Aster on the other side was at a loss. Just when he called out Keira's name, she disappeared in front of him again—just like that—just like before… Even the knights that were in awe were now trying to find some tracks that Keira could have left. However, not a single thing was found. It was like the person just vanished out of thin air. If they didn't witness the scene, they would have not believed she disappeared into nothingness.

Aster finally slumped his knees to the ground.

The knights quickly came to his side, trying to support him but Aster was not moving. His eyes were lifeless, the same expression he wore when the Saintess Keira died in his arms. The other knights could not display the same emotions as they were still all left confused. Never understanding what had happened in the first place.

'I let it happen again.'

Aster's hate for himself doubled.

He raised his fist and slammed it hard on his perfectly sculptured face. The knights were shocked as Aster continued to form bruises on his face. They held Aster's arms, trying to stop him from harming himself more. Aster could have easily shaken them off, but he found that he had no strength left. He felt extremely powerless that his body was also beginning to think this was true.

Aster looked at the place Keira disappeared from and quietly called out.

"Keira…"

...

Walking for how long tired Keira's body. She had lost track of time as she couldn't even see the sun or anything that could tell her the time. But she felt a day has already passed. She stopped for a break and took some dried fruits in her bag. Thankfully she still has her bag where she previously stored food and water at the river.

She ate some of her rations when she felt hungry during her walks, still being careful not to eat too much as she didn't know when she could get out of this place.

This routine continued for a couple more days. Stopping and resting, before moving again. If Keira didn't see the light getting more and more visible as she walked, she would have thought that this was all for nothing. The light grew stronger and stronger, becoming more and more vivid. She walked without stopping needlessly. She wanted to get out of this dark place. She was already so tired. She could not sleep properly for her surroundings were cold and eerie.

Having no idea how much time had passed, she saw a bright light far away from her. Seeing this, she wanted to sprint towards that light but her body was extremely tired. Her steps were already heavy as she continued to stride forward. When she finally arrived at the bright place, she shielded her eyes. When she removed her hand, she saw the Manpasikjeok laying on the ground.

She slowly made her way towards it and carefully picked it up, just like she did before. The Manpasikjeok shone and suddenly played a song? No, it's more like a melodic voice was speaking directly to her head. The voice sounded soft, but it was hard to distinguish whether the speaker was a woman or a man.

The voice gently spoke, "For one to use the power of the deities, one must play the tune of the heart. The heart would sing the true desires. Once played, this flute would be the provider."

Keira had absolutely no clue what the voice meant. She was standing still stupefied. Her system told her she doesn't need to play the flute! But from her understanding of the words of the voice, she had to play the flute or something to make her wish come true.

Just as she was about to curse her system again, the flute on her hand flashed causing Keira to instinctively close and cover her eyes with her other arm.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Her head suddenly hurt for a brief moment, it was so brief that Keira thought it was her imagination but an uncomfortable feeling arose in her heart.

'Why did it feel like I lost something?'

…

Once the light faded, she opened her eyes and was met by a haggard looking male lead. Tents were also visible in the background.

Aster's eyes widened in shock in disbelief as Keira suddenly popped out of nowhere right in front of him.

Keira was finally back.

Without waiting for Keira to adjust herself from the blinding light she went through, Aster rushed and tightly hugged Keira's whole being in his strong pair of arms.

"Keira... Keira... Thank god you're safe. " Aster muttered, evidently relieved as he continued to squeeze Keira.

Keira, who was still at loss, tried to break from Aster's embrace but only to make his embrace even tighter. So she gave up and sighed before asking.

"What happened?"

"When you injected the flute with your powers, the light glow turned purple, before completely turning black and you disappeared out of thin air. We tried to search for you, but we couldn't find any traces. So we decided to set out camp here until we could find something. Fortunately, you are back. Thank you for being alive Keira."

At those final words, Aster buried his face in Keira's neck, finding comfort in her body heat. Assuring himself that she is alive and back.

Keira wanted to push Aster away but she didn't have the heart to do so right now. She could feel that Aster was truly worried for her well-being and from his previous experience, where she died in front of him it must have come as a shock to him. So she lifted her heavy arm and gently caressed his golden hair.

Perhaps due to the tiredness, Keira didn't notice that Aster was already calling her by her real name. Feeling comfortable in Aster's tender embrace, she felt her eyelids getting heavier. All the exhaustion from walking for so long finally came to Keira.

The hand that was softly touching Aster's hair fell down and her body slowly slumped down to Aster's chest. Feeling the sudden weight, Aster quickly supported her body with his arms.

"Keira?" Aster quietly called out, but no response came. He peered at her expression and saw the fatigue on her face. Soft breaths could be heard from her slightly ajar mouth.

She must have fallen asleep.

Seeing that nothing alarming was wrong, Aster carefully lifted Keira's unconscious body to a princess carry and gently brought her back to the sleeping quarters in the tent.

When he laid her back on his temporary mattress, he just now noticed the Manpasikjeok on Keira's hand. His eyes grew cold as he stared at the flute.

'This flute is the cause of all this misfortune. I must get rid of it.'

Aster slowly removed the Manpasikjeok in Keira's hand, trying not to disturb her sleep. His carefulness was pointless as Keira would not wake up when she is deeply asleep, but he still did so anyway.

After successfully retrieving the item, Aster indifferently looked at the flute—before directly trying to crush the wooden flute in his hand. Unfortunately, even after imbuing his powers to destroy the flute to shreds, a crack wasn't even formed.

'As expected.'

Aster continued to stare at the Manpasikjeok, trying to understand why Keira would need this piece of wood.

Aster could feel the power emitting from the wood but he had no desire for it, all he wants is for Keira to be by his side. Nothing else matters. However, the same logic doesn't reflect Keira, and Aster understood this fully well. So he could only speculate the reasons why Keira eagerly sought this item.

Without arriving at any conclusion, Aster tucked the flute into his inner pocket. He gently caressed Keira's sleeping face and landed a small kiss on her forehead before moving out and instructing the knights to pack their things and get ready to head out. They do not need to stay here any longer for they have already retrieved what they came here for and he could not let Keira sleep in this barren place.

He grabbed a stone from his breast pocket. It was a stone inlaid with an inscription that allows the user and its party to travel back to the palace. This artifact was only passed down to him when he became King. Although it is used for teleportation, it could only send you back to one place, and that is the palace. Aster always carries this with him in case of emergency or anything urgent happens in the Angulus Kingdom.

With all the knights prepared to leave, some knights were leaving via carriage to bring the heavy loads and some were going with Aster directly to the palace. Aster delicately carried the sleeping Keira back into his arms and activated the artifact. A radiant golden light engulfed them. Once the light cleared, they had already arrived at the palace.

People were already waiting in front of the teleportation circle. Servants and knights alike had their heads lowered in the presence of the King of Angulus.

Aster looked at the person in his arms and affectionately said,

"Welcome back Keira."