With the communication between the Elven race and humankind severed, the oath became a binding covenant that would last for four hundred years—until the time when Elisabeth, the reincarnation of the Goddess Eliel, would be born again through the gate of reincarnation.

  Cradled in the arms of the Goddess of Birth, Friegel, the infant Elisabeth was entrusted to the messenger angel, Sar’el. Seeing the Goddess Eliel reborn as a human baby, the messenger angel Sar’el gazed upon her with deep emotion.

  “You have endured the passage through the gate of reincarnation, my Goddess. Now it is my turn to protect you until the day you are ready,” Sar’el said softly as he looked at the sleeping child wrapped in white linen cloth.

  “Sar’el, deliver my command to my servant in the Kingdom of Normandia, Madam Mad’er. Tell her to guard this child. Bring the reincarnation of Goddess Eliel to her and name the child Elisabeth Clara,” said the God Ilio to the messenger angel Sar’el.

  “As you command, my Lord. I shall deliver your message to your servant, Madam Mad’er,” Sar’el replied.

  With the majesty of his wings, he then departed from Nirvana and descended into the world of humans while carrying the reincarnated Goddess Eliel in his arms.

  After arriving in the human world, he traveled toward the Kingdom of Normandia, heading straight to the Eleventh Division where the Order of the Holy Cross resided. Sar’el then appeared within Madam Mad’er’s dream and conveyed the message from God Ilio, including the location where he had placed the baby Elisabeth. After delivering the message, he vanished from her presence.

  Awakened by the dream, Madam Mad’er immediately rose from her bed and walked toward the prayer chamber—the very place Sar’el had mentioned. When she opened the door, she was startled to find the baby peacefully sleeping beneath a candelabrum shaped like a trident, a sacred object used for offerings and prayers within the chamber.

  Taking the baby into her arms, she gently stroked the sleeping child.

  “You are the child who will bring change, my dear Elisabeth,” Madam Mad’er said as she lifted the baby high before the glowing candelabrum of offering.

  From that moment on, Madam Mad’er devoted all her attention to Elisabeth. Years passed, and the once fragile infant grew into a beautiful young woman. The day eventually came when Madam Mad’er sent Elisabeth to participate in the Vornahurd Hunting Mission—an expedition declared by King Maximilian XV, which Elisabeth herself had insisted on joining.

  Though filled with hesitation, Madam Mad’er finally allowed her to go.

  After Elisabeth departed for the royal palace, escorted by the kingdom’s cavalry, Madam Mad’er returned to the prayer chamber where she had first discovered the baby Elisabeth. Locking herself inside the room, she knelt alone and prayed to God Ilio.

  “O God, the child Elisabeth Clara whom you entrusted to me has now departed to join the Vornahurd hunting mission. Please watch over her, O God Ilio.”

  The prayer offered by Madam Mad’er rose devoutly through the seven layers of heaven, reaching Nirvana where God Ilio resided. The echoes of her prayer and the hymn she sang became like a beautiful melody when heard directly by God Ilio.

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  Hearing it, God Ilio felt that the time was drawing near for Elisabeth—Goddess Eliel—to repay her karmic debt and lift the curse of the accursed prince.

  “The time is nearly upon us. Those who must return will find their way home, and those who must depart will find their answers.”

  The voice of God Ilio roared like a celestial trumpet, echoing across Nirvana and shattering its tranquil silence. The sound was followed by the harmonious voices of angels who played heavenly flutes and harps. Songs of praise rose beneath the leadership of the Angel of Hymns, Luci’el, who commanded nearly a tenth of the angelic host as they glorified the name of God Ilio.

  Meanwhile, Elisabeth was being carried by the young man who was now revealed to be Hans Dragensen—the first son of King Maximilian XV, and the very man whom she had once saved when she was still the praying goddess, Eliel.

  Seeing the truth revealed by Hans, Elisabeth finally understood why she had been dreaming of him even though they had never met as humans.

  Like pieces of a puzzle finally falling into place, Elisabeth looked into Hans Dragensen’s eyes and gazed deeply into them. Their eyes met, reading one another’s thoughts, releasing a longing that had endured for centuries.

  Neither of them moved. They simply stared into each other's eyes, trying to understand the feelings that had long been buried within their hearts.

  For Hans Dragensen, seeing the one he had waited for so long was an opportunity he did not wish to waste. And for Elisabeth, she had never imagined that the stranger standing before her was the very person who had been waiting for her all this time.

  “At last, I can see you again, Eliel!”

  Standing in a chamber filled with radiant white light where no one else could see them, Hans Dragensen embraced Elisabeth. Being held in Hans’s arms made it difficult for Elisabeth to breathe, as his tall figure completely enveloped her.

  Struggling to lift her face from his embrace, she took a deep breath before returning the hug, wrapping her arms around Hans’s back and savoring the moment she had longed for.

  While holding Elisabeth, Hans finally expressed the feelings he had kept hidden for centuries.

  “Not for a single second have I tried to forget what you did for me. For four hundred years, I have longed to see you again. I heard from the angel Sar’el about your sacrifice, and since then I have waited endlessly for the day we would meet again. Forgive me. Because of me, you were forced to be reborn as a human. Because of me, you defied the gods and the angels. I was truly a fool.”

  Elisabeth gently released her embrace and touched Hans Dragensen’s face with tenderness before answering him.

  “No, Hans. You are not foolish. You are a strong human. You have lived alone for centuries bearing the Dragon’s Curse given by God Ilio, and you have faithfully guarded Vornahurd all this time.”

  Once again their gazes met, filled with a sense of belonging and mutual respect. Without realizing it, they leaned closer and kissed. Their lips met, releasing a sweetness that blossomed within their hearts, mixed with longing and emotions that began to bloom like the petals of the Iris Aurora flower in spring.

  After being swept away by the moment, they slowly separated, smiling at one another with eyes shining with happiness.

  Elisabeth suddenly remembered what had happened earlier—when Hans had transformed into a dragon and lost control of himself. Taking the initiative, she invited Hans to return to the human world.

  “Let’s go back. I’m worried about my friends.”

  “I think I am under control now,” Hans replied. “It is safer now that I have revealed the truth to you.”

  “Come, Eli. Let’s return.”

  Hans then tightly held Elisabeth’s hand, and together they left the radiant realm and returned to the world of humans.

  -+-

  After centuries of separation by time and fate, Hans and Elisabeth have finally reunited.

  Now that their souls are bound together once again, will they finally change the fate that once remained unfinished in the past?

  Or will their reunion only worsen the path of destiny between them?

  And what exactly is Vornahurd, the mysterious object that Hans Dragensen has guarded for centuries?

  Why is Vornahurd so crucial to the fate of both of them?

  The answers will unfold in the next chapter.

  So stay tuned and enjoy the continuation of this story, everyone…