The sun began to sink behind the distant black hole, slowly transforming the park into a vibrant tapestry of orange hues.

Cedez dashed gracefully towards the enormous snail. She pulled something from her apartment. With a soft, melodic voice, she called out to Dave, her footsteps barely making a sound as she approached him.

"Here, I forgot to give this back to you," she smiled.

As she handed him the seer's sphere, her fingers brushed against his, sending a shiver down his spine as his ghost-shield flickered, trying to repel her charisma.

Before Dave formulated a reply Cedez wrapped him in a tight embrace that lasted exactly four seconds. Her comforting warmth and the faint scent of jasmine enveloped him, as he felt the momentarily gentle nuzzle of her cheek against his own.

Then, as if carried away by a gentle breeze, she meandered off towards the giant snail, leaving him standing in the fading glow of the setting sun.

Dave stepped into the workshop, the smell of sawdust and metal filling his nostrils. The dimly lit space was bustling with activity, as thirteen undead elkin already tirelessly worked on crafting Bakelite sets.

In a nearby kitchen, a tantalizing aroma of a simmering stew wafted through the air as Remicra meticulously prepared dinner. The sizzle of vegetables and the rhythmic chopping of her knife added to the symphony of sounds in the workshop.

Dave carried the seer's sphere into the cottage’s living room, its soft glow illuminating the cozy space. He set the orb on a polished wooden table and turned it on with a gentle touch. As the sphere came to life, a pulsating energy emanated from it, casting a 3x3 meter hologram-like projection of something that looked like a vague aurora into the air.

"Show me... myself," Dave said.

The sphere flickered for a moment, but the indeterminate aurora didn't change. The ward of Rimzadria Estate worked well to block it.

"Show me... the capital city of the Shadow Empire," he ordered.

The image suddenly changed. It displayed the breathtaking capital city filled with gothic, elegant, white towers reaching for the sky like ivory fingers. A massive, ominous black cloud swirled around the gargantuan citadel, casting a menacing shadow over the otherwise pristine landscape of the grand, vast, cathedral city built atop a flat mountain top with numerous waterfalls cascading down from the massive plateau.

"A seer's orb?" Remicra's voice, tinged with curiosity, wafted into the living room as she stepped through the doorway.

"Yep," Dave replied, his face alight with excitement.

The dragoness stared at the view projected by the orb.

"That's the heart of the Shadow Empire - its capital," Dave pointed out.

"Ah. Illium," Remy commented. "I've met a few merchants from there and repaired their caravan wheels and shields."

The dragoness gracefully settled onto the couch beside him, her scales reflecting the ethereal glow of the projection. She placed a steaming bowl of stew onto the small table, the hearty aroma mingling with the air, inviting them to partake in the meal.

As they ate, Dave manipulated the seer's sphere with his fingers, making the view of Illium pan and rotate, revealing the view of the city from every angle. The projection displayed the cobbled streets and the bustling markets, where citizens clad in rich fabrics and sparkling jewelry moved about their daily routines.

The grand architecture of Illium unfolded before their eyes, with towering spires and elaborate arches casting long shadows on the ground below. Greenery draped the capital in a vibrant embrace, the well-tended gardens and parks housing exotic flora that seemed to dance and sway under the ever-present black cloud.

As the evening grew darker, Illium became lit by brilliant magelights, appearing to be even more steeped in sorcery than Shandria.

As Dave and Remicra continued to marvel at the view, they noticed gargantuan, white statues that adorned the entrance gates and the city's hanging gardens. Each statue depicted a regal woman with long, flowing hair that cascaded down her back like a river of silk, her noble features etched with absolute determination. A golden crown of laurel leaves encircled her head.

“That’s probably Empress Nox,” Dave said spotting a logo of a sphere sliced into nine segments on the statue's armored chest.

"So that's what you looked like two hundred years ago, Cedez," Dave muttered as he finished his meal.

Remicra's scales slowly shifted to a deep, fiery red, an intense emotion seemed to radiate from her. Though she remained silent, her displeasure was palpable, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly as they remained fixed on the illusory cityscape. Dave, sensing her discomfort, could only guess at the cause. Perhaps the opulence of Illium, the heart of the Empire that enslaved her, had stirred feelings of resentment within her.

"Want to see something else?" Dave offered, his tone gentle, hoping to alleviate her irritation. Remicra glanced at him, her gaze softening, and nodded.

"Show me the ocean," she requested.

The image flickered, and the dazzling cityscape of Illium dissolved. The hologram now displayed an endless sapphire canvas, where the sky and sea blended seamlessly into one another. Waves undulated rhythmically, their crests crowned with white foam.

In the distance, a pod of dolphin-like something moved gracefully through the waves, noises of the beasts carried by the wind as they danced in the surf. Emerald dragons and birds soared high above, their wings outstretched.

As the new scene unfolded before them, Remicra's scales gradually returned to their usual serene blue hue.

"It’s beautiful," she whispered. “I’ve never seen the ocean before.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Dave smiled, glad to have brought her a moment of solace amidst the darkness of her past. Together, they watched the ocean's eternal dance, their hearts finding peace in the gentle rhythm and sound of undulating waves crashing into the sand.

The sun began its descent towards the horizon of the black hole. The holographic image revealed the breathtaking beauty of the sun's slow farewell, painting the sky in a symphony of fiery colors, as if the heavens themselves were ablaze.

"Chase the sun, don't let it set," Remicra commanded the seer orb. The view immediately accelerated, seemingly taking flight, soaring above the waves as it raced towards the sinking sun.

As the view sped across the surface of the water, Dave realized that the creatures he had initially believed to be dolphins were, in fact, something else entirely. These colossal beings, far larger and more distant than they had first appeared, were leviathans—ancient, majestic creatures that moved with a grace that belied their massive size.

Their sinuous bodies undulated through the waves, their scales shimmering in the fading sunlight as they breached the surface, sending cascades of water crashing back down around them.

As the orb continued to chase the sun, the leviathans swam alongside the orb's view for a few minutes, until vanishing far behind.

As they watched the magnificent beasts disappear into the distance, Dave couldn't contain his amazement. "Damn. Those were even bigger than the whales from my Earth," he commented. “I wonder how far this ocean is from Shandria and whether I will be able to see it someday in reality…”

No sooner had he spoken than Remicra, her eyes alight with a sudden intensity, wrapped him in a warm embrace. Dave, taken aback by her unexpected display of affection, hesitated for a moment before tentatively returning her hug.

"What's this for?" he asked, not quite able to suppress the surprise in his voice.

Remicra's eyes peered into his "I saw Cedez hugging you earlier through the kitchen window," she admitted, her voice laced with what seemed like a hint of jealousy. "And even though you're a careless idiot, you're my idiot," she added.

Dave couldn't help but smile at her words, touched by her fierce protectiveness.

"The Empress of Shadows isn't going to ensnare you in her web of charisma bullshit. Not on my watch," she added.

Her declaration, a blend of loyalty and affection, warmed Dave's heart. In her arms, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of belonging—a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time since Lari was gone from his life.

"You know, she's not the Empress," Dave commented, his voice thoughtful as he recalled their earlier encounter with Cedez. "She's just a fraction of the original Nox, one-ninth of her Shadow reborn as a girl in a lowborn family of Shandria. She might not even become Sovereign."

"Don't care," Remicra said dismissively.

With surprising gentleness, the dragoness guided Dave's head onto her lap, her scales cool yet comforting against his skin. He looked up at her, a puzzled expression on his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Netflix and Chill," she responded matter-of-factly, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "I'm unwinding us. You called me snappy."

"Sorry," he apologized, a sheepish smile crossing his face.

"I was extremely worried about the amount of Bakelite orders piled on me by our Empress," Remicra confessed, her gaze softening. "But with Svenn working on them day and night, it won't be a problem."

Dave couldn't help but interject, "You know, it was Cedez who found Svenn. Without her…"

At his words, Remicra's eyes narrowed into a glare, as if daring him to continue praising Cedez. Realizing his mistake, Dave quickly fell silent, opting instead to focus on the comforting presence of Remicra and the soothing rhythm of her breathing.

As they settled into a companionable silence, the outside world began to fade away, leaving them with nothing but the warmth of each other's company and the view of the eternal sunset in front of them.

As the illusory sunset continued to paint the quaint living room in vibrant shades of orange and red, Dave felt a surge of gratitude for the dragoness beside him. "Remy," he said softly, "I wanted to thank you for your friendship. I don't know if I'd have made it this far without you."

He paused, his voice growing somber, "If you hadn't helped me create that first Bakelite set, I might have ended up like those two unfortunate adventurers whose bodies I saw in the mountains, devoured by the metal bugs. That could have been the end of my questing too, if you didn’t let me into your smithy."

Remicra's eyes shimmered with warmth as she looked down at him, her lips curving into a genuine smile. "You don't have to thank me," she began, her voice gentle yet tinged with a hint of sadness, "I'm sorry... if I can't be as sweet or as affectionate as you deserve. The truth is, I don't really know how to be kind or caring or even friendly. The memories of my youth in the village are blurry and distant and I've been a blacksmith slave for most of my adult life, and it's left me... unaccustomed to expressing my feelings."

“I understand,” Dave reached up, gently squeezing her hand to reassure her.

“It's all still very new to me,” she added.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured her. "We can take things slow, or just be friends. Really, just having your company is enough for me. I'm happy simply being by your side."

"You know, you could go into town and find yourself someone less snappy," Remicra commented idly, her eyes gazing into the unsetting refraction of the sun. “You might not be getting the best life experience in Shandria when your only friends are a slave dragoness, a half-baked Sovereign Shadow and sentient mold inhabiting 13 dead elkin.”

Dave shrugged, his expression thoughtful. "I'm not the kind of person who looks for people to be with," he admitted. "Most of my life, I've been a shut-in. Back on Earth, I spent countless hours at a desk, staring at a glowing screen for my work, and then even more time doing the same thing at home."

Very well," the dragoness's eyes softened. "Perhaps... it would still be better if you hung out less with Miss Shadow?"

Dave hesitated for a moment before confessing, "When I yelled at Cedez in the park last time and grabbed her wrist, her absolute charisma spell showed me the future."

Remicra stared at Dave, her expression skeptical. "And you don't think it was just a very complex illusion made to fool you into being her pawn?"

"No," Dave shook his head, his voice firm. "It was real. It felt like it really happened to another version of me…”

He began to describe what happened in his vision.

“I saw the Dragon God-Emperor's army pouring over the mountains and destroying Shandria. I saw you engulfed in flames, our lighthouse smithy gone. I don't want to live through that... I don't want to lose you,” he added. “Working closely with Cedez, getting strong as fast as possible might be our best chance to survive what's coming."

A heavy silence settled between them as the weight of Dave's words sank in. Remicra's eyes darkened with concern, her fingers tightening around his hand. It was clear that the future they faced was exceptionally uncertain.

The dragoness exhaled, her eyes returning to the view of the holographic orb as it chased the sun across an ocean, the vast expanse of which dwarfed multiple Earths combined. The mesmerizing sight seemed to calm her turbulent thoughts, allowing her to refocus on the present.

"I'm not letting you go, no matter what comes our way," she finally confessed. "You shattered my collar and together, we now walk a far different path than what you saw in that absolute charisma vision."

Dave nodded in affirmation, his heart thrumming with gratitude for her unwavering support.

In Remicra's reliable presence, he found the courage to face the mad God-Emperor’s absolute might.