WINCHELL knew that Elis Ripperton would be a formidable opponent because of his ability to control the wind.
If the Blue Dragon wished, he could stop a person's capability to breathe.
Unfortunately for the bastard, that technique wouldn't work on him since his Mana and divine power were too thick for him to break.
He calls that technique of his 'Isolation.'
[That means that my Mana serves as a barrier that acts as if my physical body is in a different dimension than the one where Elis Ripperton is. Thus, his attacks don't work on me. Heck, he couldn't even touch my physical body.]
"I would kill you if I could," Winchell said after he burned Elis Ripperton. Too bad the bastard was still alive. Now that the fight was over, the two of them both returned to their human form. "But you're protected by the Moon God."
And the Four Beast Gods formed a contract with the major gods in the past.
The contract states that the four of them were not allowed to kill each other unless it was an official war approved by the major gods. But those damned old gods couldn't be seen anywhere these days.
"This… isn't o-over yet…" Elis Ripperton said while coughing. Ah, he must have been suffocated from the smoke of the fire that burned him to crisp. "The daughter of the Guardian will soon find out all the gods' weaknesses– ahh!"
The Blue Dragon wasn't able to finish his threat.
All because he stabbed his hand through the bastard's chest. Then, he grabbed Elis Ripperton's gem-like heart and crushed it. The Blue Dragon's howl echoed the forest.
"You won't die from this but with this, you'll be forced to enter deep slumber to recover," he told the Blue Dragon while standing up. Then, he wiped the blood off of his hand using the handkerchief that Wong silently handed to him. "Good fucking night, Elis Ripperton."
The Blue Dragon cursed him before it disappeared in a mix of blue and white light.
"My lord, will it really be alright to simply force the Blue Dragon to enter a deep slumber?" Wong, standing behind him, asked politely. "If you can't kill him because of the laws of heaven, then you should have asked him to kill him instead."
He turned to the first Keeper that he created. "Wong, Elis Ripperton is a scum. But he's still a god. You and your siblings who just woke up won't be able to kill him." He patted Wong's shoulder when he noticed that he was frowning. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm also not underestimating you and your siblings. I'm merely stating a fact."
Wong nodded, then he clenched his fists. "I will work hard to get stronger, my lord."
"Yes, you should do that," Winchell said while nodding. He was about to encourage Wong even more when all of a sudden, he felt a shiver down his spine. Much to her surprise, Luna's image suddenly flashed in his mind. "No, it can't be…"
***
"YOU FOOL," Soleil whispered to herself, in a cracked voice, when she found Luna's cold and stiff body in front of the temple where she and Kalel were supposed to stay at. She knelt beside her friend's body, then she turned to the boy who was seated beside the Moon Priestess. "Are you one of the Keepers that my brother created?"
The little boy nodded while looking at her with red cheeks. "My name is Roarke, Master," he said when he stood up. Then, he bowed to her. "It's an honor to meet you."
It seemed like the boy recognized her at one glance, huh?
Although the temple was a place that was limited to her, Kalel, Winchell, and the Keepers, she could easily tell that Roarke already knew her before he even came there. Her brother definitely filled the Keepers' planted memories with everything related to her.
"The night is cold, Roarke," she gently told the boy. "Go inside the temple for now."
"But I don't want to leave Mother alone…"
Mother?
Was the boy referring to Luna?
[Ah, yes. I think I remember Brother Wixx telling me that he created a Keeper that he and Luna could raise as their child.]
But now that Luna was gone…
"It's alright, child," she assured the boy. "I will take care of your Mother. Trust me."
Roarke nodded and bowed to her. Then, he gave Luna one last longing look before he entered the temple.
And now, she was alone with her friend.
"You have a good son, Luna. I promise to take care of him," she said softly while caressing Luna's cold face. She couldn't believe that her quirky friend really left the earth seated on the ground while leaning against a huge tree in front of the temple. It looked like the Moon Priestess was waiting for her. "I'm sorry I'm late."
Getting to the temple wasn't easy.
Luna's life forced that served as a barrier made it invisible to the naked eye. Only people with permission to enter the temple could see it. Having said that, she and Kalel still made sure that they weren't followed. Thus, they came to the mountain separately.
[I wish I arrived sooner…]
She tried to hold back her tears but couldn't.
Although she promised herself that she would stop being a crybaby, how could she not mourn the death of her best friend? To think that Luna sacrificed her life for her sake…
[Thank you, Luna.]
She held the Moon Priestess's hands, then she kissed her knuckles.
"Soleil?"
She wiped the tears off of her face before she stood up to face Kalel. Judging by the sorrowful look on her husband's face, it was clear that he already noticed that Luna was gone.
"Luna sacrificed her life for us, Kalel," she said in a cracked voice. "She used her life force to prepare a safe haven for us."
Kalel's jaw clenched, then he nodded. "We will not put Luna's sacrifice to vain."
She smiled at her husband sadly. "Can you help me give Luna a proper farewell?"
"Of course," he said, then he froze for a moment.
She knew why her husband was suddenly frozen though. And it was because her brother Winchell arrived. The sullen look on her brother's face told them that he already knew that his lover was gone.
But her brother didn't look shocked.
[Does Brother already know that Luna is planning to sacrifice her life for us?]
"Soleil, let me handle this," Winchell said solemnly when he stood before her, completely ignoring Kalel. "I have to burn Luna's body."
She gasped when she heard that. "But why do you have to do that, Brother Wixx?"
"Luna, as a Moon Priestess, betrayed the Moon God," her brother explained. "Once her soul reaches the Plane, she wouldn't be considered for reincarnation as punishment for her betrayal."
She fell silent for a while before she realized what her brother was planning to do. "You're going to use your flame as a phoenix to help Luna get reborn?"
Her brother remained silent, and she took that as a 'yes.'
"It's going to exhaust your Mana, Brother," she said worriedly. "You might need to enter a deep slumber to recuperate. Will you be safe if you rest in heaven?"
"Don't worry about me, Soleil. I have Sentinel to protect while I sleep," her brother said, then he gently ruffled her hair. "I will return as soon as I can. While I'm away, I will leave the Keepers to you. Of course, they won't enter the temple. But I will make them guard the area for you and your husband."
"Brother…"
"Just focus on conceiving the child that you need," Winchell said, then he gently caressed her face. "I will be back before you know it."
Soleil smiled sadly and nodded. "We will wait for you, Brother."
***
WINCHELL used the most gentle flame that he could muster to burn Luna's remains.
Before that, he carefully put her body in a comfortable bed and took her to the middle of the forest. He didn't want to burn her where Roarke, their son, could see it. The darkness and the coldness of the night made him feel more gloomy.
It made sending off Luna harder than he imagined.
"You really didn't listen to me until the end, Luna," Winchell whispered to himself with a sad smile on his face. Watching his beloved being swallowed by his own flame hurt like hell. But he stayed because he didn't want to leave Luna alone. He couldn't. "Still, that only made you more endearing to me."
To say that he was heartbroken to lose Luna would be an understatement.
But on the other hand, he wouldn't deny that he was grateful to her for being a good friend to Soleil until the end.
None of them deserved the Moon Priestess.
"I will make sure that you'll get reborn because I know that you want to live longer in your next life," Winchell whispered, then he closed his eyes and let his tears fall. "I will find you again, Luna."
***
"NIA knows how to find the Supreme Fire Mage."
Auro Moonchester turned to Nia who was lying beside him on the bed.
He just told her his problem regarding his missing brother and sister-in-law. Of course, he was hoping that the daughter of the Great Fire Tree could help him. But he didn't expect Nia to give him an immediate response.
"Really?" Auro asked eagerly. "Can Nia tell me how to find my dear brother and his wife?"
"Summon the fire woman's Spirit Guardian."
["Fire woman?" Is she referring to Lady Rosenberg?]
"The Spirit Guardian can follow the fire woman anywhere," Nia continued cheerfully. "The Spirit Guardian has the same soul as the fire woman and therefore, the barrier hiding the fire woman won't work on the Spirit Guardian."
Ah, that made sense.
Still…
"Even if the Spirit Guardian doesn't like her master, I don't think she'd betray Lady Rosenberg that easily," he said worriedly. "I heard that the Spirit Guardians will get punished if they betray their master."
"It will be fine," his lover assured him. "The Spirit Guardian is being protected by a dark yet strong entity inside the fire woman."
It was hard to believe at first.
But he trusted Nia and her words.
"Then, let's give it a try," he said while gently patting Nia's head. "I wonder how I could convince the Spirit Guardian to come to our side."
"Give her the baby."
"The baby?"
"The fire woman's baby," Nia said, her eyes glowing mischievously. "The Spirit Guardian wants the fire woman's baby."
The confidence in his lover's voice encouraged him to believe her even more.
"Thank you, Nia," Auro said, gathering her petite frame in his arms. "I don't know how to live without you."
WINCHELL knew that Elis Ripperton would be a formidable opponent because of his ability to control the wind.
If the Blue Dragon wished, he could stop a person's capability to breathe.
Unfortunately for the bastard, that technique wouldn't work on him since his Mana and divine power were too thick for him to break.
He calls that technique of his 'Isolation.'
[That means that my Mana serves as a barrier that acts as if my physical body is in a different dimension than the one where Elis Ripperton is. Thus, his attacks don't work on me. Heck, he couldn't even touch my physical body.]
"I would kill you if I could," Winchell said after he burned Elis Ripperton. Too bad the bastard was still alive. Now that the fight was over, the two of them both returned to their human form. "But you're protected by the Moon God."
And the Four Beast Gods formed a contract with the major gods in the past.
The contract states that the four of them were not allowed to kill each other unless it was an official war approved by the major gods. But those damned old gods couldn't be seen anywhere these days.
"This… isn't o-over yet…" Elis Ripperton said while coughing. Ah, he must have been suffocated from the smoke of the fire that burned him to crisp. "The daughter of the Guardian will soon find out all the gods' weaknesses– ahh!"
The Blue Dragon wasn't able to finish his threat.
All because he stabbed his hand through the bastard's chest. Then, he grabbed Elis Ripperton's gem-like heart and crushed it. The Blue Dragon's howl echoed the forest.
"You won't die from this but with this, you'll be forced to enter deep slumber to recover," he told the Blue Dragon while standing up. Then, he wiped the blood off of his hand using the handkerchief that Wong silently handed to him. "Good fucking night, Elis Ripperton."
The Blue Dragon cursed him before it disappeared in a mix of blue and white light.
"My lord, will it really be alright to simply force the Blue Dragon to enter a deep slumber?" Wong, standing behind him, asked politely. "If you can't kill him because of the laws of heaven, then you should have asked him to kill him instead."
He turned to the first Keeper that he created. "Wong, Elis Ripperton is a scum. But he's still a god. You and your siblings who just woke up won't be able to kill him." He patted Wong's shoulder when he noticed that he was frowning. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm also not underestimating you and your siblings. I'm merely stating a fact."
Wong nodded, then he clenched his fists. "I will work hard to get stronger, my lord."
"Yes, you should do that," Winchell said while nodding. He was about to encourage Wong even more when all of a sudden, he felt a shiver down his spine. Much to her surprise, Luna's image suddenly flashed in his mind. "No, it can't be…"
***
"YOU FOOL," Soleil whispered to herself, in a cracked voice, when she found Luna's cold and stiff body in front of the temple where she and Kalel were supposed to stay at. She knelt beside her friend's body, then she turned to the boy who was seated beside the Moon Priestess. "Are you one of the Keepers that my brother created?"
The little boy nodded while looking at her with red cheeks. "My name is Roarke, Master," he said when he stood up. Then, he bowed to her. "It's an honor to meet you."
It seemed like the boy recognized her at one glance, huh?
Although the temple was a place that was limited to her, Kalel, Winchell, and the Keepers, she could easily tell that Roarke already knew her before he even came there. Her brother definitely filled the Keepers' planted memories with everything related to her.
"The night is cold, Roarke," she gently told the boy. "Go inside the temple for now."
"But I don't want to leave Mother alone…"
Mother?
Was the boy referring to Luna?
[Ah, yes. I think I remember Brother Wixx telling me that he created a Keeper that he and Luna could raise as their child.]
But now that Luna was gone…
"It's alright, child," she assured the boy. "I will take care of your Mother. Trust me."
Roarke nodded and bowed to her. Then, he gave Luna one last longing look before he entered the temple.
And now, she was alone with her friend.
"You have a good son, Luna. I promise to take care of him," she said softly while caressing Luna's cold face. She couldn't believe that her quirky friend really left the earth seated on the ground while leaning against a huge tree in front of the temple. It looked like the Moon Priestess was waiting for her. "I'm sorry I'm late."
Getting to the temple wasn't easy.
Luna's life forced that served as a barrier made it invisible to the naked eye. Only people with permission to enter the temple could see it. Having said that, she and Kalel still made sure that they weren't followed. Thus, they came to the mountain separately.
[I wish I arrived sooner…]
She tried to hold back her tears but couldn't.
Although she promised herself that she would stop being a crybaby, how could she not mourn the death of her best friend? To think that Luna sacrificed her life for her sake…
[Thank you, Luna.]
She held the Moon Priestess's hands, then she kissed her knuckles.
"Soleil?"
She wiped the tears off of her face before she stood up to face Kalel. Judging by the sorrowful look on her husband's face, it was clear that he already noticed that Luna was gone.
"Luna sacrificed her life for us, Kalel," she said in a cracked voice. "She used her life force to prepare a safe haven for us."
Kalel's jaw clenched, then he nodded. "We will not put Luna's sacrifice to vain."
She smiled at her husband sadly. "Can you help me give Luna a proper farewell?"
"Of course," he said, then he froze for a moment.
She knew why her husband was suddenly frozen though. And it was because her brother Winchell arrived. The sullen look on her brother's face told them that he already knew that his lover was gone.
But her brother didn't look shocked.
[Does Brother already know that Luna is planning to sacrifice her life for us?]
"Soleil, let me handle this," Winchell said solemnly when he stood before her, completely ignoring Kalel. "I have to burn Luna's body."
She gasped when she heard that. "But why do you have to do that, Brother Wixx?"
"Luna, as a Moon Priestess, betrayed the Moon God," her brother explained. "Once her soul reaches the Plane, she wouldn't be considered for reincarnation as punishment for her betrayal."
She fell silent for a while before she realized what her brother was planning to do. "You're going to use your flame as a phoenix to help Luna get reborn?"
Her brother remained silent, and she took that as a 'yes.'
"It's going to exhaust your Mana, Brother," she said worriedly. "You might need to enter a deep slumber to recuperate. Will you be safe if you rest in heaven?"
"Don't worry about me, Soleil. I have Sentinel to protect while I sleep," her brother said, then he gently ruffled her hair. "I will return as soon as I can. While I'm away, I will leave the Keepers to you. Of course, they won't enter the temple. But I will make them guard the area for you and your husband."
"Brother…"
"Just focus on conceiving the child that you need," Winchell said, then he gently caressed her face. "I will be back before you know it."
Soleil smiled sadly and nodded. "We will wait for you, Brother."
***
WINCHELL used the most gentle flame that he could muster to burn Luna's remains.
Before that, he carefully put her body in a comfortable bed and took her to the middle of the forest. He didn't want to burn her where Roarke, their son, could see it. The darkness and the coldness of the night made him feel more gloomy.
It made sending off Luna harder than he imagined.
"You really didn't listen to me until the end, Luna," Winchell whispered to himself with a sad smile on his face. Watching his beloved being swallowed by his own flame hurt like hell. But he stayed because he didn't want to leave Luna alone. He couldn't. "Still, that only made you more endearing to me."
To say that he was heartbroken to lose Luna would be an understatement.
But on the other hand, he wouldn't deny that he was grateful to her for being a good friend to Soleil until the end.
None of them deserved the Moon Priestess.
"I will make sure that you'll get reborn because I know that you want to live longer in your next life," Winchell whispered, then he closed his eyes and let his tears fall. "I will find you again, Luna."
***
"NIA knows how to find the Supreme Fire Mage."
Auro Moonchester turned to Nia who was lying beside him on the bed.
He just told her his problem regarding his missing brother and sister-in-law. Of course, he was hoping that the daughter of the Great Fire Tree could help him. But he didn't expect Nia to give him an immediate response.
"Really?" Auro asked eagerly. "Can Nia tell me how to find my dear brother and his wife?"
"Summon the fire woman's Spirit Guardian."
["Fire woman?" Is she referring to Lady Rosenberg?]
"The Spirit Guardian can follow the fire woman anywhere," Nia continued cheerfully. "The Spirit Guardian has the same soul as the fire woman and therefore, the barrier hiding the fire woman won't work on the Spirit Guardian."
Ah, that made sense.
Still…
"Even if the Spirit Guardian doesn't like her master, I don't think she'd betray Lady Rosenberg that easily," he said worriedly. "I heard that the Spirit Guardians will get punished if they betray their master."
"It will be fine," his lover assured him. "The Spirit Guardian is being protected by a dark yet strong entity inside the fire woman."
It was hard to believe at first.
But he trusted Nia and her words.
"Then, let's give it a try," he said while gently patting Nia's head. "I wonder how I could convince the Spirit Guardian to come to our side."
"Give her the baby."
"The baby?"
"The fire woman's baby," Nia said, her eyes glowing mischievously. "The Spirit Guardian wants the fire woman's baby."
The confidence in his lover's voice encouraged him to believe her even more.
"Thank you, Nia," Auro said, gathering her petite frame in his arms. "I don't know how to live without you."
