Chapter 425 - Royals

It's over…

Alinea stared at the shards of light that was her mother as they were scattered by the wind. Her eyes continued to shed tears, but her lips had on a smile. 

She had fulfilled her task. 

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she found herself pulled against a strong ċhėst. She raised her arm to defiantly wipe the tears from her eyes, but a hand stopped her. 

"It's fine. Cry,"Ryuu whispered in her ear, and the emotions that she had been steeling herself not to take over flooded her ċhėst. 

More moisture filled her eyes and they cascaded down her cheeks. Silent tears broke into soft mewling, and then turned into broken sobs that eventually ended up in a full blown cry. Her knees gave in underneath. If it weren't for Ryuu who held her firmly, she'd have fallen. 

But her eyes were not the only wet ones in the place. 

The soldiers who knew of what happened also silently wept with her as they looked on worriedly at their beloved princess. 

"Ali, come, let's go to your father,"Ryuu said and all she was able to do was nod as she gradually reigned in her sadness.

Ryuu lifted her up and they flew back towards the tent. Everyone paved a way for them to pass. 

Alinea's eyes sought her father as soon as they arrived. As expected, similarly to what happened to her mother, Perun's body now glowed as well. Knowing what was coming next, she came to him immediately and took his hand in hers. 

"Father!"

"You did a good job little one," he said weakly as he wiped her tears with his thumb. "Do not cry. This is not goodbye," he said with a smile as he too broke into several shards of light and vanished from her sight. 

Alinea bowed her head against the bed where Perun lay just earlier. Her hand balled into fists on the sheets that were still warm. Just as she cried for her mother, she wept for her father, and she stayed like that for a while until she fainted. 

When she woke up, a familiar ceiling welcomed her sight. The royal blue with intricate gold design on the roof of the canopy bed was something she'd seen since she was young. 

She was back in her room in Ritz.

Gin must have opened up a portal from the Dark Valley directly back to the kingdom. She knew she fell unconscious over her grief. She didn't know for how long she had been sleeping. A part of her didn't care. But another part also dreaded the time that had passed. After all, a day in Ged was equivalent to ten days on Earth. 

But did that still matter? 

Alinea closed her eyes tightly before opening them again. She should really get up. By staying in bed, she had already neglected her duties that she promised her father she would do. She reckoned both her husband and uncle were working a lot right now. After all, their very presence in Ged meant that the Kres Empire's and the Kingdom of Ovid's current ruling monarchs had to abdicate. 

Well, that was if Gin and Ryuu would let them. For sure, the answer was no, and so, she was sure that they would be busy sorting things out in Ged. Now that the common threat which was the Black God was gone, if the Returners of Ancestry also left, the kingdoms and empires in the land would be thrown into a different kind of chaos. 

War— not the war against the immortal minions of the Black God but war amongst themselves. 

"General, you're awake," Sven and the others looked relieved upon seeing her. 

"I'm so sorry for worrying you," she apologized but they all shook their heads. 

"Do not apologize. It was normal." 

Alinea sighed and nodded. She didn't have to linger about this issue as she couldn't do anything to change what already happened in any case. Also, there were more important things she needed to focus on. 

"Where are my husband and uncle?" she asked and they guided her towards King Alistair's study. 

Standing in front of a familiar door, nostalgia rose up her throat. The last time that she came here was when Alistair called her about her mission towards the Devil's Cavern to retrieve the artifact left by Kronos. Remembering that time, a smile curved her lips. 

Naughty brother— or better yet, father. 

Kronos never existed. Perun just sent her on a merry chase although it ended so differently from what he had hoped. In any case, it's been a while. A lot of things had happened. 

She pushed open the door, and the sight of her uncle sitting behind her father's desk greeted her. Standing by the window was her husband, while Ivan, Fredek, and another man she recognized as Lucien Karezi, the reigning King of Ovid. 

Normally she would need to curtsy, but her status from before to her status now was miles apart. She's a pure deity not a princess of a minor kingdom. 

"Your Highness," King Lucien greeted her and she greeted back. 

She wanted to know what's going on, but she was patient enough to wait. After all, Lucien was somewhat an outsider— at least, to her. 

"Very well, Your Majesties, we shall excuse ourselves today. We hope you would consider our humble request," Lucien said as he bowed to Gin and to Ryuu before saying good bye to everyone. 

As soon as he left, Alinea turned her questioning gaze at her uncle. 

"War is brewing," Gin explained. "But it's fine. It's not something we can do anything about— at least not actively."

"Not actively?"Alinea inquired as Ryuu came to her and guided her towards a seat before sitting down next to her. 

"Perun's not available at the moment. We're not allowed to meddle with human affairs so to speak. We can only do little things for things we see with our own eyes but not do more than that."

Ah. Rod's Law. They would now experience a little bit what Perun had to endure since his creation. 

"What did King Lucien come here for?" she asked. 

"Obviously for me to take the throne," Gin replied blandly. "But don't worry. You already know which throne I have to sit on while my brothers stay in the mortal world."

Celestial plane and the underworld. Stribog now had to do both Perun's and Czernobog's jobs.

"Ali, I made Fredek the new Ritz King. You've been sleeping for seven days, so we didn't have time to –"

"What? Seven days?" Alinea was shocked. That was seventy days on Earth. 

"No, don't worry. When you left to face yoru mother, your father already fixed the time difference between here and Earth," Gin ȧssured her. "I said we didn't have time because I have to ascend to the Celestial Plane as soon as possible. I only have a couple more weeks left and I still have to settle the issues back in Tokyo." 

"What happened to Dolya?" she asked after. 

"She reincarnated as well. As to when all of them would be born, we do not know," Ryuu said and Alinea nodded. 

"Don't worry about the people back in Japan as well. Before Dolya came here, she already modified the people's memories there. They cannot remember Kazehaya Sora or Maki Yuuka anymore. It is as if they didn't exist…"