Souhait was alone in the Contract Room. He was pondering about many things, but no matter what he thought about, Ri's shrill voice lingered in his mind. He didn't mind how high-pitched her voice was, but it bothered him because he felt as if he had heard it before; trying to recall it troubled him more.
A hologram screen was in front of him. He kept leaning a finger forward and then pulling it back just before touching it. He was troubled on whether to touch the screen or not. Touching the screen means I have to look into Nova's memories–memories that have been accumulated for over 500 years. Either I look into his memories, or I look into mine, which would be over 1000 years worth of memories. It mainly means it will take a while for me to find that memory because it is one in 500. He groaned and then sighed. After regaining his composure, he called out for Polaris.
"You called, Master Souhait?"
"I am going to dive into my memories. Please grab the ends of my hair and pull me up when I tug it."
"As you wish." Polaris quickly found the end of his hair. Souhait started preparing himself. Diving into over one thousand years of memories wasn't going to be an easy feat, especially when he was trying to find one specific memory. However, he didn't disconnect with Arcturus for no reason. He had a task to do and he was going to do it. He took a deep breath and then leaned his chair back. His body flew back and then Souhait found himself falling into a white void.
Hologram screen started appearing as he fell. They were all in chronological order, so he was able to see the moments of his birth, childhood, adolescent and then adult years. Nostalgic feelings came to him as he recalled everything. He wondered how long it has been since he last recalled his full name, Robin Hae Geum, an ordinary human from another world. His life was ordinary because he had family, friends and a peaceful life. It was hard to believe such a man like himself was now the lavender wish-granting dragon of Terrenter, Souhait. A memory of when he became the dragon played as he descended. He remembered that day as if it were yesterday for him. He recalled someone using an evil grimoire to plant a curse on all the humans in his world to become dragons and for his home world to be destroyed from the solar system for good. The sight of his planet exploding was something he could never forget.
This is why I fight. I want to find the person who started everything that day. I need wishes in order for that to happen. Granting people's wishes on this planet will make it come true.
He continued descending. He saw memories of how he and the other dragons went to different planets, but couldn't fit in due to them being occupied by other civilizations. That was when they found the barren planet and changed it into the Terrenter of now. Throughout their stay, nature, animals and people started appearing through wishes that the dragons granted from each other.
A sad memory came to view; it was when he and his people had an argument over whether to continue to stay on this planet or move on. This was because the dragons developed a desire to make their own planets and that they want their own home and civilization to have people to grant wishes for. By negotiation and decisions, Souhait was to be left behind in Terrenter as the others flew off for other planets. He had lost contact with them ever since. He wasn't even sure if some of them were alive anymore.
As he kept diving lower, memories of the day he was the sole dragon on this planet showed up. He was able to shift from human to dragon, so it helped him mingle with humans and be able to grant their wishes. Seeing their joyous visages made his heart long for the good old days. As time passed, the happy faces disappeared; only nonchalant and apathetic ones came. No one wanted wishes anymore because they already had everything they needed. He wasn't needed anymore. Despite that, he still longed for a day where he'd be needed, so he created Castle Lavender from his powers and resided there.
One day, a sickly boy came to the castle. With how emaciated he was, he was surprised that he made it to this castle on his own. He noticed how gold his hair was as it reminded him of his own left gold eye. This boy was Nova. He took care of him until he awakened and then he learned of his circumstances, about how he needed Souhait's help. He risked his life coming here because he didn't have much time left to live; he wanted to prolong his life as he wanted to seek revenge against those who wronged him. As long as Nova was able to help him, he would grant his wish; Nova had eagerly accepted. That was how he granted Nova's wish and how Nova became an immortal; as long as Nova promised to help him out, everything would be fine. Nova resided in the castle with Souhait for a while until another guest showed up at the castle.
His eyes were glued to one particular memory as he grabbed it and yanked it towards him. The hologram screens all disappeared, save for the one floating underneath his hands; he had stopped falling as well. This is it.
It was a memory of the day he had gotten a second guest in his castle. She was a hooded woman of grace and refinement, but had an air of mystery to her. He had never seen her before. The moment she stepped in, he realized she was bad news.
"Are you the ruler of this planet?" The stranger had inquired. Her voice was high-pitched–the exact same shrill voice he heard from Jennifer's radio.
"I was right…" Souhait muttered to himself. "My hunch was correct. Although she had never revealed her name to us, I know for a fact that Ri is the Invader. She is on this island."
In the memory, she had taken out her weapons, dual pistols, and unhooded herself. Her rose-colored hair had stood out the most. Her blue eyes were like the ocean. He had snapped out of his mesmerization of her and braced himself. She had instigated first as she pulled the trigger of her left gun first. He had deflected the bullet with his tail; what shocked him the most was that his pristine tail had a mark. This was when he knew the Invader wasn't someone from this world–her attack meant that she was aiming for his death. Because he didn't want to die, he fought back.
Because the Invader was someone who wasn't a denizen of Terrenter, the damage he had received from her bullets and kicks were a lot more damaging than he had expected. She was so fast that he could only damage her several times compared to her hurting him multiple times. This caused him to worry. Recovering from the wounds he received from her healed much slower than his usual wounds; the wounds she had received from him were the same. He knew this was unusual and quickly realized he would die if this woman kept hurting him any further.
He wasn't sure how many bullets were in his body, but he felt a lot weaker than usual. He needed to get her out of the castle as fast as possible. Before his tail could completely circle around her waist, she slammed the tail down, pinned it with the heel of her boot and then aimed a gun towards the direction of his heart. The way the heel dug into his tail hurt much more than he realized. He had felt scared. He didn't want to die.
Ri had pulled the trigger, but what was shot wasn't his heart, but Nova's. Fortunately, Nova was still alive due to his immortality, but he was losing a lot more blood than he realized and he was healing very slowly. He didn't want Nova to get involved in the fight, but now that he was, it angered him. It angered him so much that he decided to control the castle. He used the incandescent ice from the castle floor and manipulated it so that it pierced through her boots, injuring her feet severely. She knelt down. He then used the opportunity to summon sharp pointed ice from the castle walls and used them to impale her hands, releasing her guns from her grip. He then circled his tail around her waist, tightened it, lifted her up and threw her out before sealing the castle off permanently.
Souhait had cradled the injured Nova. "Why did you do that?"
"I shielded you just to test my immortality. I need you to help me with my goal after all… I can't have you dying on me…"
"You idiot…"
Despite his snide remarks, the fear Souhait had felt in his heart didn't disappear; it was still there. He could feel it accumulating every second. He was worried about Ri returning; he knew that in his state, he would permanently die. This was the first time he had feared death.
"Nova…"
He made up his mind. In order to protect himself from otherworldly forces like her, he needed Nova. In order to heal his wounds, he would have to separate his body and soul. He needed to find a place where his physical body can heal and a place where his soul can dwell. That was where Nova came in. He needed his body as a vessel for his soul to dwell as he removed his physical body. The most important part was where to put it. He needed to hide it so that Ri could never find it.
"The Spirit Realm…I can put my body there while I can put my soul in yours."
"You once told me that you had two Realms of Desires–the Contract Room and a quiet, dark forest filled with glowing balls of light like fireflies. You told me those lights belonged to passing souls…"
"Think of it as an extension of the Contract Room and a special place where only I can go. The Spirit Realm resides in a special place inside the Contract Room. It is a place that no one would ever find–the perfect place to recover until the day I need my body again."
Nova had smiled as he placed a hand to caress Souhait's face. "Do what you want with me. I will accept it all."
With his consent, Souhait grabbed Nova's right hand and then closed his eyes. The memory ended there as everything that had transpired afterwards were separate memories of their own. This was all he needed to know for now. Ri was the Invader and she was on this island–that was all he needed to know. How would he reach her? That was for Arcturus, Nova and him to figure out.
With a confident smile, he tugged his hair and slowly ascended back towards the Contract Room.