Chapter 199 - The Maiden's Choice

[Music Recommendation: "I Will Go To You Like the First Snow" by AILEE - Goblin OST (Instrumental only) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this scene T_T ~

"Stop? You're asking me to stop?" the king raised his eyebrows and scoffed. "Ha-ha-ha! And why would I do that?" his eyes reflected nothing but hatred and madness. "All of you should just die!"

"Your highness! Please don't!" Servus suddenly came from his back and pleaded with him. "She's the maiden! The saviour prophesied by the Great Oracle! I beseech you, calm your anger!"

The king raised his chin and looked down on Rania. He frowned, pondering over the said truth. But then, his face suddenly lit up, as if a great idea came to his mad mind.

"Right. She is the maiden that's supposed to save us, huh? In that case, I really can't kill her."

"T-that's right, your highness," Servus agreed. "For the humans… if you could also—"

"But I can kill the rest," the king interrupted. "Too bad, the maiden doesn't want that. But I can't just let them go! They're criminals! They dared infiltrate my palace!"

"Ugh," Servus and Rania grunted. Sweats formed on their foreheads as they waited for the verdict of the king.

"In that case… I have a perfect idea," the king snickered evilly. "Rania," he turned to her, "I'll give you an option if you really don't want them to die."

Frowning, Rania answered, "Whatever it is, I will do everything in my power to save them. So say it. What do you want?"

Alas, the king smiled like a devil and said, "Be my concubine."

Rania and everyone who heard gaped in the utter madness they heard. For the Magi, making the Chosen Maiden be a mere concubine was both disrespect and abomination to the Supreme's chosen servant. And for Rania, it meant betraying Zeid, Elliot, and Azalea, and the pain that it would cost all of them.

"Oh, and that's not all," the king added. "I will also need to erase the memory of your lover to make sure he doesn't get any other ideas and think of rescuing you again."

Rania's face wretched. And as if the tear stains weren't enough on her cheeks, her eyes flooded again.

"Z-Zeid will forget me?" she asked herself in her mind. "A-all the things that we shared, all the memories… everything?" 

Her heart ached more than before. It was one thing to let go of Zeid since she would eventually cease to exist. But knowing Zeid wouldn't even remember her? Like all those times they shared were nothing? It was too much for her. But she had to agree. She wasn't powerful enough to protect them and if she didn't agree with his demands, it would cost their lives.

Though her heart ached, she answered him, "I… I agree. Just let them go, please." Her fist curled into a ball and her lips and body trembled. Trying to stop herself from crying, she turned to Zeid wishing to get a glimpse of him for the last time.

Zeid who was far from them at that time and couldn't hear their conversation, simply did his best to escape Nedge and the others.

"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" the king laughed hysterically. "What fitting punishment for the two of you. You destroyed my relationship with my queen, so it's only fair I destroyed yours, too."

"Sniff… sniff," Rania could only but cry in her despair. She couldn't move an inch from her position. She wanted to run and embrace Zeid for the last time, but her trembling body failed her. Her wretched heart destroyed her. Indeed, Zeid was her only weakness—a fact that the king used against her.

Then, the mad king cancelled his fire bird magic and instead, created a small sphere made of water from his hands. The water sphere moved to Zeid's direction as Rania devastatingly watched it approach him—the magic that would make Zeid forget her existence. The humans avoided it as it passed them. When it settled in front of Zeid, everyone fled except for him. His eyes fixed itself to Rania, not caring of whatever it was that came to him.

As if Rania's surroundings slowed down and blurred, her focus remained fixated to Zeid. She at least wanted to carve it in her memory… the last time she would see him while he still knew who she was.

Three… 

Two… 

One… 

Pwoooooshhhh… 

Alas, the water sphere passed unto Zeid's face, wetting him after, and taking his most precious memories of Rania. Once it took what it needed, it evaporated into thin air. 

And just like that… he forgot who the woman he was staring at that moment was… 

The woman he loved for so long… 

The woman who was his past, present, and future… 

The woman whom he only ever wanted to get back and save… 

His only beloved Rania… now forgotten.

Due to the aftereffect of the magic, Zeid fell unconscious and Nedge caught him in his arms. Then, as the king agreed, he let go of them. He himself created a large transportation circle and placed all the humans there. Feeling generous, he even included all the other maidens who were stuck in their palaces, giving them back to wherever they came from. That way, only Rania, Azalea, Selena, and the other captured maidens that had been given to the Generals and other nobles, remained in the Floating Kingdom.

And so, all the humans went back down to their planet… including Zeid.

Rania fell silent as he watched him sinking into the black hole created by the teleportation circle. When the last of his hair strand was gone, alas, she broke into tears.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" she wailed at the top of her lungs.

Tears gushed out from her eyes once again.

Her fragile heart, pulverized into existence.

Her cry reverberated unto the whole Coliseum that everyone who heard it couldn't help but feel for her.

"'Hu-hu-hu-hu-hu… Zeid… sniff… sniff… Waaaaaaaaahu-hu-hu…"

She thought she was strong enough to let him go…

But her heart told a different story…