Everything around them became very quiet.
Especially at this moment, as they stood there. Illumination machines surrounded them, emitting a faint mechanical wing-beat.
Occasionally, there came a slight sizzle of mechanical malfunction.
Those beams of light stretched from their bodies, slowly reaching out into the distance, extending into the pitch-black cosmos, illuminating the place where two clusters of crimson flames flickered.
Those shocking wounds loomed in and out of sight.
None of this was ever supposed to happen.
Because for so long, only Morlo had maintained a balance here by some subtle coincidence.
The other Crown Clan members who passed away were truly gone.
So, in the depths of this pollution, this barrier, this mental power—what exactly was this colossal presence?
The other Crown Clan members, who had received word and were currently dealing with exotic beasts emerging near various other barriers, were now converging on this spot.
The Holy Cas warships, which had followed the Crown Clan deep into this polluted zone and were almost at their breaking point within the pollution—soon to be relieved by fresh troops—were also broadcasting this scene.
Everyone watched in stunned silence, not understanding why.
It did look very much like a certain Highness’s true form—
But how could that be?
His Highness Ebinino?
The Crown Clan prince who, a hundred years ago, perished with the First Army Group in the pollution.
Unlike Morlo, who had only been missing for a few years and was already nearly burnt out, Ebinino had been truly missing for over a hundred years!
But most importantly—
Everyone looked to the top of the colossal being’s head—there was nothing.
It was already rather dim here, and this giant creature remained quietly hidden not far away from them, only the terrifying red flames swaying, making it nearly impossible to see clearly.
Yet one thing was clear.
There was hardly any trace of a crown on top of his head.
Or, it had faded to near-complete disappearance, leaving only a patch of mist-like substance shrouding his head.
Little Chu Zao, at first startled and bristling, came to his senses, looked at the figure, and reached out to grasp the thread of mental power.
It was semi-transparent, nearly dissipated completely.
“Zao Zao—”
Feiman subconsciously turned to look at Little Chu Zao.
That Crown Clan woman, whose face was habitually calm and whose means were iron-blooded and ruthless, opened her mouth, a little at a loss.
She wanted to say something, but the words choked up, her eye whites turning red, even the rims of her eyes quickly flooding with color.
It was a nightmare that had entangled Feiman for an unknown length of time.
Was that her grandfather? The one who used to lift her up over his head as a child, laughing heartily as if he’d never fall—Grandfather Ebinino?
The little cub grasping the thread of mental power gave it a try, looking up, his bristling wings fluttering behind him.
“Auntie, auntie, don’t cry. Zao Zao will try—”
He spoke in his soft, tiny voice.
The crown atop Little Chu Zao’s head flickered as he tried, but across the barrier, all he could reach was the thread of mental power drifting along its edge. The youngling had never tried such a thing before, finding it tricky.
The colossal being, whose mental thread he grasped, seemed to freeze, tilting his head slightly, gently tossing it once.
He seemed unable to process what was happening but still reacted instinctively with surprise.
“No, it’s fine. That’s not what auntie meant. Zao Zao, do whatever you can.”
Soothed by the little one, Feiman snapped back to herself. But her fingers clenched, as she turned to approach the barrier, only to be blocked by Amos.
Amos stood at the front, meeting the two flickering red flames eye-to-eye.
Amos was first to approach the barrier.
The atmosphere was heavy, stifling.
Little Chu Zao held the fading thread of mental power, watched Amos approach the barrier, glanced to Feiman, who trembled and clenched her teeth, eyes cast down, then looked at Ayala, frozen in bewilderment.
For that moment, the cub didn’t know where to look.
Zao Zao was only one—he couldn’t provide comfort for all.
But, but—Zao Zao remembered the feeling when trying to piece together Grandpa Morlo’s crown before.
The little cub’s crown flashed suddenly bright, the golden little offshoots that had branched out lately began to dissipate, transforming into sparks like the final force of an angel, and even the Angel Spring Source stone in Little Chu Zao’s pocket glimmered. The power merged into that nearly transparent mental thread.
As the thread extended, the faint light seemed to illuminate the surrounding barrier, finally casting onto the colossal being’s head across the barrier—
At that moment, they finally saw clearly the shattered, crownless remnant—only fragments scattered like stars.
With the little cub’s mental power, those fragments became only just a little more substantial.
But to that colossal being, it was already a significant change.
He stared blankly, like a puppet without consciousness, his tattered wings twitching occasionally.
The faint glow lit a path, shining brighter here than the distant stars.
To the others, this scene was intensely shocking—
“It’s Grandfather Ebinino—”
Amos’s hand was already placed upon the barrier.
With no aggression, and when the cub’s mental power moved, a familiar ripple responded.
“It can’t be breached. Forcing entry would irreversibly damage his mental power again.”
Let alone the unknown pollution and exotic beasts on the other side.
If not for Zao Zao, if anyone explored this far and was sure Ebinino couldn’t be saved, a breakout would have merely ended Ebinino’s suffering.
But now—no one was certain if Ebinino, with his body still present, could yet be restored.
Feiman had already reached the barrier. She stretched out a hand to touch it, gazing at Ebinino on the other side.
Amos withdrew his hand, turning to the nearby little cub.
“Zao Zao.”
The little one had let go; the branches of gold on his crown had vanished, and in that instant, he was dizzy and unsteady, promptly caught in Amos’s arms.
He gave a tiny, car-sick dry heave.
His small head buried into Amos’s embrace.
Muffled and quiet.
“Baba, it’s not enough—”
Those branches atop his crown were like his way of storing power—generally just enough to mend a crown like Morlo’s. But for Ebinino, whose halo was utterly shattered, with all consciousness lost and no cooperation, it was not nearly sufficient.
He had lingered here too long, the damage unthinkable for most.
The little cub simply could not mend such a crown in a short time.
In plain terms, it was too broken; there just wasn’t enough ‘glue’ to piece it back.
Amos gently rubbed the cub’s back, then looked again across the barrier.
“Mm, Baba knows. We’ll take it one step at a time.”
Ebinino’s state looked miserable, yet he seemed to have formed a strange stability; pollution on the far side was a mystery, so they’d need better preparation to withstand the surging taint within, and have the Holy Chalice Clan—the experts with these machines—do more. And there were still too many exotic beasts here.
Before lifting the barrier entirely, they might need to go ahead to the other side, clear out the beasts, and keep things under control.
As for Ebinino, they needed to find out what had happened.
While the cub was still queasy, the colossal being leaned in, gazing at them with effort, then looked to Feiman, who stood watching him through the barrier.
Ebinino slowly fluttered his wings and moved close, almost pressing against the barrier, and lowered his head to look at Feiman.
At this distance, the marks on him were all the clearer.
Feiman stared.
Until Ebinino lowered his head, unsure, but gradually bringing his head near to where Feiman’s hand was pressed.
Though he didn’t understand, in all his years of struggling, this was the first time he felt ease and comfort.
He had no sense, and only when the little cub helped solidify a fraction of his crown did he show the faintest reaction.
What were these creatures?
They didn’t seem like the things he needed to tear apart.
But that was all; mostly, he acted on instinct.
Feiman looked at Ebinino as he pressed close, crimson flames flickering, gazing at her—
Just like in childhood hide-and-seek, when she hid in a corner and Grandfather would poke his smiling head in to find her—
“Little Feiman?”
Grandpa’s voice still seemed to linger by her ear.
It all overlapped—Feiman’s eyes wide open, a tear finally falling.
“Save… save him…”
Feiman unconsciously murmured.
Until Amos came over with Little Chu Zao in his arms.
“We will, we’ll find a way. Zao Zao’s mental power works, but it will take time, and we will need more time.”
Amos placed a hand on Feiman’s shoulder.
“What we need now is to calm down, take it step by step. We don’t want a second injury to his mind, so hold the barrier, let him regain consciousness at his own pace, be willing to open up—and with the unknown on the far side, all of Holy Cas must make further preparations.”
Amos spoke at length today, but calmly and steadily; at once, he quelled Feiman’s panic and reckless urge for results, bringing her back.
The mental power forming the barrier was incredibly stubborn, like nails driven deep here. Without harming the barrier, Amos could not open it.
Feiman was silent for a long time before finally replying.
She had to think positively—
At least, he was still here.
Grandfather was still here.
Feiman was long past her talkative, cub years.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
But in the end, no words came out.
Suddenly, Ebinino turned his head.
Amos, Feiman, and Ayala’s communicators all buzzed an alert.
“Your Majesty, the pollution is intensifying!”
It was a voice from the Holy Cas probe ship surveying the contamination.
“The power is surging in waves, slamming this side. It might be what keeps the pollution growing! It’s like a tide—”
A vivid metaphor.
Pollution tide.
Standing at the far side of the barrier, Amos and the others watched as countless exotic beasts surged forth, their crowns intensified by pollution, the discomfort abruptly worsening.
Like the sea’s tidal swell, waves rolled forth.
“Grandfather!”
Feiman cried out instinctively.
“Open the barrier—”
She pressed her hand to the barrier, speaking to Ebinino.
But clearly, Ebinino could not comprehend.
He only hesitated, glancing back and forth from the place that felt right to the place behind him, which felt so wrong. In the next instant, his wings flared out, and as the pollution and the beasts crashed into the barrier, he let out a furious roar. This time, without looking back, he charged, tearing into those beasts.
The entire barrier flashed under the assault.
The mental powers, quiet as poplars or nails stuck firm, grew lively.
The barrier held back the pollution—even as it tried to help Ebinino.
Ebinino could easily maneuver, could retreat and evade, but he stubbornly remained, unwilling to leave.
“Deal with the nearby stragglers.”
Amos gave the order.
The converging Crown Clan members replied one by one by comm, and cannons from the Holy Cas fleet trained on the breaking beasts.
“Baba—”
The young cub, feeling so unwell, instinctively wrapped himself in his bristling wings, then looked up.
Amos gave a quiet reply, held Little Chu Zao close, and, gripping a long mental power blade in his hand, cleared out the threats. He glanced at the slow-reacting Ayala.
“He should’ve been able to leave here on his own—”
Amos explained.
This much was clear now.
Why was Ebinino here in this state?
“Because the First Army Group’s mental power became intertwined with Ebinino’s.”
So when the First Army perished, as Ebinino lost consciousness and neared his end—
Ebinino, within the pollution, his own mental power and that of the First Army soldiers, formed this barrier. In essence, now, he was no longer a normal Crown Clan presence.
Of course, one look made it obvious.
With their mind states now,
What happened then was also clear at a glance.
Able for a short time to pierce pollution and save himself, Ebinino, for some reason, didn’t leave the First Army. Nor did the First Army want to go, fighting to shield Ebinino even as pollution overwhelmed the Crown Clan.
So there were remains scattered everywhere here.
Forming this line of defense.
Amos exhaled deeply.
Little Chu Zao still buried himself miserably in Amos’s arms, his wings trembling. They dared not break the barrier, only taking care of the beasts that made it through, easing the burden on the other side.
This pollution tide lasted about half an hour.
When it subsided, Ebinino didn’t return. He fluttered to another planet beyond the barrier and descended slowly, his power seemingly affected, taking a rest.
On the Holy Cas side, the situation was hard to accept.
“All right.”
Amos withdrew his strength, feeling the impact on his own crown. The little cub in his arms seemed miserable, never looking up and curled close as if trying to adapt to the lingering dizziness.
Yet compared to previous bouts of power drain—the cub had progressed greatly.
“Have everyone return to the warship in time. Contact Frey, declare Holy Cas in emergency, set up a barrier defense line. Don’t let your guard down. Watch the other side, and accelerate research into pollution-resistant materials and instruments.”
Amos pressed down all the easily misjudged, unstable emotions, issuing orders in his reliably calm, steady voice.
And the Angel Spring Source stone in the little cub’s pocket gently glowed and pulsed.
It seemed to be easing Little Chu Zao’s discomfort.
The cub finally looked up.
“Baba—”
He opened his large, honey-colored, watery eyes.
“Zao Zao’s power isn’t enough—”
“That was Great-Grandfather, right?”
The little cub tried searchingly to peer at where Ebinino had vanished.
Other times, the cub may have felt a bit uncomfortable, but usually could finish what he set out to do.
But Ebinino was an exception, the severity was too great.
The little amount of power saved in the crown was simply not enough to mend Ebinino’s wounds from a century of being a barrier.
“Mm, that’s Great-Grandfather.”
Amos looked on at the cub’s pale face.
“It’s okay, Zao Zao.”
He spoke, his usually unreadable tone now gentle.
“Bit by bit. Take your time. You’re not grown up yet.”
Little Chu Zao blinked slowly, obediently nodded his little head.
“But it helps.”
The cub lay on Amos’s chest.
Softly saying,
“Zao Zao can help Great-Grandpa. Baba, will you tell Auntie, all right? Zao Zao can help, so Auntie, don’t cry.”
Why not say it himself?
The cub was a little shy. Besides, Auntie loved to smother him with kisses.
The tiny cub didn’t feel well, but left this task to Amos.
Now, the pollution tide had stilled, but the barrier lights still flickered.
Perhaps, with Zao Zao’s mental power injected earlier, not only had it steadied Ebinino’s crown—no, it had stabilized a fragment of his mental power crown, and reanimated the nearly lifeless minds within the barrier.
Some persistent will and emotion, transmitted in the faint glow from the Angel Spring Source stone in Little Chu Zao’s pocket.
Little Chu Zao started, turning to look at the faintly shining barrier—the line of defense for Holy Cas.
His eyes widened slowly.
It was as if he could hear the voices within the barrier, though jumbled and disorderly.
They were murmuring—
‘Holy Cas—It’s Holy Cas—I think it’s Holy Cas—’
Or maybe they weren’t speaking. It was just their will, continuously looking back toward Holy Cas in their last moments.
Now, for the little cub so sensitive to emotion, it resurfaced.
‘Is it Holy Cas—? Home… home… want to go home…’
With the last of their mental strength, these wills had buried themselves here at the end of their lives.
Until Little Chu Zao answered.
“Yes… it’s Holy Cas.”
Others couldn’t hear, only see the flickering barrier and hear the cub’s soft murmur, the flickering crown atop his head, his mental power slowly sending out, its gentler touch meeting the barrier—unlike other Crown Clan.
In an instant, as if the barrier was alight.
‘It’s Holy Cas—It really is home—’
‘Is home still all right? Is Holy Cas all right—?’
‘Did we succeed in defending Holy Cas? Is it behind us still as prosperous as before?—Did we accomplish anything? Did we, whose power was weak, accomplish anything?’
‘Home—home—’
Lights shimmered, and the barrier trembled slightly, forming a faint buzzing.
The cub looked along the great defensive line, his spent mental power still trying to soothe—Holy Cas endured.
Holy Cas people and Crown Clan both remained.
So that buzzing took on a tune—slightly off key, but forming the ancient melody Holy Cas citizens once wrote for the Crown Clan, not long after Holy Cas was founded—
On these remains, in this lifeless place, the song sounded in silence.
Not long ago, this same melody had echoed on the Holy Cas imperial military base, as the Ninth Army’s warship prepared for takeoff—ancient and modern intertwining. Everyone watched, especially the Holy Cas people, trembling—nothing could be more moving. It was the last, most resistant voice of the long-lost First Army.
Ayala stared blankly, then saw the cub cover his eyes with a paw, his little wings trembling, then gazed back at him, as if silently saying—Look, cousin, they achieved so much.
Short-lived, yet brilliant.
They weren’t unafraid of sacrifice, and clung to the will to return home in final moments, but stood unyielding, refusing to open the barrier or to yield to pollution—not ever!
So—
Ayala heard the little one say:
“Zao Zao will remember them, and then, someday, bring them home.”