Edmund opened his eyes and looked around. He was confused; his body was still in pain, and he couldn’t move.

‘What happened?’ He spoke with his vision still blurred.

‘You were unconscious for five days, Edmund, and I was treating you this whole time.’ Eliza put her hand on his forehead.

‘Where are we?’ His voice is still slow.

‘We are on a truck, returning to the city, and her highness is here too.’ She smiled and looked to the side.

His vision slowly returned to normal. The first thing he noticed was Eliza's white hair, which shocked him. Moving his eyes around, he saw the soldiers sitting on the sides and noticed the white all around. He was bewildered by the sudden change in everyone's appearance.

‘Why are you all white? What happened.’ Edmund moved his eyes around.

‘I was hoping you would explain it to us, peasant.’ Ariadne walked closer to him.

‘You are huge? Do you have black hair now? I don’t know if I liked to be Hon. His words were cut abruptly.

Ariadne had put her foot on his neck, pushing down a little. She was refreshingly surprised at how her behavior had changed regarding Edmund. Eliza widened her eyes and put her hands close to Ariadne's foot but dared not touch it.

‘Already like this? This happened right after we conquered the dungeon; even you have black hair now. Explain.’ She got her foot out of his neck, making him cough right after.

‘I don’t know; I don't remember anything of this happening anywhere. Wait, did you say I have black hair?’ He moved his eyes again.

Edmund began to feel depressed. When he wasn’t moving forward with his objectives, his time inside the dungeon entirely made him forget about them. Now, he needed to focus on discovering what had happened to them.

‘Well, rest for now; when you can move, we'll talk more about this... and thank you, peasant; without you, I wouldn’t be able to beat the dungeon guardian.’ She smiled at him.

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‘You know what? I like this new Ariadne, even smiling to me... certainly an improved version of yourself.’ He struggled to laugh.

Ariadne sighed and shook her hand. The soldiers around him gave a quick smile while others shook their heads in disapproval of his behavior. Eliza started healing him again, putting her hands on his chest.

The truck stopped right at the entrance of the city with a crowd of people who looked like they were waiting for them. When it stopped, Ariadne was the first to get out of the back, landing on the ground. The crowd instantly felt her presence when their eyes met her blueish-black hair and fur, now accentuated by the sun, making a unique, mesmerizing, divine sight. She started to walk towards them, becoming taller as she did. Some took a step behind, while others were mesmerized by her appearance. They opened the way for her as she passed through them.

Ariadne smiled and gave a gentle head rub on some as she walked. An A-Dam boy stood before her, meeting her eyes with a teary look.

‘Where is my dad? Mom said he is not coming back.’ The boy asked, trying not to cry.

Ariadne knelt before the child, her arms reaching for an embrace.

‘I’m sorry; he gave his life for all of us. Not just him but too many.’ Ariadne hugged the boy.

Without a word, the boy started to cry in her arms as she stood up and carried him. Some around her started to sob. The majority of those there were the families of the soldiers who had died inside the dungeon. Ariadne could feel their pain.

After a minute of walking, a woman raised her arms towards Ariadne. It was the boy’s mother. She gave the child to her and turned around, looking at the faces of the people around her.

‘To everyone that lost a loved one, I feel your pain. You know that, you can feel it too. I will take care of the families of those soldiers. They will have a monument on their names at the center of this city with their names.’ Her voice echoed through the crowd.

The people knew her words were true. They felt pain, a link with her that they couldn’t understand like they were sharing the loss of their loved ones with her. They all saluted her while closing their eyes and lowering their heads.

‘I know this will not be enough, but I thank every family for their sacrifice.’ She turned around and started to walk again.

The crowd didn’t follow her, so she walked toward her mansion alone. Everyone on the path stood there and watched her, almost hypnotized. As this happened, the soldiers watched the commotion and walked to their homes; only two stayed as they carried Edmund, and Eliza followed them.

‘So, everybody just accepted that you guys now have white hair and fur?’ Edmund spoke while being carried.

‘They say it was a blessing; I won’t say it is not. It feels like it.’ Eliza walked beside Edmund.

‘I think we were blessed with the goddess; she shared a little of her power with us.’ The soldier on the back that was carrying Edmund spoke.

‘Humm… I need more information, Something different happened?’ He spoke while looking up at the soldier.

‘Strange balls of light entered our bodies, and now we are stronger than before.’ The soldier smiled at Edmund.

‘That is new; when the hero fought and defeated the guardian, the golens just disappeared along with the guardian and nothing more.’ Edmund frowned, confused about what happened.

‘Well, our soldiers weren't fighting the golems; maybe it has something to do with it.’ Eliza looked at Edmund as they walked.

‘It needs to; everything else was the same, to some degree.’ Edmund tried to move his head but had no strength.

‘Don’t try to move Edmund; you will hurt yourself.’ Eliza put one of her hands on Edmund’s chest.

‘Ok, that move already tired me; I’m going to sleep now.’ Edmund closed his eyes.

‘How can he be so carefree like this?’ Eliza thought as she continued to walk.

She noticed that everyone on the street was looking at her and making the same salute to Ariadne. The soldiers' lives made her into a true saint. From the button of her hand, she wanted to be worthy of the title more than Eliza now could feel a stronger connection with Ariadne, and it made her so happy, but she couldn’t understand why; she was just happy.