Grief
Somewhere far from the Orario. . .
"By the way Shine, you seemed distracted and restless in this past few days. . .Is there anything...?" Astraea questioned.
"Zetta. . ." Sunshine Rhea answers. . .
"Oh you fell in love with---"
"I flatly disagree in that regards, its not him that I'm worried the most"
"Hoh, then who?"
"Goddess, you check his Falna and you confirmed he is only a level-3"
"uhhm hm" Astraea nodded
"And you never ask how he defeated the dragon?. . ."
"!?!?!?!?!"
"Forget killing the dragon then, but how it let itself be killed by a mere level-3 when stronger ones failed to do so. . .isn't this sound suspicious?"
"R-right. . .now that you mentioned it, there's no way---" Astraea thinking clearly and somehow, a bell ring through her head.
"Lets say he had the power in his arsenal to kill that dragon. . .but something is bothering me, as if there is something within him that let the dragon gamble its own life. . ."
"Please make it short and understandable. Why would let itself be killed again?"
"If my guess is correct, the whole Orario will face deatruction by none other than him. . ."
▪︎▪︎▪︎
At the same time inside the Orario. . .
"Captain, you returned!?"
"Cap. . .tain"
As Zetta's arrival inside the Antares Mansion, he saw his Familia's surprised face and seem a bit lonely and dismay as they saw their captain.
He flashes through here as fast as possible as there is something that's been bothering him ever since. . .
"Goddess? where is she?"
Not saying a word of "I'm back", he kept his heart as hard as steel. Just their frantic expression alone and after seeing the forlorn face of his member, tells him that something is not right.
"That. . ."
Especially after he saw Rethusa's reaction, his heart pounded fast, enough to stop for a few seconds of beat, terror then crept out from the back of his body and shadows of worry filled his mind. His gut feel never fails him, afte all. . .
"Where is she!?" with a calm but coldblooded voice that could soffocate the girls, this time his voice is more like a growl.
"U-up, she's inside of Long Ran's room and is looking after her" realizing that his goddess is in good health, he sighs in relief but then his eyes grew big—
"What. . .did you say!?"
Inside the room of Ran? and looking at her?
With that thought in mind, he hastily sprinted towards the said room.
Successively opening the door but was locked from the inside, without a second thought he pierced it with his own finger, gripped them like that of a thin can and destroyed as if nothing.
For the record, who reconstruct their mansion is the Goibniu Familia. And as second to Hephaestus Familia for being a reknown blacksmith in the Orario, this familia's second occupation is a construction-type Familia. And because of this that the [Antares Mansion]'s materials, from dust to spoon; are meticulously pick by the said God himself.
So the door Zetta just destroyed is the high ranking wood-like metal from somewhere. Goibniu would cry his lungs out if he heard this news.
Zetta without wasting any time, arrived behind his Goddess and look at his bedridden companion.
Artemis is in terror noticing the man who destroys the door was her--- "Ze-Zetta-kun"
She startled but then started crying, seeing his deity is alive and well, Zetta immediately get ahold of the bedridden blood elf.
"Lets talk later my Goddess. For now—" as he saw his Familia member who he carried, realized that her whole body is now terraformed like that of a tree trunk. swallowing back his tears, he asks.
"Ran?" With a soft voice, he princess carrry her and leaped out of the room with her body, aside from her head, covered in blanket.
CRACK——!
He felt it, every time he moved, Ran's body created a sound of as if someone is slowly destroying a piece of dry leaves near his ears. . .tearing the blood elf apart.
And as if the person in question; the snow white felt the same nostalgic sensation, Ran opened her eyes even though it also transformed just like her body but still saw him pretty clearly, her beloved captain. . .is here within her grasps.
"You're awake?"
While saying so, Zetta landed below ground and took off an orb of emerald glittered light while forcing himself to smile. But deep down inside, the seemingly unendless nails are stabbing his very heart.
But as the light itself covers her whole body as the orb is destroyed at the same time, Zetta is at lost because nothing happens. He franrically took off another orb out of his inventory "This time for sure" he muttered but---
"I felt it—captain. As if revitalize, he he, you wanted to help me right? I sure know but this?. . .this is my fate" Ran's voice made him stop what he's doing.
The word 'fate'---
---Did Zetta from the back of his mind, heard the crystal cracking sound as the shadow-like hand slowly crawling behind his back, wanted to take him over.
But before his mind completely becomes desolated—a simple stroke coming from the girl of his embrace pulled him out from that darkness, and light illuminate his mind overwhelming the former.
He felt like someone was scratching his cheek and felt ticklish, he wouldn't mind at all because he knew it was only a trunk-like hand of Ran who is slowly stroking his soft cheek.
"Eh he he I'm happy right now, captain"
"W-why so?" He clearly sensed it; in his throat theres something clearly stopping him from swallowing his own saliva—That the word he spew stutters in return.
"Nothing" but contrary to what he currently feels.
The girl in front of him.
The girl who he wants to live.
Has a big wide smile looking elated, as if she is the happiest girl in the world.
"W-why, why you are...still happy? I don't get it at all" he couldn't help but a drop of tears slowly coming out of his eyelids, asking the question as her reaction is too confusing in this situation.
She muttered a word. In which made him even more confused; happy seeing her smile, sad seeing her agonizing, lonely and any emotion that in a normal circumstances shouldn't be mix within. But alas, in his heart and mind, all of them are spiralling together, becoming one. . .
"ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
After that, the only one remaining in front of him, is a blanket, her clothing and the ashes that hasn't yet to be lifted by the breeze.
Her captain, gritted his teeth and laughed aloud while hugging the empty blanket as he grieve in silent but has dreary expression.
After Long Ran died within his own embrace as if she was only holding her life until seeing him as her final destination.
Long Ran's body, peeled off and destroys like that of a dried leaves because of the 'seed' caused by the plant type Demi-Spirit, Revis.
He couldn't or even they(Airmid and Riveria) coudn't take it off away from her mortal body as it's already been sown the moment it latched, a disease is what according to Airmid.
The seed whose slowly crept inside her mortal body, transforming like that to a dry wood herself—she slowly losing her strength in the process, her lifespan; and during then that she is beyond curable.
She isn't cursed because if she really does. It still possible for Airmid and Riveria's synchronization heal to cure any cursed but alas, hers is a disease that no one knows its effect. A phenomenal disease that Airmid find it impossible to cure
Even Zetta's [Orb of Life] cannot cure Ran, only—wasted in which, Ran herself stops his wail with simple caress of his face; thanking him "So, this is what they called, Love"
Is what she mutters until she withers completely. . .
As he later learned that she cling at the very end waiting for his triumphant return against the dragon, but at the same time worried that he never got back before she completely returned to dusts—made him even more heart broken.
---thanks to [Fated to Perish] from the dragon curse, did Long Ran's died just like this--- not even her corpse remained.
Realizing that he still cursed, he didn't look at his Goddess who came in and the sole witness of Ran's final moment.
Carried by her hellhound, she follows her two children. ..
Zetta at the same time stands up and wiped off his tears and departed, directly straight towards the Loki Familia's [Twilight Manor].