Kyrie has visited Princess Theresia in the afternoon so that the queen can administer the Midnight Queen. The Midnight Queen is a special flower with powerful healing mana that possesses volatile wavelengths.
Those wavelengths usually cause side effects to those who ingest them, but they are deadly for someone with a fragile constitution. Since the princess is born sickly, the Midnight Queen has to be taken with a different method.
Therefore, Queen Annora and her minister Nur process the entire flower into a cluster of mana and slowly administer the processed flower mana to the princess's mana veins. The entire process has taken them at least ten hours while remaining alert to the princess's conditions and bodily reactions.
Ian later joins Kyrie to observe the situation in case the queen and the minister run out of mana. Everyone in the room has remained quiet to the point they are breathing slower from the tension.
The queen has not let herself fall asleep for three entire days since the princess has remained unconscious throughout the time. When the princess opens her eyes, she widens them while staring at the bright red tapestry that hangs over her bed like a canopy.
"Princess!" The servant almost lets go of the basin of water she was carrying.
The princess's eyes twinkle as she looks up and down at the servant, recognizing the servant's voice, "Is that you, Riya?"
The tearful servant nods energetically while putting her hands over her mouth in shock. The princess also tears up.
"Was the world always this beautiful?" She asks the servant Riya.
Riya nods continuously while wiping her tears. She has lived and grown up with the princess, so they are really close. For those three days, apart from the queen, Riya has been scared that the princess will never open her eyes again.
"Where is the queen mother?"
After Theresia asks, a pile of paper rains down to the floor, covering the entire doorway. Queen Annora runs toward the bed to catch the princess in her arms.
"My baby girl!"
Theresia hugs her mother back while her tears trail down her cheeks. The queen finally can back away after a while.
"Queen mother, I want to thank the person who came with the midnight queen!"
"I am sure you will have the opportunity later."
"But mother, I am well right now!"
The princess hurries to step down the bed, shocking the queen and the servant, who have been used to seeing her stuck in her bed with no energy even to walk. When she stands up tall and balanced, the white pajama dress flutters down, covering her ankles. Theresia spins a circle, letting the queen and servant see that she is finally healthy.
The rest of the kingdom shares the happiness that the queen and the servant have felt. A celebration is thrown later that day where everyone joins together for some flower wine and good food.
While the crowd is in the middle of the town, Imogen stays behind on one of the rooftops looking at the large bonfire in the center of the plaza square. She notices a figure walking toward her.
Kyrie lets out a breath of annoyance while trying to balance his steps on the roof tiles.
"What is up with this world's characters and rooftops?" He complains under his breath.
He looks at Imogen, watching him struggle, so he immediately pretends that he is okay and has no problem walking on uneven roof tiles.
"Wine?" Kyrie asks while shaking a bottle lightly.
Imogen grabs hers that was sitting next to her, showing that she has grabbed one.
"Well, the more, the better, no?"
Imogen smiles lightly and sips a bit of wine, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Ian?"
"Well… You are not with Laurel either. More like… lately, you two have been apart more time than before."
"She has been helping that kid with his pregnancy…."
Kyrie sits down next to Imogen and takes some wine. The fragrance of the wine makes Kyrie smile, and he exhales blissfully.
"I don't see it that way. It is like… something is going on between you two."
Imogen tilts her bottle of wine and finds that she has drunk it all, so she takes the one Kyrie brought for her. She stares at the bonfire and the people dancing around with music and cheer.
Imogen sighs from the thoughts flooding her mind, but the alcohol is urging her to spill.
"I met Laurel in the original timeline in my travels around this world. I was a demigod back then, so it makes no sense to be near any human. All offspring of gods start as a half-god, so after the ceremony, those offspring turn to full-fledged gods and take on the responsibility of making new worlds and keeping the peace. Stories in the god realm always warn never to make connections with the mortals because gods live long to the point it seems like an eternity."
"Then, why do demigods go down to mortal worlds?"
"It was a command from The First. We need to know what gives happiness to the mortals to make good worlds."
"The First?"
"Yeah, the first true god. The creator of the universe."
"What does that have to do with Laurel?"
"Laurel…. At first, Laurel was dead set in following me after saving her on my way to a town. She was a musician in the original timeline, so she was weak and vulnerable to almost everything. I let her tag along until the next town, but I discovered ...."
Kyrie smiles while lifting his eyebrows, "That you fell in love?"
Imogen clicks her tongue in annoyance, "Is that all that goes in your brain, cockroach?"
Kyrie closes his mouth and shuts off his smile. He pouts while silently admits that maybe he really is a hopeless romantic.
"I discovered that she is blessed by no other than the fallen god, Erebus…. To be more accurate, she is from a tribe of people who can use the magic of darkness. So, she might be one of the descendants of a mortal who Erebus blessed before he turned into a fallen god. I kept her by my side because I was curious."
Kyrie widens his eyes, and his wine bottle rolls down the rooftop and stops on edge. The wine is spilled like a cascade on the rooftop.
"Wait… that means…. Ian…."
"Yeah…"
"Except for Ian and Laurel, the rest of the tribe joined with Erebus since they have been raised with the knowledge that they are Erebus's blessed people."
[So, when she said about how Ian can never be on the god realm's side due to this reason… Then… Laurel…]
"Like an idiot, I started to have feelings for a mortal… She was weak and couldn't protect herself, but…. She was someone that I couldn't look away from.
To my surprise, she also felt the same. We traveled around the world. She sang in public squares to get enough money for food, and I guarded her.
However, the creation of the Phantasm happened, and the gates opened. The world turned into a bloody mess from the otherworlders' attacks.
I got to know Ian from the ongoing wars. He was the only mortal strong enough to enter the gates, so I brought him with me. Laurel came along as well since I didn't feel somewhere else was safe enough.
Almost to the end, I finally noticed why the demons were closing the gates. I thought they coveted the power that relics brought, but in reality, they were using the essence gathered in the relics to help Erebus descend.
Ian turned out to be the best vessel, and when Erebus descended into his body, I had to decide whether to kill him or not."
"So that was your reason to kill Ian? Because Erebus can take his body?"
"Yes, Erebus's strength depends on the quality of the vessel. But I think I didn't kill him in the original timeline…."
"What? What do you mean 'you think?'"
Imogen shakes her head, "I am not really sure what happened since I forgot…."
"What happened to Laurel?"
"I…."
Kyrie sees that Imogen starts to struggle to tell the story.
"I only remember… that if I relive the events again…. Giving up on her would be forgiven."
Although Imogen's voice is near monotone, Kyrie can sense the dreadful guilt out of those words.
[What happened to Imogen that she had no choice but to give up on the only person she loved?]
Imogen expected Kyrie to explode and scold her, but when she turned to look at Kyrie, all she saw was a lot of pain in his eyes. The silence was enough for Imogen to know Kyrie understood what she feels when she looks at Laurel.
[She tried…. More than four thousand times…. Four thousand….]
Kyrie breathes in sharply to control his tears. He glances at Imogen, whose eyes are always staring at the bonfire. Kyrie turns to look at the bonfire, but it is a regular bonfire to him.
[She said that Laurel was a musician in the original timeline…. Wait! Wasn't Laurel going to sing today?]
Kyrie jumps up from his seat and energetically says, "Crazy bitch, let's go to the central plaza."
He tries to pick Imogen, but she is stronger than Kyrie.
"What are you scheming, cockroach?"
"Come on! Didn't I tell you to stop running away?"
"What does that have to do with going to the plaza?"
"Everything, Imogen! That is where life is! Don't always avoid uncomfortable things! Come on! Let's go, Imogen! I know you want to join!"