It had been a tiring task to acquire all the artifacts and freed the dethroned King, and so everyone spent the rest of the day either resting or drinking booze. Maro and Ely were invited for dinner in the common dining space in the middle of the spacious cave. The rebels and bandits who worked with them gathered there, and aside from the rebels' best cook, Minister Anna and Minister Holter also helped prepare the meals.
Grilled meat from freshly hunted deer was served, as well as several sliced fruits recently harvested around the forest. That night was extra lively because they celebrated their victory against the mercenaries.
"Today is the start of a new era! Cheers!" strategist Samson yelled, and his companions raised their mugs full of beer then shouted "Cheers!" as well.
"Have some, Rebel King Maro!" one of the rebels said as he poured beer into his empty mug. "This operation wouldn't be a success if you had not informed us of the hidden passages inside your palace and the Leoniva Palace."
"Thank you for trusting me with it," Maro responded, and clinked his mug with him, before drinking bottoms up.
"How about you, Queen Ely?"
She shook her head, "Thank you, but… I feel stuffed."
"Such a good appetite you have," Maro told Ely as he touched her face, "Oh, you have some sauce on your face…"
Ely gave a wide smile, then took some more slices of meat onto her plate.
One of the rebels said, "From now on, we, the rebels and the bandits of Ancil mountains, are your comrades. Your enemy is our enemy as well."
"I am pleased to have you as my new comrades," The King of Rebels replied to him, then faced Samson, "By the way, I'm curious. I know you hunt for deers and harvest the fruits, but where do you get all these liquor?"
The rebels and bandits laughed, then Samson replied, "We make them. Everything's here in the forest, you know!"
One by one, the rebels and bandits introduced themselves to Maro, Ely, and the two ministers. They also told them their strengths and the assigned tasks they currently have. Some had shared their expertise - in camouflage, stealing, stealth, and even in interesting things like mixing liquor with fruit juices and imitating animal sounds. Maro and Ely enjoyed listening to their stories of adventures packed with action and excitement.
It went on for some hours, but before midnight, they felt subtle ground tremors in the cave.
One of the bandits assigned to guard the underground ran towards them in panic. "Something… something weird happened to the artifacts."
"What?! Don't tell me they got stolen?! After all the fight we did out there-"
"No, they're not stolen, Samson," the man said, "But they're all… they're all glowing!!!"
This made Maro stand up from his seat in a panicked expression, "Bring me to the artifacts, now!" He quickly followed the man to the left side of the cave and ran down the stairs to the underground den.
The fifteen artifacts: four porcelain vases, two genie lamps, three musical instruments, two golden grails, three mirrors, and lastly, the jade basin, were all lined up on a stone-carved, long shelf. Their glow altogether lightened up the den more than the torches did, and Maro and the others couldn't look directly at the artifacts.
The dethroned king wondered what was happening to the artifacts. It was as if strong magic was struggling to be unleashed in each one of them.
"Why is it glowing?" Ely, who also followed Maro to the den together with the others, asked as she stood behind him.
"I do not know. I have to look closely."
With careful steps and slightly covering his eyes, Maro approached the glowing artifacts. But as soon as he touched the jade basin, the light from all the other artifacts transferred to it!
Afterwards, Maro checked the other artifacts, and he noticed something. A darkened expression displayed on his face.
"Maro… What happened?" Ely asked curiously.
"The artifacts' magic… They're gone, except for the jade basin."
Minister Holter then said, "What does this mean, my King?"
"Honestly, I… do not know."
A sudden gust of wind surged inside the den, making all the torches' fire be blown. Now, only the jade basin's glow remained.
As soon as midnight fell and the moon went up to its highest peak in the skies, the jade basin shattered into pieces and got them startled.
A braided, blonde young girl in a white, silk cloak appeared from nowhere, and she gave light to all the torches in the den. Everyone else left in fear except for Maro, Ely, Holter, and Samson.
Maro quickly hugged Ely to protect her in case it was an enemy.
But the young girl spoke, "Do not fear."
Maro borrowed Minister Holter's sword, and unsheathed it. He pointed it to the girl, "Who are you? Why the hell did you break the artifacts?"
"I am Ruby, the new head priestess of the sacred Temple of Destiny, and I am here to fulfill the promise made by Elizabeth Berry and the late Priestess Diane two months ago."
"Priestess of the Temple of Destiny?! The place that we have been looking for?" Maro glanced at Ely, confused, "But what is she talking about? What promise?"
"Uhm, it's-"
But the young priestess did not let her finish her sentence, "In exchange for the nation's peaceful years ahead… She is to go back to her world, and now is that fateful moment."
"Maro, let me explain, I…" she started shedding tears, "This is not my world, I do not belong here-"
"Do you think I care where you're from?" his gray eyes gazed at her intensely. He had promised himself that whatever happens, he would never hand over Ely to anyone even if it's a deity, "From the moment that you said you were the Queen of Ballad, I already had a hunch that you came from a faraway, unreachable place, yet I made ridiculous excuses to myself and to others just to keep you with me."
Ely's tears fell like waterfalls. Her lips trembled, and she was not able to say anything to her beloved man.
Maro gave a subtle smile to his beloved and continued, "What's important for me isn't what you promised her two months ago, but it's what you promised me today."