"Master~! Why are you leaving me~?!"
Astoria's ear-rending whining resounded through the halls of the palace, making anyone who could hear her's expression wry.
Damien was included among these people. He rolled his eyes and smirked, patting her on the head to placate her.
"Relax. Why're you acting like I'm going to go die somewhere? We'll reunite eventually," he said warmly.
"But Master~, if you leave, everything will become boring again!"
"I shouldn't have expected anything else from you."
"Hm?"
"Haa, nothing. Anyway, you already have plenty to do here, so what's the point of leaving? You're still acting like this, but we both know what's in your heart."
Astoria looked away, embarrassed at how well he could read her.
Damien gave a half smile and sent her a sound transmission for only the two of them to hear.
"I have one last gift for you before I leave. Take this bead. Whenever you find yourself with some alone time, crush it. You'll get a big surprise."
Damien passed her a small blue marble, which she took and eyed curiously.
"Master, what is this thing? Why did you have to tell me through sound transmission?" She questioned.
"Haha, don't worry about that for now. All you need to know is: as long as you crush that bead, you won't get bored during this period of house arrest. I'll guarantee that on my pride as your master," Damien responded smugly.
"Oh?"
Astoria's eyes brightened as she stashed the bead in her spatial ring.
"Master, I'm not patient so I'm going to go try it now! I'll see you next time!"
She immediately ran over to the Emperor and spoke a few words before scurrying back to her room.
Damien shook his head with a half-smile on his face. 'Well, the sooner the better I guess.'
Astoria's behavior wasn't a facade, but she was far more complex than she was before she met Damien.
She now had a sense of responsibility and understanding towards her position and power.
Damien's smile was not a wry one caused by her mischief, but a content one, because he knew that his disciple was doing everything she could to grow stronger as efficiently and stably as possible.
And she trusted their relationship enough to know that the gift Damien gave her would be the best first step for her to take.
How could he not feel pride after seeing her determination?
He wished he could help her more, but her path was never space.
From the beginning, her spatial abilities were supportive.
Only, her main strength was not the techniques of the Golden Dragons, but instead those of another being entirely.
'I wonder how it'll look when those two meet…I guess I'll hear it directly from Astoria later.'
Damien turned his attention a few feet away, where Elena and the Emperor were having a conversation that'd basically been going in circles for the past few minutes.
"…your contributions. Without you, this planet would have fallen."
"It's nothing, your Majesty. I was only acting for material benefit, so I cannot accept your thanks.
"For material benefit only? However, any normal contractee would not put in half the effort you did. I believe in your sense of justice, and I believe it should be commended. There is no need to reject our sincerity."
"I…"
"She'll take it!"
Damien appeared between the duo and swiped the box in the Emperor's hand, wrapping his arm around Elena and flashing a grin at the duo.
"Guys, courtesy is fun, but isn't this a bit too excessive?" He said teasingly.
Elena frowned. "I really didn't do anything worthy of rewarding though, so I don't want to accept anything precious."
"Unfortunately for you, wifey, your husband is shameless and greedy, so we'll be taking this anyway."
"Emperor, any objections?"
"None," the Emperor responded with a smile.
Elena looked at Damien, then the Emperor, then back at Damien one more time before finally letting out a defeated sigh.
"Haa, fine. But I still won't take it for free. If the Golden Dragon Clan ever needs my help in the future, I'll lend it without question."
The Emperor nodded contentedly. "That goes without saying. Our Golden Dragon Clan shared your sentiment and will aid you with the same fervor if the need ever arises. As allies, it is only right that we support each other."
The duo expressed their appreciation, and after a few more minutes of conversation, the time of departure truly came.
Damien and Elena left the palace hand in hand, the Emperor and Golden Dragon Clan's words of well wishes following them out.
Damien looked over at the lovely woman beside him with a smile.
"You ready? We have a lot of explaining to do before the fun stuff starts."
Elena leaned into his shoulder with the same warm expression on her face. "Please go easy on the teleportation this time. I'm not ready to die yet."
"Hey, aren't we supposed to be having a romantic moment as we ride off into the sunset right now?"
"Why would you want to do something so unbelievably cringe?"
"I hate that you know Earth humor."
"Yes, and I love you too."
"Tch."
Damien clicked his tongue, trying his best to pretend like he wasn't grinning like a fool on the inside.
It had been so long that he didn't realize how much he missed the feeling of having a beauty by his side, particularly a beauty he had feelings for.
It wasn't bad.
It wasn't bad at all.
'…but I should still get a little revenge for that last bit, no?'
Elena shivered as she sensed Damien's evil grin.
"Wait, don't even think about—!"
"Too late."
Flash!
The duo disappeared from the world, off to start their next journey and leaving behind a world that shone in gold.
In every corner of the Fate Star, beautiful manifestations covered the sky as if to celebrate the existence of the couple.
Astoria watched the fading spatial fluctuations with an unreadable expression on her face, tightening her grip on the bead in her hand.
'Next time, I'll be strong enough to stand by them.'
Her sentiment drifted into reality and merged with those of many others, and Astoria herself…
…vanished into the air along with the spatial fluctuations.
Major changes were going to take place in the universe soon enough, and while those involved didn't know it quite yet, the calamity of Beast Emperor Star marked the start of a new era.
It was an era of war and death, an era of total uncertainty…
Yet, it was only this type of era that could birth ultimate geniuses,
And it was only in this type of era that they could draw out every last bit of their potential.
The stage was set for their debut.
All that was left…was for those stars to shine.
***
The trip to the Ancient God Clan was simple and smooth, at least for Damien. While Elena had something of a shaky ride, it wasn't too bad for her either.
The couple entered the Ancient God Clan's hidden world and met Di within seconds of their arrival. Now that there were mere days remaining before the biggest gathering of the century took place, there was no time to dally and talk about meaningless things.
First of all, the Genesis Bead needed to be recovered. Otherwise, the Ancient God Clan couldn't confront other larger influences with confidence.
However, when Damien and Elena actually got around to explaining what happened…
"You did…WHAT?!"
…the reaction was just as bad as they expected it to be.
