Astel and Metius were brought to the brink of execution because of Sol Noctis’s mistake.

Had Chrys not arrived in the realm of spirits, their exoneration would not have been easy. Even after escaping the death sentence, their duties were changed. Due to the Elder Tree’s nature, they were likely to be sent to their doom.

Even if Sol Noctis hadn’t made a mistake during the ceremonial ritual, if the rift had opened there, they would have died at their post.

Surviving so many close encounters with death in such a short period was not easy.

“It’s okay. Keep those fairies safe. I’ll contact you again.”

[ “Yes, understood!” ]

After ending the communication, Chrys stared at the floor for a long while. Naskan didn’t initiate conversation, and there was silence for a while.

“You heard it, right? Naskan. Another rift has opened. Does that seem normal to you?”

“…Well, no, it doesn’t.”

“And it just happened to open where I’ve been?”

“Chrys, that’s a stretch. Can you really assert that it was because of you?”

“I can’t say it wasn’t. Remember the rift that opened above Sedition?”

For a moment, Naskan looked like he had much to say but eventually nodded.

“The rift that opened without warning. After I received magic into my body, it seemed to open whenever I felt bad. It happened in the spirit realm as well. And the one on the route wasn’t long ago, right?”

“When you felt bad during the ritual…”

Naskan started to object but then closed his mouth, understanding the implication.

The reason she gave up the ritual.

Even if Chrys had personally decided to abandon it, and even though he had complied with that request, it wouldn’t have felt good. No one knew better than him how much she had clung to her achievements, being he who had watched over her the most.

But now, he had to deny it.

“Chrys, you can put things together like that with anything else.”

“Then what a remarkable coincidence that would be. Does that make any sense?”

“…Chrys.”

“It’s exactly what I saw in my dream! Being confined by you, forced to receive magic, and then a great rift that destroys the world opens because of how terrible it was!”

“Chryselua!”

Naskan stood up abruptly, unable to contain himself.

Chrys, who had been making leaps in her logic, had been on edge for a while. It wasn’t that her emotions had truly calmed down, and she wasn’t lashing out anymore. She had merely forced herself to calm down because she had to.

“…Chrys, should I kneel here and swear? No, I will.”

He hurriedly finished his words and came over to kneel in front of her. Chrys was quite small, and Naskan, being naturally large, didn’t seem to be looking down at her.

“You’re confused right now. Just a while ago, you were certain that the memories seen by Twilight could never happen, and now you’re acting as if they’re an established conclusion.”

That was precisely correct.

Indeed, she was lashing out at Naskan because she couldn’t alleviate this frustration. Reason told her not to be angry with him, but her fluctuating emotions were not easily controlled.

“You didn’t see that scene just once, did you? You said you’ve dreamt it several times.”

“So what?”

“Were all those scenes exactly the same?”

They were not.

“…They weren’t always the same.”

Throughout this journey, she had dreamt countless dreams.

There were times when Naskan kneeled and begged on a cliff, times when Sol Noctis wept and embraced her, times when the Skylte trainees from the Twilight Knights appeared, and sometimes… Axen Arc appeared, too.

Of course, there were times when she faced destruction alone. Not all those events could have occurred simultaneously. Even the same dream changed slightly each time.

Noticing Chrys slowly shaking her head, Naskan scrunched his nose and smirked mischievously.

“What you’ve seen involves variables, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Hearing her reluctant voice, Naskan laughed as if he was sighing.

“As Dawn, I always see the same thing. I’ve tried the same scene hundreds of times, hoping for a change while bleeding from the nose. What do you think I felt? Nothing but emptiness and powerlessness. Because what I see never changes.”

He wasn’t one to give up easily. Among dragons, he was known for his cold persistence. When the Lord first brought Naskan over, there were even comments that the Lord had brought a hunting dog instead of a Dawn Dragon.

If someone like him felt emptiness and powerlessness, how many attempts must have been made behind that sentiment?

“But not you, Chrys. The existence of variables means something can be changed. That’s a power to make changes.”

This was something only Dawn could say to her.

Chrys felt her heart racing uncomfortably, and finally began to calm down.

“Don’t be swayed by it. If it’s your power, then you should wield it. And even if you truly bring about destruction…”

Naskan spoke dismissively.

“Let destruction come or not.”

“…What?”

“When have I ever cared about such things? I’ve never cared about succeeding the divine realm, escorts, rifts or duties. Has the Lord ever considered my wishes?”

Naskan, the sole heir of the divine realm, was only ever referred to as a troublemaker. His reputation was so poor that there were occasional whispers about the need to choose a new heir.

“What, did they say a black sun would rise in the twilight sky? A destruction would be beautiful for once, wouldn’t it?”

Even as they discussed matters of great importance, Naskan could only speak in endlessly light and irresponsible words, true to his troublemaker nature.

Yet, those words felt incredibly reassuring to Chrys at this moment.

“Chrys, it’s natural to feel anxious. But if we don’t know something, we can learn about it, and power can be controlled. I’ll be your strength. I’ve said it before. I’m ridiculously confident in my magic, so you’re free to use it as much as you want.”

She couldn’t bring herself to be more upset with Naskan acting this way. Now that it was confirmed she could use divine power, there was no one who could understand Chrys’s anxiety better than Naskan.

“If we don’t know the nature of something, we just keep observing and figuring it out. Seeing it multiple times doesn’t mean a rift will open right away.”

“Whoo…”

“I’ll always be on your side.”

Chrys covered her eyes with her hands, trying to stabilize her emotions that were fluctuating wildly. She wasn’t even sure who she was angry at or why she should be angry in the first place. She considered confronting the Lord, but she wasn’t answering her calls.

“Chrys, if you don’t like it, you can use me as your outlet for frustration. I really don’t mind.”

Through the gaps between her fingers, Chrys saw Naskan smiling. Only then did she notice the condition of her long-time friend.

His cheek had a large scratch mark, presumably from her nails. There were even dried drops of blood, yet he didn’t care about his condition, all this while she had been preoccupied with her own issues. He must have been pretending to be okay just to maintain his pride.

It seemed she had lost her senses more than just a bit.

“…I’m sorry. Dawn.”

Naskan pulled the hand that had hit and scratched him towards him and kissed the back of it. Holding it gently, she couldn’t even think to pull away.

“This heals with saliva.”

“Does it really?”

“Try it on me. It’ll work.”

With a natural look, Naskan tapped his cheek.

Despite the situation and expression being different, it reminded her of the time after the ritual when he wanted to receive his reward.

Feeling guilty for her actions, Chrys decided to follow his suggestion.

She kneeled to match Naskan’s eye level and leaned slightly forward to easily reach his cheek with her lips.

“Naskan.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Naskan stuttered, perhaps briefly tensing up.

“I almost didn’t say this. Thank you.”

__