Amid the fight though, it felt like she was being pulled into something, like a vortex of some kind. Soon, her surroundings were different. Lyn found herself in a familiar corridor, a familiar building. Lyn deeply sighed, "don"t drag her into a random magic s.p.a.ce now of all times."

"Didn"t you say that you didn"t care?"

The cat purred, but in contrast, the jewel on its forehead shone with a bright light. The jewel on the animal"s forehead was something she was all too familiar with.

"Didn"t you tell me that you wouldn"t interfere? That it"s up to me to make my own decisions?"

"That"s right. No matter what happens, it doesn"t matter to me. Whether you fail or succeed. It"s not like I don"t have emotions like revenge or hatred, but the source of my hatred isn"t the stupid conflict going on in the empire."

"Then," Lyn paused. She wanted to ask, what exactly is he trying to do? By calling out to her. By appearing before her like this?

"Ah, perhaps I want to find an answer for myself."

"Answer?" Lyn repeated.

The cat had vanished and in the spot stood a tall man with long dark hair. Due to the darkness, however, it was difficult to see his face. Even now, this person is hiding from her. Lyn has told n.o.body this before, but this man has always been around. Is he just a figure of her imagination? Somebody that belonged to her subconsciousness? If so, then she shouldn"t be able to touch him.

Lyn took a few steps forward and extended her hand out. The man simply smiled and grabbed hold of it, "I am a real person, have we not spoken about this before?"

"We have," and they have. But Lyn still had a hard time believing it.

"So regardless of what happens, I will not involve myself in your conflicts," the man trailed off, "But the reason why I keep calling out to you is because I respond to your voice."

Lyn looked at him puzzled, respond to her voice? What does he mean by that? As Lyn thought this, she noticed that the surrounding s.p.a.ce seemed to flash different colors. "I wanted to ask you," Lyn started, "About Kazuya."

The man smiled, "You need not ask me about him," he trailed off, "Besides I am only here because you called out to me. I will always appear before you whenever you need me."

"Really?" she questioned. Lyn couldn"t understand his words even if she thought about it. She didn"t understand. What does he mean by her calling out to him? Lyn didn"t even know his name, so how could she call out to him? It made little sense to her as always.

"Things have already reached this far, so there is no longer any way of going back. There is no hope for salvation anymore."

Her real ident.i.ty? Why was she lost? Those things were insignificant. Lyn gave up on herself who had asked those questions even though she understood the reason.

"I can only completely spin the wheel of fate," Lyn replied.

Lyn didn"t know where those words came from, but she said them with such determination.

"Then I will watch over you; I will see what choices you make. What decisions you make will end up affecting the wheel."

....

Fighting with these wounds isn"t easy. It"s painful, it really is painful, and she really does feel as like her whole body is in flames. It"s burning as if her skin is peeling away. Ah really, in the end, she will always do this. Still, Lyn deeply sighed. Don"t just randomly drop the s.p.a.ce like that or at least warn her. Regaining her consciousness, only to stop that large-scale attack headed her way. Lyn didn"t have to fight alone for long, though; she hears a sudden explosion leading to another fog. But that fog quickly dispersed when she saw who it was. The person who just descended in the midst of the explosion was somebody she knew all too well.

The person that stood there had maroon colored hair. Lyn knew who he was immediately. It felt like something like this happened before.

"Why?" Lyn questioned that back. "Didn"t I tell you already?" Lyn exclaimed.

Yes. She had said this. She said to Kazuya that once this was all over, she would set him free if he chose to leave her. Hadn"t she come to this place because she had decided so? Didn"t she reveal her abilities like this because of that? Lyn felt stupid seeing Kazuya. It felt like her resolve and everything just crumbled away just like that.

How could he do this to her? Lyn thought when they parted ways that he understood. Even if they want to stay together forever, many obstacles will be in their way. Before they can truly be with each other, she has to prove herself.

"I heard you loud and clear."

The reply was too simple; it frustrated her. She resolved herself to be apart from him. Even if it was for a short while. After this, Lyn wanted to return to the Kingdom, demand an audience with Mother. She wanted to ask to reveal her ident.i.ty; she wanted to prove herself so she could be together with Kazuya.

"But, that"s what you want and not me. Did I tell you yes?" Kazuya questioned.

Lyn bites her lip, that"s true. He didn"t agree, and she just rushed off without hearing his answer.

"Besides, we promised we would be more honest with each other. I heard your feelings loud and clear; you want to be with me more. The same goes for me; I love you so much."

That"s right, from the very beginning, this person has never once lost his resolve. He"s always stayed strong no matter what happens, no matter what he"s always stayed strong. From the very beginning, this person has loved her. Those faint memories she recalled, that bracelet she found. All of it, Lyn wanted to find the answer.

The two of them hear a growling, and Lyn cursed. "Magic beasts?" Prince Ereland really has a lot to answer too. But, Lyn conjured up her blade. For now, she will have to deal with it. Her vision was blurry, and she felt completely unsteady. However, Lyn knew that she couldn"t ask the others for help.

Just as Lyn thought this, she felt a powerful wave of light beside her and turned to Kazuya. Ah...

"I will fight alongside you, okay?"

What a fool.

.....

Once the fight was over, Lyn could feel herself barely being able to stand. Sure enough, Lyn lost her footing, the blade in her hands vanished into thin air. Before she could collapse, somebody grabbed her arm. "Fighting with those wounds. You"re as crazy as ever."

Lyn"s gaze softened, "Fighting with a broken arm too. Aren"t you the reckless one?"

Kazuya"s eyes went wide. "You got me, huh?"

A deep sigh escaped her lips, "he is so careless," she thought. Even though Lyn knew she was one to talk, Lyn still scolded him, "You"re too careless. How can you fight when your this injured?"

"Right back at you," Kazuya trails off, " But you did the right thing. I have been this kind of person for such a long time. I have shot and killed so many people because I was ordered to do so. I did not hesitate nor did I question. I only did as I told as a mere dog."

Lyn watched as he holds up his hands, "Here I am once again saying such stupid things. A knights job isn"t to bring down every person they see. Instead, their job should be to protect everyone," Kazuya smiled at her, "With your own judgment, you just decided what was correct to you and could prioritize justice over duty. Once again, you made me realize that."

That"s... "Yeah. I"d like it again if that would happen. If we can be partners again. Back then, all I thought about was getting stronger; I had to get stronger; otherwise, my weak side would show. For such a long time, that"s the only thing that was on my mind. Until I met you, it suddenly became fun and a lot more enjoyable. It was fun for me".

What Kazuya whispered in her ears that day, was words enough for her to cry. Yet Lyn didn"t.. Because Lyn knew, she knew. Even if she was just trying to lie and convince herself, she knew he would be back.

"Kazuya, is that a yes?"

Kazuya smiled, " Yeah. You win"

So that"s how it is. Ah, really...she was being stupid. This entire time she was such a fool. She could feel the tears well up from her eyes.

Kazuya noticed, "So happy that you feel like crying? I feel honored."

"Idiot," Lyn scolded him.

"Your friends are coming over. You sure you want to see them see you cry?"

"I"m human too, aren"t I?" she shot back at him, and the two of them burst into laughter.

Kazuya reached over and caressed her cheeks, and Lyn blushed, "Well, um," she trailed off, "Are you going to do something to me?"

"Maybe later."

"What later, don"t be shameless!" Lyn exclaimed.