About an hour or so, Lilith and I felt satisfied with our dance. Most of the time we spent just holding each other in the moonlight. But there was something that needed to be taken care of that I noticed.
The head of this demon thing that Emmit left over. I took a gander at it. Poked it to make sure it wasn't alive because…well, I don't know if it can come back to life. Maybe it's just playing pretend or something? Nope, it's dead.
"Why did dad leave it?" Lilith asked. There were a lot of questions being left unanswered from him, believe me. But from my guess…
"Maybe he wanted us to give the head to the king? He did say that he came to stop an assasination." I didn't want to pick up the head, so I kept looking at Lilith and the head.
It seemed Lilith got the memo and reluctantly picked up the head for me, dangling it away from her as she held her nose.
"Smells bad."
"It's the head of a demon, kinda looks like a bat…" I said as I looked at it more. From a distance. "Course it's going to smell."
Lilith swung the head around, drops of blood still leaked out of it. I found it highly unusual how calm Lilith was with holding a head of something. But, I have a different mindset. She probably finds this as a normal thing.
Lilith was well aware of my disgust of the head, so she kept her distance from me. "We should bring this to King Lucian and tell him we killed it."
The two of us began to walk onto the pathway we used to enter the clearing. Lilith in front of me as I trailed behind.
We grabbed our things before we left, so I was able to cast a fire spell to light our way.
"Hey, what do you think everyone will say about us coming from the back area of the building?" My question made Lilith stop for a moment, she used her free hand to rub her chin as she pondered that question. After a moment, she answered.
"Well…both of us looked battered up and I'm holding this head, so they'll assume we fought a secret demon out here?"
"Yeah, but wouldn't they question why we were out here?"
"Hmm…Well, we did tell That receptionist dude where we were going. He'd probably tell them we went out to dance. Which we did."
Oh yeah, we did tell Gorwin where we were going. The elf man is probably wondering what we are doing out here for so long. Probably considering the noises he heard, it was most likely trouble he was anticipating.
As Lilith walked in front of me on this pathway, I couldn't help but have my eyes wander to her backside. Her corset took some damage from the back so some of the laces were torn, leaving much of her back open. It had some cuts there, most likely from her fall against the tree. However I found myself lowering my eyes to her butt. The skirt waving up and down, allowing me to catch glimpses.
Duvul's talk to me echoed in my head as I continued staring. Starting a family in this world…am I even capable of doing that? Like being a father. I never thought about it once in this lifetime nor in my past one. I thought I'd live the single life the whole time. But here I am in a relationship with a girl, and it's a healthy one!
We met when we were ten and have since been together. That's like…Three years, maybe close to four now. Both of us have grown quite much in that time. And from what I was seeing…Yeah, there was a lot of growth.
Wait, hold on. Stop thinking like that before you bring out the monster. That'll just make it more weird. Though to be fair, she has felt it before…
I found myself lost in my own lustful thoughts before I heard Lilith speak.
"Kota?" Lilith pulled me out of that thinking and I quickly looked up to face her. She gave me a confused look as she noticed my absolute attention. "…what's with that look?"
"Nothing." I tried to speak as naturally as I could. It was pretty dark out here even with the fire going, so she couldn't see what was going on below. Hopefully she doesn't notice what I was looking at.
But I guess it wasn't enough as Lilith stopped in her tracks and coincidentally used her free hand to check her back. She must've felt my eyes staring there.
"Were you looking at my back?" She narrowed her eyes. The suspiciousness was all over her face.
"Er…Is it wrong that I was? What else am I going to look at?" I thought she would've gotten embarrassed, but my response was surprisingly met with understanding as Lilith sighed begrudgingly.
"Eh…I was going to ask, why are you so calm?"
"Uh…Elaborate." I asked her, confused. Wait, was I supposed to be embarrassed or something?
"You just died." She had a serious look on her face. "And yet…You're acting like nothing happened." She held her free hand close to her chest.
Considering it now, I would say that she was correct. I was too calm. I'd probably have to blame it on my own past life for that. I was pretty much accepting death when I sat on the bridge, and that acceptance was oozing into this life. I felt that feeling when Arael left me to die. I didn't even consider what everyone else thought because…well no one else in my past life would've cared. But here in this world, I had Lilith. I had Kale and Tera. I had Gerald and Synthia who were waiting to visit me. I had many more people here that would've been upset. Come on, Travis. Get out of this Mindset and be glad you have people caring.
"Sorry if I look like that right now. I guess I still haven't processed that I died. But…Thanks. For worrying. I appreciate it." And with that answer, Lilith smiled.
"Um…does my answer excuse the fact I was looking at your back?"
There was an awkward pause of silence as we looked at each other. The flame spell I had casted lighting our faces. Lilith was still smiling.
"I'll let it slide this time." She said as she turned and continued to walk.
I guess that's the go ahead to continue looking?
After a short amount of time, we made it into the front of the university. The large doors to it seemed to be opened. And out in the front was King Lucian and Sir issac.
"Are you sure you should trust someone like that?"
"He knew me. My background, my life. Hell, he told me about the time we pranked your mother back when we were kids!"
"What? Wait, did you tell people that?"
"No! That's the thing! He even got into the details of what we put in the flower basket. The Crickets! Crickets!"
"Hrm…That is weird. Oh…Hello."
The two were in the middle of a conversation when they noticed me and Lilith stepping into the lights of the lanterns here.
King Lucian looked at us quite confused before noticing the head that Lilith was carrying.
"What?! Young lady, where did yo-."
"There was a demon in the back of the building." Lilith answered quickly. "Me and Kota went out to dance back there, but this thing came and attacked us." She made up a whole story for this. Maybe it was out of keeping her father a secret or maybe in spite of him. I don't know, but it seemed to work for the two kings as they looked at the head with distaste.
"Well…I guess the man was right. Something was going to kill you." Sir Issac simply said. "This is a very precarious situation."
"I'll say." King Lucian grabbed the head from Lilith's hand and raised it. "Hrm, Lady Marika is out for my head when she couldn't get to Chris. Hmph."
"You ought to maintain high alert for the guards here. If one managed to get in, perhaps others have to." Sir issac took a good look at the demon, Intrigued by it. "Actually, this one might've flown here."
"Mm, I shall tell Richard to alarm the guards at the north gate." Lucian took a glance at me and Lilith. "I suppose I owe a favor to you two-Eh? Kota?" Wait, did he just recognize me?
"Hm?" Sir Issac leaned in next to king Lucian. He looked at us with interest before coming to his own realization. "Ah, actually I saw the two of you before you entered the central room."
"Ugh." Lilith let out an audible noise of disgust that surprised me and Lucian, she then quickly turned around and hid behind me. Talk about manners.
But Lucian's response was that of Humor as he laughed.
"Haha! It seems you aren't the Woman's man you say you are!" Sir Issac didn't seem upset at this at all. In fact, he seemed quite alright with Liliths response.
"Hm, I suppose so. I don't think we've given each other a proper greeting." Sir Issac raised his hand for a handshake from me. "Sir Issac, Son of Grabel and King of Ithryll."
With that, I held my hand out and shook his. "Kota Detrut. First…Second year student of Prusha University?" I completely forgot what year I was in that moment.
"A pleasure." Issac ignored my awkward greeting with a welcoming response.
"Issac, This student is one I'd call a prodigy, a silent Caster." Lucian said. "And his magic is quite astonishing."
Sir Issac didn't seem to care about that. I don't think The kingdom of Ithryll really cares about magic, perhaps the university there is worse than the one here. It seems more likely that they were more interested in strength, something that Lilith has.
"I'm impressed. The two of you took down that monster?" Sir Issac asked. I looked at Lilith for any sort of support, but she was too busy avoiding Sir isaacs glances.
"Uh…yeah. We went out to the back and we saw it swoop down into the clearing. That's why me and Lilith are kinda torn up…" That was a believable story. If they went into the back, they'd see the battle we had with the 'Demon' and how much effort it took for us to beat it.
"That's incredible! You really are a prodigy!" Lucian bellowed. "This is enough proof to me of your abilities!" He scratched his beard for a moment before realizing something else. "Say, didn't I say something about you visiting the castle?"
"Uh…yeah. Wasn't it about showing off more magic I can do?" I barely recall that conversation. Wasn't it when he visited?
"Hm…" King Lucian folded his arms, thinking. As the man thought, Sir Issac took the opportunity to speak.
"Did the girl…Lilith, wasn't it? Did she do some work too?" He pointed at the shortsword that dangled off her waist. "I don't suppose she is a good Swordsman?"
"Tsk, Intermediate ranked Fire king style." Lilith said in a cold tone. And that was all she said. Sir issac nodded at her response, not even fazed by her distaste.
"Kale Goodman teaches her. He's a king ranked In that style and he's pretty good." I said.
"Is that so? Well, how long has she been training? Normally in Ithryll, the training process for one takes Three years or so for king rank in any style."
Hm, so they probably had a sort of swordsman university there? No, I'd say it'd probably be more of a camp or something where everyone trains together. But I don't think Lilith needs that since she was an exceptionally fast learner when it came to fighting.
"It's been almost a year, I'd say she became intermediate…Four months in?" I was pulling the months out of my ass, I had no idea. I haven't paid too much attention to how long she's been training, rather the fruits that came from her hard training.
"Four month?!" Sir Issac seemed genuinely surprised. His gaze wrapped around Lilith, who glared at him. Luckily her Left eye didn't change or anything, I think she was really trying her hardest to suppress her emotions. "That is impressive in its own right!"
Lilith only scoffed. Look, I know you have a distaste for Dilfs. We get it. Wait, wouldn't that mean she'd have a distaste for me in the future too?
"Oh!" Lucian snapped his finger. He must've just figured out what he was trying to remember. "My boy, Chris! How about you become his instructor?"
"Beg pardon?" I Immediately blurted out. I don't recall that being what he asked me before. Also, instructing Chris to learn magic? How would I even teach him if I rarely use incantations? Is he assuming I'd have Chris learn spells without them?
Actually, why is he assuming I'd even want to teach Chris? What are the chances of him even listening to me? He seems more fond of Lilith than me.
"I've asked you before to visit the castle with kale to demonstrate your skills. But seeing this." He held up the demon's head. "It's enough for me to understand your capabilities. The two of you are close to each other's age, so it's much easier for you two to socialize and be friends. I'd have Richard teach him, but his duties rely too much on helping me and the kingdom."
"What does Richard even do?" I asked.
"He helps maintain the magic production sites here. He keeps track of inventory and trade routes for those equipment. if he wasn't doing that, he'd be helping Chris."
Ok, I can see why Richard doesn't have time for teaching then. Richard is probably out on site just watching over the facilities as they make stuff. That's a whole day's worth of work, I suppose. Well couldn't Lucian just order a tutor?
Oh wait…I'm probably that tutor. Which mean…money. Rubees, I get a daily income if I do this job. That means I wouldn't be relying on Kale for money. Lilith got a hefty amount of money from Sarah, but that'll soon run out as well. Perhaps…
"If I teach Chris…how much will it be?" I asked cautiously.
"Twenty rubees a day." King Lucian quickly said. "And you will be getting the benefit of the likes of Richard. You'll be given access to the castle and the usage of our carriage whenever you please."
Carriage? Hm, well I have been cooped up in the kingdom's walls for some time. And only having time to go out to just the forest nearby wasn't enough for me. With access, I could probably explore the smaller kingdoms or towns nearby. I could probably even use it to take Lilith out, if they'd let me get away with that. I wasn't too interested in the castle though, so I wouldn't really see myself in there all too much.
Plus, twenty rubees is a pretty good pay in this Kingdom. Most things here cost a hefty amount of money. If I wanted to head out to the Cat cafe, that's going to be about fifteen rubees with the cost of food and tipping, same thing applies to some inns here even though I don't even stay in an inn.
Still, I'd have plenty of money if it was a daily pay. It'd probably be like a weekly payment most likely with all that money accumulating into a huge one. If they go by weeks, then I'd be getting fifty rubees every week. Hm…For a job to just tell someone things, this was a good paycheck in my eyes.
"Yeah…I think I'll take your offer." I finally said to Lucian.
"Hey, are you sure you wanna take a job while attending school?" Lilith whispered to me. She seemed less enthusiastic of the idea, perhaps because it would take time away from being around the house.
"Relax, it can't be that hard. Plus, the money would be worth it." Lilith gave me a simple nod with that response I gave her.
"Well then, that settles it!" Lucian grabbed my hand with his free hand and shook it ferociously. "How about once the festival is over? That'll be in two days!"
"Uh…sure." I shrugged. King Lucian let out a grunt of approval as he turned to Lilith.
"Ah, little girl! I should give you some sort of compensation as well!" King Lucian rubbed his beard for a moment, thinking of an idea. "…How about you go along with Kota? Perhaps acting as my son's bodyguard?"
"What? Why would I?" Lilith seemed surprised by his offer.
"My child is important to me. Though I always have a group of soldiers that guard him, they aren't at the capable levels that you might have." Lucian lifted the demon's head. "As I recall, you are Kale's student. So you are well trained, yes?"
"I…Yes."
"You aren't being paid as well?"
"…"
"I'm sure Kale would be happy if everyone in his household was being paid."
Lilith almost said something to go against that, but eventually just caved in. "…Fine."
And now suddenly, me and Lilith were now working for King Lucian. Never expected myself to get a job like this, but this opportunity could open up a lot of things for me and her. It'd probably make Kale happy, now that we'd be out of the house more often. It'll leave him to his time with Tera. Actually now that I think of it, I don't think Tera would approve of this. She has her own distaste for this man, I can understand that. But, it's not like she could be mad that we got ourselves a good job here.
Sir Issac stood idle for the duration of that conversation, looking amused by King Lucian's persuasion…Ok, well maybe he was just looking at his friend with admiration because all he did was give me an offer that was too good to pass by.
"Well if you are planning on offering them work, perhaps it would be better to work things out in the morning. It is midnight now." Sir Issac then yawned. "If you three continue with the conversation, I'll go ahead and take my leave." Sir isaac then thought for a moment before looking at me. "Actually…have you seen The Admiral or Lady sierra?"
"Erm…No? I didn't see them when we left."
"Ah…I suppose I'll have to find them." Sir Isaac then turned to Lucian. "Well, Lucian. This was a weird night for us. I expected it to be just a dance…Somehow it turned into a much larger thing. Not that it's weird in a bad way, very glad that we managed to stop you from getting that head chopped off." He ended that with a smile as he patted Lucian's back.
Lucian rubbed his neck, imagining his own demise. "Ah, I can agree with that. Not a night I'd like to recall in the future." He then put on a smile. "Thank you, Children. I suppose you will be waiting for Kale to finish up in the university?"
I looked at Lilith to see if she would respond, but it seemed she had the same idea as me. So I thought about it for a moment. While we could wait for kale, I was pretty exhausted from the events that just transpired. Not only that, I was still trying to wrap my head around Arael leaving and Duvul suddenly appearing. Only option I could think of was just falling asleep and hoping that I'd enter that same void again to get some sort of explanation for all this. Plus, I'd think Lilith was probably exhausted too as she suffered some injuries. I really don't want to explain all this to Kale and make him worry about us.
"No…I think we'll just head home. Hopefully kale doesn't mind." I looked at Lilith for any sort of response, and I saw her nod. Guess she agrees as well.
"Well then, I'll have you two take your leave as I talk with Sir Issac even more about our situation." King Lucian then moved forward and patted my shoulder. "Have a good rest. And Enjoy the rest of the festival. I'll be seeing you once it's done." He let out a smile before turning and walking back into the university with Sir Isaac walking in tail.
"Be safe, children. If we do see this kale, I'll let him know you two have left." Sir Issac said without looking back.
And with that, they entered the university. Me and Lilith didn't waste much time and headed to the front gates of the university, heading back to Kale's.
***
"Yeow!" Lilith made an audible noise as I casted a healing spell on her. We had just gotten into Kale's home and the first thing I noticed was that Lilith's wound was bleeding again. Seems like Sandra's medical skills were lacking, so I decided to cast a spell to fix it. I watched as the Stitches on Lilith's head simply vanished as skin grew over it, making The wound look like it never happened in the first place.
As for me, well I was just exhausted. That Fireball spell I casted took quite a lot out of me, more than I expected. I guess me going all out wasn't really enough to stop Emmit. Still, I patted my chest just to make sure everything was fully healed. And it was.
"Relax, Lilith. It should be healed now." I nonchalantly said. We were in our room, dressed back into our casual clothing. Lilith laid on the bed as I stood by her side. "I'm going downstairs to get water, want any?"
Lilith groaned into her pillow as she turned to face me. "A glass is fine."
I nodded as I headed downstairs for the kitchen. Now that we were home, I could actually process what the hell happened.
Arael is gone. Simple as that, I would say my use to her was nothing now. It seems that she was playing some sort of game with me. Actually scratch that, not only me. She said something about having others, so did that mean there were other people here who were reincarnated here? Or maybe not. I don't know how long she's been at this, but it's safe to say that I was her latest test subject in…what I would compare to someone playing a RPG and wanting to make their character the strongest through bad choices. Not to say that all the choices she gave me were horrible, but they did put me in harm's way. I mean, I almost died twice before the third time actually did it for me.
Speaking of killing, Then there was Emmit. Arael said he was one of her first subjects to be reincarnated here. And judging by his strength and powers, I'd say he was here for some time. Hell, I don't even know what the hell he used to absorb my magic. It was like a dragon spell or something. It is safe to say that some species have their own unique style of Magic to them. Also…he talked as if he's been through this before…Hm…
I casually entered the kitchen, where I spotted some glass cups near the sink. Casually, I casted a water spell that filled up the glasses. Thank god for Tera, who bought these at a shop in the market district. I didn't even think they had glass cups here. I usually just use earth magic to make cups, but glass cups seem more comfortable to me. I guess now it was time to head back upstairs to give this to Lilith.
But back to my thinking. Specifically the way Emmit acted. He talked to Lilith like she was some sort of mad dog or something. His confusion about her actions were also something to point out. But maybe I'd let that slide as he did leave for some time and came back. People can change in a couple of years and I'd be surprised and confused if someone I knew changed that drastically. He seemed to be quite impressed actually with her attitude before he slapped her away into a tree. But a major thing I should point out right now is that He had some sort of grudge to Arael (Not that anyone wouldn't, but he showed prominent hatred). It seemed like his hatred for her was much more immense than mine. Hell, he outright wanted to kill me once his suspicions were high. If I had told him, I'd doubt that he would've changed that attitude. Hm…But with my connection to Arael being gone, maybe he would let me slide and talk things out?
…Actually, I'd prefer not doing that. As much as I'd love to talk with the dude. The way he managed to overpower me and put a hole in me had made me terrified of the man. I can still feel the numbness in my chest just thinking about it. Alright, Travis. Next time we see this dude, we jump the books and run. I'd rather not make any contact with the man anytime soon.
I found myself staring at the door to our room, holding two glass cups of water. I've been sipping on one of them this whole time as I got upstairs. With no free hands to do any opening, I simply waved my fingers to cast an earth spell that shot a pillar of wood against the door. It was enough force to make the door open.
"Lilith, here's some water." I said as I came in. But I found myself looking at an already asleep Lilith. She wrapped herself up in our bed sheets as she gently breathed. I then gently walked to the drawer next to her side and placed the water there.
"Guess you were pretty tired from fighting, huh?" I mumbled to myself. I put my hand against her cheek and rubbed gently. She looked really cute as she slept.
Guess it was time for me to sleep. So I headed to my side of the bed. But before I could get into this cozy bed, something caught my eye from the window. A woman with a white dress was walking with a larger man. It was Sarah and Admiral Furor. The admiral must be escorting her back here just for safety.
I watched as the two conversed for some time before the admiral bowed and made his leave, leaving Sarah all by herself in front of the home. She didn't even look at the home. In fact, she looked down the other way of the road. Even from my distance, I can see that she was contemplating something. Luckily it was pretty dim in the house, so she couldn't see me.
After a moment or so, Sarah looked down the way Furor left. I'm guessing she was making sure the man left, as she nodded and headed down the opposite way. But why?
Having curiosity spark in my brain. I decided to take a look. Sorry Lilith, but I need to see what's going on with your mom.
As I headed out of the house and made sure I didn't wake up Lilith, I followed from a distance. Sarah made her casually through the roads as she sooner entered the market district. It wasn't as busy as earlier today, but there were still some people. But Sarah wasn't here to buy anything. Instead, she proceeded past this area and close to the southern gate entrance.
"The hell is she doing..?" I murmured as I soon found myself behind some barrels.
It took me a moment to think about all of the possible reasons. But one came up that made my heart sink. A heartache that made me frown.
She was already going off to die. No goodbyes to her daughter. Just walking off.
I gritted my teeth at this sudden realization and peeked from the barrels. Sarah had already made her way out of the entrance and onto the dirt road. So I followed suit.
The way she was going actually led to the area that Lilith and Kale use to train. I followed from a distance once again as Sarah hummed to herself on her walk. As the following continued into the forest, she then began to sing. Her voice strong and quite high as she sang.
"Dancing in moonlight won't change the fact that you're gone. The moon doesn't shine if you're not there…" she sang. It was a song I didn't recognize. But to be fair, I haven't really heard much music while I was here.
"Memories in moonlight still shine bright, no need to run. Today, we will remember then." She continued to sing.
As she continued to sing, we finally managed to enter the training grounds. Where Sarah walked to the middle of it. I found some bushes to hide in, as I continued to watch with curiosity and sadness. What was she planning on doing?
Sarah stood, idle. It was clear that her left arm was mostly gray now. She had a ragged breath as she coughed. But she still stood idle, as if waiting for something…perhaps someone.
"Sarah." A voice called out. Sarah raised her head, looking in front of her. Through the forest clearing, a man appeared. It was Emmit. His fur coat was cleaned up now. In fact, it seemed as if nothing had happened to him.
"…I knew you'd be here." Sarah seemed to whisper. It was barely audible to me. "I remember you talking about this festival quite some time ago."
"…Before I left." Emmit seemed to have a somber look on his face for a moment. "I noticed you walking out of the city…Your arm… what happened to it?"
"What do you think?" Sarah tried to raise her left arm, but it simply only twitched. "After you left, I used my mana to look for you."
"Mana exhaustion…Hm." He looked down as he said that. "I…" he tried to say something else, but fell short on it. He only looked at Sarah.
"You seemed surprised that this would happen. You usually seem like you've seen all this stuff before."
"This is…New to me." Emmit said, his face contorting into a confused and sad look. "I didn't expect this." His eyes darted at her hair, the now silver looking long hair that used to be black.
"Neither did I…But here we are…" Sarah awkwardly looked at Emmit as he continued to look at her arm and then chest. "This isn't…part of one of your predictions, isn't it?"
"…Sadly no. There seems to be…Distortion in my predictions now." Emmit said in dismay. "How much longer do you have?"
"A day now or…" Sarah looked down, hesitating. "A few hours…Minutes..It seems my body is deteriorating much faster." She used her right arm to caress her left side.
From my distance, I can see the gray color now spreading to her back and upper body now. She was slowly dying at this very moment.
"That…W-why?" Emmit stuttered in his words. "Why did you try to find me?" I could see him clenching his fist, there wasn't a look of disappointment or anger in his face. Rather the look of sadness and regret.
"Why wouldn't I? You went off and disappeared for no reason. Had me and Lilith all by ourselves as you did lord knows what."
"you should've done nothing and stayed in Shanford." Emmit began to walk towards her. "Your condition right now wouldn't have happened if you just waited."
"And how would I know that? You didn't say a thing." Emmit gritted his teeth and she said that. Perhaps he's regretting not saying a word when he left. Perhaps he's regretting a lot of things right now.
Sarah must've seen this and waited patiently as Emmit stood in front of her. She raised her right arm and gently caressed his left cheek. "…You haven't changed a bit. Always stoic, always worrying."
"You aren't mad at me?" Emmit asked, confused.
"You must have your reasons, yes? When I last saw you, it seemed like there was a sense of urgency in your eyes that I never saw before." She looked into Emmit's yellow eyes as he looked back at her. "…I'm not mad. Just upset that you left us."
"Sarah…" The look on Emmit's face was something that reminded me of someone who knew something, but couldn't say anything. He slowly raised his hand to caress Sarah's arm. "Forgive me."
"There's no need for forgiveness. You've given me everything. "
"But you could've lived a longer life!…It's because of that Kota boy…"I heard Emmit name drop me and I had to stop myself from gasping. If he saw me, well goodbye to me.
"Why are you worried about him? He's been treating our daughter quite well from what I've seen…Perhaps you are seeing him as a sort of replacement for yourself?"
"Reiterate that."
"…Perhaps you see yourself in the boy? Is that why you're upset?"
I think it was obvious from my perspective on why Emmit is wary of me. He knows that I've been in contact with arael, which means somehow I was messing with whatever he was doing. From an outsider's view, I'd probably assume that he was a dad being protective of his daughter from a nasty boy.
Emmit must've had the same idea as me as his eyebrows twitched and his face contorted into a Confused one for a moment before going back to its stoic demeanor. He looked up for a moment to ponder the idea before looking down at Sarah. "…I suppose I do."
"Have you met the boy?" Sarah asked. Emmit frowned at the question.
"…yes. One time. It was near the university, where he was with Lilith. He was…" he hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "…Different."
You son of a bitch.
"Lilith was quite attached to him." He continued on. "It wasn't something I expected."
"Same with me. But she's looking quite happy, yes?" I-." Before Sarah could continue, she began to cough sporadically. Leaning onto Emmit as she coughed. He laid his hands on her back and patted as she continued to cough furiously.
Emmit pursed his lips as he looked down at her. "Are you alright?"
Sarah coughed a bit more, I could see from my angle that blood dropped down to the ground. "No…I guess it's time." With her Right arm shaking, Sarah grabbed something in her dress. A letter of sorts that she held up. "Give this to Lilith. It is my Goodbye letter." She held it up to Emmit, who grabbed it.
"You couldn't give this to her in person?"
"I wouldn't be able to stand the thought of leaving it there for her. It reads that I've travelled back to my hometown, where I'll peacefully pass there. There is no need for worry." Sarah said painfully. "I cannot let Lilith have her last moments with her mother be sour."
Emmit stared at the letter, contemplating. "…I will abide by your wish. But…I wouldn't think she'd like being left in the dark. You know if she finds out, it'll just hurt more."
"If she does, Kota will be there. If there was anyone who knows her the most. It'd be him that'll comfort her." Sarah then straightened herself, the grayness on her skin now spreading to her left leg. "I trust the boy."
Somehow, I'm seeing a fatal flaw in her logic right now. As much as I was able to talk my way with Lilith. I don't think I'd be able to figure out how to comfort Lilith if this comes out. In any chance…she'd be pissed.
Emmit slowly slipped the letter into his fur coat. Bowing down to Sarah before looking up. "Do you truly trust him?"
"…yes."
Emmit let out a sigh, one that seemed to be out of reluctants before holding Sarah's right hand. "I'll take your word."
The two then held each other, positioning themselves in the dandelion dance. Emmit raised Sarah limp left hand, readying their dance.
"Shall we dance? One last time before I go." Sarah said weakly. She stumbled with her left leg, but Emmit supported her. Emmit carried a solemn look as he gently guided her.
"Yes…Let us dance." He said. His voice weary and exhausted. As they then danced.
As they twirled and danced, I noticed that Sarah's skin was cracking. Bits of grey skin flew off as they twirled. As the grey skin flew, they suddenly changed into a Shimmering rainbow color before dissipating into the air.
Emmit noticed this, but continued their dance.
"Can you…change?" Sarah asked. They stopped their dance momentarily as Emmit looked at her.
With a slight hesitation, Emmit pursed his lips and looked down. "I…"
""It is my last wish from you. Please. Just like the old days…" and with the touch of his wife, Emmit nodded.
With a sudden change in the air, Emmit took a deep breath in. His body grew and morphed, stretching as his skin turned from flesh to scale. His legs simply bonding together as it turned into a tail of sorts his face stretching as he grew large teeth and his ears stuck to his head. Slowly, he turned into a white color, the scales that now replaced his skin spread across his body. His arms and legs grew and inherited long claws. Once his body had fully morphed, his eyes glowed a red color. His long body slithering around Sarah, lifting up slightly from the ground as she rested on his scales body.
I was looking at someone who just turned into a dragon.
Sarah laid on the large mass of body, her left side now dissipating into the air. Emmit looked down at her. His red eyes glowing.
"Ah…I haven't forgotten how this feels. It's nostalgic." Sarah whispered. She used her right arm to weakly rub the scales. It was at this point that her right side was now turning gray. "Emmit…"
"Yes?" Emmit's voice emanated from his now dragon mouth. He opened his mouth slightly. Sarah looked up, unable to move her body now. The grayness now spreads all across her body quickly. She was at her limit.
"Remember me." Her voice was ragged as she said it. Sarah then slowly closed her eyes. Her right hand dissipated as did her leg. Her left side was now completely gone. The shimmering of rainbow colors swirled around the two.
I watched as Emmit then slowly morphed back to his human form. Sarah dissipated at the same time as Emmit's hands now held her torso. Emmit watched as his own wife slowly deteriorated into the air. The moonlight shining on the two as Sarah stared at him. And with a burst, the rest of her body shined and quickly dissipated. The shimmering rainbow colors now only surrounding Emmit as Her white dress laid in his arms.
Sarah was gone.
Emmit stood there, holding onto the white dress she wore. Clenching it. I saw him grit his teeth, seemingly on the verge of crying. I too was almost on the verge of crying.
I just witnessed the mother of the person I loved die. As of right now, Lilith only had me and her father. And she didn't even know it.
Emmit held the white dress to his face, burying himself into it before taking a deep breath. His eyes narrowed, the yellow hues of it glancing at my direction. He straightened up and turned in my direction. I felt my heart sink for a moment.
"Kota…come out." He said, there was a somber note to his voice even though it sounded cold.
How the hell did he find me? Perhaps he noticed me when he became a dragon? This bush was really doing much for me, to be honest.
I stumbled to my feet, revealing myself to him. I felt cold sweat on my back as he stared at me. I couldn't move after that. My feet stuck where they were. I thought I could run…but I was too scared. I was done for again.
That's when his next words caught me off guard.
"I mean no harm right now. I promise." The way he looked at me caught me off guard too. He had a somber look on his face.
"U-uh…what do you mean?" I stumbled on my words. My eyes darted around for any sort of way to escape.
"It was Sandra's request to leave you be. Something about you made her stop me." Emmit kept looking at me. " I intend on upholding her wish unless you show any sort of signs that you are under arael…But it seems you came here on your own vices."
"Y-yes. I did." I carefully watched him. "Lilith is worried about her and I saw her pass by our home. So I followed."
Emmit eyed me for a moment. Perhaps wondering if that was a lie or not before simply lowering his head, grabbing something from his fur coat. In a blink of an eye, he tossed something at me. It bounced of my chest before I could even react. I stumbled down to my feet, checking my chest before looking down at what it was.
The letter.
"Take that with you." Emmit simply said. "Bring it to Lilith."
"W-why are you giving this to me? I thought Sarah wanted you to do this?" I stumbled back to my feet, holding onto the letter.
"I…Cannot. I'm uncertain of what'll happen if I did. And I'm already at my limits at the moment. And as Sarah has said." He whisked his hand in the air, and suddenly a portal opened behind him. "She trusts you."
"And…you are trusting me?"
"…Reluctantly. But you haven't tried to do anything. At least not yet." He pointed out.
"…"
Emmit then began to walk into his portal, taking one last glance at me. "Do not make me second guess. If I find out you are doing all this under Arael's guidance. You will not live."
I gulped at that response and submissively bowed to the man.
And with that, the man vanished into the portal. Leaving only the shimmering of rainbows fluttering from the portal closing.
Emmit…was entrusting me with this. What did Sandra say to him? Either way, his threat to me was enough to make me follow his instructions.
I took one somber look at the training grounds, watching as the remains of what was Sarah finally vanished into the air. And I set off back home.
The walk back home was quiet. Not many people were out as the festival for today had finished. The whole kingdom was quiet. As I made my way to kale's home, I saw the lights weren't on. Maybe Kale and Tera have made their way home? Not sure, and not that I cared at the moment as my exhaustion took over.
I headed inside, quietly and gently as I didn't want to wake anyone up. I tiptoed my way up the stairs and made my way into my room where I saw Lilith sleeping soundly. She was curled up in a ball with the pillow. I placed the letter from Sarah onto the drawer, next to the glass of water and made my way to my side of the bed. I then just sat there, looking out the window.
The moonlight shone inside, dimly lighting where I sat. I couldn't help but feel guilty of all this. I pressed my hand to my chest and pondered. Is what I'm doing the right thing? Why am I leaving Lilith out of all of this? Am I the bad person in this? I'm doing my best to keep Lilith safe…but maybe this ain't right.
I shook my head, I can think of all this another time. Right now, I need rest. I shuffled myself into the bed and closed my eyes.
Tonight was a night I couldn't forget.
A/N: Hey all! Thank for reading this generous amount of words! Volume 3 is done! It's been quite a lot of writing. From January to August, that's a lot! I cannot express how much gratitude I have for those who kept on reading this and seeing my growth as a writer! As for Volume 4…well it's still being developed on my side. Unfortunately, all this writing has seemingly tuckered me out. So I decided to take today and from September off to brainstorm and write. Volume 4 will be more slice of life, world building and exploring other parts of Zenith, using my time off will surely develop these ideas and hopefully make it enjoyable! Once again, I have to thank you all! Hope you enjoy this chapter and anticipate the next volume!