87 Waiting for You in the Past
Dad (Extra Update!!)
It turns out Leon’s “don’t leave empty-handed” strategy was quite brilliant.
After successfully stealing the Heartguard Dragon Scale and returning to the “secret base,” Aurora first tried out a few pieces of dragon scale, but the reverse magic showed no signs of activation.
After testing over ten pieces, they finally stumbled upon one that had a magical quality similar to Rave’s.
The first test of the reverse magic was successfully completed.
With the energy source problem solved, all that was left was to carefully tweak and modify it to ensure that the reverse process wouldn’t result in mishaps like turning Dad into confetti or sending him back without his clothes, and stuff like that.
This process also required a good amount of engineering work, so Aurora didn’t dare slack off, diligently perfecting the reverse magic day and night.
With less than three months left, she had to send Dad back before then to prevent Mom from risking it all, resulting in that fateful battle where she fell into a coma.
During this time, Leon was also diligently practicing the Nine Gates of Hell, using the techniques taught to him by his little daughter.
He also didn’t forget about condensing and storing magic power.
The battle with the spatial rift had happened because he didn’t have enough prep time. After dealing with Star, Rave and the other goons took advantage and trapped him in a spatial barrier.
But this time, he had half a year to prepare, and with the quick improvements to the Nine Gates of Hell, Leon would just smirk and say, “Dinner time’s here!” even if three Dragon Kings showed up to ambush him.
Noia and Moon were out on normal assignments during these final critical months, and they couldn’t afford any slip-ups.
So, the father-daughter quartet focused on their respective tasks, all in preparation for the day when the reverse magic would be completed.
However… the busy, fulfilling pre-battle life couldn’t keep Leon’s mind from wandering.
He always found himself distracted, thinking about one thing.
Roswiser.
On the night just 24 hours before the deadline, Leon entered the room where Roswiser’s crystal was stored, pulled over a chair, and sat beside the crystal.
The beauty in the crystal lay still, her brow relaxed, serene and lovely.
Her hands were neatly folded over her abdomen, resting on a photograph beneath them.
It was a ‘couple photo’ taken by a photographer during their family portrait session.
In the photo, the couple gazed into each other’s eyes, their expressions filled with meaning.
On the back of the photo were the words Leon would never forget:
“May the silver radiance forever shine in the eyes of the one you love.”
Leon believed that before Roswiser lost consciousness, she had no idea if she would ever wake up again.
In her unknown long slumber, Roswiser chose this photo as her only companion.
Noia said that Mom didn’t quite understand emotions and wasn’t adept at expressing them.
But she knew what mattered to her, and what she couldn’t live without.
In the world line where ‘Leon doesn’t exist,’ she held on alone for six months. She was the loneliest king on the throne and the saddest, most heartbroken wife.
Until the moment before her coma, had she believed… Leon would surely come back to save everything?
For these past few months, Leon had been visiting Roswiser every night, spending a long time alone with her.
Saying nothing, doing nothing, just quietly watching his wife sleep.
But, oh…
Every time he stepped into that room, Leon needed to mentally prepare for a long time.
He was scared, afraid, and sometimes his legs would tremble.
In those early days, Leon had managed to keep a decent mindset;
However, as time passed, especially in these last few days, he found it harder and harder to walk over to Roswiser, to look at her, or to share his feelings with her.
He was actually quite sensitive and delicate but terrible at managing his negative emotions.
Just like that time ages ago, when the acting Dragon King Aug from the Red Flame Dragon Race had told him, “The Dragon Race will take everything from you,” Leon had fallen into deep self-reflection and self-doubt.
He managed to pull himself out of that one.
And the one who helped him was Roswiser.
Though she wasn’t good at expressing emotions, she understood Leon and knew how to navigate the dark depths of his heart, pulling out this awkward little rascal.
Many times, she had served as his psychological mentor.
After all, the queen wasn’t just alive for over two hundred years for nothing; her life experiences far outnumbered Leon’s.
But now, what was Leon supposed to do, trapped by longing and worry?
Without Roswiser, his heart felt twisted like a tangled rope.
Unresolvable, chaotic.
He retracted his heavy thoughts, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
Then, Leon reached out and gently pressed his hand against the crystal.
The crystal was cold, much like this dreary reality.
“I really… miss you.”
If all went well, he would be able to see her in just twenty-four hours.
But… who could guarantee everything would go smoothly?
Leon rarely felt so lacking in confidence about anything.
He was never afraid of failure.
If he failed, he could try again; fail once, and he would give it another go, failing countless times, and he would keep at it—like an invincible cockroach.
But.
This time was different.
If he failed this time, he might never get to embrace his beloved again.
Mountains of pressure piled on his chest, nearly choking him.
This wasn’t just a race against time; it was a love that needed to be saved across dimensions.
Could he really do it?
“It’s getting late, you should rest a bit.”
Noia’s voice came from behind him. “Little Light said we could activate the reverse magic in a few hours, and you need to keep your strength up.”
“No need, I feel fine.”
Leon didn’t turn around, still quietly gazing at Roswiser, his tone flat, but Noia could hear the slight tremor in his voice.
Noia hesitated and walked over to Leon.
At that moment, Leon caught a glimpse of the delicate little wooden box she held in her hands.
It looked exquisite, but it appeared to have been around for a while.
“What’s this…?”
Noia opened the box, revealing various unrelated trinkets inside.
A black shard, a Rubik’s Cube, a note, an essay, and a family portrait.
“These are very important to me,” Noia said.
Leon looked at the little objects; he recalled the Rubik’s Cube was one he’d made for Moon while casually making one for Noia too back then, when she had been quite the proud little girl and didn’t want to talk to him.
The note read “Noia K. Melkway,” probably something he wrote while teaching Moon how to write.
The essay detailed his and Roswiser’s entire date in Sky City, along with Noia’s love for them.
The family portrait needed no further explanation.
“I had planned to collect many more things and fill this little wooden box to the brim.”
Noia continued, “But in the twenty years since you disappeared, not one more item has been added. Every single thing here has its own significance, but when tragedy struck, those meanings became torment. So…”
Noia summoned Dragon Flame in her palm and set the wooden box, which she had preserved for twenty years, alight.
Along with everything inside it—the Rubik’s Cube, note, essay, and photograph.
Only the black shard shone brightly in the flames.
Leon gasped, swiftly trying to extinguish the fire.
But Noia dropped the box to the ground, letting it burn.
She held onto her father’s hand, tears brimming in her eyes, voice choking,
“No matter the outcome, I no longer need it.”
“If you succeed in changing the past and restore the original world line, then the box will return to me, and everything I care about will come back.”
“But if you fail… you and my sisters will be all I have left.”
“So, go ahead and do it, Leon Casmod.”
“No matter the outcome, you will not be alone.”
A few months ago, when he had heart-to-heart conversations with his daughter, the future version of her began to overlap with her past self;
And at this very moment, Leon saw the shadow of Roswiser in Noia.
The one who always pulled him from the abyss when he felt lost and helpless seemed never to have left.
…
A few hours later, in the crystal room, Aurora prepared to activate the reverse magic.
The Heartguard Dragon Scale floated quietly in the magic array, providing energy for the entire spell.
Various complex and tangled incantations gradually began to glow, and the air currents stirred chaotically in the room.
Aurora fixed her hair, blown askew by the airflow, and turned to Leon.
“Stand here.”
Leon stepped into the center of the magic array.
“If everything goes well, the reverse magic will be completed in ten minutes, which means… in ten minutes, you’ll get to see Mom.”
“Alright, I understand.”
The wind howled around them as Aurora stood before Leon, slightly lowering her head. “Dad.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I… did I help?”
Leon was momentarily taken aback, confused as to why Little Light would suddenly ask this just in the final minutes.
“Twenty years ago, Little Light didn’t get your approval before you disappeared.”
Noia explained from the back, “So now… you need to compliment your little daughter.”
Leon suddenly understood.
So that was it.
He looked at Aurora, reached out, and ruffled her pink hair.
“You did great, Little Light. You’re Dad’s proudest daughter.”
“Really—”
“Ahem.” Noia cleared her throat twice while pulling Moon’s shoulder closer.
Leon quickly repaired his statement, “One of the proudest daughters.”
Little Light laughed, took off her glasses to wipe the corners of her eyes, then put them back on.
“After going back, remember to remind me not to stay up late reading; I don’t want to wear glasses anymore.”
“Got it, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Moon fiddled with her clothes nervously and quietly walked over to Little Light. She gazed at their father bathed in light, normally the most animated one, but now at a loss for words.
Was this a farewell…
Or the beginning of a reunion?
Moon couldn’t make sense of it.
But she knew—
“Dad, you… will definitely save the world, right?”
In her eyes, her dad was a hero, an invincible great hero.
Twenty years ago, and twenty years later.
“I will, I definitely will. I promise, Moon.”
“Then, when you get back, you have to cook me steak… I love your steak.”
“Sure, I’ll make it with Mom for you.”
“Yay!”
Little Moon had opened her floodgates of chatter, bursting with things she wanted to say.
But she knew that the remaining time should be left for her sister.
Moon and Little Light both turned slightly so that Leon could catch Noia’s gaze by the door.
Noia stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
She looked into his black eyes, and then, she smiled softly.
“I’ll be waiting for you in the past, Dad.”
XX
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