[Elythia]
[Eternal City]
The teleportation device hummed with a low, thrumming sound. Its engravings, etched deep into the metallic surface, gleamed under the glow of mana.
This was it. The point of no return.
Aelfric stood before it, clad in his usual black attire, the red accents of his robe billowing ever so slightly as the evening breeze carried through the open space. His hands were steady, his expression composed—but beneath that stoic veneer, something twisted within him.
His gaze fell upon the two figures standing just a few paces away.
Calliope.
Aviva.
His entire world.
The two of them stood side by side—Aviva gripping her mother's hand tightly, her small fingers clinging to Calliope's as though sheer will alone could anchor him here, keep him from vanishing into the unknown.
The young girl's red eyes, normally so full of mischief and innocence, were wide with something far more fragile. Something she didn't quite know how to voice, Aelfric had always known how to read her, even when she said nothing at all.
She was afraid, she didn't want him to go and how he wished he could stay.
But he couldn't.
Not yet.
Not until he had carved a path toward eternity, one that would ensure he would never have to say goodbye.
Not truly.
Aviva was the first to break the silence.
"…Do you have to go?" Her voice was small. Too small, it struck him harder than any blade ever could.
Aelfric took a slow step forward, lowering himself to one knee so that he was at eye level with her. His expression softened, his eyes holding hers.
"I do," he admitted. "But I will come back. I swear it."
Aviva's tiny fingers tightened their hold on her mother's hand, her lips pressing into a thin line as if she were trying to keep herself from saying something else. But then, in the next breath, she let go of Calliope and threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around his neck in a fierce, desperate hug.
Aelfric felt his breath hitch, he hadn't expected it. But the moment her small body pressed against his, he closed his eyes and held her just as tightly, one hand cradling the back of her golden head, the other wrapping protectively around her back.
She was so warm. So small. So impossibly precious.
He could feel her heartbeat against his chest, fast and unsteady, as if she were afraid that if she let go, he would disappear before her very eyes.
"…You promise?" she mumbled against his shoulder.
Aelfric's grip on her tightened ever so slightly.
"I swear it on everything I am."
Aviva buried her face into the fabric of his robe, her small fingers clutching the material as if trying to hold him in place.
"Okay," she whispered.
Aelfric pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then, with painstaking slowness, he pulled away. Aviva was reluctant to let go, her fingers still gripping at the folds of his robe even as he gently pried them away. He gave her a final, lingering look—one that held every ounce of unspoken emotion, every unuttered word that could not possibly be expressed in mere language.
And then, finally, he turned his attention to Calliope.
His wife.
His equal.
The one person who understood him beyond mere words, who saw through the cracks in his armor even when he tried to hide them.
She hadn't said much. She hadn't needed to, she simply watched him with those steady, piercing eyes, as if memorizing every detail of his face. There was no sorrow in her gaze, no fear—only unwavering trust.
Trust in him.
Trust that he would return.
And that meant more to him than she would ever know. Aelfric stepped closer, his fingers reaching up to delicately brush a stray strand of blonde hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear with a touch so gentle it was almost reverent.
"Calliope," he murmured.
She didn't respond with words.
She didn't need to.
Instead, she simply closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his cheek, lingering for just a heartbeat longer than necessary. The warmth of her touch seared itself into his skin, a vow of its own. When she finally pulled away, she met his gaze, her expression both serene and resolute.
"Go," she whispered. "And come back to us."
Aelfric inhaled deeply, he nodded. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and strode toward the teleportation device. Aviva watched him go, her tiny hands clenching into fists at her sides. Calliope rested a hand on their daughter's shoulder, squeezing gently in silent reassurance.
Aelfric stepped onto the glowing sigils, the mana coiling around him. The device whined, the air thick with the crackling hum of magic surging to life.
And just before he vanished—
Just before the spell took hold—
He turned his head one final time.
His gaze met Calliope's.
Then Aviva's.
And with a quiet smile—
He was gone.
------------------------
[Aethel]
The air was thick with mana, a tangible force that flowed around him, enveloping his body in an unnatural warmth. One moment, he was standing before his wife and daughter, their figures bathed in the glow of the teleportation device, their gazes holding all the love, trust, and silent prayers they dared not voice aloud.
The next—
Light.
A burst of brilliant, searing light engulfed him, swallowing his form whole. It was blinding, a flood of energy so overwhelming it was as if his essence was being unraveled, pulled apart and reassembled across the boundaries of time and space.
For an instant, he felt weightless, suspended between the fabric of reality, suddenly his boots slammed against solid ground. The sensation of cold, damp earth beneath his feet was the first thing he registered.
Then came the sounds.
The low sound of creatures stirring within the underbrush. The distant cries of alien birds, their calls echoing through the canopy above. The strong breeze moving through towering trees unlike any he had seen before.
He was in a forest, but not the kind he knew. Not the kind found in the lands of the Ancestors, no, this place was different.
Ancient.
Alive in a way that felt almost sentient. Aelfric exhaled slowly, his breath escaping in a faint, mist-like vapor as he lifted his gaze, surveying his surroundings. The trees were immense, their bark etched with glowing veins of silver and gold, pulsating faintly. Their leaves glowed with iridescence, some trees even bore glowing fruit.
The air carried a scent unlike anything he had ever encountered. Not the familiar fragrance of pine or the damp musk of rotting leaves—but something sharper. A blend of ozone and something almost metallic, as though the essence of the world thrived off energy rather than mere nature.
His eyes flickered as he took a step forward, the undergrowth crunching beneath his weight. Something darted past him, a blur of movement—small, fast, and entirely alien.
A creature, no larger than a hare, yet its form was nothing short of bizarre. It had six legs, each jointed in an unnatural way, its body covered in a sleek, almost crystalline exoskeleton that refracted light in chaotic patterns. Its eyes—glowing orbs of violet—fixed onto him for a fleeting moment before it scurried deeper into the foliage, vanishing as though it had never been there at all.
Aelfric remained still, absorbing everything. The sheer foreignness of it all. The overwhelming sensation of being in a place like this, a world governed by its own inscrutable laws. A world where something far greater than himself resided.
His mind flickered back to Lyra's words.
"I altered the teleporter to take you as close as possible to the Dragon of the End's last known location."
He frowned, glancing upward, the sky, barely visible beyond the dense trees, was a deep, shade of blue, marred by swirling streaks of something.
Even the distant stars above were foreign. This place was untouched by the constellations he had memorized as a child. No familiar celestial markers, no guiding light, only the unknown. He exhaled sharply, adjusting the weight of his robes before beginning his trek deeper into the forest.
If Lyra's calculations were correct—
Then the Dragon of the End was near.
Somewhere within this twisted, surreal world and he would find it, though he wasn't alone in this place.
But something was missing. He had already taken note of the unnatural wildlife, the strange critters darting between the glowing foliage, the insects that flickered in and out of existence—yet as he pressed deeper into the unknown, their presence began to dwindle.
The deeper he went, the quieter it became, the creatures, so abundant near his arrival point, had grown sparse.
And it wasn't natural, predators left signs of their domain—territorial markings, the remains of prey, the stench of blood in the air. But this wasn't that, it wasn't that the creatures here were hiding.
They simply did not exist. Aelfric slowed his pace, his gaze narrowing as his mind pieced together the implications, no birds, no insects, no distant cries of beasts.
Nothing.
A sign that something greater was near, perhaps even watching.
The Dragon of the End.
Aelfric exhaled, pressing forward, despite everything, he couldn't help but feel a pang of frustration.
"If only I had awakened Ultra Vires." The thought gnawed at him, he had not unlocked his own.
A cruel irony.
He was a force to be reckoned with even among the Ancestors, yet the one power that could grant him the ultimate advantage remained beyond his grasp. And now, he was walking blindly into the den of a being that might very well be the closest thing to Death itself.
But—
It could not be helped, there was no use lamenting what was beyond his reach. He had come here for a reason, he had come here to claim the eternity he longed for.
For Calliope.
For Aviva.
For a future where the warmth of their presence would never fade, where time would never steal them away. His mind drifted back—to the high gardens, to the warmth of Calliope's hand in his, to Aviva's bright laughter ringing through the air. To the way Calliope had smiled at him when he had spoken of his plans.
"I trust you, Aelfric. Always."
And Aviva—
"Paps, you better come back!" she had pouted, crossing her arms with an exaggerated huff. "Or else I'll be very, very mad!"
He had laughed then, he had picked her up, spinning her in the air as she shrieked with joy, her golden hair glowing beneath the sun.
That moment, that laughter, that warmth. He wanted it forever, would it work? Could he truly achieve it?
Would the Dragon of the End grant him what he desired? Or would it be like everything else in existence—ephemeral, fleeting and doomed to be lost to the ever-devouring jaws of time?
Aelfric clenched his fists.
No.
He would not allow it, he would defy fate itself if he had to.
And if this dragon stood in his way—
Then even Death would learn to fear him.
He pressed forward, deeper into the silent forest.