I saw her from a distance… standing near the door. She didn't look like her usual self—she seemed burdened. There was something broken in her eyes.
"I want to take you somewhere,"
she said quietly, her eyes not meeting mine. Her voice felt different this time… as if she were standing on the edge of something big she couldn't name.
I didn't ask. I just followed her.
She led me through a narrow path between trees, toward the southern cliffside of the island—somewhere I'd never stepped foot before. And there… was something I couldn't have imagined.
It was strange, massive, and suspended in the sky like a dream that refused to fall. Its bloated frame resembled the husk of a sleeping moon, and beneath it, a wooden cabin hung by ropes, swaying gently with the sea breeze. I didn't know what it was… but it felt like a way out of this world—or maybe, a gateway to another one.
And somehow, it looked like her.
I stared at it, amazed. "This… is incredible. I've never seen anything like it."
She smiled and opened the cabin door. "Let's ride."
---
As we ascended into the sky, the ocean fading beneath us, she suddenly asked:
"What about the Crown Prince? Do you hate working with him?"
I turned toward her, brows furrowed. "That's a strange question. No, I don't hate him. It's not about love or hate. I… help him because he's my friend. Because he has no one else."
I looked up at the sky, then at her face—shaded by an old, familiar sadness. I continued:
"He's suffered a lot. More than I could ever describe. At some point, he began to doubt everything. Even himself."
I looked back at her.
"Why do you ask?"
But she didn't answer right away. She just looked at me, long and silently. Then said,
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to."
Then came that sad smile, and she gently pulled my hand:
"There's no time for questions now. Come. I'll show you something."
---
The airship began to descend over an archipelago of islands… but they weren't natural. They were modern—linked by glass bridges and advanced technology I'd never seen before. Other, smaller airships floated above, carrying goods and people.
She spoke, her eyes fixed below:
"These islands were built to become a city. A city that begins with your name."
I stared at her, stunned, and whispered:
"What?"
She turned to me, heart in her voice:
"They're yours, Rayne. I wanted to give you a special gift. A new world… one where no one forces you to fight, and no one makes you say goodbye."
"Why now… this mood, the tone in your voice—you're talking like you're leaving. Like this is our last meeting."
She didn't deny it. She just turned her gaze away and sighed, quietly.
She gripped my hand tightly, then said to the crew inside the cabin:
"This is the true owner. Treat his orders like you treat mine."
…
And just like that…
She diverted the topic again