"MY LADY, we finally apprehended the tribe of the Golden Tiger."
"Good," Soleil said, relieved that they finally stopped Ainsworth's tribe. "Don't kill the little tiger. I want to talk to him. Moreover, I know that he didn't want this to happen."
Right now, she was talking to Wong through the floating red feather in front of her.
Since her army was dispatched to different areas of the empire, they decided to use her feather to communicate. After all, every single Fire Mage had the ability to hear and talk to her using the feathers from her wings.
It had been two years since the war between her country and the Moonchester Empire had begun. Yes, the war was ongoing for too long now. It couldn't be helped.
After all, Auro Moonchester managed to surprise them by controlling the Golden Tiger using the Holy Bracelet. He also almost controlled Kalel and Winchell. Thankfully, the two managed to break away from it using two different methods.
Winchell hid away from the empire where the power of the Holy Bracelet wouldn't reach him. The Red Phoenix figured that he'd rather not be able to help their clan win the war rather than help Auro Moonchester destroy them.
Kalel, on the other hand, managed to break free by suppressing his beast form. As long as he didn't change into a Black Serpent, he wouldn't be controlled by Auro Moonchester. The downside was her husband couldn't use his full power.
Thus, they couldn't win the war easily despite having Asher Forrester, the new saint, fighting beside them.
Even the three main gods had remained silent.
[It's time to end this, Auro Moonchester.]
"Soleil."
She was standing in the mountain of the Crades that she had just slain when she heard the familiar voice. When she turned around, she smiled when she saw Kalel. But that smile quickly disappeared when she noticed that her husband's eyes turned red.
Moreover, the look on his face had changed.
[This isn't my husband.]
It was too late when she realized that though.
The next thing she knew, Kalel's hand was already pierced through her chest. In just one fatal move, he already got her heart in his hand literally.
"As expected, you realized right away that I'm not your husband," "Kalel" said in a mocking voice. "I wanted to torment you a little longer but I guess ripping your heart out takes priority."
She wanted to move but she couldn't.
It seemed like "Kalel" created a barrier around them because her Keepers couldn't go and help her. She could hear them scream, especially Wong, but she couldn't even turn her head. All she could do at the moment was look at her "husband" in the eye.
Then, she finally realized who the person inside Kalel was.
"It's your, father-in-law," she said with a bitter smile. "For the past years that I've been observing Kalel, I noticed that he would treat me coldly every time his eyes changed into red. But each time his eyes would return to their original color, he would forget the things that happened while you had taken over his body."
She knew all of that but she didn't tell Kalel.
After all, she was afraid that if her husband somehow got aware of what his own father was doing to him, the Moon God would take drastic action like possessing Kalel for real. Thus, she remained silent while observing her husband's behavior all this time.
And perhaps, it was a mistake.
[Maybe I should have talked to Kalel openly instead of merely enduring his unstable behavior towards me.]
"It looks like you regret keeping your silence all this time," Kyro, the Moon God that had taken over her husband's body, said while pulling his hand out of her chest. Her beating heart was, of course, in his hand now. "This is why it's easy to manipulate you and my son, you know? Instead of communicating properly, you try to "protect" each other on your own. Do you know why you and Kalel are like that?" When she didn't respond, her father-in-law smirked haughtily. "It's called 'god complex,' my dear daughter-in-law. We gods have so much pride in us that we can't bear being protected by other people. What we want and desire is to protect those who are weaker than us. I, too, was burdened by that complex. After all, it's the reason why I want to protect the human race despite my indifference towards them."
At that point, she couldn't refute the criticism that she got from Kyro.
Maybe she and Kalel really had that thing called 'god complex.'
It was too late to realize that though. Mistakes were already made, and they were already paying for it now.
"Kalel, this isn't your fault," she said, talking to her husband with a smile on her face. To be honest, she already felt exhausted and every inch of her body hurt. It was a miracle that she could still stand like that. Perhaps, it was her 'god complex' that refused to let her fall in front of the enemy. "Please don't blame yourself for this."
Kyro smirked at her. "Do you think Kalel could still hear you…"
As soon as the Moon God said that, his face was suddenly distorted in pain. Then, after a few moments of struggling, he lowered his head as if he suddenly fell unconscious. And when he raised his head again, she noticed that his eyes turned gold again.
[Ah, my gray cloud is back.]
And he looked very devastated when he realized what he had just done.
"It's alright, Lord Kalel. We are both to blame for this. I hope the next time we get reborn, we get reincarnated as ordinary humans instead," she said weakly, then she began to fall to the ground.
But of course, her husband caught her and put her in his lap using one hand. After all, her beating heart was still in his hand literally.
Seeing that made her angry.
Just because of her heart, Auro, or should she say Aku Moonchester, had gone this far. And yet, they still didn't know what he was going to use her heart for.
"You can take my heart, my lord," she said bitterly. "And you better tell the Moonchesters to make sure I won't come back from the dead because once I do, I'll make sure that I'll burn them alive." Her hand reached out to touch his face. Then, she gently brushed the tear on his cheek with her thumb. "Don't cry, my lord. We both made a choice that we can no longer change."
It was both their choice to do things on their own.
If she survived this, she would change. But for now, the important thing to her was to comfort her husband. After all, if she died, she wanted him to avenge her.
Moreover, she wanted to say goodbye to him properly.
"I hope the next time we meet, you'd be the one to fall in love with me first," Soleil said, then she smiled as her tears began to fall from her eyes. "Please choose me if that happens."
It was a shame that she didn't hear what Kalel said as a response.
***
WINCHELL came out of his hiding as soon as received the news that Soleil's heart was stolen by that damned Kalel Nystrom.
When he arrived at their palace, he prepared himself for the worst.
But much to his relief, he was informed that Soleil was still somewhat alive. He found his little sister literally frozen inside a huge block of ice. It wasn't a block of ordinary ice, of course. Anyone with Mana could tell that.
"Lord Kalel froze Lady Soleil's body after ripping her heart out, my lord," Solaris, his son who was standing beside him, said. "Thanks to that, our Lady Soleil is still alive."
"Kalel didn't do that for Soleil," Winchell said coldly. "He only kept my sister alive because Aku Moonchester would have died if my sister died."
His son looked shocked by his revelation.
"Don't tell Soleil," he said to his child. "She'll sacrifice herself if she finds out."
Solaris nodded and bowed to him. "I will keep this a secret from Lady Soleil."
"Good," he said, then he turned to his son. "Solaris, call Solenn since she's the best physician in our clan."
"How are we going to save Lady Soleil, my lord?"
"I'm going to give her my heart."
His son's eyes widened in shock. "But…"
"I won't die even if I don't have a heart," he assured Solaris. "The worst that I could happen is my flame getting weak. But it doesn't matter since I can't fight in this war anyway."
His son didn't give a response.
"What's wrong, Solaris?" he asked with furrowed brows. "Do you not agree with my decision?"
"It's not like that, my lord," his son said, then he lowered his gaze. "I know this is selfish but I wonder if you're going to go that far to save me if I were in Lady Soleil's position."
Ah, was Solaris being jealous?
It wasn't like he wasn't aware that he was doting on Soleil more than he did on his son. But he couldn't help it. To him, Soleil was his sun.
But that didn't mean that he didn't care about his son.
"While I was on the Plane, I was given the chance to be with Luna."
His son finally raised his head to meet his gaze.
"To be with her, I have to give up on you. If I chose Luna, you wouldn't have existed in this world," he said gently. Well, as gently as he could since he had a naturally rough way of speaking. "I chose you, Solaris. Although I tell myself that it's for our clan, I know in my heart that I chose you over my lover because I care about you. I will admit that I can't love anyone else as much as I love my little sister." He patted his son's head. "But you're my one and only son, Solaris. I will also do anything and everything to keep you safe."
Solaris's tears suddenly rolled down his cheeks uncontrollably. "F-Father…"
"Ah, you finally called me 'father,'" Winchell said, then he pulled his son for a hug and gently patted his back. "Solaris, let's save Soleil together."
***
KALEL managed to stay conscious after putting Soleil in an "ice coffin" to keep her alive.
After that, he fled the scene while the Keepers chased and tried to kill him. Of course, they weren't able to catch or kill him as he vanished quickly. His destination was the Royal Palace where Auro was already waiting for him.
"We made a deal," Kalel snarled at Auro Moonchester. "Why did my father possess my body to rip Soleil's heart out? I told you I'd be the one to do it!"
"Well, we didn't trust you when you said that you'd do it," Auro said, then he looked at the icebox in his hand where he put Soleil's heart to keep it safe. "But seeing that you delivered Lady Soleil's heart even after gaining consciousness, I guess we were wrong to doubt you." He turned to him. "I'm sorry for doubting you, Brother."
"I don't need your apology, Auro Moonchester," he said coldly. "We made a deal. I brought you Soleil's heart so it's your turn to give me what I want."
"I know, Brother," the young emperor said. "I will undo the binding spell that I tied Lady Soleil's soul with. But in return…"
"I will let you tie your soul with mine."
Auro smiled sickeningly sweet at him. "I'm glad that you understand, Brother," he said, then he extended his hand to him. "May I hold Lady Soleil's heart?"
"Not so fast, Auro Moonchester," Kalel said coldly, then he closed his hand– effectively hiding the frozen heart within his body. "Free my wife first."
"MY LADY, we finally apprehended the tribe of the Golden Tiger."
"Good," Soleil said, relieved that they finally stopped Ainsworth's tribe. "Don't kill the little tiger. I want to talk to him. Moreover, I know that he didn't want this to happen."
Right now, she was talking to Wong through the floating red feather in front of her.
Since her army was dispatched to different areas of the empire, they decided to use her feather to communicate. After all, every single Fire Mage had the ability to hear and talk to her using the feathers from her wings.
It had been two years since the war between her country and the Moonchester Empire had begun. Yes, the war was ongoing for too long now. It couldn't be helped.
After all, Auro Moonchester managed to surprise them by controlling the Golden Tiger using the Holy Bracelet. He also almost controlled Kalel and Winchell. Thankfully, the two managed to break away from it using two different methods.
Winchell hid away from the empire where the power of the Holy Bracelet wouldn't reach him. The Red Phoenix figured that he'd rather not be able to help their clan win the war rather than help Auro Moonchester destroy them.
Kalel, on the other hand, managed to break free by suppressing his beast form. As long as he didn't change into a Black Serpent, he wouldn't be controlled by Auro Moonchester. The downside was her husband couldn't use his full power.
Thus, they couldn't win the war easily despite having Asher Forrester, the new saint, fighting beside them.
Even the three main gods had remained silent.
[It's time to end this, Auro Moonchester.]
"Soleil."
She was standing in the mountain of the Crades that she had just slain when she heard the familiar voice. When she turned around, she smiled when she saw Kalel. But that smile quickly disappeared when she noticed that her husband's eyes turned red.
Moreover, the look on his face had changed.
[This isn't my husband.]
It was too late when she realized that though.
The next thing she knew, Kalel's hand was already pierced through her chest. In just one fatal move, he already got her heart in his hand literally.
"As expected, you realized right away that I'm not your husband," "Kalel" said in a mocking voice. "I wanted to torment you a little longer but I guess ripping your heart out takes priority."
She wanted to move but she couldn't.
It seemed like "Kalel" created a barrier around them because her Keepers couldn't go and help her. She could hear them scream, especially Wong, but she couldn't even turn her head. All she could do at the moment was look at her "husband" in the eye.
Then, she finally realized who the person inside Kalel was.
"It's your, father-in-law," she said with a bitter smile. "For the past years that I've been observing Kalel, I noticed that he would treat me coldly every time his eyes changed into red. But each time his eyes would return to their original color, he would forget the things that happened while you had taken over his body."
She knew all of that but she didn't tell Kalel.
After all, she was afraid that if her husband somehow got aware of what his own father was doing to him, the Moon God would take drastic action like possessing Kalel for real. Thus, she remained silent while observing her husband's behavior all this time.
And perhaps, it was a mistake.
[Maybe I should have talked to Kalel openly instead of merely enduring his unstable behavior towards me.]
"It looks like you regret keeping your silence all this time," Kyro, the Moon God that had taken over her husband's body, said while pulling his hand out of her chest. Her beating heart was, of course, in his hand now. "This is why it's easy to manipulate you and my son, you know? Instead of communicating properly, you try to "protect" each other on your own. Do you know why you and Kalel are like that?" When she didn't respond, her father-in-law smirked haughtily. "It's called 'god complex,' my dear daughter-in-law. We gods have so much pride in us that we can't bear being protected by other people. What we want and desire is to protect those who are weaker than us. I, too, was burdened by that complex. After all, it's the reason why I want to protect the human race despite my indifference towards them."
At that point, she couldn't refute the criticism that she got from Kyro.
Maybe she and Kalel really had that thing called 'god complex.'
It was too late to realize that though. Mistakes were already made, and they were already paying for it now.
"Kalel, this isn't your fault," she said, talking to her husband with a smile on her face. To be honest, she already felt exhausted and every inch of her body hurt. It was a miracle that she could still stand like that. Perhaps, it was her 'god complex' that refused to let her fall in front of the enemy. "Please don't blame yourself for this."
Kyro smirked at her. "Do you think Kalel could still hear you…"
As soon as the Moon God said that, his face was suddenly distorted in pain. Then, after a few moments of struggling, he lowered his head as if he suddenly fell unconscious. And when he raised his head again, she noticed that his eyes turned gold again.
[Ah, my gray cloud is back.]
And he looked very devastated when he realized what he had just done.
"It's alright, Lord Kalel. We are both to blame for this. I hope the next time we get reborn, we get reincarnated as ordinary humans instead," she said weakly, then she began to fall to the ground.
But of course, her husband caught her and put her in his lap using one hand. After all, her beating heart was still in his hand literally.
Seeing that made her angry.
Just because of her heart, Auro, or should she say Aku Moonchester, had gone this far. And yet, they still didn't know what he was going to use her heart for.
"You can take my heart, my lord," she said bitterly. "And you better tell the Moonchesters to make sure I won't come back from the dead because once I do, I'll make sure that I'll burn them alive." Her hand reached out to touch his face. Then, she gently brushed the tear on his cheek with her thumb. "Don't cry, my lord. We both made a choice that we can no longer change."
It was both their choice to do things on their own.
If she survived this, she would change. But for now, the important thing to her was to comfort her husband. After all, if she died, she wanted him to avenge her.
Moreover, she wanted to say goodbye to him properly.
"I hope the next time we meet, you'd be the one to fall in love with me first," Soleil said, then she smiled as her tears began to fall from her eyes. "Please choose me if that happens."
It was a shame that she didn't hear what Kalel said as a response.
***
WINCHELL came out of his hiding as soon as received the news that Soleil's heart was stolen by that damned Kalel Nystrom.
When he arrived at their palace, he prepared himself for the worst.
But much to his relief, he was informed that Soleil was still somewhat alive. He found his little sister literally frozen inside a huge block of ice. It wasn't a block of ordinary ice, of course. Anyone with Mana could tell that.
"Lord Kalel froze Lady Soleil's body after ripping her heart out, my lord," Solaris, his son who was standing beside him, said. "Thanks to that, our Lady Soleil is still alive."
"Kalel didn't do that for Soleil," Winchell said coldly. "He only kept my sister alive because Aku Moonchester would have died if my sister died."
His son looked shocked by his revelation.
"Don't tell Soleil," he said to his child. "She'll sacrifice herself if she finds out."
Solaris nodded and bowed to him. "I will keep this a secret from Lady Soleil."
"Good," he said, then he turned to his son. "Solaris, call Solenn since she's the best physician in our clan."
"How are we going to save Lady Soleil, my lord?"
"I'm going to give her my heart."
His son's eyes widened in shock. "But…"
"I won't die even if I don't have a heart," he assured Solaris. "The worst that I could happen is my flame getting weak. But it doesn't matter since I can't fight in this war anyway."
His son didn't give a response.
"What's wrong, Solaris?" he asked with furrowed brows. "Do you not agree with my decision?"
"It's not like that, my lord," his son said, then he lowered his gaze. "I know this is selfish but I wonder if you're going to go that far to save me if I were in Lady Soleil's position."
Ah, was Solaris being jealous?
It wasn't like he wasn't aware that he was doting on Soleil more than he did on his son. But he couldn't help it. To him, Soleil was his sun.
But that didn't mean that he didn't care about his son.
"While I was on the Plane, I was given the chance to be with Luna."
His son finally raised his head to meet his gaze.
"To be with her, I have to give up on you. If I chose Luna, you wouldn't have existed in this world," he said gently. Well, as gently as he could since he had a naturally rough way of speaking. "I chose you, Solaris. Although I tell myself that it's for our clan, I know in my heart that I chose you over my lover because I care about you. I will admit that I can't love anyone else as much as I love my little sister." He patted his son's head. "But you're my one and only son, Solaris. I will also do anything and everything to keep you safe."
Solaris's tears suddenly rolled down his cheeks uncontrollably. "F-Father…"
"Ah, you finally called me 'father,'" Winchell said, then he pulled his son for a hug and gently patted his back. "Solaris, let's save Soleil together."
***
KALEL managed to stay conscious after putting Soleil in an "ice coffin" to keep her alive.
After that, he fled the scene while the Keepers chased and tried to kill him. Of course, they weren't able to catch or kill him as he vanished quickly. His destination was the Royal Palace where Auro was already waiting for him.
"We made a deal," Kalel snarled at Auro Moonchester. "Why did my father possess my body to rip Soleil's heart out? I told you I'd be the one to do it!"
"Well, we didn't trust you when you said that you'd do it," Auro said, then he looked at the icebox in his hand where he put Soleil's heart to keep it safe. "But seeing that you delivered Lady Soleil's heart even after gaining consciousness, I guess we were wrong to doubt you." He turned to him. "I'm sorry for doubting you, Brother."
"I don't need your apology, Auro Moonchester," he said coldly. "We made a deal. I brought you Soleil's heart so it's your turn to give me what I want."
"I know, Brother," the young emperor said. "I will undo the binding spell that I tied Lady Soleil's soul with. But in return…"
"I will let you tie your soul with mine."
Auro smiled sickeningly sweet at him. "I'm glad that you understand, Brother," he said, then he extended his hand to him. "May I hold Lady Soleil's heart?"
"Not so fast, Auro Moonchester," Kalel said coldly, then he closed his hand– effectively hiding the frozen heart within his body. "Free my wife first."
