Raiking regarded Ezmelral across the fading embers of their campfire, the night air cool and thick with unspoken truths. "If you truly wish to know the other solution," he said, his voice a low rumble that seemed to echo from the stars above, "then you must first grasp the cause... and its echoes." He placed a firm hand on her shoulder, the touch warm yet charged with power.
In the blink of an eye, the world dissolved—a familiar swirl of time and space folding like parchment in a flame. When it reformed, they stood in a grand temple hall, its walls etched with glowing runes that pulsed like living veins, the air heavy with incense and the weight of ancient authority.
"A... temple?" Ezmelral murmured, her eyes widening as she took in the vast chamber, its ceiling lost in shadowy heights.
Her gaze darted to the throne at the far end—a figure lounged there in full armor, gleaming like forged starlight, his head resting lazily on his knuckles in an arrogant slant. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes—sharp and piercing—locking directly onto them.
Ezmelral startled, flinching back a step. "He... he can see us?" It was the first time anyone in these time-travel visions had acknowledged their presence, a chill racing down her spine like icy fingers.
Raiking nodded calmly. "Yes. But he knows better than most that we cannot interfere—so we pose no threat."
She swallowed hard, her heart pounding. "Who... who is he?"
Before Raiking could respond, he stepped forward—but the scene shifted without warning. Gusts of smoke descended from the vaulted ceiling, coiling like serpents before materializing into ethereal figures: Entities, beings of radiant light and swirling shadow, their forms towering and otherworldly.
"Godking!" one boomed, its voice shaking the hall like thunder.
Ezmelral's breath caught—That's... him? The conqueror of the cosmos? The armored figure straightened slightly, unperturbed.
One of the Entities pressed forward, its form flickering with indignation. "You cannot keep—"
The Godking didn't let it finish. He lifted his leg casually, then slammed it down with earth-shaking force. A invisible wave erupted, crushing the Entities to their knees and arms, pinning them like insects under glass. He rose then, striding past them without a glance, his boots echoing like judgment's gavel.
As he walked, one Entity struggled against the pressure, gasping, "You!"
The Godking ignored it, but another rasped, "One day... the cosmic will... will make you pay."
He halted, turning with a mocking laugh that reverberated through the temple like shattering stone. "HA HA HA HA!" The sound was taunting, laced with disdain. "I look forward to it," he said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Finally... a worthy opponent." With that, he exited, the doors sealing behind him like a final decree.
Ezmelral blinked, processing the scene. "I didn't expect the Godking to be so... young. And arrogant. I thought he'd be some wise old sage."
Raiking let out a rare, slight laugh—a soft rumble that caught her off guard. She turned to him, puzzled. "What's so funny?"
"You're probably the only one who could say that in his presence and live," he replied, a hint of amusement lingering in his crimson eyes.
"His presence?" she echoed, confusion knitting her brow.
Raiking gestured subtly. "He can see us, remember?"
Her hands flew to her mouth, eyes widening in horror. "Can he hear us too?"
Raiking just smiled faintly as they moved toward the exit, the temple's runes glowing brighter in their wake.
Once outside, under a vast, star-strewn sky, a female voice rang out—clear and admonishing. "You should treat the elders with more respect."
The Godking turned to face her, his armored form towering but his tone softening just a fraction. "Master," he acknowledged, inclining his head as he approached the figure waiting in the courtyard—a woman of ethereal grace, her presence commanding even in simplicity.
Ezmelral's gaze lingered on the woman in the courtyard—her presence a quiet command, radiating an effortless grace that seemed to bend the air around her, simple robes flowing like liquid silk under the starlight.
"Who is that woman?" Ezmelral whispered, awe threading her voice. "She's even more beautiful than Queen Megan..."
Raiking offered no reply, his crimson eyes locked on the figure, lost in some distant echo. Ezmelral turned to him, puzzled by the silence, and caught the rare flicker in his expression—not the stunned awe of a man beholding beauty that could topple empires, but a deep, aching longing, like a wanderer glimpsing a home long lost.
The same look, she realized, that she might wear if she ever reunited with her father.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly, concern creasing her brow.
He blinked, shaking his head as if surfacing from deep waters. "Sorry," he murmured, his voice rougher than usual. "She just... reminded me of someone I knew. Long ago."
In the courtyard below, the Godking turned to his master, his armored frame dwarfing hers yet deferential in its posture. "How does it feel, Master," he asked, his tone laced with curiosity, "to see Raiking in such a state? As the keeper of time and fate, you knew his great tribulation was coming... but did you expect this?"
The woman's heart ached then—a sharp, tearing pang that nearly split her in two—as she gazed at the spectral figures of Raiking and the girl beside him. But in that instant, her eyes settled on Ezmelral, the child's innocent resolve shining like a beacon in the gloom. A wave of calm flooded her, vast as an ocean, mending the fracture in her soul with soothing tides.
She composed herself, turning away. "Ignore them," she said firmly, her voice steady once more. With a graceful pivot, she headed toward her chambers, the hem of her robes whispering against the stone. "Come."
The Godking lingered for a breath, casting one final glance at Raiking—his expression unreadable, a mix of recognition and something deeper—before turning to follow his master, his heavy footsteps echoing into the night as the doors sealed behind them.
Out of the chamber, the Elder Entities stormed away, their ethereal forms flickering with barely contained fury, faces twisted in humiliation that burned like unseen flames. Whispers slithered between them, venomous and low: "There will come a time when the Godking tastes true helplessness—when fate strips him bare, and he kneels as we do now."
Ezmelral's gaze shifted to Raiking beside her, his crimson eyes blazing with a rage so raw it seemed to warp the air around him—as if he yearned to shatter the barriers of time and rend them apart with his bare hands, laws of the past be damned. She swallowed hard. "Do... do you know them?"
He nodded slowly, his jaw clenched like forged iron. "The Godking's mercy in sparing them... that's the cause. The spark that ignites the most unforgettable moment of his life... the devastating effect."
Ezmelral burned their features into her memory—their haughty glow, the simmering spite in their eyes—like branding iron on her soul, a vow unspoken. Raiking's hand settled firmly on her shoulder then, his touch grounding amid the swirling ether, and in a dizzying rush, they transported forward—to the next pivotal thread in time's unraveling tapestry.