The gates of Kashan Palace were pushed shut by two tall and strong guards, producing a dull echo, empty and deep, casting a twilight gloom over the heart.
The closed palace doors, with a base color of black ebony wood, were inlaid with white carved floral patterns. Affia recognized those abstract designs, stars and earth, past heroes and poems. The imagery on them depicted an ancient story, a known legend—war between humans and dragons.
The ancient war had long been settled, the evil dragon lurking back into the shadows, waiting for the moment to return. The Star of Calamity had vanished, and the Dark Army too had crumbled, everything seemed to return to the old peace.
Only the heroes would forever rest on this land, never to return. Their blood turned into rivers, bodies forged into Chongshan, their will like the sun, moon, and stars, eternally guarding this land. The Istania People, Colin People, and Osh People jointly share their legacy, singing their poems endlessly.
Perhaps this too is a kind of eternity, in another form, remembered by people, passed down for thousands of years. Affia gently blinked, her gaze glistening like water, reflecting the light of the lake before Kashan Palace, in which the years and dust of this Royal City had long been inscribed.
She seemed to see another gaze, crossing through time and space, softly watching this land. That gentle woman holding a lover's hand, making promises, those tender words, etched deeply into the young girl's heart.
"Miss Afeifa."
Affia came back to her senses and looked at Delan beside her: "Mr. Delan."
Delan looked at this young girl; they hadn't met many times, and until today, she had never seen him, though he had long known of her existence.
Yet she didn't feel unfamiliar to him, standing beside her, he seemed to have returned to more than ten years ago. Back then, the Former Queen was still alive, and even earlier, she and this young girl before him were almost identical.
Delan opened his mouth, suddenly filled with a complex emotion, for a moment unsure of how to speak. He truly didn't want to reclaim anything, unable to be truly decisive, especially since 'Star' was not a heartless person.
Thousands of words transformed into a simple greeting: "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"If you feel uncomfortable... you can find somewhere to rest."
The girl's gaze gently reached into the distance, she smiled and shook her head: "Please let me look at this place again, Mr. Delan."
These words, somehow familiar, left Delan standing immobile for a moment.
...
After a brief dizziness, Fang Hong felt his body seemed to pass through a barrier. The feeling was somewhat mystical, like shedding a layer of burden, making the whole person light, like the soul floating in mid-air.
Then he saw the scenery before him no longer in Kashan Palace, around him floating multicolored lights, like falling into a color palette, converging together to form a huge vortex.
The center of that vortex initially was a small black dot, which suddenly enlarged, forming a black hole, pulling him down. The feeling seemed long, but was actually just a moment, he felt himself out of that colorful tunnel, rushing out from that black hole.
Suddenly his vision brightened, strong wind blew against him, his body felt heavy again, as if the burden of the shell had returned to his body. He naturally opened his eyes, only to find himself suspended over a Cloud Sea.
But said suspended, not entirely, in fact, he was rapidly descending from thousands of feet high, falling through layers of clouds, toward the bottom.
And there, was a vast, mirror-like Sky Sea, only Fang Hong almost instantly recognized this was not the Cloud Sea—the Cloud Sea was not so calm, and the color on the sea surface created by Wind Elements was distinctly different.
On the endless sea surface, Fang Hong saw an inconspicuous small island. The island was rapidly enlarging within his vision. Initially just a small black dot, within moments it had grown to the size of a coin.
Fang Hong quickly saw the verdant vegetation on the island, a mountain range rising from the center of the island, its snowy peaks piercing the sky, white snow glimmering like silver.
Among the encircling mountains, he even saw the white architectural complex at the island's center, the ancient architecture resembling the Acropolis, tall columns supporting the Holy Sanctuary.
A voice came from behind him, "You woke up so quickly?"
Floating in the air, Fang Hong laboriously turned his head and saw Ye Hua there, also suspended in mid-air, maintaining the same descending speed as him. If not for the wind pulling at Ye Hua's collar and hem, he seemed almost stationary relative to Fang Hong.
However, this Ranger of the Ten Kings appeared much more composed than Fang Hong. Carrying a verdant longbow, his hands slightly spread like wings, his peaceful gaze resting on Fang Hong.
Only in the depths of his eyes, there was a faint hint of surprise.
The one called Alchemist Star was on the other side, even summoning Yinhanz Type IV, placing his hand on the tall construct, steadily descending.