The Thousand Year Dynasty
Anthology 16

"How are you, Primaval?" Suddenly some people came to Aksa and Nata's tent at the bottom of the gorge of the Star Alcove, which is now inhabited by Luque and Rafa.

"Oh, what are you guys here for once? These nights?" Luque looked surprised to find guests at night like now.

They appear to be Mateus, Nadir, and some people from the south. In total there were eight men, including several guard soldiers.

"We have just attended a meeting at the residence of Her Majesty the Queen, in the Central city. And we heard that you are still on this land, so we decided to greet you," Mateus explained his arrival as he bowed a little followed by the others.

The eight of them just stood before Luque inside the tent.

"Oh, what a concern you guys. Thank you for your concern," Luque replied courteously and graciously.

"His Majesty the Queen has just informed everyone about what really happened to Lord Aksa and Lord Nata." Mateus said again.

"Oh, so. What other than wanting why me, you also want to win something about the loss of Nata and Aksa?" asked Luque then without further ado.

"real Primaval. Another reason we're here is to make sure something is about it" replied Mateus who also did not try to beat around the bush.

"Sure what?" ask Luque later.

"We have previously asked Mr. Couran about the chronology of the disappearance of Mr. Aksa and Mr. Nata." This time it was Nadir's turn to speak. "And now that Miss Lily is in the Sekai Forest and is nowhere to be found, Mr. Val and Ms. Yvvone have confirmed that no mystical weapons and Arcane stones are used, then we'd like to ask you, do you have any idea of the cause of their disappearance?" then he continued at length.

"And will they come back?" sahut Mateus added. "Because right now Mr. Val and Miss Lily look very calm. Maybe the Oracle had said something to them. And since you've also met the Oracle and talked about both of them, so..."

"Did the Oracle also tell me something about the two of them?" tanya Luque interrupted Mateus' long-winded speech.

"It's like that." Mateus replied while nodding.

"What was that long explanation before, actually you guys wanted to ask if I knew that Aksa and Nata would come back again?" Luque asked to make sure.

"Right, we mean it's like that. Sorry if we were too long-winded," replied Mateus again apologizing.

"And if they don't come back, what? Are you going to surrender and leave this kingdom?" Instead of answering, Luque instead asked Mateus and the others a question.

"That's not what we mean. We just want certainty. We don't want to rely on false expectations, saying that they will come back one day" Nadir said.

"All right, I'll tell you, if I don't know. But listen to what I have to say, I think Mr. Val and Miss Lily will remain in this place, even if the two young men don't come back here anymore" Luque said later. "Because even though this kingdom is the territory fought for by Aksa and Nata. So indirectly this kingdom is a relic of Aksa and Nata. And obviously Mr. Val and Miss Lily will keep trying to protect her. So do not assume that they are in this place because it is waiting for Aksa and Nata to return," he explained.

"Good, Primaval. We understand" said Mateus and the others quickly and almost simultaneously.

"I believe, even if I don't know you for long, but if Aksa and Nata want to work together with you, then I'm sure you're the ones with potential. Because I believe Aksa and Nata's eyes are keen on seeing hidden talent" Luque added later.

"We're flattered, Primaval. And forgive us for bothering you this late," said Mateus, who seemed to be getting excited again.

"I don't feel bothered." Luque replied later.

"Well, then we'll excuse us first." Mateus and the others bowed short before leaving the tent.

Luque breathed a long breath.

"You deserve the title Holy Girl, Miss Primaval." Suddenly, Yvvone spoke as he entered the tent.

"I don't understand, what do you mean, Miss Yvvone?" asked Luque who looked relaxed. That was because as long as he and Rafa moved into Aksa and Nata's tent, Yvvone would often come and go as he pleased, which made him get used to it.

"Your words about seeing the talent or potential of those people earlier. The two boys saw were people who were smart enough to be able to put their plans into action. They don't care about seeing people's potential talent. What else Nata," said Yvvone who was seen trying to hold back laughter.

"Elf does not understand how to speak better and praise someone to lighten the burden and change someone's life" Luque replied, shaking his head slowly at the tiny Elf girl.

"True, that's the strangest thing I can't understand from a human being" Yvvone said as he walked to a central desk not far from the electric generator.

"I don't think eavesdropping is your custom and hobby, so what do you think you're here for, Miss Yvvone?" asked Luque who then sat across from Yvvone who was already sitting in front of the table next to the electric generator.

"Maybe you forgot. But before the two boys disappeared, I was already living in this place, Miss Primaval," Yvvone said as he pulled out a SmarthPhone from a small bag on his waist

"No, you don't live here, Miss Yvvone, but me and Rafa. You just came to charge your toy" Luque said later.

"Yes, that's you know. I'm going to recharge my smartphone. But when I got to the door, it looked like you were having guests, so it would be rude to just go in, right?" yvvone replied then explained why he could hear all of Luque's previous talk.

"Do you care about that toy? Aren't you a little worried that maybe Aksa and Nata will never come back?" asked Luque who looked a little irritated towards Yvvone.

"My concern in the world right now is, people who want to collect Scion bracelets, and if this Smartphone runs out of power. That's it, nothing else" Yvvone said lightly. "What's more worrying to the two of them, that even you, Miss Lily, Mr. Val alone responded casually. Do you think I'm like those guys? I know they're definitely back, I can feel from the way the three of you are responding to this" he continued.

"Alright, it's up to you, Miss Yvvone," Luque replied in a lazy tone. "Oh yeah, did you see Rafa?" tanyanya.

"I didn't see it. Maybe he's on a cliff close to Gondola Station" Yvvone replied later.

"On the cliff? These nights?" Luque looked a little confused.

"Lately he has been there a lot. It looks like the departure of the Aksa made him hit," said Yvvone later.

"Yes, I can imagine how she feels," Luque replied visibly sympathetic.

"I wanted to comfort her, but since I don't understand human feelings, so I better not." Yvvone is seen starting to be busy installing the Smartphone charger to the electric generator.

"Alright then, I'll catch up with him, thank you," said Luque who then moved out of the tent.

"Together, Holy Maiden," Yvvone replied without staring at Luque.

-

"Hey, what are you doing here, Miss Rafa?" Suddenly a voice came from behind Rafa, as he was sitting alone on a cliff on the east side of the Ceruk Bintang area, not far from the Gondola Station. Look at the stars in the sky without the moon.

"You surprise me, Primaval" Rafa touched his left hand to the chest.

"I told you not to call me Primaval again, Miss Rafa" Luque walked over and then sat right next to Rafa.

"I'm sorry. I'm used to calling you like that" Rafa said with a small head.

"It's night now, what are you doing in this place?" luque asked as he put his hands behind his back to support his body as he looked up at the night sky.

"So watching the stars. I can't sleep tonight, Prima." Rafa answered, turning his head back into space.

"Are you still unsettling about Aksa and Nata who may have returned to her world?" Luque asked again without looking at Rafa.

"Bu-not that. I was happy that they were finally back in their world again. Meet with their families and loved ones." Rafa replied with a stutter.

"You don't have to deny it in front of me. It's only natural that you feel restless and unhappy when they return to their world. I didn't like it when they had to leave this world, either," this time Luque looked up at Rafa, though he was still tilted backwards as he stared at the sky.

"You feel that way too?" Rafa sounded hesitant asking.

"It doesn't seem fair. I waited that long, just for a little while. It was like when you ordered Froyo, Mr. Edward. The long wait for the food to be made, only to run out in time." Luque said as he looked back at the night sky.

"Have you been waiting for their arrival, Miss Luque? Is it because the Oracle ordered you to wait for them?" Rafa asked again. This time it sounded more assertive. Because he was curious.

"No. But you'd laugh at me if you knew the real reason." Luque laughed a little.

"I'll never laugh at your excuses, Miss Luque. Because to wait that long is not an easy thing. There must be something very important underlying your decision." Rafa looked serious in his words.

"Do you see that north star? That star is Polaris. He's the only star that never moves from his position." Luque spoke while pointing to a star in space. "A long time ago, my grandmother told me. Polaris was a goddess. He was asked by his lover who was traveling to the end of the sky to wait in that place until the lover returned," he said.

"I've also read about the fairy tale." Rafa retorted while also looking at the star Luque pointed at.

"I did the same thing as Polaris. I waited not to depart from the city of Nezarad at all, for almost three hundred years. Just so that I don't miss it" Luque said later with a gaze that seemed to pierce through the darkness of the night sky.

"Although ridiculous, because the speech of the Oracle is something that has certainly happened. So even if I don't try to wait for him, we'll definitely meet, right?" The Narva girl continued with a smile, though her eyes did not show that she was having fun.

"Did the Oracle tell you that the person would be. eng... your life partner?" Rafa asked doubtfully and looked wrong.

While Rafa only nodded with a embarrassed face.

"No. The Oracle didn't say that the otherworldly person would be my life partner." Luque said again still with a smile that seemed to want to laugh. "Although in fact I immediately fell in love once I met with Aksa for the first time," he said later that he seemed to deliberately tease Rafa.

While Rafa looks just speechless with a face that starts to redden.

"Why, Miss Rafa? Is there a problem with that?" Luque asked with a mischievous smile.

"Nope-no. There's nothing, Miss Luque. I'm just amazed at you who dare to admit it and act." Rafa seemed to answer in a bit of panic.

"Does that mean you like Aksa too but don't dare to admit it and don't dare to act?" Luque looks part tease Rafa.

"Bu-not that. I'm just amazed at you. That'sthat's all. Not more." Rafa replied in panic.

"You're so funny, Miss Rafa." Luque finally couldn't bear it and started laughing.

"You're so mean to tease me like that, Miss Luque." It looks like Rafa is bending his face to see Luque laughing loosely.

The sound of Luque's laughter resounded all the way to the valley below where they were sitting.

"But actually, what the Oracle told me was; there will be people who are not from this world coming to see me one day. The one who will bring peace in the Holy Land," Luque dissected his words to sigh deeply. "And that man who will end my eternal life" he continued with a smile that lifted thinly on his lips.

"sorry. End your life?" Rafa tried to make sure of what he had just heard.

"You must have heard that I can live a long time because of my healing powers, right?" Instead of answering a question from Rafa, Luque asked back.

"Yes, I heard about it." Rafa nodded.

"But that's not true. I'm not even a healer, either then or now." Luque said again explaining.

"But I saw you heal many warriors while in the Holy Land." Rafa.

"It's not healing magic." Luque answered quickly.

"Want to?" Rafa looks curious. Because he had never heard of any magic or way to heal a person, other than healing magic or the field of immortality.

"I still remember right. Two days before I turned seventeen, I was practicing magic with my teacher. It was then that Mahan Staan suddenly appeared not far from where we were training." Luque began to tell stories while looking back at the night sky. "And somehow, from then on I stopped aging. Let alone aging, I stopped growing" he explained.

"Stop growing?" Rafa was increasingly unable to follow Luque's words.

"I realized it three years later. My stature has not changed at all. I am not getting any taller or getting older. Not even my hair got any longer." Luque continued his story without caring about Rafa's question. "And a few years before, I also realized that I had a strange magic ability," the girl paused later to fix her sitting position.

This time Rafa did not try to cut Luque's words. He just kept quiet while listening to the girl's story seriously.

"I thought it was healing magic. Until one day, I accidentally used the magic on an inanimate object. An axe that accidentally broke when I used it to cut firewood" Luque said. "And strangely my 'healer' magic, can restore the ax that was damaged, became as usual," he continued.

"really?" Rafa sounded incredulous.

"You've probably heard rumors about me that could make the flow of Souls within Nezarad's city never run out even if the city uses magic formations to install protectors, right?" Luque asked again.

"Don't tell me, you can even restore the flow of the Soul as it was?" Rafa looked increasingly incredulous.

"really. I can even restore the flow of the Soul as it was before." Luque answered quickly.

"It's hard to believe" said Rafa, as he nodded slowly. "Just this time I heard something like that" he added, still in disbelief.

"I myself have never heard of anything like this before, either" Luque replied later. "And it was only after a hundred and seventy years later that the Oracle came to tell me that the magic I had was the magic of time" he explained, which made Rafa surprised and increasingly in disbelief.

"So you mean, you didn't heal those soldiers' wounds. Yet you rewind the 'time' of those soldiers' bodies to the moment before they were injured?" Rafa asked with a face that seemed to wish it was all a lie.

"really. Although there is a limit on the amount and length of 'time' that can be rewinded." Luque replied.

"Truly amazing. I guess all this time the concept of Space and Time magic can only be used for a magic formation or mystical tools only. Didn't think that magic could be used by humans." Rafa looks very enthusiastic.

"I didn't think it out when I found out either." Luque said as he shook his head slowly. "And even worse, the Oracle explained that the magic would make me immortal, when I really could not stand my long life anymore" she said later.

Hearing Luque's words, and seeing the look on his face as he spoke, Rafa realized that Luque was a prisoner. The girl was imprisoned by time, to stay forever in this world. And that makes him very sad.

"So the Oracle told you that the person from another world who will meet you, can make you no longer be immortal?" Rafa asked again. It looks like he is thinking about something. His forehead looked wrinkled, trying to resist from making a sad face before Luque. That would probably make the Holy Girl even sadder.

"No. More precisely, it was that person who would end my long life." Luque answered quickly with a bitter smile on his face. "But I don't think it's bad, to end life in the hands of a loved one, right?" he said again trying to smile wider.

Rafa suddenly shed his tears even though he was still silent and did not change the look of his face.

"Miss Rafa, are you crying? Are there any words I'm wrong?" Luque looked surprised.

"Why did you tell me that, Miss Luque? This made my heart hurt. Makes me very sad, just by thinking about it." Rafa said still with tears that continued to fall, even though his face was not crying.

"I'm sorry I've given you such a burden with this story, Miss Rafa." Luque said as he wiped the tears on Rafa's cheek with his hand.

"I also don't know why I suddenly told you this. No one knows about this, except me and the Oracle herself" Luque said, staring back at the stars. "And now you," he followed with a small smile.

Rafa said nothing. He was just speechless still trying to deal with the sadness of hearing Luque's story earlier.

"Maybe it was because of the atmosphere and the fact that the two people had left." Luque spoke again. "But I guess, it's because now I've considered you to be my best friend. So subconsciously I told you about it. Once again forgive me, Miss Rafa" he continued later.

Rafa looked surprised to hear Luque's words regarding himself as a friend. And soon Rafa starts crying. Which made Luque even more confused, and then hugged Rafa's body which looked like it would not stop crying any time soon.

The sound of Rafa's crying could be heard echoing up to the valley below where they were sitting.

"Oh, and also, don't tell this to the others, huh? Let this be a secret for both of us" Luque said later when Rafa was seen just as unwilling.

Rafa just nodded. "I also have something that I want to tell you, Npna Luque," he said later as he held his body free from Luque's embrace.

"What?" asked Luque who was surprised to find Rafa's suddenly changed attitude.

"Because you already consider me as your Sabbath, then I'll also tell you the secret that I have," said Rafa who looks serious.

"Hahaha.no need. You don't have to do that to avenge what I've done" Luque said, starting to laugh again.

"No. I've got to tell you." Rafa looks really serious. "Actually I feel sad, angry, and disappointed with the sudden departure of Lord Aksa as he is today. It's because I love Mr. Aksa too" he added, staring intently at Luque, who was silent.

"Oh. I thought what you were going to say, ternyat it," said Luque who looked back at his original sitting position casually. "If it's not a secret. Everyone already knows, too," he added later while fixing the position of his tangled clothes.

"Eh? You mean?" Rafa looked confused by Luque's intentions.

"Everyone must have guessed it from your attitude towards Aksa" Luque said, trying to explain.

"really? All this time? Is my behavior too conspicuous?" Rafa looks panicked. His face began to look red.

"You're that. I thought you were gonna tell me something really secret. Now I feel played with" Luque said, throwing his gaze from Rafa into the night sky.

"That's not what I mean Miss Luque.

"But you don't have to worry. Because as long as I'm alive, it means that they will definitely return" Luque said still with a gaze toward the sky. "Because the Oracle's words are never wrong" he added, looking at Rafa with a smile.

"Now a small part of my heart so expect them to never come back" said Rafa Lirih.

"If you feel sad and sorry for me, how about when Aksa comes back, you try to persuade her to marry me?" suhut Luque then while looking back at the stars.

"I-I mean, you?" Rafa asked stuttered, unable to answer Luque's question.

Then it sounded Luque started laughing seeing the reaction from Rafa. That was followed by Rafa who was also laughing. And the sound of their laughter was heard as far as the valley below where they were sitting.

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