Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Epilogue

The frozen territory of the tundra began to yield to the warmth of the first rays of the spring sun.

That environment which Dale and Lize gazed upon with such affection reemerged from its icy confinement, allowing time, which had been stopped for an eternity, to resume its march.

With the dissolution of the winter domain, a new sovereignty made itself present before the eyes of the world.

The Great Magical Empire, recognized in past eras as the most colossal force that had ever existed, resurged showing all its magnificence.

This kingdom, under the mandate of the Black Gold Emperor, possessed an authority so devastating that no faction of the known lands dared to challenge it, having definitively sealed the historic dispute between gold and shadow.

In the vicinity of the entrance to Saxony.

A legion of warriors protected by dark breastplates, who proudly displayed the insignia of the night raven, positioned themselves rigorously at their posts.

These men had sworn an unwavering fidelity to the House of Saxon for all eternity, and at that instant, they too returned to life after their lethargy in the frost.

Upon sighting the silhouette of the individual covered in worn garments, the entire militia dropped to one knee in a sign of submission.

Clang!

The metal pieces resonated loudly in the surroundings the moment they buried the edge of their weapons into the surface, executing a salute of absolute military respect.

The subject continued his advance with a firm and serene step. Following his footsteps, a girl showed signs of hesitation, visibly shocked by the imposing spectacle she was witnessing.

These were the Night Raven Knights, who now manifested their vassalage to the Saxon lineage.

“Make way for His Imperial Majesty!” they exclaimed in unison with deep voices directed toward the newcomer, causing Yufi to catch her breath from the impression. Even someone with her rustic upbringing managed to measure the weight of that event. Immediately, the stories shared by the Marquis of Rosenheim rushed to her mind.

That man was the Black Gold Emperor, historically remembered as the sovereign with the most formidable mystic domain in the entire territory.

Dale stopped his pace. In the final section of that honorary retinue stood the beings who occupied his heart.

A little girl with her eyes covered by a bandage remained standing, sheltered by her parents.

In that very same place was the unforgettable mystic scholar, the elven mage Sepia.

Also present was the servant of darkness who called herself the living image of Dale’s shadows, accompanied by the commander of the Night Raven Knights, loyal protectors of the House of Saxon.

Not missing was that lady who in the past held the title of the most lethal warrior on the continent, now turned into a mother harboring the miracle of two hearts beating inside her.

Dale shortened the distance toward them, and silence reigned over the place.

Words were not necessary; there was an absolute understanding, a full acceptance, and mutual support.

It was impossible for Dale to decipher the precise events that took place in those lands while the frozen winter retreated. His journey had led him to travel through various borders before returning to this soil. He was unaware of the intermediate experiences or the process through which they assimilated this new reality.

He merely advanced toward the group, bowed his head in a sign of respect, and, devoid of strength, his physical structure gave way completely.

Prostrated before his loved ones, Dale broke the silence with an uncontrollable weeping. A torrent of feelings impossible to express with words gushed from the deepest part of his being.

“It is a joy to have you back, Dale,” Elena, his mother, pronounced softly as she wrapped her arms around the exhausted youth, who proved unable to articulate a single syllable.

“Is it you, brother…?” little Lize intervened at that moment, extending her hands forward blindly. Her parent, located a short distance away, gently guided the girl’s fingers toward Dale’s body.

“Father.”

“Come closer, Dale,” indicated Alan of Saxon, the one who in another era carried the renown of the Black Duke, exhibiting an affable gesture. Dale approached Lize, who continued searching for his trace in the empty space.

Upon perceiving the contact with the frozen surface of Dale’s hand, Lize repeated her question timidly.

“Brother? Are you truly by my side…?”

“That’s right, Lize. I am here with you,” Dale assured. Upon hearing the confirmation, Lize raised her limbs to trace Dale’s face, seeking to corroborate his presence through touch.

Beneath the dark fabrics that covered Lize’s sight, no trace remained of the mystic heritage that characterized the pioneers of the House of Saxon. That bluish-toned energy she used to possess had been completely extinguished. It represented the direct cost that Lize had to assume, a burden shared closely between her and Dale.

In that corner of the world awaited the people he loved, and before them stood the sovereignty they had built together with their close ones.

At that precise instant, an old conversation held with the Golden Lord, Ray Uris, crossed his mind.

“…My experiences have come to an end. The same goes for the future of the Black Gold Empire. Therefore, no additional records about our actions will remain in the pages of your chronicles,” Dale had stated previously. That corresponded to reality; Dale’s duties in these lands had been exhausted and the old dispute between gold and shadow no longer required his intervention.

Despite this, Ray Uris replied with a question.

“Do you truly consider that things will turn out that way?”

In the different regions of this soil, the gold and the shadow, the figure of the monarch, and the ideals of the rebellion maintained a constant state of opposition. And with the manifestation of the Fourth Empire, previously known as the Great Magical Empire, alongside the figure of the Black Gold Emperor, the scenario took on a new dimension.

Dale and his sovereignty understood that it would be impossible for them to untangle themselves from the stories written in the “Book of Blood” under the authorship of Ray Uris.

In the same way that the forces of the revolution had dragged Dale back into action in the past, even though he attempted to stay on the margins of global conflicts.

In a historical period characterized by the decline of the mystic arts, the kingdom would find itself obligated to face the outside environment once again, repeating the path that Dale had already traveled alone.

Despite the adversities, his determination would not waver. He raised his gaze to contemplate the extension of his domains.

The guard of the Night Raven Knights, the specialists in dark arts of the Black Tower, and each of the individuals he kept in his heart.

His parent, Alan of Saxon, unanimously respected as the most fearsome dominator of the dark arts in the region.

The wielder of the celestial blade Charlotte, alongside the custodian of luminous energy Sir Helmut Blackbear, the force of the shadows represented by the dark lady Aurelia, and the mystic scholar of the elven lineage, Sepia.

Upon processing the magnitude of all that, an emotionless laugh escaped Dale’s lips.

“What a nuisance. The lethargy was pleasant, but the sensation it leaves upon waking is truly detestable.”

That individual shared the room in a private sector of the Saxon residence, keeping his lower limbs resting carelessly upon the surface of a work desk.

“Do you truly consider that it was a good experience?”

“Is there perhaps any doubt about it?”

The accomplished swordsman Baro swallowed a large sip of his drink, uttering words of discontent, while the figure of the “Saint of the Shadows,” stationed at his side, manifested a slight and silent gesture of amusement.

“We were all granted a passage of absolute happiness in that lethargy. However, at the end of the day, we discovered that it was an illusory experience.”

“Would you have preferred to remain in that state permanently?”

“It would not have been a bad destiny. However, a mirage is defined as such precisely because we are destined to return to reality.”

“……”

“Even if His Majesty had ratified the determination of that boy, the outcome would have been adverse. Despite everything, that mystic experience provided us with a valuable lesson.”

“What kind of knowledge did you obtain?”

“The correct way to shape a fantasy that never finds its conclusion.”

Upon perceiving those statements, Dale caught his breath, at the same time that the Saint of the Shadows left her seat with slow movements.

“It is time, my protector.”

“…What do you mean, my lady?”

“It is indubitable that you shared the same mystic journey as I did. Through my own perception, I have managed to witness multiple realities.”

“Cough, cough!”

Upon hearing the lady’s intervention, the warrior Baro ended up choking on the liquid he was drinking. Noticing the scene, Dale muttered an oath between his teeth, realizing immediately that Baro’s cheeks were acquiring a reddish tone quite unusual for him.

“I thank you deeply for having provided me with your shelter, Baro,” the Saint of the Shadows expressed with solemnity.

“Will I have your loyalty to remain beside me until the end of time?”

“…Did I not grant you my word previously regarding that?”

The veteran Baro averted his gaze timidly, causing an ironic grimace to draw itself on Dale’s features as he observed the exchange.

“I consider it appropriate to withdraw so as not to hinder this moment.”

Ignoring Baro’s reactions, Dale turned on his own steps to leave the enclosure.

Offering his best wishes for that idyll that would never see an end, he walked toward the future unfolding before his eyes, a reality from which he would never have to return.

“Charlotte.”

“Dale.”

At the precise instant their gazes crossed, Charlotte dedicated a expression of deep tenderness to him.

No longer could one see in her the Charlotte invaded by fear and agitation who used to show herself helpless before him. Now she presented herself as the life companion who possessed an absolute empathy and understanding toward his person, fully aware of the miracle being gestated in her own being.

“I experienced a journey in my dreams.”

“I know.”

That experience which Charlotte treasured since the period of winter seclusion constituted a shared bond, intertwining Dale’s experiences with hers indissolubly.

“An immense dread invaded me thinking that this state of plenitude could vanish in the same way as an illusion.”

He evoked with clarity the joyful gesture she exhibited in the midst of that limitless mirage, which was identical to an authentic blissful experience.

For that reason, Dale brought his fingers forward with extreme gentleness to outline the contour of Charlotte’s face.

“I was witness to what you visualized in your lethargy,” he stated while maintaining contact with her features.

“And I give you my word that I will never allow that illusion to crumble.”

“I felt a reverent fear toward you,” Charlotte confessed.

“I feared the day you would assume the role of the Black Gold Emperor, seeking to settle the moral debts of the environment at the expense of your own kingdom. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that the Dale who managed to win my affection had vanished forever.”

“The responsibility for those fears falls entirely upon me.”

“Despite everything, the individual I have in front of me at this instant is the Dale of always.”

“……”

Dale kept silent. Shortening the distance that separated them, he sealed the moment with a kiss toward Charlotte.

“I will not allow under any circumstance for your bliss to be sabotaged,” Dale assured after breaking the contact. Upon perceiving his determinations, Charlotte shed tears in absolute silence.

The period of winter domain came to its conclusion and each of those involved abandoned their state of lethargy.

“From the very origin…”

Only upon completing this stretch of the road was it possible for him to discern with total clarity the true intentions that Lize’s heart harbored.

Since, inside that frozen domain which Lize had taken charge of structuring, the figure of Dale, to whom she professed the greatest of affections, had been left completely helpless and solitary before the immensity of things.

Faced with such a panorama, Dale proceeded to question her.

His little sister presented herself with her sight obstructed by dark fabrics. However, the Lize who now stood before him was far from being that frightened infant who tried to guide herself by groping in the midst of the gloom.

Honoring the heritage of the pioneers of the House of Saxon, her sockets devoid of light and dark as the abyss possessed the capacity to unravel the hidden truths beyond the evident.

“Did you possess the knowledge that these events would trigger in this way from the beginning?”

At that precise instant, he managed to perceive the vestige of Lize linked to the winter domain. It represented a reality that was impossible to refute.

Even so, the manifestation of Lize that Dale contemplated left an additional fact exposed.

“Have you perhaps erased from your memory the knowledge imparted in the Blue Tower, brother?”

“……”

Those disciplines focused on the mastery of deception and the distortion of facts.

In the role of an emissary belonging to the Blue Tower, the fundamental premise consisted of maintaining an absolute ignorance regarding your own condition as an operative.

Said directive affected without distinctions even the high hierarchies that commanded the Blue Tower. And the young Lize did not represent an alteration to that rule.

“You went to the extreme of inducing error upon yourself.”

“You are mistaken, brother. I never incurred a voluntary self-deception.”

The girl, in her condition as leader of the Blue Tower, argued while keeping the dark bandages fixed over her eyes.

“The reality I experienced possessed an unquestionable validity. I simply lacked the lucidity to notice that I was acting as a piece manipulated by the threads of another facet of my own being. However, brother, that counterpart and my person do not constitute fragmented identities.”

Lize continued with her explanation.

“My desire was never oriented toward you bearing sufferings for the good of these lands. In the same way, my other facet shared that very same yearning.”

“A chip off the old block; you faithfully reflect the traits of our mother.”

Dale found himself overcome by astonishment and let out a manifestation of amusement.

“Your sovereignty and the inhabitants of these lands do not keep feelings of fear toward your person, brother. Likewise, the torments for which you had to offer a reparation on this plane have been extinguished.”

Lize expressed herself with the temperance of one who has given fulfillment to her obligations, devoid of additional ambitions for the future.

“Consequently, even if your reaction were to harbor a feeling of contempt toward me, I find myself at peace. I have consummated the purpose of my existence.”

“……”

Dale chose to maintain mutism before Lize’s statements.

After a brief lapse of time elapsed, he shortened the distance in a calm manner and proceeded to surround her with his arms in a warm embrace.

“I thank you for everything you have done, Lize.”

Upon perceiving those totally unforeseen words, Lize caught her breath from the surprise. The leader of the Blue Tower, expert in the handling of deception and falsehoods, was left speechless, sheltered against Dale’s chest.

And at that instant, stripped of her defenses like a little girl, she gave herself over to an uncontrollable weeping.