As he stared at the desperate grasp Anubis had over the girl's hand, he knew that he would have been much, much worse.
He would have long since fallen apart, whether he realized it or otherwise.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone