Chapter 168: Until We Meet Again..
"Well," Doran said seriously, "since they are mystical objects, let’s just say that different people have...different reactions upon seeing them."
"What does that mean?" someone asked.
"It means there have been cases of people fainting or even crying," Doran explained. "I can’t quite explain it myself, but the chamber inside is said to be charged with magical energy strong enough to provoke different reactions in different people."
A ripple of gasps and murmurs spread through the group at his words.
Ivan and Eve remained silent, listening intently, while Damien, Cece, and Edward exchanged quiet remarks whenever something caught their interest.
The chattering grew louder until an impatient student finally blurted out, "Can we see what’s inside already? Lunch time is approaching fast!"
The speaker was none other than Prince Aden Blackwell from the Kingdom of Sunfire, the very same prince Ivan had mercilessly shoved aside during the academy assembly, after the fool had tried to hit on Eve not too long ago.
"Oh, my deepest apologies for keeping you from your meal, Prince Aden," Professor Dante said sweetly, with a bright smile on his face. "I didn’t realise this was such a waste of time for you. If that’s the case, I can always have you transported back to the Academy. I’m sure the staff would appreciate your assistance in serving lunch to the students. What do you think?"
Prince Aden’s eyes widened in horror. The mere thought of being reduced to a servant and facing the same humiliation as those sobbing students who had failed their exams sent a cold shiver down his spine.
"N-no, Professor," he stammered. "I didn’t mean that! I’m fine here! Really! In fact, I could spend all day here, just...looking at things. I was only worried about the others."
"How kind of you," Dante said with a dazzling smile, clearly enjoying the sight of the prince’s colour draining from his face. Turning back to Doran, he added smoothly, "Well then, Mr. Doran, shall we?"
"Right," Doran said quickly, clearing his throat before gesturing to the guards. At his signal, they drew back the heavy curtains, revealing the exclusive chamber beyond.
As the students stepped into the chamber one after another, they immediately felt the air shift, thick with something ancient, as though something ageless was resting there. The atmosphere tingled with a power so raw it made the fine hairs on the back of their necks stand upright.
Professor Seira, a sorcerer sensitive to magic, gasped softly. "This power...I can feel it," she whispered in awe.
The vampires and lumens felt it even more intensely, a deep, instinctive urge to kneel pressed against their very souls as they crossed the threshold. Some students, unable to bear the weight of the energy, found their eyes welling with tears as they stared at what lay ahead.
At the centre of the chamber, encircled by descending marble steps, lay a sunlit basin of green grass where clusters of glowing white flowers bloomed. Above them, the dome’s open ceiling allowed shafts of sunlight to pour in, bathing the two relics beneath in a mystical golden radiance that pulsed softly.
As they looked closer at what those items were, they spotted a beautifully crafted band of golden rings.
One was a breathtaking golden ring featuring an intricately sculpted dragon coiling around the band. Its scales shimmer with gold, and its fierce head was with horns and an open jaw, radiating power and majesty. The band was also etched with swirling, cloud-like patterns and encrusted with tiny diamond-like stones that shone with falling sunlight over it.
The second golden band was no less exquisite, though it carried a more delicate grace and was noticeably smaller in size, a clear indication that it belonged to a woman. The ring entailed a magnificent sculpted phoenix as its centrepiece. The mythical bird was captured mid-flight, wings elegantly spread with each feather finely detailed. Its eye was set with a tiny diamond-like stone, adding a spark of brilliance that enhances the regal design. The band itself is adorned with delicate vines and feather motifs, seamlessly blending into the phoenix’s flowing tail.
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[Music recommendation: Aaryan Shah - Fusion (Acoustic)]
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Both rings were surrounded by a golden aura that seemed to reverberate through the air itself. Evelyn and Ivan were the last to enter, and the moment they did, a sharp gasp escaped their lips. Their hands instinctively tightened around each other as they stood frozen, overcome by the intensity of the moment. Neither of them could fully comprehend the flood of emotions that washed over them...an overwhelming blend of longing, sorrow, and love.
Eve’s hands trembled as the sensation deepened, her heart started to ache as if her very soul resonated with the energy of this place. Her deep blue eyes shimmered, slowly turning golden, as she took a shaky step forward, drawn by something ancient and familiar.
Ivan was the same as her; the same immense sorrow and longing that hung in the air, resonating through with his entire being as if it were tearing at his very soul. As Eve took a step forward, Ivan silently matched her pace, moving with her. Both of their heartbeats picked up seemingly faster with every step they took forward.
As they moved away from the group, their gazes finally fell upon the two golden bands resting on the ground. Suddenly, Eve’s vision blurred, and in an instant, the world around her shifted. She saw it, as vividly as she could. A woman with beautiful golden hair stood at the centre of the chamber, her deep blue eyes brimming with relentless tears as she clutched the hands of the man before her...a man whose molten red eyes Eve recognised at once. The same eyes she had always seen in the realm of her dreams. The same eyes that haunted her dreams, that had looked upon her with love beyond lifetimes.
It shocked her to her core to realise that the man before the golden-haired woman bore the same beautiful features she could never forget. Same majestic, blazing aura radiating from him as he stood tall in front of the golden-haired woman. Their eyes locked onto each other...and their hands clung to each other as if they were holding onto their lives themselves. Their ring fingers were adorned with the same golden bands Eve had seen upon entering the chamber. Yet their eyes streamed with silent tears, as though they were holding each other for one final time.
Ivan was left speechless as he stared with wide molten orange eyes at the same scene as Eve. Only that he could see the woman with bright, beautiful golden hair had the same features as Evelyn. His Evelyn.
For the others present, none noticed the way Eve and Ivan’s powers were reacting in response to the artefacts. For they were too lost in their own rising emotions to sense the silent storm forming around the two. No one else could see what Eve and Ivan were seeing...no one else could feel the echo of two souls reliving a love that time itself had tried to bury.
In the vision, as the woman with golden hair stepped forward to wrap her arms around the man’s neck, the man pulled her incredibly close by the waist. Crushing her against him as though by sheer will he could keep her from fading as the air trembled with their grief.
A soft yet powerful whisper drifted through the air, echoing through the chamber like a vow carried by time itself.
"I love you forever....until we meet again."
The man echoed her words in his quiet, trembling voice, "And I love you forever...until we meet again." He brought his lips to capture hers for one last time, sealing the promise with a kiss that burned with every memory, every lifetime, every unspoken word.
To the others, the twin rings suddenly pulsed with an otherworldly brilliance, their glow surging outward until a blinding white light swallowed the entire chamber. For a moment, everything was weightless and suspended. Before the light faded, a gentle breeze swept through the room, brushing through Eve’s hair and tugging softly at her lavender dress. Just as she and Ivan blinked, the two figures they had seen embracing each other in that heart-wrenching moment disappeared.
Their heartbeat thudded against their chest as they stood frozen in their place, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed...the fleeting glimpses of each other, yet looking entirely different. Their eyes were wide, the pain and longing bled through every beat of their hearts as they stared at the beautiful golden bands lying on the ground. Their hands remained tightly clasped, as goosebumps ran through their bodies in unison.
Their eyes slowly returned to their original hues, yet neither could look away from the golden bands before them. Tears streamed down Eve’s cheeks, mirroring the sorrow of the golden-haired woman she had just seen. Ivan’s eyes glistened, but the tears never fell; his restraint was as fierce as the storm within him. But those who truly knew him could see the deafening crack in his composure. To everyone else, he remained a picture of perfect calm and indecipherable.
