☀️ Arselia and Akonia

In "Grace," Beata and Guyon see familiar and unfamiliar faces. 
 
They watch as guards, led by a priest, confiscate some books, among which covers such as "Risha," "Miss Cosmos," "Teuta," and "Gnosis" catch the eye.

- We won't provoke the guards, Guyosh. It won't end well.
Beata takes her beloved by the hand, and they leave the store.
- What's with this witch hunt? - he asked quietly, once they were outside, out of earshot.
- You're asking me? I have no idea. Except... I overheard on the street that Eugene held a prayer service this morning... The very one we slept through. Maybe that's why I can no longer sense Rinze.
- Are you saying that because of it, the celestial beings are now forbidden? That's strange, he seemed interested in them.
- I think he still is, but he's a zealous follower of Anuzish, and his mind is safe. But... after what happened in Thaise, they probably started to crack down on the followers of celestial beings and decided to suppress the cults. Someone might like that! Have you heard of Teuta, for example?
- The pirate who flies between the stars?
- Yeah, her. At one point, I wanted to embrace her faith. And I would have, I was desperate back then. But then I decided... if Mother-Anuzish has protected me all this time, let her continue to do so. Whatever I am, I owe my very existence to her. Yes, gods often test us, and they have given us free will so that we can choose our own path, but... I find it strange that one god created you, and then you go to worship another who hasn't really done anything for you and simply gets a ready-made follower.
- Very... righteous words. Zorica has had a good influence on you.
- If only she... I've re-evaluated a lot. I regret what I was like. How much crap I did. I probably just didn't know that it was possible to live differently. To live honestly. I always thought that attachments, friends, family were nonsense. And now I have you. I have all of you. You know, when you stayed there, in Yansi, I prayed to the gods with all my might for you to return. And you returned. From that moment on, I decided that it was a sign. A sign that I should be less selfish, take less, and give more. That it's not always the right way to just take what you want and leave. You know, I feel ashamed in front of you too. If I had returned that day, I would have just bought you out and let you go wherever you wanted.
- You needed a partner. You didn't think that someone would agree to travel with you of their own free will. And I... I don't know if I could have returned to a normal life without your support.
- That's quite the support.
- Don't underestimate yourself. You... You never seemed like a bad person to me. Well, maybe at the very beginning, a little bit. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I don't want you to let me go either. And I'm not going anywhere without you. We're practically family, and everything else, including the circumstances of our meeting, is irrelevant.
- That's why I love you, Guyosh.
- And I love you.

They wait outside until the guards finish looting the store, and only then do they go in.