A YEAR LATER

Within a small, squared room, only darkness rested. Flickering candle had long since stopped burning, and only sign of life was faintly heard breathing of two souls sitting opposite of one another. Shortly after, besides the breathing, their quickened heartbeats echoed gently against the stone walls of the chamber, slowly shifting into unified rhythm. As though preordained, the two opened their eyes at the same time, light within them flickering brightly.

Lynne raised his arm gently and flicked his finger, causing a small, burning sphere to appear, illuminating the room. His eyes quickly landed on Thalia, who appeared even more refined and mature than the last time he saw her. Her aura and visage seemed more distant, more inapproachable, as if she would never be caught – not by him or anyone else.

“… you broke through.” Lynne muttered, smiling. “Congratulations.”

“Can’t say the same for you,” Thalia said, smirking. “What happened big guy? Why’d you drop the ball?”

“Ugh, shut up…” Lynne grunted. “It was harder than I thought.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep on protecting you then.”

“… looks like you’ll have to.”

“Wow. No sarcastic retort? No attempted banter?” Thalia said, somewhat shocked. “What the fuck happened during the past nine months?”

“… oi, don’t define my character by the things I do when paired with you.”

“Or other people?”

“Or other people.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Thalia said, getting up and stretching slowly. “You’ll get there eventually.”

“Yeah, I suppose I will,” Lynne said, likewise stretching. “It’s not as though I haven’t gotten stronger, so it’s fine for now. Shall we?”

“Eh?”

“What ‘eh’?”

“A year of nothing, and you’re not jumping me like a beast in heat? Seriously, the hell happened?”

“… I’m saving myself for our wedding night.” Lynne said, smirking.

“Ah, so you’re willing to wait a hundred years. How noble of you.”

“… on second thought, I’m not that noble of a character. Let’s do it.”

“Too late now,” Thalia said, chuckling. “You missed your chance.”

“Ah, poor me.” as Lynne blinked, he felt softness assail his lips as Thalia’s arms wrapped around his back. They remained so for nearly a minute before parting their lips after which Thalia buried her head into his chest gently.

“Missed you.”

“Likewise. Is it me or has your ass grown thicker?”

“Question is, why are you feeling up my ass all of a sudden?”

“Dunno. Felt like it.”

“Your beard tickles. Just a bit more, and you’ll look like an old sage.”

“Oh? So it suits me perfectly, then.”

“Well, one way or another, everything suits you perfectly…” after a moment’s pause, both sighed and shook their heads as they chuckled.

“Alright, we’ll just pretend you never said that,” Lynne said as he pushed her sideways, taking her hand into his and intertwining their fingers. “Now let us walk into the outside world gallantly and present ourselves to our subjects!”

“I’d rather take a bath first, to be honest.”

“Oh, good point.”

A moment later, a space tore open before the two as they stepped into the tunnel, quickly finding themselves in Lynne’s chambers towards the top of the Tower. It was exactly the same as he had left it, besides the fact that it had been gathering dust for the past year. After coughing for a bit, he flung the window open, letting the fresh air squeeze the year worth of mold that had gathered.

“Ho ho, look who’s back,” a familiar, elderly voice echoed out as a figure appeared through the window. “You rested enough?”

“Aah, why is your face the second I see after leaving the seclusion?” Lynne grunted. “Where is my sister? Or some other beautiful lady?”

“I know you lust after other women often, but I’m surprised you are bold enough to proclaim it in front of your fiance!” the Principal said, chuckling. “Congratulations, you two.” a breath later, two more figures appeared through the tears in space, Y’se and Parsia, who hadn’t changed at all since the last year.

“Oh, you didn’t die. Too bad.” Parsia said.

“You didn’t leave. Good.” Lynne said, smiling.

“Oh? You broke through Thalia?” Y’se pointed out, exclaiming softly in surprise. “Not bad, not bad. So, why don’t you dump this useless brother of mine and join my harem?”

“Oh, tempting. I will consider your offer.” Thalia said. “Thanks.”

“Is it me, or did we step into some alternate universe where none of my supposed friends are happy to see I survived?” Lynne thought out loud.

“You’re like a cockroach,” Parsia said. “Annoying and near-immortal. Worrying about you is pointless.”

“… I don’t like how you’ve learned to mix insults with compliments. Y’se, he’s supposed to be innocent, straight man to our ridiculous antics. Now I’ve got to find a new one.” Lynne grunted.

“Ah, I just thought I’d teach him the ways.” Y’se said.

“It’s fine,” Thalia joined in. “This way, we have more artillery to bomb you with.”

“Ah, I’m back, cruel and merciless world…” Lynne sighed, sitting down. “Let’s drink while you tell me what happened this past year. Old guy, leave.”

“Technically, I’m still younger than your sister.” the Principal said, stroking his beard.

“Ouch.” Lynne said. “That hurt even me.”

“Oh? You think your big sis is ashamed of her age? It just means I’ve got tons of experience.”

“Somehow you don’t look the part.” Thalia said casually.

“I know, right?” Lynne joined in, rejoicing there was another target for verbal abuse. “Everything about her, well, besides her tongue, speaks purity, right?”

“… are you really interested in listening to your sister’s bedtime stories?” Y’se asked, smirking.

“… yup, now that you mention, let’s not do that. Anyway, let’s drink and talk. My throat is itching for it.”

“Here,” Y’se flicked her sleeve, causing five bottles of Heavenly Ale to appear, each one floating over to one of the five. They sat onto the floor in a rather random fashion and drank a gulp before continuing to talk. “A heap of things happened while you were away, actually.”

“… how much can happen in a year, let’s be honest?” Lynne said. “Wait, let’s pretend I didn’t say that. It just sounds like a set-up for a bad joke that will punch me in the face.”

“Oh, you’re learning.” Parsia said. “Anyway, in terms of outside influences, there had been no major movements surrounding us.”

“Good. What about Beastkin?”

“We’ve either killed them, or they’ve fled out of the Wastelands,” Y’se said. “Some may still be hiding. After all, even I can’t cover every inch of this damned thing in just a year.”

“You were probably just slacking off, but whatever,” Lynne said, shaking his arm. “How’s rebuilding going?”

“Well, our first city is finally starting to resemble an actual city,” the Principal said. “And we’ve established majority of the necessary buildings already, such as Guilds, Marketplace, Library, Craftsmanship Corner and so on. We still haven’t been able to move the entire population to live in the city, though, so that’s our next goal.”

“Has there been any unrest?” Thalia asked as she drank a bit.

“Nothing major, just a few scuffles,” Y’se replied. “All things considered, this past year has been much more peaceful. Speaks to the quality of the actual King and the stand-in King.”

“Low blow,” Lynne said, furrowing his brows. “Anyway, that can’t be all. What about the Academy? Did you start enrolling the students?”

“We decided to go with the Sect,” Parsia said. “And yeah, we have, for two months now. So far, we’ve accepted roughly 10,000 Disciples in total and, with the help of Principal and some other figures, we have just enough materials to keep it running for now.”

“Oh, we’ve also held the celebratory tournament,” Parsia said as he suddenly shuddered. “Regrets were many. Anyway, one of the prizes for the first place was personal meeting and guidance from our beloved, astounding King.”

“Me?” Lynne asked.

“No, the other King.” Y’se said. “Anyway, the meeting is three days from now. It’s a fifteen year old girl, but you’re not allowed to assault her.”

“… honey, you do realize that they’re indirectly criticizing you here, right?” Lynne said as he turned to Thalia. “They all think I’m so sexually frustrated because you can’t satisfy me.”

“No, we really don’t.” Parsia, Y’se and the Principal said at the same time.

“Looks like they don’t, honey.”

“Ah, whatever. I guess I can meet her, no harm no foul, right? What have the monkey and our other cretin companions been up to?” Lynne asked.

“Scouting south.” Parsia said.

“Hm, at least they were doing something profitable,” Lynne said. “I’ll probably be heading down there within a month. After all, there’s only a six or so months left until my promise with that creepy dude in the mainland.”

“… wow, you’re really quick to abandon your post as the King. It’s kind of amazing, when you think about it.” Thalia said.

“… now that you mention it…”

“Oi, it’s not like I want to! There are just some more important things to be taken care of!” Lynne exclaimed hurriedly.

“And the award for the most unreliable King goes to…” Parsia muttered, gulping down the rest of his bottle.

“Khm, anyway, I got the gist of things. Good job everyone, and thank you.” Lynne said, changing subject.

“No problem,” another voice answered instead as Fyre shot through a space tunnel and appeared in the room. “Hello.”

“… that was probably the most random appearance anyone has ever made in the history of everything.” Lynne commented casually.

“Thanks.” Fyre said. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“I guess I owe you one.” Lynne said, sighing. “What’s up?”

“My disciples are kind of desperate to meet you.”

“… aren’t you ashamed as a Master?”

“You don’t have to point it out.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, will you?” Fyre asked directly.

“Yeah, bring them three days from now. I’ll meet them alongside that other whatever girl. Man, fame is exhausting…”

“… then why are you grinning like an idiot?” Thalia asked, poking his cheek.

“Shut up. It’s instinctual reaction. I’ve never been this popular before.”

“Yet, your ego only kept growing since the day I met you.” she said, smiling.

“That’s not the only thing---”

“Okay, that’s it then,” Y’se interrupted as she got up. “You two get some rest. The rest of us still have things to take care of.”

“… tsk, and I thought it was a cool line,” Lynne mumbled into his jaw, drinking the last of his Heavenly Ale. “To be cut short like that.”

“You can tell me when they leave,” Thalia leaned onto his shoulder, chuckling lovely. “Although I’ll probably burst out in laughter.”

“… do you love me, or do you love insulting me? Choose woman, choose!”

“Why not both?”

“Oh, like me and your tits?” by now, everyone except the two of them had departed.

“Wait, didn’t you tell me you prefer left over right?”

“How could I ever separate Sarah and Sena? I’d be a fool! A fool I tell you!”

“… I can endure you naming my tits. Just tell me you didn’t name anything else.”

“…… I haven’t.”

“That’s one hell of a long pause.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“I better be,” Thalia said, smiling. “Otherwise I’m naming your little friend down there, and it ain’t gonna be pretty.”

“Oh please, as if you haven’t named him yet. You probably named it even before you saw it.”

“Well, you got that right.” she slumped sideways slightly, landing onto his lap, closing her eyes in comfort. “This will be one of the few moments we’ll have to ourselves for a while, won’t it?”

“Yeah,” Lynne said, stroking her hair gently. “But it’s their rarity that makes them---yeah, I can’t say it. We’ve gotten way too cheesy recently. It’s time to tone it down.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Thalia asked.

“Sex.”

“…”

“Eh, I figured I’d give it a shot.”

“You can shoot later tonight. For now, let me have this.”

“… thank you.”

“Why are you crying?”

“You can never understand man’s feelings when he gets permission for sex. It’s as though every bit of pain just disappears.” Lynne said, smiling brightly as he looked down, their eyes meeting.

“Wow. I never knew my vagina had healing properties.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

“… ‘kay, this conversation went in a weird direction.”

“Isn’t that how all our conversations are, though?” Lynne asked, his hand moving from stroking her hair to her cheeks.

“Yeah, I suppose they are.” Thalia said, chuckling. “I don’t which you I prefer. This idiot right now, or the idiot when the fight starts.”

“… so I’m an idiot either way, huh?”

“Things will escalate from now on,” Thalia said, sighing. “How’d we get entangled into this shit?”

“Oh well, nothing we can do about that. First things first; let’s go take that bath.”

“… ah, you’re really like an impatient dog, aren’t you?”

“… fine, you go take that bath. I’ll wait here, like a patient dog.”

“So you’re a dog either way, huh?”

“… yeah…”

Preparations had already begun outside the Tower, inside the official Palace of the Skyfire Paradise. It was a massive building, similar to one in Edgemaw, constructed to be far more than just King’s home. It even extended directly into the Sect’s grounds and many other parts of the city via aerial bridges, making it look like an architectural marvel more so than anything else. Three days from now was a promised day for youths; although only one would get personal guidance, all of those who had participated in the tournament will be there and see their King with their own eyes, hoping to confirm all the legends surrounding his name.