Lillia’s eyes gazed upon the inky black sky as meteors actively scarred the heavens. Never seeing anything so beautiful in her life before, she shed a tear. A hand wiped the tear and gently caressed her face. Lillia’s eyes made contact with Abel’s and she gently leaned in for a kiss.

Lillia let out a scream as she awoke. Her heart was racing fast and her cheeks were red. “What was that dream.” Lillia thought to herself. Lillia was brought out of her own mind by a knock at the door. Lillia looked in the direction of the knock and realized she wasn’t in her hotel room with the others.

She was trying to figure out where she was but another knock at the door cut off her train of thought. All she could think of was answering that mysterious knock. A nervous “Hello” was all she could muster. A familiar voice caused her to jump out of bed and answer the door. Abel was holding a gentle smile when Lillia opened the door, “I’m glad to see that you’re awake. We have food ready if you’re hungry.”

Lillia completely ignored Abel’s offer and started asking him questions, “Where am I?”.

"You are currently at my home.” answered Abel

“Why?”

“You appeared outside, and we started star gazing.”

Lillia started recalling her ‘dream’ and realized it wasn’t. “So all of that actually happened? Even the last part before I passed out?” She was blushing hard at this point but Abel broke the tension, “Yes, but we didn’t kiss. I knew you were under the effects of this world.”

“Effects? This world?”

“Have a walk with me.” Abel started walking down a long corridor with Lillia in tow. “You have been asleep for three days. Since your body isn’t used to this world’s environment your brain’s capacity is about the same as a person under the influence. Before you ask the reason you slept so long is because your body was adapting to this world.”

Abel pushed open wooden doors and stepped out onto a balcony that oversaw a beautiful garden. The first thing Lillia noticed when stepping onto the balcony was the sky. Instead of the normal blue that was usually in the air, the color was a dark green. “Where are we?” Lillia sounded worried. Abel leaned over the railing and answered, “We are in the realm of the dead.”

Lillia obviously had a lot of questions but Abel reassured her that he would answer the questions she had over breakfast. Lillia couldn’t stop eyeing the ring she was gifted, evidently, Alastor was right, however, instead of summoning Abel she teleported to him while she was sleeping.

Abel’s words cut through Lillia’s train of thought, “That ring is very special. Once it fully awakens your power will be nothing like it was before.”

“It’s very beautiful.”

Abel’s eyes caught Lillia’s once more. They never seemed to lose interest in each other until Abel reminded Lillia of her important mission, “Aren’t you supposed to be helping Alastor take down the council?”

Lillia’s eyes opened wide as she realized she had been gone for three days. “I need to get back right now!”

Abel let out a laugh, “I’m just teasing. Thanks to time dilation you have been gone only moments. I was just seeing if you were paying any attention to what I was telling you.”

Lillia was confused but she decided to trust Abel, so far she didn’t have a reason to believe that he would be lying to her. “I know you’ve mentioned this world is your home before, but why live here?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Alastor stationed me here, plus we both agreed I would be best to watch over this world.”

“Alastor put you here? How is that even possible for someone to do?”

Abel let out a chuckle, “Well I did agree. He literally can’t force me.”

“Wait, does that mean you’re stronger than Alastor?”

“No. At max power we’re equals. However we do respect each other's wishes.”

“Hey, can I ask you something?” The sudden change in Lillia’s tone caught Abel off guard but he didn’t show it.

“You have been asking questions this whole time haven’t you?” Abel said playfully

“How come you’re telling me all of this? Alastor would have never mentioned this place or why you’re here or who you are, but here you are telling me something that I feel I shouldn't know.”

Abel leaned his head back and thought for a second, “It’s because I like you.” Abel’s statement caught Lillia off guard. Abel could hear Lillia’s heart beat faster so he decided to say more, “In that forest when I laid my eyes on you, I could feel my heart beat faster than it ever has before.”

Lillia was blushing hard but decided to speak, “Thank you.”

Abel got up and extended his hand outward which Lillia took. The two walked in silence, still holding hands. Lillia had no Idea where they were going but for some unmistakable reason she felt safe and happy. Eventually the two ended up outside in an expansive courtyard. The courtyard was filled with various topiaries of dragons and other animals that let off a calming sweet aroma that would cause anyone to feel content. The pleasant smell of the trees caused Lillia to feel as if she was on cloud nine.

The two stopped in the center of the yard where a fountain of water was in an endless cycle of recycling water. Abel faced Lillia and got on his knee. Lillia’s heart was beating faster than earlier, she didn’t know what was going to happen but she was ready. Abel grabbed her hand and kissed the ring. Once Abel finished cracks started appearing on the ring. Lillia became worried but Abel reassured her it was a part of the process. The ring finally broke and revealed a band. The band was purple and looked like a flowing river of stars in the center.

Lillia was left speechless.

The stars in the center started piling up forming a glowing eye. Abel stood up and examined the ring, once he was satisfied he informed Lillia that their time was almost up and Alastor would be coming for her soon.

“It was fun here while it lasted.” Abel picked up on Lillia’s saddened tone.

“I leave you with one last gift before you leave.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll train you to become stronger. You remember the crystal the bandits I save you from used?”

Lillia thought back and remembered the crystal, “Oh yeah! It gave them a crazy amount of strength.”

“They are called shards of heaven. They’re a super powerful artifact that temporarily boosts power by an exponential amount. Recently a certain cult has been manufacturing and selling replicas that boost power, although not as much. It’s still enough to cause you and your team serious trouble.”

Lillia thought about the serious problem of the crystals if they were to fight opponents abusing them. “I'll gladly take your training. How much time do we have?”

“Exactly one week.”

Lillia raised her voice slightly, “One week? You said Alastor would be here soon.”

“To be fair I experience time differently than you do.”

Just as Abel said Alastor showed up exactly when he said he was going to. Lillia’s training had gone according to plan and she improved drastically. Although Alastor wasn’t pleased he was happy Lillia got stronger and was safe.

Alastor sent Lillia home and stayed behind to chat with Abel. “I like what you have done with the place.” Stated Alastor.

The green topiary turned brown and decayed, The tree trunks turned into themselves and released an unpleasant smell of death, and the sky turned pitch black with the only light source being the sun.

Alastor let out a laugh, “Now this is what I remember.” Alastor stated “The king of the dead really falling for a girl? Didn’t see that coming, but honestly it’s nice to see you experience what I have been experiencing.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being an ass or you’re genuine.”

“Both. But in all seriousness good for you. Finally feeling love after all these years is truly a blessing. Just try not to rush her into it because these things take time to develop, and you do know you will eventually have to show her the real you if you want to get serious.”

“I have been showing her the real me.”

Alastor shook his head, “I’m talking about your true form.”

“I’m not scared of showing it to her if that’s what you’re implying.”

“Is that why you made this place look nice? Well, I’m just going to say this, if you’re scared of showing her your true self that’s fine but eventually she has to know.”

With that, Alastor disappeared and returned to the regular world.