- Heaven's Last Breath -

A Lover's Bond

- Jade -

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As we emerged from the Springtime Forest, we found ourselves in a clearing. Directly ahead of us, a wide bridge stretched over a deep gorge. The architecture was flawless and intricate, marble statues lining the edges.

Aaron lead the way over the bridge, nonchalantly shoving his hands into his pockets as if he had crossed this arch multiple times before. I followed along, a few steps behind the wine haired boy as I admired the scenery.

A wide river ran far beneath the bridge, the current flowing rapidly. I looked further ahead, seeing thick, low hanging clouds on either side of the stream. There was a familiar scent from the river and I quickly recognised it to be the fourth of the Great Rivers of this realm.

I pushed ahead, pursuing Aaron across the bridge as I turned my eyes to the magnificent kingdom before us. Several white stone towers rose high into the sky, topped with different colour tiled roofs as they stood over the grandiose city below.

A faint, glimmering aura surrounded the city and as we arrived at the end of the bridge, the five of us passed through the bubble like surface without any resistance. The moment we stepped through, the evening sky became much brighter, as if illuminated by the midday sun even if the time didn't suggest this to be the case.

The Elf Kingdom basked under the natural light, elevating its grandeur to another level. I found myself speechless at the beauty of the city before us, finding it unbelievable how Aaron was so casual. Nevertheless, I pushed on, arriving at a closed city gate.

Made from reinforced ivory, the gate slowly opened, allowing us to enter. I looked closer, seeing that there were no guards at the kingdom walls, guessing that some sort of magic was controlling the gate mechanism.

"Holy shit." Ariel's stunned voice caught my ear.

I thought back, remembering that she was from the Ida Kingdom, another civilisation that was known for its elegant architecture. If the rose blonde reacted like this, it spoke volumes about how grand the Elf Kingdom truly was.

As we passed through the city gate, stepping into the main kingdom, my eyes fell on a giant twisting tree. At the centre, stood a gigantic tree, with tunnels, platforms and the like carved into it. The tree's leaves weren't the usual vibrant green, instead a beautiful sky blue, the bark coloured an ivory white.

I looked around, seeing that every single building appeared to be construced by the Kami themselves. The architecture was unlike anything I had ever seen before, words unable to describe what I was looking at.

"Sir Aaron!"

A cheerful voice snapped me from my thoughts and as I turned to see where it was coming from, a crowd of people had gathered around the five of us. I looked closer, seeing that they were all elves, light and dark.

"It is our pleasure to welcome you back Sir Aaron!"

"We missed you!"

"Welcome home!"

There were all sorts of greetings from the elven crowd, mostly from the younger girls who were excitedly trying to get Aaron to look their way.

I turned to the wine haired boy as he let out a deep sigh, tilting his head to the sky. He looked my way, shrugging his shoulders as if to say he couldn't do anything about it. A smile curled onto my lips, knowing that this was out of his control.