Ian takes his eyes off Kyrie after entering the portal. He looks downward, seeing that his feet are not standing on anything but air. Yet, he still senses the bottom of his feet touching solid ground. The surrounding space reaches an infinity that the eyes cannot catch, not even the line where the sky should separate from the ground because the place was groundless.
Ian turns back to the front once he hears Laurel gasps. His eyes reach the end of the portal, and a magnificent view expands as he comes out of the portal. A palette of green hues and pale gold invade his vision. The fresh and clean air wasp into his nostrils, and his body grows to relax as he reconnects to the surrounding abundant nature.
They walk out of a cave at the end of a valley into a forest of uncommon giant trees. The thick ashy mist hides the valley's depths but dares not to invade into the forest as if an invisible boundary is drawn.
The elven city has never failed to surprise him in every loop.
The beautiful city is built in white marble and limestone around trees. Unlike the conventional edged boxes that humans live in, the buildings are shaped uniquely depending on the trees they are built on, like vines growing on support in search of light. They all shape organically like plant mimics.
Laurel touches the root of a giant tree as she walked by. Being close to one of those colossal trees, she could have mistaken that root for a wall that extended to a three-story building.
They soon walk into the city center, where all the trees circle one triple the size. The gargantuan tree possesses different color than its peers like gold has been poured on top of its original hues. The leaves were olive green where their veins outline in gold.
Although Ian has not encountered any elves on the way to the center of the city, he could feel their presence lingering on the trees, observing from far away. Only when they reach the center that multiple elves coming out of the building to welcome them.
Lin orders the elves to prepare a room for Kyrie and also summon the 'old' shaman. The shaman dresses in smokey silk layers, and she hides her face with a red ogre mask. Soon, the elves and the shaman enter the room with Kyrie, leaving the humans out without the intent to listen to any of their complaints or opinions.
All three remember that old shaman from the feel of her presence and the red ogre mask. She is the same woman who attempted to take Kyrie's memories away and would have succeeded if the fallen god did not intervene. Her eyes never stop looking at Kyrie's chest as Lin carries the young man into the room. She pierces her seemingly all-seeing gaze like her eyes are interacting with the soul. Ian watches the shaman's white hair, stagged like hay, block his view before the closing door.
His heart weighs with unease. The light from the window slowly turned warm. They are invited for dinner and rest in their own bedrooms, but Ian decides to stay waiting until that door opens once again. He has waited until the sun rises again on the horizon, slowly brightening the dark corridors only lit by a single mana stone in his hand.
The door opens once again. The shaman retreats with all the servants escorting her to rest. The elf servants pale in exhaustion like they could collapse any second, and the shaman staggers in her pacing. Ian turns his head away from those leaving figures and hesitantly reaches for the door. His head empties despite being filled throughout the night.
He enters to find Lin picking up some blood-stained cotton pads and bandages off the bed onto the trash can. Ian helps Lin to clean up, guessing that Lin has knocked off a metal tray with those used pads and bandages by accident.
"Kyrie is fine now," Lin breaks the silence between them, feeling the tension coming out of Ian's body.
"Thank you," Ian frowns while watching Kyrie's pale complexion.
"Was… Was Kyrie always like this?"
"Pardon?" Lin pitches his voice, surprised at Ian's question, "Hmmm… He… used to be a very bright boy as a child and followed me wherever I brought him… He takes after his mother's character… A brilliant boy…"
From his broken descriptions, Lin painfully becomes aware of how little he understands his child and how little he participated in his child's life. He has not even answered Ian's question or even asked him what he meant. He watches Ian's painful expression and sighs. He walks to the table to pour himself some water.
Ian sits on the bedside, softening Kyrie's tight grip to the bedsheets one finger at a time. He reflects on his previous question that he blurted out. The Kyrie he always knew has always been shouldering things alone, sacrificing if he does not see a way out when he could not solve it on his own. It breaks his heart, so he wishes to ask the question to Lin, who claimed to be Kyrie's father. However, Lin has not answered his question because he asked it so vaguely. Plus, from Kyrie's memories, Ian has seen how Lin has departed from Kyrie's side when he was only a child. Kyrie has been always alone in all the memories he saw.
"Do you wish to know?"
Ian turns his head to Lin, who is looking into the half-filled glass, dazed.
"I naturally do," Ian holds Kyrie's hand tighter. He wishes to know everything from Kyrie because maybe then, he knows what to do, how to act with someone as unreadable as Kyrie. There is no perfect human in the world, and Kyrie certainly is not one even though he is to Ian controversially.
"I can show you."
Lin walks next to Ian and reaches to put his hand on top of their intertwined hands. Ian stops Lin again, the same way he stopped Lin when trying to administer the potion to stabilize Kyrie's mana.
"What are you trying to do? I am not planning to force Kyrie to show his internal world if he does not wish to let me. I have made that mistake already. I am not going to make the same mistake again."
Lin watches Ian slump his head and shoulders, "Don't worry. I am not going to let Kyrie drink another potion of truth. Kyrie will be the person who will decide to show you or not. People whom he does not trust will see nothing."
Lin can see Ian shaken up from that suggestion but still wonder if it is the right thing to do.
"Kyrie has a certain trait from childhood that is very similar to mine. He always represses his emotions because he does not want anyone to worry. That is why he was always so quiet and mild as a child. This could help him open up a bit more to you..."
Ian caresses Kyrie's pale and cold cheek with the back of his finger.
'Will you blame me for being curious?' Ian asks Kyrie internally.