"Lionye! Long time no see, comrade!" Mikolash opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. His dark robe, stained with white, swayed above the ground. His eyes were the color of twilight, and his hair a messy, slightly long brown. His face was strained and aged, though his familiar smile and the sharp horns on his forehead remained just the same.
Lionye: Hello, my old friend.
Mikolash: Hey, hey! Don't be so formal! It's been a hundred years or so since we last met.
They both sat down in the realm of black and white. Ink squished and swirled as their knees met the ground.
Lionye: I've come here to ask you for... permission.
Mikolash: I assume it's about the release of the two Sons of True Darkness?
Lionye's tone grew slightly warmer. "Precise as always."
Mikolash raised an eyebrow. "The black side of you is glowing more... What have you done?"
Lionye: I made a bargain...
"With whom?!"
Lionye: With the King of the Afterlife.
Mikolash's eyes widened in shock, his fists clenching on his knees. "What... what was the cost...?"
Stolen story; please report.
"My immortal soul," Lionye answered calmly, his voice a hushed whisper.
Mikolash: W-why...!?
Lionye: There was no other way. I couldn't bargain with countless innocent lives... not if it could be ended with just mine.
"You... you can't just!—"
Lionye cut him off. "The borrowed hands of god are in monsters, too. We also give birth. And we also take lives. Perhaps we aren't so different from humans after all."
Mikolash: Lihin's words... Your brother.
"Yes. And he was right... We all have souls. And mine... is far less valuable than the countless innocent lives we would lose on the battlefield."
Mikolash: I won't try to reason you out of it. Because if I don't trust my ally, how are we supposed to win this war?
Lionye: You would have done the same.
Mikolash: Got me there, you majestic bookworm! Now, tell me about this permission.
Lionye: It's about your daughter...
Mikolash: S-Sarah?...
Lionye nodded. "She is a hybrid. And your daughter. Her mana and... her heart... may allow us to break the Blood Dragon's seal."
Mikolash's head snapped down, the guilt of years of absence striking his heart like a blade. "I know... And... I believe you. She can do it... She is my... She is my daughter, after all!" His voice regained some of its former joy.
Mikolash: Give her this necklace. So that she might... forgive...
He couldn't finish. Tears welled up in his eyes and began to fall. He clutched Lionye's robe, burying his face in his shoulder. Lionye calmly patted his back in comfort, his own tears shackled behind his eyelids. His other hand closed firmly over the necklace in Mikolash's palm.
---
A day later, Lionye arrived at the grand library, awaiting Sarah and Fojima's arrival.
Sarah, her hand in Fojima's, ran toward Lionye while pulling Fojima along with her.
Lionye: Sarah... Fojima... Glad to see you are well. Is everything alright?
Fojima: It is, Master. We were hanging out with Motaro. He...
Before he could finish, Sarah cut him off. "He just bragged about how powerful he is at everything compared to my husband!" She made a pouting face, hugging Fojima tightly.
"Ahaha! Sarah, careful! I was about to fall!" He then turned to face Lionye, trying (and failing) to regain his steady composure. Sarah stopped hugging him and straightened her posture, though a faint pink blush remained on her cheeks.
Fojima: Is there anything you wanted to tell us, Master?
Lionye: Yes... But before that...
He opened his palm, summoning the emerald-and-turquoise necklace. At its center was a closed golden locket. Lionye stepped forward, placing the necklace in her hands.
Sarah slowly opened the locket with a soft clasp. Then, her tears fell silently as a small smile broke through her lips.
Inside was a picture of Mikolash holding her in his hands, with her mother beside them. An old, forgotten memory, now brought back by the most precious gift in the world—the handmade necklace from Mikolash.
