Chapter 299 - Palace of Cedar

"How is he?" Ivan asked Fredek immediately as soon as the latter came out of Alistair's room.

"He's heartbroken and blaming himself," the wind caster answered with a resigned look.

The Flame Emperor nodded in understanding as his jade eyes gazed at the locked door behind Fredek.

They were again back in the palace, as the Ritz King collapsed in his anguish. It was understandable that he was beyond horrified upon learning what he'd done to his daughter despite not knowing anything. Even if Stribog said not to blame himself, it was only natural that Perun would still feel that way.

Ignorance was not an excuse, most especially if it resulted in one's own child's death. For someone who claimed to love his daughter more than anything else in the world and beyond, Alistair knew how miserably he failed. From now on, even if in the future Alencica would find it in her heart to forgive him, there was no denying that he had let her down – had let her suffer for thousands of years. He would always carry the burden of that knowledge in his heart.

"Take care of him," Ivan said as he turned and started to leave, but Fredek stopped him with a question.

"Are you returning to Kres, Your Majesty?"

Ivan turned around and shook his head. "No. I'm going on a mission," he answered with a determined expression that made Fredek frown with worry.

"Stop looking at me like I'm an errant child, Fredek. I will be going to that world and find Ali," Ivan announced, and the wind caster's eyes widened like saucers.

"But, Your Majes –"

"I will not be stopped, Fredek," Ivan interrupted his protests with a wave of a hand. "I will be doing this for Ritz. Even if Ali doesn't want to see her brother or father at the moment, I am a hundred percent sure that she'd at least talk to me."

"Well…"Fredek couldn't say anything after that.

Well, it was the truth. When Alinea was still in the palace, she still welcomed and chatted with Ivan even if she ran away whenever Alistair was there and refused to talk to her brother.  The two of them were very close like siblings, and Ivan had acted as a mentor and taught Ali how to fight as well. She would never chase him off.

"Well, wish me luck," Ivan told him as he reached out and gave his worried friend a pat on the shoulder. "Tell Alistair not to punish himself too much. What happened cannot be changed. What's done is done. There's no use wallowing in self-derision over things he cannot undo. He can only accept his mistakes and work hard on making it up to his daughter when he sees her," he continued as he shifted on his feet.

But before he turned to leave, Ivan smiled. "Do tell Ritz as well to follow when he's ready to make amends," he added, and Fredek was not able to say anything else as he left.

As soon as he stepped out of the Palace, Ivan didn't bother using a carriage and swiftly called forth his vermillion birds to fly towards the Devil's Cavern. If he used his normal mode of transportation, there's a huge chance that the chanleyas pulling it would be forgotten and they might die as he had no idea when he would return.

The Flame Emperor's aware that there's a possibility that the time in Ged would be different from the time in the other world. Alistair had mentioned about it a long time ago, back when they were still young lads at the boarding school, and he'd never forgotten it, just as the rest of the knowledge his best friend had imparted.

Soon, he reached the Devil's Cavern. However, unlike before, the portal was not there, and he frowned as he descended.

"What happened?" he asked audibly as he stepped towards where the gateway was supposed to be.

To his amazement, as soon as he came several steps near, the portal appeared. This time, instead of just merely ripples in the gateway itself, a huge hole was present in the center, like a tunnel. It was as if the portal knew his intention to cross and was beckoning him. Ivan, of course, obliged.

"Rashel, Bebe, return," he commanded his vermillion birds which vanished upon his order.

The Flame Emperor stepped into the portal and trudged down the long tunnel towards the other side. Within the gateway was a kaleidoscope of colors that zoomed ahead before warping, going round and round in infinity.

One would have felt nauseous going through the passageway with his eyes opened. However, it didn't matter to Ivan, for his jade eyes suddenly had specks of gold in them – a trait inherited from his mother who hailed from Stribog's bloodline, the royalty of Ovid, and they allowed him to see a straight path. Crossing the portal made by his ancestor towards the other world was a piece of cake.

Soon, Ivan saw the light, and the scenery before him rearranged into a normal one. The warping stopped and it moved to reveal the end of the gateway where the sight of what seemed to be a forest welcomed him.

Hmmm …

He stepped out of the portal which felt like stepping out of the water after being submerged for a while. The forest he'd seen from the inside greeted him. It seemed uninhabited at first until the sight of a wooden cabin at the far side caught his eyes.

Curious, Ivan strode towards it and frowned as he reached the front. He pinched his chin as he examined the small structure. "Is this the Palace of Cedar, Stribog said in his letter?" he asked out loud.

He was a bit disappointed as he was expecting to see something… bigger .

He wondered if the sizes in this world were also not the same as they see them in Ged. The castles and palaces were much smaller like normal houses such as this one – and there were no guards.

"Oh well," Ivan muttered as he exhaled and decided to walk towards the door and knock. "Open the gates, Palace of Cedar! The Emperor of Kres has come to pay a visit!"