Meanwhile at Lake Morveth's shore where the others waited for Zerath and Vivia, Judith stood near the Luminar's statue, studying it intently. Her fingers within her dress pocket tightened slightly. A presence settled beside her, albeit at a distance. She glanced sideways to find Silas looking at the statue too.
"The artwork is quite detailed," he said plainly. "Whoever carved it must have revered him deeply. Or her…?"
Judith smiled wryly. "It's an irony. Her parents were despised and killed - yet her daughter is revered. I wonder what would happen if the truth came to light? That all this time, we have been revering the supposedly loathsome veil-born's existence the world had wanted to end this entire time. And yet…that family's descendents continue to hide their faces behind veils."
"I see. The bitterness runs deep on your side as well."
"It has gone past bitterness at this point. Honestly, I don't blame Melissa's family if they carry a grudge for the years of torment."
Silas studied a distant, almost despondent glint in her eyes and crossed his fingers behind his head. "Don't they oppose at all?"
"They would've burned those damn veils long back had they done that."
"Then that family needs to learn something from Fenrik. Finally, he's useful for something."
Judith paused. "That teenager?"
"Wow, that brat is actually famous?"
"We often see him in the Festival of First Light. The Great Three do exchange pleasantries - though namesake. But who cares? And yes, he smells of rebellion."
The thought of Fenrik's family and their involvement in purchasing weapons and unusual potions crossed his mind quietly.
"Fenrik will probably punch a hole through the palace's walls one day if the insanity doesn't stop. He doesn't hold back against the royalty either. Young blood. Though…" he peered into the Luminar's carved eye, "It's better if his rebellion only takes him as far as punching a hole through the wall."
He felt her gaze shift and turned towards her. "Something to say?"
"...Nothing," she faced the statue again. "May I ask what you do?"
"I own a humble trinkets shop."
The response made her head turn to him again. "Okay, I should probably ask what you did before."
"Is there something wrong with my current profession?"
"I just think you'd be of a significant status if you're so friendly with the Crown Prince."
His gaze darkened by several shades. "I'm not friendly with him. How do you even see that?"
"It's only you who don't perhaps," she raised a brow.
He found her theory utterly distasteful, nevertheless, he said, "I was a soldier in the Royal Army once upon a time."
"Is that all?"
"I sense your inhibitions regarding my previous profession too."
"Nothing of that sort. That explains your great reflexes."
"And you have great willpower. To wield a bow in your condition wasn't anything less than monstrosity."
She pointed at Finnian. "He did all the heavy lifting by making the teleportation circle. He must've lost an extraordinary amount of mana."
"Don't worry. He was most definitely salivating at his misery."
"Whose misery?" Zerath's voice reached them as they emerged from the tree line.
Silas smiled. "Your misery, one which you'll go through once you see the bill I'd be sending."
"Gladly."
"My lord!" Arzan rushed towards him and bowed, then immediately turned to glare at Finnian, who had been seemingly wanting to try a magical experiment with him. One which Arzan vehemently disagreed with.
Zerath looked at the Shifting Vein, still hovering at the same place as before. He exhaled a small breath and turned to Vivia. "We'll go now."
She nodded, albeit dispiritedly.
Zerath, Silas and Arzan stood before the dark Shifting Vein. Arzan swallowed a gulp and couldn't stop himself from voicing out. "W-we'll land in Rudaheim, right…?"
He had no desire to experience the horror of arriving someplace unfamiliar again.
Silas said, "He met God. I want to believe in God's wisdom."
Zerath turned to face Vivia. A soft smile rested on her lips. Her heart ached watching the distance between them widen by every step. She wished she could close that distance and never let go of his arm. The same want shone across Zerath's eyes too.
"Take care, Clairette. Be safe."
"You too, Zerath."
He smiled. Then turned to face the Shifting Vein again and steeled his heart.
From the corner of his eye, Silas watched a tremor run through his hands, a desperation he was barely able to contain behind his composure as the Crown Prince. His gaze drifted back towards their exit, expressionless.
Vivia watched the three cross through the Shifting Vein. Zerath turned back one last time, his lips whispering the gentle words before disappearing into the void again.
'I love you.'
Tears slid down her cheeks before she knew it. She gathered every last bit of her strength to not fall on her knees.
Finnian remained silent, offering neither comfort nor consolation. The soft sound of her crying filled the space between them, which didn't stop for a long while.
"...Are you sure about this, Princess?" Judith asked after a long moment, staring at the sun setting in the distant horizon.
"Yes. I'm sure about it," Vivia spoke through a quivering but steely voice.
"You do see how Melissa's family is shunned, don't you? The same fate awaits you - or even worse. It's good to hope, Princess, but that hope…hadn't helped Lady Autumn in the end. Everyone believes they'll be the change this world needs until they come face-to-face with the wretched stubbornness of this world that refuses to change."
Vivia knew how bleak and grim it looked for her and Zerath.
"Yet I cannot give up, Lady Judith. I will…lose a big part of myself if I've to give up on Zerath."
"Is that worth it? Your master…"
Judith still couldn't connect how the Luminar was connected to Clairette as her master. Clairette had never spoken of a master - but she sensed she was more than what she seemed to be ever since her return from Rudaheim. She kept that line of suspicion separate for now.
"The Human Realm's Luminar lost her parents because the world couldn't accept their love. I cannot imagine what kind of a life she lived with them in hiding. But the end result was that she suffered. You can still walk away from that destiny."
Vivia watched the Shifting Vein slowly disappear as if it had never been there to begin with.
"What is this other destiny then? Marry a man of Father's choice and just become a puppet to be used for politics? Would that torment be any less miserable than loving a demon?"
Judith closed her eyes, Sierra's face surfaced in her mind.
What kind of life is Sierra living by marrying the so-called right choice?
The sun continued its slow descent, painting Lake Morveth gold. Neither of them said anything more for a while. And in that silence, Judith found she didn't have a better answer to give.