A man floats towards a forest with his hands behind his back. He wears a dark purple trench coat, a navy blue shirt, and black pants. The trench coat animates as he He scans the area to see any interesting beings. He sighs in disappointment as he sees no one in the surrounding area. A woman comes out of a portal and kisses the man's cheek.
"What is it, my love?" she asks. "Still can't find him?
The man sighs, realizing that his navigation ability has been somehow canceled. "It's a shame that not even a God can counter that pesky little brat."
"You mean the spirit of Neutrality," the woman scoffs. "She always interferes with any plans we make," the woman complains.
'Well, it isn't her fault. Sister can't control when she does it still,' he thinks to himself. 'I wonder how she's doing?'
A flicker of magic catches his eye, the darkness domain earlier oozed a sliver of magic for his skill to locate. He chuckles as he sees a human walk out of the forest.
"Well, Katria," he snickers. "We found our target."
Katria pops her head to look at the ball the man has summoned. It mirrors the movement of the Hero of Neutrality from a bird's-eye view.
"What are your plans, Master?" she asks, intrigued by his findings.
"I'll observe for now. I don't want to cause any chaos for him just yet," he replies.
"Well, if you're in that mood, you know who to call. I'll always respond to the God of Chaos."
"I know you will Katria, let's just wait this one out."
Lumina's ears perk up, alerting her to a presence. Zane and Astelia turn to her, looking confused.
"Everything okay Lumina?" Zane asks. "You look a little paranoid."
Lumina quickly wipes the sweat off of her face and laughs his question away.
"I don't know what you're talking about, it's nothing," Lumina chuckles in embarrassment.
Astelia shakes her head and continues walking. After five minutes, an open plain area reveals itself to the trio. Zane looks in awe, seeing a kingdom nearby.
'Finally…' he thinks to himself while holding back a tear. 'I can talk to humans again!'
Astelia looks at Zane with a concerned look. Putting her sword away, she sees a river in the distance.
"Let's rest here and go in the river," she suggests. "Gives us some time to unwind before we can enter the kingdom."
"Good idea," Zane responds. "I'll get some firewood, you guys can go in first."
Astelia strips down and smirks. 'Maybe I'll be the teaser for today,' she snickers.
She looks at Zane, smirking as he sets a campfire up. She walks up to him and drags him into the river.
"Hey honey," she teases. "Would you like a piece of me tonight?"
Zane looks at Astelia's naked body, then at her smirking face. He blushes a bit like a secret neuron just got activated.
'Titties, ass, titties…' he tries to hold himself together.
"Astelia," Zane responds with a gentle question.
"What is it, babe?" Astelia's response is as gentle as his question.
"I apologize for this, but, I GOTTA GO."
Zane tries to walk away but Astelia holds his arm very tightly. Her chuckles entice Zane to look at her, but he continues walking away.
"Astelia, please let go of me," Zane politely requests.
"No, I will not let go of you until you indulge in me for a little while," Astelia responds just as politely.
Zane silently pleads for help as he looks to Akali and Lumina. They both look back at him, chowing down popcorn. Lumina cheers for Zane as Astelia hugs him from behind.
"Is an elf like me too old for you, Zanie?" her question makes Zane blush even more.
"N-no it's not that…"
He tries to form a response but Astelia's actions cloud his mind. Her assets tempt him to try and go further. Time slows down as she kisses Zane on the lips. She smirks, licking her lips afterward.
"Remember Zane," she sighs. "Even a hard-headed woman like myself has times of frustration."
She looks back at Zane and smiles. She fully accepts the new sense of fuzziness in her heart.
'You'll be someone great Zane, way better than I ever was.'
Astelia sits down in the river to relax. Flashes of expectations flash through her mind before being reminded of Zane's smile.
'If only I met him as an ally sooner,' that thought circles her mind.
At that moment of vulnerability, she hides her smile in the water. Her eyes close as she tries to understand her feelings. Before she could, Lumina taps her shoulders.
"You okay? You look weirder than usual," Lumina chuckles. "So, Zane's got your mind tripping?"
"I guess," Astelia replies with a sigh. "Can't be helped sometimes, you know?"
"I feel you on that one."
Lumina also gets in the water and sits next to Astelia. She dips her pink hair into the water and shakes it.
"Never thought the former Hero of Redemption would act the way she did," Lumina teases. "I still don't know what to expect from you, Astelia."
"Yea…"
'I don't even know what to expect from myself anymore,' she mutters to herself.
The Hero of Redemption is one of the most prestigious hero names in the world. A younger Astelia looked up to see a fairy look back. The rambunctious fairy laughs as she looks down on Astelia.
"Guess who's your system?" the fairy exclaims. "It's me! The almighty Grisha!"
Astelia looks at the fairy in awe. She couldn't believe that she got chosen by a system when there hadn't been a system present in the past two decades. Grisha floats to Astelia and phases into her right eye. The light from contact almost made her half-blind.
Grisha's laugh echo in her head as she shows Astelia a screen. She covers her eyes as the screen shines a rainbow color. Rainbow-colored system contracts indicate a very rare system has taken interest in you. The elf village barges inside Astelia's home and is shocked when they see the screen.
[Grisha, the System of Redemption offers you a contract, do you accept?]
Astelia is hesitant, but with her mother's nod, her shaking hand presses [YES].