Inside the Inner Palace of the Crystal Palace…
An exceptionally beautiful woman was currently sobbing as she held the Dragon Token dearly against her chest.
"My Love, I missed you terribly," the beautiful woman said through her tears. "It has been so long since I heard your voice. How long have I waited for this day? Why did you only visit me now? Can't you have returned to me sooner?"
The sadness and heartache in the woman's voice made Keoza's soul also feel heartbroken despite the fact that he currently didn't have a body.
"Forgive me, Evangeline," Keoza said softly. "I wish I could have returned sooner. But it took a while for Fate to play her hand. I'm sorry for making you wait for a very long time."
Evangeline wept as she pressed Keoza's Dragon token against her chest, wishing that it could merge with her body so that they could always be together.
Lady Augustina, who was watching this from the side, also had tears streaming down the side of her face. Just like Evangeline, she had terribly missed her Master, who should have been the one and only Dragon King of the entire Dragon Race.
"Our child has already grown so much," Keoza commented. "It must have been hard on you."
Evangeline shook her head. "If it wasn't because of your sacrifice, our child wouldn't have been born in the first place. Aur looks a lot like you when you were younger."
"No," Keoza replied. "Aur looks more like you. Only the color of our eyes is the same."
"Yes, your blue eyes that remind me of the clear blue sky from the day you confessed your love to me." Evangeline smiled as the tears in her eyes continued to flow. "It has been over a hundred years since then. My Love, how long must I wait for your return? Although your voice alleviates my pain a little, I want to hold you in my arms and be embraced by you in return."
"I wish I knew, My love," Keoza replied. "Right now, Lux can summon my soul one more time. After that, my contract with him will be over. Then I will regain my freedom."
"Can't you simply ask him to just free you instead?" Evangeline asked. "I'm sure that he will gladly do it in exchange for us allowing him to seek asylum here in our domain. If that's not enough, we can always give him treasures. Must we really wait until he has a need for you before you can return to your original body?"
A sigh emanated from the Dragon Token.
"Evangeline, although I am sure that Lux will readily agree to my request, I won't ask him to free me just yet."
"B-But why? Haven't you helped him enough? Haven't you sacrificed enough?"
Keoza's gentle voice, which Lux had never heard before, whispered in the beautiful woman's heart.
"Right now, Lux is facing individuals who stand at the Apex of the World," Keoza said. "He has just become a Ranker, and his opponents are already Saints. Even if his Guild Headquarters is to be given Asylum here in the Crystal Palace, his Fate lies elsewhere.
"He will venture to places that few people have set their eyes on.
"Challenge monsters who are above his league.
"Face obstacles that will challenge his limits.
"And meet people, who will form strong bonds with him, which will also be his strength in the uncertain future that lay in front of us."
Suddenly, Keoza's demi-human form materialized in front of Evangeline. He lowered his head and kissed his wife's forehead as he lovingly cupped her face, making her look into his blue eyes that had made her heart skip a beat centuries ago.
"My Love, I ask you to wait a little bit longer." Keoza smiled faintly before kissing her lips. A few seconds later, he pulled back and once again returned to the Dragon Token in her hand.
"When Darkness comes knocking on Heaven's Doors, the sun shall rise over darkened skies," Keoza said with a solemn voice. "With his Unholy Army, he will open the Gates of Heaven, and from there, he will descend upon the world and end the folly of the craven.
"When the Void delivers its greeting, the world's survival will be fleeting. Despite the struggles of the living, it is the Dead whose blades will do the killing.
"Looking for the Pillars of Serenity will aid a world of its Longevity. Even if you were to hold the power of Eternity, without a heart, all will fall to Depravity.
"As the final hour approaches, all hope will vanish without a trace. Only the bonds forged from countless heartaches will make both worlds a better place."
The Dragon Token glowed faintly, warming Evangeline's weeping heart. She understood that her husband had chosen to save the world in his own way, and because of this, she decided to trust her husband and wait.
Wait until his oath was fulfilled by helping the Half-Elf one last time.
The words that Keoza said, she knew them all by heart. For she was the one that had seen that grim future and almost lost her heart.
Her child back then, who was still unborn, was the one who suffered from the backlash of her vision.
And in order to save Aur and their future, Keoza decided to take matters into his own hands.
Turning his back on his responsibilities as King, he did what he thought was the right thing.
Making a pact with the one God remaining in their world, he cast aside his body and sealed his soul inside the Dragon Token.
Waiting for the day when someone would stumble upon him and free him from his hundred years of suffering.
However, after meeting Lux, he found the Half-Elf to his liking. Although he missed his family, he also wished to accompany the red-headed teenager for a little while longer.
Keoza had chosen Lux, and their meeting could only be described as a leap of Faith.
Now that their contract had been made.
His and the Half-Elf's futures were firmly tied by the red strings of Fate.
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