The night wind blew with a colder tone now.

Twilight had completely dissipated, and the sky above was a vast dark ocean dotted with ancient stars.

The tree under which Kael and Yggdrazil stood cast a deep shadow—alive, pulsating, as if breathing alongside them.

Kael was still standing, looking at the Witch Kingdom in the distance.

The towers gleamed in shades of green and gold, like flames in glass.

It was a place so full of life... and, at the same time, so fragile in the face of the chaos growing beyond its borders.

Yggdrazil slowly rose, her ethereal cloak made of translucent leaves moving in the breeze.

The glow of her body was soft, as if part of her belonged to another plane—and, in fact, it did.

"You have much to do, Kael Scarlet," she said at last, her voice calm but firm.

"And little time to do it."

Kael didn't answer immediately.

He just watched the lights dancing in the distance, as if searching in them for an answer that the universe seemed to deny him.

Finally, he sighed, his hands in his pockets.

"That's what everyone tells me."

"Because it's the truth."

He turned, meeting her gaze—that deep, ancient, almost hypnotic green.

"Become strong again, Kael. Before the world needs you again."

The laugh that escaped him was brief, humorless.

"'Become strong again'? I never stopped. I've been doing this all the time, ever since I left Azalith.

But it's as if there's a wall in front of me—an invisible wall that screams at me to stop."

Yggdrazil tilted her head slightly, studying him. "And perhaps you should listen to it."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to give up?"

"No," she replied softly. "I'm telling you to rest."

Kael sighed, looking back at the horizon. "Rest… it's not an option for me."

"Yes, it is," she insisted, taking a step closer. "You may have been forged by your mother's primordial magic, Kael. But that doesn't change the fact that you're still human."

The words hung in the air, firm yet gentle.

Kael looked away, his jaw tense. "Human, huh… Sometimes I wonder if that's still true."

Yggdrazil smiled—not ironically, but tenderly.

"It is. And that's precisely what makes you different from the others. You feel too much, you care too much… and that's why you carry so much weight."

Kael crossed his arms. "And what do you want me to do with that?"

"Use the humanity that remains in you to find balance. Neither strength nor magic is enough if the heart that guides them is exhausted."

He was silent for a while. The wind rustled the leaves, and the sound mingled with the distant murmur of the river waters.

Finally, Kael took a deep breath, and his eyes returned to gaze at the Witch Kingdom—as if the simple act of looking at that place kept him grounded.

"I can't stop now, Ygg. There's still so much to do."

She nodded slowly.

"Then do it. But do it wisely. The world doesn't just need warriors… it needs survivors."

Kael let out a small laugh through his nose, a hoarse, tired sound. "You sound like my mother."

Yggdrazil turned her face to him, curious. "Is that a compliment?"

Kael shrugged, smiling subtly. "It depends on the day."

For an instant, the air seemed lighter.

But the quiet didn't last long. Yggdrazil crossed her arms and observed him with an evaluative gaze—as if silently pondering something. "You need to go, Kael," she said, after a few seconds. "There are things waiting for you. Paths only you can walk."

He nodded slowly.

"I know. I just… I don't know where to start yet."

"You'll figure it out. You always do."

Kael sighed. "You talk as if you know more than you're telling me."

"And I do," she replied simply. "But some truths lose their power when they are revealed before the right time."

Kael rolled his eyes. "Classic you."

"Effective," she retorted with a small smile.

He started to take a step away, but Yggdrazil raised her hand. "Wait. Before you go… we still have something to settle."

Kael stopped, turning slowly. "What now?"

"A bet," she said, raising an eyebrow, amused. "Do you remember?"

Kael blinked, confused for a moment—until the memory came, vivid as a burst of mana.

"You…" he began, crossing his arms, "…made me promise to protect Sylphie."

Yggdrazil nodded, her smile growing. "And I said that if you managed to keep that promise until the moment she was ready to be taken back to the roots, I would pay you."

Kael narrowed his eyes. "You did say that."

"Well then," she replied, with an almost mischievous expression. "You fulfilled your part. You protected Sylphie.

She is alive, safe, and flourishing more than I could have imagined. Therefore…"

Kael sighed, a half-smile appearing.

"You really take these things seriously, don't you?"

"Ancient promises carry weight," Yggdrazil replied. "Especially when they are made between beings who understand the power of words."

Kael stepped forward, curious. "And what exactly did I win in this bet?"

Yggdrazil crossed her arms, the mischievous smile slightly curving her lips.

She tilted her face to the side, observing Kael with that gaze that oscillated between the divine and the human—the kind of look that made even the air around them seem to waver.

"So you really forgot, didn't you?"

Kael blinked, frowning. "Forgot what?"

She raised her eyebrows, feigning indignation. "What you asked for, of course."

"What I asked for?" Kael raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Are you saying that, in the middle of all that confusion, I made a request?"

"You did." The answer came accompanied by a light laugh—a musical sound, like leaves whispering to each other.

Yggdrazil watched him with a mixture of amusement and slight provocation.

Kael crossed his arms, staring at her. "And what was it that I asked for, then?"

"Oh, no." She raised a finger, shaking it lightly. "I won't tell you. I want to see if your memory is as sharp as your tongue."

Kael let out a sigh, putting his hand to his chin.

"Okay. Let's see… When was that again?"

"When you asked me to entrust Sylphie to you."

Kael narrowed his eyes, thinking. The wind blew softly, and the distant sound of crickets filled the silence between them. He remembered the night—the flames of the ritual, her voice echoing like a living forest.

But what had he asked for...?

Nothing. His mind was blank.

"...I don't remember."

Yggdrazil gasped, putting her hand to her chest, feigning astonishment.

"How can you not remember?!"

Kael shrugged, impassive. "It was months ago. I was exhausted, bleeding, and a living tree was giving me orders. Forgive me if some detail escaped me."

She pursed her lips and pouted—an unexpected gesture for such an ancient entity.

"You're cruel, Kael Scarlet."

He raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh. "Cruel? Because I don't remember something I probably said when I was practically unconscious?"

"That's not it," she retorted, turning her face away in feigned hurt. "It's because you forgot about me."

Kael blinked, confused.

"...What?"

Yggdrazil turned back to him, with that sly smile that seemed to gleam in the moonlight.

"You don't remember, but what you asked for as a reward... was me."

Kael fell silent. For a moment, the wind seemed to stop.

"Wait," he said, his tone somewhere between incredulous and amused. "I asked for you?"

"Yes."

She answered naturally, as if stating the obvious.

"Word for word: 'If I have to choose, I choose you.'"

Kael put his hand to his face, massaging his temple.

"Why would I say something like that..."

"Because you were being sincere," she replied, with a playful glint in her eyes. "And perhaps a little audacious."

"Or delirious with exhaustion," he murmured.

"Or... both."

Kael snorted, looking away to hide the almost imperceptible blush that rose to his face.

"So... tell me, Ygg. What exactly does it mean that I asked for you?" She leaned slightly towards him, her red hair flowing like living fire over her shoulders.

"That depends on you," she said, her voice soft and melodious. "I didn't quite understand the 'wanting me' part either; was that a marriage proposal? Well, I would marry you."

Kael froze in place.

For a second, he truly believed he had misheard.

The wind seemed to vanish. Time—that same time that stubbornly kept running—stopped.

"Excuse me," he said slowly, blinking, trying to process it. "You… said marriage?"

Yggdrazil looked at him as if discussing the most trivial of matters. "I did."

"Marriage… with me?"

"Exactly."

Kael ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long, incredulous sigh. "Of course. Because it's completely normal for an ancient entity, guardian of the roots of the world, to appear at night and propose marriage to a weary mortal."

"You are not an ordinary mortal, Kael Scarlet," she replied calmly.

"That doesn't change the fact that this sounds like madness."

"Madness and destiny often get confused," Yggdrazil said, with a half-smile. "Besides, you're the one who asked me. I'm just… being consistent."

"I didn't ask to get married," he replied quickly. "I asked—" He stopped, frowning. "Okay, technically I said 'I choose you,' but that doesn't mean—"

"—that there was no feeling in the words?" she finished softly.

Kael swallowed hard. "You like turning everything against me, don't you?"

"I like hearing you stumble over yourself trying to deny the obvious."

He sighed, tilting his head back and looking at the sky. "Obvious to you, maybe. I was just trying to…"

"Save someone who wasn't even your responsibility?" she interrupted, crossing her arms. "Yes, I know. And yet, when you had the chance to ask for anything, any power, any secret in the world, you asked for me. Me."

Kael lowered his gaze. Yggdrazil's eyes shone as if they contained a thousand forests, each one alive, breathing and watching.

There was something unsettling there. Something impossible to refute.

"…maybe I just followed an instinct."

"Instincts are more honest than promises," she said.

Kael was quiet for a moment. The silence between them was almost palpable—not heavy, but dense, as if the air was waiting for something to happen.

"So what you're saying," he murmured, "is that, because of a sentence spoken in a moment of chaos, you're taking me seriously enough to… marry me."

Yggdrazil smiled—a calm, unperturbed smile.

"I'm not saying I'm going to marry you. I'm saying I would marry you."

Kael frowned, intrigued.

"Is there a difference?"

"There is. The first is an action; the second, a truth."

"A truth…" He chuckled, shaking his head. "You speak in riddles even when you're flirting."

"That's because you think too much," she replied. "I just feel."