The room was quiet except for the scratching sound of pen on paper. As the report came to an end, L-elf stood up, his chair was shortly pushed behind.
Arranging everything else in place, he called one of the subordinates to take the report to the current leader of the Third Galactic Empire – Sashinami Shoko, before walking out of the room that he had locked himself in for 5 hours straight, carefully closing the door behind his back.
The hands of the clock in the front yard of the parliament building pointed 10 p.m. Two guards saluted the advisor as he passed through the gate, nodding quickly.
The streets were almost empty by now, considering how late it was. Advertisement boards were still working, decorating the city with different colours. Under that light, L-elf walked and walked, to nowhere in particular. It was rare of him to space out like this, but today was a day that brought back memory. The same day 7 years ago, L-elf most precious person, Lieselotte, had forever slipped from his reach.
L-elf remembered locking himself in a storage room as his heart was frozen by the imagination of her falling into the rain of fire, not for 5 hours like he did today, but for 5 days straight (until he was forced outside). He had racked his brain for multiple possibilities in which he acted differently and Lieselotte could have survived, only to find out none existed. Sinking into the depth of despair, L-elf had fallen on his knees and hung his head in defeat, before laying down on his back motionlessly, in a room whose walls and ceiling were covered with his own hand-writing. Sometimes the door would open, and someone (mostly Haruto) would come in to say something, but their efforts were all in vain. That moment, L-elf had lost his reason for living.
L-elf's feet brought him to the centre park lighted by a few lampposts – the place surely bursting with noises every morning. But at an hour like this, it was strangely quiet that he could even hear his own footsteps. Beside them, the rustling of the falling leaves was the only sound left.
L-elf wandered around the park at night, thinking of Lieselotte. Even his new reason for living was also fulfilling her dream. After finding out she was the only Magius that wanted to 'create a path to coexistence' with human despite having to bear the curse of constantly losing Runes, L-elf decided to reveal the secret of the Council of 101 that caused it, removing their leadership of Dorssia, thus building a world in which human and other life forms such as Magius could live together in harmony.
He finally stopped to sit down on a bench where lamplight focused the most on. The light was so tender and warm, for a world without Lieselotte was as freezing as ice. His shadow, silent and lonely, lay on the ground under his feet. L-elf lifted his face up, staring into the light but looking back in the past.
Once he knew Lieselotte was a Magius, her collected attitude when they first met suddenly made sense: it was not like a Magius could die even from a deep wound in the neck due to their self-healing power. Lieselotte must have known she would survive no matter what L-elf did. Still, in the end his affection toward her didn't change – it couldn't even grow stronger since it had been infinite from the start. If it was the kindness she showed the young L-elf that had stolen his heart, then the love she had for mankind he knew of later had brought that heart with her to the grave. That was why even though Lieselotte would want him to live a happy life, L-elf simply couldn't fall for anyone other than her.
Oh, how he wanted to see her again...
"May I sit here?" – A female voice broke the silence around him, causing L-elf's breath to stop.
L-elf knew that voice so clearly. It belonged to the one that always appeared in his dreams – his most precious person whom he had lost 7 years ago.
"Liese...lotte... But... how?"
"You want to see me again, don't you?" – The princess looked him in the eyes affectionately – "Michael."
The moment his real name was called, time seemed to be frozen. Lieselotte sat down next to him on the bench, leaning her body against his side. L-elf extended his uncontrollably shaking arm to place it on her shoulder, pulling Lieselotte closer, while his other hand clasped one of hers tightly, their fingers interlaced.
"Lieselotte..." – He called that name again and asked, as the realization sank in slowly and painfully – "Is this... a dream? Are you... my imagination?"
"Doesn't matter." – She smiled sweetly – "Now that you have understood everything about me, even if I am your imagination, it is so identical that I am still the real Lieselotte."
That was true, L-elf thought. He leant his face against her head, allowing himself to indulge in the girl's presence and the memories of her flowing back to his mind.
After a long silence, she squeezed his hand – "I'm sorry, Michael, for leaving you alone on this tough journey, even though everything you have been doing was for me."
"Please don't say that, Lieselotte. It was my fault for making you wait for me all these years, yet could not protect you as promised." – L-elf could feel her body shiver, and it told him she was crying.
L-elf had never seen her cry before. Even though she had to deal with so much hardship, Lieselotte had never stopped being strong, which in turn became the motivation that pushed him forward. So it was fair for her to cry once in a while, wasn't it? L-elf thought as he tightened his hold on her shoulder, and used his other hand which never separated from hers to wipe away the tears running down her cheeks. Those gentle demeanours seemed to calm her down as she shook her head determinedly and asked.
"Tell me, Michael, how is the world right now? How close it is to your dream?"
"The world... is changing step by step." – He answered, remembering what had been done in his mind – "We have set many laws to communicate with different life forms, at the same time protect the happiness of the citizens..."
L-elf kept telling her for a while, and all the time Lieselotte only listened, occasionally nodding her head in agreement. The atmosphere between them was so soothing that he could genuinely enjoy the happiness of the moment – something L-elf had forgotten so long ago.
As L-elf finally stopped, Lieselotte stood up and turned around to face him, opening her arms widely as if trying to embrace the whole world.
"The world is changing so fast, isn't it? Society is created by human, therefore inherits the will of generations after generations. Old things slowly cease to exist except for inside books and people's memories, while new things appear and are often welcomed. Then new ones become old and the circle continues to spin."
Her eyes gazed far away at the beautiful moon above. It was now L-elf's turn to listen as Lieselotte went on with her thoughts.
"Human has short lifespans, and their bodies don't have the ability to heal themselves, so they are aware of the grief that death brings, which makes them hold life even dearer." – Her face bore a melancholic expression – "Human are truly amazing creatures. That's why we, Magius – who have infinite lifespans and fed on your memories in the form of Runes, bringing nothing but pain and loss, didn't have the right to trample on those feeling."
"You are always such a kind-hearted princess, Lieselotte."
"Not really. At first, being a Magius, I couldn't understand what love means to human." – Warmth filled Lieselotte's red eyes – "But now I can, thanks to you. The time we spend together was short, but I was really happy."
"And I have already loved you, a Magius." – L-elf smiled; he wondered how long it was since the last time he did that.
Lieselotte's eyes opened wide, then she giggled cutely and crossed her arms behind her back, lowering her face to the level of L-elf's.
"That sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it? An existence whose age had reached thousands fell in love with a prince charming who wasn't as old as one over hundreds of her age."
"You aren't just an existence, but a goddess to me; and I am no prince charming, just a wanderer that found his way again thanks to your light." – L-elf answered honestly – Lieselotte was, and would always be the light of his life, hence the word written on the back of her picture which always brought tears to his eyes upon looking at.
"But a goddess seems so far away, while I always want to stay by your side. I love you, Michael." – Grief started to form in her eyes and she held L-elf's hands in her own tightly again – "My only regret is that I didn't have the opportunity to tell you those words before leaving you alone."
L-elf also stood up, still facing the princess. His shadow was no longer lonely, for there was Lieselotte's standing next to it. Warm light covered both of them, helping L-elf see his reflection clearly in her glistening eyes.
At the same time he lowered his face, Lieselotte rose to bring their lips together in a gentle, unforgettable kiss. The world around them slowly blurred before their eyes closed completely, and they did not see, but sensed each other's figure. It was as if the two had lost in their own world where time stopped.
When their lips finally parted, the princess spoke again.
"It's time for me to go. Please, Michael, don't be sad." – She placed her hands on both of his cheeks, looking straight at his soul through his eyes – "Every dream has to come to an end, or they would no longer be beautiful. You understand that, don't you?"
"But the more beautiful, the crueller it is when I wake up and realize you are not by my side anymore." – L-elf wrapped his arms around her back, pulling Lieselotte to his embrace – "I can't promise you that I wouldn't be sad, but you can be assured that I would continue moving forward."
"I trust you." – She answered simply, leaning closer to his chest.
"Can I hold you like this until then?" – Tears had started to form and roll down his cheeks, the same as every time he looked at her picture. L-elf could feel her head nod slightly when she whispered, "That also what I want.", and he tightened his embrace, as if holding on to dear life. Warmth flowed from her body to L-elf's, wrapping gently around his throbbing heart.
Slowly, painfully, the presence in his arms vanished, slipped away into which seemed like another dimension where his hands could never reach.
"Lieselotte... Lieselotte!" – He screamed her name again like this day 7 years ago and fell on his knees, but this time L-elf knew he heard his loved one whisper a "Goodbye."
L-elf opened his eyes and realized he had dozed off on the bench in the same park as his dream. The clock in the centre of the park informed him it was already 00:05 a.m. by now.
The advisor felt a cool sensation on his cheeks in the shape of two lines, starting from his eyes. Remembering that dream, he whispered to the air, putting his faith in a baseless hope that his voice could reach the girl whom he held the dearest.
"Thank you."
Suddenly, a strong wind blew past him, lifting fallen leaves off the ground, causing them to fly around in circles, creating a swirl of green, yellow and red. In that swirl, L-elf seemed to have spotted a pink shadow pass by incredibly fast.
Smiling to himself, L-elf turned around toward the parliament building, leaving the lamplight behind as he walked away.