Tears wouldn't stop. His face was a mess.
How can you kill someone without thinking that you've shattered dreams, happiness—an entire family's peace? the boy wondered.
Time felt frozen, as if it refused to move forward, forcing Will to remain trapped in his thoughts. He searched desperately for a way to save the fading star before him—the light that was about to vanish because of his actions.
"Time is bound by fate, but hope sometimes defies its march."
A figure appeared beneath the falling star.
"To think that your own words would one day become true."
Relief flooded Will's chest. Help had arrived. The paralysis that held him moments ago vanished as though it had never existed.
The Princess can still be saved.
She descended slowly into the stranger's embrace, the scene unfolding with almost surreal beauty. One arm supported her head as her purple curls drifted weightlessly around him. For a fleeting second, Will imagined himself in that place—holding her, saving her like a true knight.
Reality struck when their eyes met.
His knees hit the ground.
In that gaze, there was no protection—only judgment. He wasn't someone worth shielding. He was the reason she had fallen.
"Dragon Scale!" Eureka chanted.
Countless scales shot toward the newcomer, overwhelming in number. Each impact erupted into a burst of fog, small explosions merging until the figure was completely swallowed by smoke.
"To think you lost to a foolish lizard…"
The air grew unbearably heavy. Breathing became difficult. Pressure mounted, cracking the earth beneath them and splitting skin as if reality itself rejected his presence.
"It seems you tried to save a wandering minion. Perhaps just a lost one."
He sighed.
"Foolish mortal. Insolent lizard. Give me a reason not to erase you."
Every word felt like drowning—like being dragged beneath invisible water.
"Ha… to think the leader of—"
Before he could finish, Eureka's head was no longer on his shoulders.
"No one asked you to introduce me."
Will's heart stopped.
Since the stranger's arrival, his gaze had never left him. Not when the attack was launched. Not when the scales struck. He hadn't flinched. Hadn't moved. Hadn't even blinked.
And before Will understood how—
He was standing directly in front of him.
It should have been the end. Yet the crushing gravity that forced him to the ground slowly faded.
"You never change," the man said softly. "You protect anyone you deem worth saving, just to preserve your own sanity. As I told you before… you cannot save everyone."
Though the Princess remained unconscious, it was as if he spoke directly to her.
"And you believed that by accepting those lizard powers, you could stand beside her? That learning fragments of her past would allow you to save her?"
His body trembled. Sadness carved itself across his face.
"You saw pieces of her… and thought you understood enough."
Blood slipped from his lips. He had bitten down hard enough to draw it.
Why…? Will wondered.
Tiny droplets stained the man's white shirt pale pink.
How could someone so powerful look so broken?
It must be because she was precious to him.
But then—why didn't he come sooner? With such strength, finding her should have been effortless.
"Hehe…"
A faint, joyful sound escaped the Princess.
"I knew… no matter how far I ran… or how deeply I hid… you would always find me."
Her arms lifted weakly, wrapping around him.
Will watched in silence.
The scene looked like something torn from the pages of the books he once read—majestic, almost divine.
And yet—
Terribly, painfully twisted.
"You still here?" His gaze felt heavier. But the gaze never met Will's eyes, it looked like he had the eyes fixed on a different realm.
"This isn't your place to guard" The man stated.
"Be gone" after his words, Will found himself pushed from the edge of the domain. Before his vision became blocked by the edge of the domain, he saw the man slowly turning his back and behind him red lilies started to grow – but for Will it was like the man back kept being stabbed by thousands of needles, and the Princess he carried tried to endlessly patch his wounds that infinitely kept appearing.
Will I ever be able to learn about them? Will couldn't stop thinking about the unusual meeting he had.
"Well…this is not the perfect time to worry about others, am I right?" A familiar voice questioned.
"I wish this was just a dream…" Will made a small joke about the situation he is facing.
"It seems that you decided, Will" Another familiar voice stepped in.
"Yes, I will Guard!"
Back to Moon Nation
"If you care so much about your sisters, shouldn't you console her after scolding her, young boy?" Myiar asked lightly.
"You already know there's no time for that, Lady Myiar."
Abril shifted into a combat stance, his sword resting at his side, ready.
"Oh? So, you can feel them." She gently patted his head. "It seems I underestimated you."
"Please." He stepped out of her reach. "I understand the gravity of what I'm about to ask… but could you protect my sisters for the time being?"
He placed a hand over his chest and bowed.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.
"Chrise and Shi are in the tower. If the presence I sensed attacks, the guards won't be enough."
His gaze remained lowered.
Myiar fell silent.
"Big brother, we're coming with you," Alicia and Miyria said in unison.
"So?" Myiar smiled mischievously. "What will you do?"
"If we encounter an outsider, use teleportation and get as far from the capital as possible."
"Roger!"
Their synchronized reply was bright — too bright for the tension in the air.
"Ooooiii… what do we have here?"
The voice echoed across the courtyard.
Myiar's expression hardened.
"It seems we're too late."
"Thou who were defeated!"
A surge of emerald light erupted.
[Special Class: Emerald — The caster's strength increases tenfold.]
"And what about that sword, little boy?"
The man materialized in front of Abril — too close.
His hand reached for Abril's blade.
"SOLZT!"
Miyria reacted instantly, teleporting Abril ten steps back.
"Heeh? Teleportation? Isn't that forbidden magic? That privilege belongs to us…"
The outsider tilted his head unnaturally.
"Solise."
Without hesitation, Myiar teleported Alicia and Miyria beside Abril.
Something changed.
The warmth in her demeanor vanished.
Her presence sharpened — oppressive, cold.
The outsider froze.
"Your Majesty Ley," he called upward, voice unstable. "You said Saints and higher authorities were forbidden from interfering. Was that a lie? May I crush her soul?"
His body twitched violently. His movements were disjointed, almost decaying. Bandages wrapped around deteriorating flesh. Yet his face remained noble — dark hair, yellow eyes, a broken white vest over an old, engraved plate.
Myiar slowly lifted her gaze.
Atop a lone pillar stood a small silhouette.
She wore a dark-green Victorian dress layered in lace and ribbon, like a porcelain doll preserved from another century. The skirt bloomed softly around her — untouched by the world below.
Dark-blue curls fell in perfect spirals. Crimson eyes glowed faintly, like embers beneath ash.
In one small hand, she held a red origami umbrella.
She smiled.
Sweet.
Harmless.
Adorable.
And yet—
The air grew still.
Even the wind refused to move without her permission.