He gently patted his younger daughter's shoulder, then stood up. "Father—" Affia cried out behind him.
But two knights had already approached and 'gently' escorted the little princess out. Barbaltan turned around, looking at the only person left in the courtyard—Delan.
"Your Majesty," Delan looked at him, a fleeting hint of reluctance in his eyes, his lips slightly parted.
"Her choosing you as a knight proves her discernment," Barbaltan began. "You have always been loyal to your duty, unwavering for ten years."
"Delan, I feel I've let down the Aimoyiben family, as well as you and your brother, but after today, Aleph will ensure you receive all you deserve—"
He reached into his chest, pulling out a radiant gemstone and placing it in front of Delan. The brilliant light of the gemstone reflected deep within both of their eyes.
The light, emerald as a dream.
"This was our agreement, Delan."
"You know."
"That fragment doesn't have just one owner."
...
"Miss Affia, she...?"
Fang Hong was listening, astonished, to the voice in his heart.
It was an incredibly gentle voice, but there was a thread of reason and confidence between the soft words, "Child, that little girl is already weakened to the extreme, she's burning her will to help us; otherwise, you might not even hear my voice..."
"Our time is running out. Child, you want to save Affia, right?"
Fang Hong's heart sank slightly. He looked at the swirling wind and snow, and a tentacle pressing down from above. The Dragon Queen carrying him tilted slightly, passing by the tentacle.
He couldn't help but ask, "But Princess...?"
"The method the Star told you is correct, child... it's just that Rupert cannot kill Dika's avatar—"
"Is there a difference?"
The voice calmed down, suddenly speaking softly:
"Child, you should have already learned from Rupert everything that happened ten years ago... After that attack, Barbaltan placed my soul into a gemstone—"
"And that gemstone is naturally the Emerald Star... That was our shared agreement. We tried every means possible, attempting to find within these fragments the method of forging the Pale Glory with the Numelin Elves..."
"But I failed... The world I found hidden behind the emerald glow was not actually a gateway to the legendary third world..."
"Child, have you guessed all of this?"
Fang Hong nodded lightly.
Since Ye Hua had told him the whole truth earlier, he'd already known the answer—The true reason the Blind Followers attacked the Princess's birth mother ten years ago.
The Queen discovered the path to 'that world' from the glow hidden by the gemstone. And 'that world' was the very one the Blind Followers had sought in vain for centuries—the world where Godly Dika lay slumbering.
A planned attack came silently; only the Queen perished. But under Delan's desperate protection, the Emerald Star was left behind at the scene.
That was the beginning of everything.
The soft voice suddenly asked again, "Child, you're called Ade, right? Ade, have you ever heard of the ancient prophecy on this Sand Sea?"
Fang Hong immediately thought of the legend of the Dragon's Land. "Is it about the Dark Giant Dragon?"
He was holding tightly onto Margaret's back, and the Dragon Queen was ascending from low altitude, breaking through layers of tentacles, rushing out of the snowstorm.
"It's the same; the old enemy will return... But that legend is far more than just the part passed down among the Oathkeepers..."
"...The prophecy said that one day, the Star of Calamity will return to Eteliria, and the Blind Followers' Deity—Dika will also come back to this land. When that day arrives, this avenging tyrant will seize everything from the Istania People."
Fang Hong involuntarily thought of the present.
The Star of Calamity has arrived, and Dika is finally about to return from the darkness, just as described in this ancient prophecy?
And that voice continued, "Ade, Barbaltan sealed my soul into that fragment, using it as a trigger, he summoned the Blind Followers, and from that created a girl—"
"Do you understand the reason for all this?"
Fang Hong suddenly froze.
"This is..."
"This is exactly what Barbaltan and I were pursuing, Mr. Ade... Because no prophecy can determine the destiny of the Istania People..."
"This ancient king on the desert will surely pursue its future and distant land..."
"The Istania People have never learned to give up."
The Blind Followers are looking for the Emerald Star.
Simply because it holds the secret to their Deity, the resurrection of the Evil God Dika. But do they really know why Barbaltan sealed his wife's soul into this crystal?
This fragment was originally supposed to have only one owner.
But now, in this spiritual world, a second soul's mark has been imprinted.
He couldn't help but recall the previous question: Did the King of Sand, Barbaltan, really know all of this? Know all these secrets behind this world?
Back then, Ye Hua nodded.
So now, of course, there is only one answer left.
That mark may be destined to change something.
"Then what should we do now?"
"Little one," the Dragon Queen's voice was a low rumble, "hold on tightly."
Fang Hong raised his head, looking up at the layers of dense dark clouds. And the voice in his mind paused for a moment before speaking again:
"Find a way to break Dika's avatar—"
"Under normal circumstances, Dika controls the power of this world, and no one can be its match."
"But this time, I will help you. The little girl is nearing her limit. I will give you half of this world's strength at the crucial moment; you must seize that moment."
"Child, do you understand?"
Fang Hong did not reply, but a determined light flashed in his dark eyes.
He gently placed his hand on Margaret's back.
...