Exima went to her castle to meet with her family and everyone she knew before she left. Mykel let her take her time there, and he went to Medelha Castle to meet with Lord Delenise. He went there with Jeanne and Manna, and both of them were wondering why he wanted to go there.
As soon as they stood in front of the castle, the rain started pouring heavily. They could hear a piano from inside the castle, Mykel started humming as he entered the castle.
"This song is the one that was played back then," Jeanne said.
"Mariage dâAmour, itâs beautiful," Mykel answered as he looked at the people who were still in disbelief that they were alive. None of them cared that much about who entered the castle because they were too focused on themselves.
Manna had no idea what kind of world she was in, and so Mykel shared his memories when he cleared the Kastihel World. She was touched by the storytelling that Benestrus did and made her feel pity for all the people around her. She realized there were a lot of worlds out there that suffered a lot more than her world.
Mykel walked in the hallway and he was getting closer and closer to where the music was coming from. After walking for more than five minutes, he ended up in another hallway which was where the music was coming from. The knights and the people that were in the hallway were listening to the music and were hypnotized by it.
"This is indeed a beautiful piece of work," Manna said with her eyes closed.
They saw a man playing the piano with a woman standing right behind him with her hands on his shoulders. The man was immersed in the song he was playing as his wife smiled and moved as the melodies were played.
Once the song was over, a knight realized there were intruders in front of Lord Deleniseâs room. Delenise and his wife turned around when they heard the commotion, but when they both saw Mykel, they had a weird feeling.
They felt like they knew Mykel was the one who brought them back to life, and they couldnât understand why. It was a bit obvious how they had never seen Mykelâs face before, and the clothes he wore were different. They believed that Mykel might be the one who brought them all back to life.
"Can we help you?" Delenise asked as he stood up and looked at Mykel.
"Can you play us the Swan song?" Mykel asked back.
Delenise and his wife smiled gently at Mykel as they nodded their heads with understanding. His wife went to grab her violin from the drawer, and then Delenise started playing the song.
Mykel listened to it and it was the best Swan song he had ever heard, better than the other versions he had heard. The knights were suspicious of them, but once the song was played, they respected their masters and their music.
When the music ended, Delenise and his wife looked at the door, but Mykel, Jeanne, and Manna had long gone. They both looked at each other and smiled as if they were glad to please the one who brought them back to life.
"Iâm envious, truly. They both look perfect for each other," Manna said as she followed Mykel. "My life has been so empty," Manna continued.
"Arenât we all?" Jeanne asked with a pitiful smile.
Manna chuckled and nodded her head since she knew how lonely Jeanne was when Mykel left. She knew she wasnât the only one who felt that way and had been listening to all of Jeanneâs anxieties.
"Iâm ready to leave," Exima said.
When Mykel was about to warp them, Exima stopped him.
"Wait! Give me a moment," Exima said and hurriedly went to the middle of the giant road. "Bernustus!" Exima screamed her lungs out.
Mykel, Jeanne, and Manna looked at the man that Exima screamed at. They saw a man in ragged cloth walking and looking at the empire in disbelief. Exima ran toward him as fast as she could as she saw Bernustus go down to his knees. She immediately hugged him and she was happy to see him alive.
"The man who survived hell should be remembered, admired, and loved," Mykel said as he looked at Bernustus and was slowly being surrounded by everyone. "Now, we go to our last stop, Aersland," Mykel pointed out.
The four of them went to Aersland, and it boggled Eximaâs mind to see how advanced Aersland was. She couldnât believe how beautiful it was compared to the Kastihel world.
"Did something happen? Why thereâs nobody around?" Mykel asked.
"Hmm, I might have a hunch where everyone went," Jeanne answered as she looked around. "I think itâs the yearly event today," Jeanne pointed out.
"Yearly event?" Mykel asked.
"Itâs really embarrassing, but itâs about Brynhilde," Jeanne answered. "To put it simply, the yearly event is called the Empress Bride where every man in Aersland competes against each other to win Brynhildeâs heart," Jeanne explained and she looked embarrassed.
Mykel furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Jeanne with a confused look. He had no idea what had happened in the past hundreds of years, and it felt like a lot of things had happened then.
"So? After the winner has been decided, they will get Brynhilde?" Mykel asked.
"No. The winner has to fight Brynhilde to prove himself that heâs worthy to be her bride. Thatâs basically it, and since it has been four hundred years and the event is still going, it appears nobody is worthy enough to be her bride," Manna answered and explained.
"The people of Aersland want her to be happy, but her only happiness and future had left this world," Jeanne said as she looked at Mykel. "And so, to make the people of Aersland at ease, she made this and basically gave her people a false hope," Jeanne continued.
"I see, I should compete with them then," Mykel said.
"Then Iâll show you where the Colosseum is," Jeanne said.
Mykel looked at the Colosseum and he was surprised at how big it was, and Jeanne pointed out that the Colosseum was big enough for everyone in Aersland to watch. That was why nobody was around, everyone was inside to watch the event. Suddenly, trumpets were sounded from inside the Colosseum, and people were cheering in excitement.
"Looks like the winner has been decided, we are right on time," Jeanne said.
They entered the arena, and Mykel changed their appearance so nobody would know who they were. Mykel wore the same attire as everyone in Aersland and changed his hair color and style. He then went to the edge of the spectatorsâ area to see the match, and he saw a handsome man with a spear in his hands. He looked at Brynhilde in an all-white dress sitting on a throne with Alberta standing beside her.
Mykel jumped down into the arena, and everyone looked at him with confused looks. The whole colosseum went quiet because of him, and the man looked at Mykel with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Excuse me, but you canât be here," The man said.
"Everyone can participate, and I think Iâm not doing anything wrong here," Mykel answered. "Isnât that right? Empress Brynhilde?" Mykel asked as he looked at Brynhilde who was as confused as everyone else.
"State your name," Brynhilde said.
"Aster," Mykel answered.
Brynhilde squinted her eyes and then she nodded her head, "Iâll allow you to challenge the winner."
The man looked at Brynhilde with a shocked expression, but he immediately readied his stance to fight Mykel. The trumpets sounded again and everyone started to cheer for them. The man charged at Mykel without hesitation and started thrusting his spear right at Mykel.
Mykel dodged them and took the spear from the manâs hand like it was nothing. The man was surprised, but he immediately drew his daggers from his waist and started swinging them at Mykel. But he couldnât be called an opponent, and since Mykel didnât want to waste his time fighting the man, he moved in and gently touched the manâs chest with his knee. The manâs vision went blurry as his chest felt like being stepped on by an elephant, and then collapsed. Read new chapters at empire
Everyone was dumbfounded by the match and how underwhelming it was because they were hoping to have an amazing fight. Brynhilde then stood up and jumped down into the arena with two swords in her hands.
Mykel readied his stance as he held the spear, but Brynhilde kept walking closer and didnât even bother to raise her swords at him. When she was close enough, she suddenly dropped her sword and leaped toward Mykel. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a passionate kiss.
"I miss you, Mykel," Brynhilde said in between the passionate kisses that she gave him.
"How do you know itâs me?" Mykel asked.
"Youâre the only person who can live without having a rule and fear nothing. I can tell the moment you set your foot into the arena, and your voice, I always remember your voice because I have dreamt about you for hundreds of years," Brynhilde answered.
Mykel scoffed and changed his appearance back, and then he spread his wings to show who he was to the people. Everyone was surprised, and they all knew who he was because every household had a statue of him because Aersland was saved because of him. It was Brynhildeâs order to make all the people know the past and who was the one who saved the world.
"So? Are you admitting defeat to me?" Mykel asked with a smirk.
"I submit," Brynhilde said and kissed Mykel again.