TOYOSAKI BEACH, OKINAWA, RYUKYUS ISLANDS SEA, JAPAN

AUGUST 25TH

10:00 AM

Gomez got out of the car and looked around, the city was still severely damaged, but hope was beginning to shine faintly again, the city of Naha was beginning to pick up its debris and raise its buildings. The damage from the Lightning Campaign caused by the Empire and the Alliance's counterattack was still clearly visible in the landscape, several wrecks of crashed planes could still be found among the houses and streets of the island, but perhaps the most surprising thing was to see the huge enemy ship parked on the beach, it was incredible to think of the amazing story that could have happened for the ship to end in such a way. Walking along the beach you could see an important man for the world, Damien Raven was with his eyes lost to the sky, looking at the horizon searching without luck. Near the place was already being built the square that the Titan had requested in honor of his wife, his lost love, a group of builders was working to put a large statue in his new place.

"Mr. Damien, I have already finished the investigation you requested."

"It seems that Mr. Takahashi Shuichi Shuichi was actually murdered by Inpector Yamamoto in an act of retaliation for the death of his daughter."

"Any material to use against him?" asked Damien while looking at the horizon through his binoculars.

"Unfortunately he managed to hide very well the evidence that would have been used against him."

"...."

"I also tried to use Brandon's original plan to kidnap his granddaughter but it was a failure."

"There was one more bodyguard protecting her which we did not know about."

"About this agent .... was a very strange girl, she was albino, dressed in a really "brave" way, and had animal ears and a tail."

"She was strange, quite strange, but that's not the point, she was undoubtedly the same girl that Brandon had constantly mentioned in his reports."

"That lady again?"

"...."

"I know Brandon is not one to make excuses for his failures, but the number of reports he sends out mentioning how his plans trying to take down our rivals like Ms. Adelis fail in some way or another is strange."

"It's as if that woman was protected by a demon."

"I even had a small encounter with her and I can assure you that she really is at the level to be serious danger."

"....."

Damien did not respond to the conversation with Gomez, instead, he kept looking at the sky, he seemed interested in something until after a couple of awkward minutes he answered

"A Japanese Cormorant, a water bird usually swims underwater in search of fish, the Japanese have a tradition called Ukai, where they train these birds to catch fish in rivers and canals, and the birds return to the boat with the fish caught in their beaks."

"Are you really interested in ornithology here?"

"...."

"No"

"...."

"Since the rumors of the white dragon surfaced I have been coming to the beaches from time to time to look for him."

"...."

"You can call me superstitious if you want, but I really hope to one day maybe see something like it with my own eyes."

"..."

"That would be so blissful, if she was still here we would both laugh non-stop...."

"....."

"Somehow I feel like for the first time I'm taking a step into that stupid fantasy."

"...."

"But the one who really wanted to see them was her, and now she's gone...."

"Speaking of the white, sir... I have something to mention."

"The girl seemed to know you personally, she said something about us not being the only ones who knew your enemies well."

"And she also mentioned the missing pages of Rose's diary."

"She even mentioned the message at the end."

Damien felt as if he had been hit by a head of cold water when he heard those words, he turned his head immediately to look at Gomez for the first time, his face was serious, the most serious he had been in the last ten years.

"I want to know everything about this girl"

"Name, where she lives, what she works in, where she has been."

"I thought you wanted to know this information beforehand so I have already researched as best I can."

"According to the hotel ID her "name was Elise Valkyria."

She has a U.S. passport filled with information that appears to be false, however it appears that the passport is legitimate."

"As far as we know she works as a guard for Mrs. Adelis' family and has been seen working with Inspector Yamamoto."

"But apart from that I have managed to find a couple of other things that make her even stranger."

"As I said before, her appearance is quite unique so I tried to find out where he could have come from, and I ended up coming across Mr. Dilan's investigation."

"The girl in the ruins we were trying to find her origin."

"The pictures taken only confirm it, it is the same girl."

"The same girl? wasn't she like 10,000 years old or something?"

"Somehow revived?"

"...."

"Damn it, Dilan promised us to investigate thoroughly and somehow the Alliance figured it out, so we had to pretend we were trying to create a new weapon."

"Only for him to steal all the information and run away leaving everything behind without saying anything."

"Because of him Adelis managed to steal the project and is now using it against us."

"Well, according to Dilan's research, the girl was always alive, only in a state of suspended animation..... in the open .... sitting on what appeared to be a big throne made of jade."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"We never managed to return to the place no matter how hard we tried."

"But still the mystery remains, even if it is the same girl, it still doesn't explain how she knew about the missing pages of the diary."

"If it was from Dilan's research, she turned up 8 years after hee death, there is no way she knew her in any way."

Damien opened his coat and pulled out the original diary from one of his pockets, he always had the last gift his wife left him. He opened the notebook to the last few pages, it clearly showed how they had been forcibly removed, but the last page showed a message written with love, speed, and fear.

"As I write these words, my heart is filled with a wealth of emotions that are difficult to express. You have always been my unconditional support, my companion every step of the way. However, now I feel the need to step back a bit and face a situation that has deeply troubled me.

Life is a succession of precious moments, and we have shared so many of them together. Every laugh, every tear, every challenge overcome, have been threads that have woven our love. But we must also be aware of the limits of our existence and accept that there are some battles that even the bravest of us, cannot win.

I do not want to worry you or make you suffer with the details of what I am experiencing. My intention is to protect you, care for you and remind you that our story is full of beautiful moments. In my mind, I cherish every shared smile, every comforting hug and every encouraging word we have exchanged. You have been my rock, my unconditional support, and my guardian knight.

Remember, my love, that we must not look for dragons, for they would only lead us to unnecessary dangers and a path full of pain. Sometimes, true strength lies in letting go and finding peace in the midst of uncertainty. On our journey together, we have learned that there are treasures hidden deep within our existence. But we have also maybe discovered that some secrets, the dragons, must remain buried and not be sought.

I beg you to understand me and, when the time comes, to face the parting with the serenity and courage you have always shown. Remember that our love transcends the boundaries of time and space, and that I will always carry your essence deep within me.

Thank you for every moment we have shared and for the unconditional love you have given me. You are and always will be my light in the darkness.

With all my love,

Rose"

The great man had read once again the message at the end of the book, he already knew every word by heart, and yet he always had the time to read it once more. The message was the knight's bane, an eternal reminder that he could never change the past and that he would have to live with the pain for the rest of his life. After he finished reading it again he turned it over and showed it to his companion.

"Several of the final pages were removed by Rose for no reason in her laboratory in St. Petersburg, Russia."

"She threw them in the dumpster and then burned them to ashes."

"...."

"The security video showed her burning the papers herself."

"...."

"Her last message indicates regret over her search."

"...."

"She died 20 minutes after writing this, with her last breath she gave me this book."

"...."

"It has been in my hands ever since and I have been very careful to relieve its contents...."

"And yet this strange girl, who didn't even exist when she was alive, somehow knows this secret?"

"It's as if when we discovered that body in the ruins we awakened some kind of moving machine."

"Rose's book of inventions has been fundamental to the growth of the I.S.C."

"The Ark batteries, the armor itself, the Walkers blueprints, the A.L.T.E.R. project, the androids, the ancient ruins."

"Even our most recent project like Helioz Blaze has been based on some of her ideas."

"...."

"...."

"...."

"I want to speak personally with the white girl"

"I must ask her how she knew, where did she know about Rose"

"Sir, I must say it is a rather difficult task to accomplish."

"Elise is aware that the I.S.C. is responsible for the attacks on Mrs. Adelis and from what she mentioned she knows perfectly well that you would be after her too as soon as I would mention the diary."

"...."

"But I don't think it is an impossible mission either"

"...."

"Within a week the Alliance will have a meeting with all the leaders of its members to discuss the threat of the Empire and its potential to attack any place in a short period of time."

"The meeting will be held in Seoul, South Korea."

"Her presence is not confirmed, but I doubt that someone of Ms. Adelis' profile would not attend something so important."

"If she attends, so does her security team, including the white girl."

"And since the I.S.C. is one of the most important suppliers of weapons for the Alliance if you ask for it, we can offer you a field to attend the meeting."

"Then it would only remain to organize a meeting between you and Mrs. Adelis, preferably in a public place, where neither of you can attack the other without causing a commotion."

"Perhaps with that you might have a chance to talk to the girl"

"All right, all right, then make the necessary preparations."

"Tell them that I will attend the Alliance Meeting."

"Write something like I am also concerned about the Empire's attacks and plan to work together to avoid such a risk or something like that."

"...."

"...."

"Tell me, do you think that girl would know the contents of the burned pages?"

"...."

"The only page that survived the fire was the list of runes, and with them, we discovered those ruins ...."

"If we manage to obtain the missing knowledge, maybe even manage to put an end to all this endless journey and finally get to sleep at night without fear of her life being wasted."

"Sir, to be honest, there is no way she could have known about it."

"But at the same time, everything that has happened lately, the picture of the dragon, the giant fox I saw, the white girl and her knowing the contents of the book, I myself don't know what to really believe with all of this now"

"Sir, the statue has been put in place," said one of the constructors behind them by surprise.

Both men turned back to look at the square that was being completed, a beautiful garden full of roses and various flowers, a colorful landscape, full of all kinds of accommodations for the community, there was even a park dedicated to children or animals, a small paradise in the middle of the destroyed city. In the center of the place a huge marble statue of a furious Dragon, roaring loudly over the twisted remains of what appeared to be an enemy ship, water was coming out of its mouth with the idea of representing its fire breath. It was only the illustration of a small rumor that had circulated around the island the day of the attack, an event that everyone considered false and even childish to do something like a statue celebrating an unfounded fact, but the man who was building it was also responsible for the reconstruction of the rest of the city, so no one objected either. To them, it was just a strange, meaningless request from their savior.