Over 1500 years... Raizel missed everything. What did he feel? Right now, he felt hardly anything at all. Urokai had brought him to the small spaceship he and Zarga had at their disposal, offering space for five people. The doors muffled all sound from the rest of the ship, but the soft purr of the engines was well audible from the observation deck, offering a vast view on the sky before them. It felt so... empty. Each star was an own sun, Urokai had explained in his excited ramble about this new world they lived in. Each star an own sun, like the one he had known (no one lived in the solar system anymore. Earth was little but radioactive ruins and mostly sunken debris now). He could see so many... Urokai also had added a number, but Raizel found himself unable to imagine several million suns. Even he, in this moment, felt overwhelmed by the vastness of it all. The world he knew was the sun falling through the window, the rustle of the leaves in the forest surrounding the mansion. The world he knew was so small. Softly, he placed the tips of his fingers against the cold, thick glass of the large window before him. They were on their way to find Muzaka. From what he heard... his old friend had found happiness. He'd like to see it for himself. After so much pain, after so much loss... Muzaka seemed to have found peace.

Urokai, too, seemed to have found peace. He always has been lively, yet Raizel could not remember the last time he had seen such genuine cheer in the young noble. Not since he became the leader of his clan before his due time. It was all so strange... To hear what had become of the nobles, his former companions... A part of him needed to see with his own eyes.

The other part of him needed to see Frankenstein. An outlaw he may be, but he was still his bonded, the one human he had learned to cherish despite all the darkness, despite all the turmoil, against all odds.

"Paaaap – I'm bored." The ashen haired boy sat on a chair next to the stove, watching his father roll out dough. He was one among the few real bakers left. Unlike most places, he still sold hand-made goods. Even though Muzaka preferred to stick to a mostly carnivorous diet, like most werewolves, he still appreciated the appeal of pastries. Even back then... He gave his son a little shrug. "Well, make yourself useful, then. Is it my fault that it's summer break here right now?"
The boy groaned. "I will go watch the ships, then. Can't we go visit auntie Lunark earlier?"
"No. She got ministry stuff to do. And Lord stuff. Hey – if you go, take your sisters with you, will you?"
The werewolf boy rolled his eyes and slipped off the chair. "Fine – oh, hi Mom!"
Muzaka turned around to catch a glimpse of Garda. Something was... off. For the first time in long years, he could see concern on her face. "Everything alright?" He clapped his hands twice, flour rippling from his palms and fingers to the floor.
"Raizel has returned."

Raizel...? Muzaka was not even sure how to react to that piece of news. Garda would never joke about something like this. "Is he here?!"
"Yes."

"I hate this. Walls used to be better. You could just listen in and no one would notice." Now, these walls of steel, almost unbreakable glass and other fantastic materials.. it shielded too well. Urokai could see them from where he was stood, sat by one of the tables. What were they talking about? Actually, it was only Muzaka talking, and Urokai figured it could not be anything of real importance. The bakery was the first of the stations they visited with Sir Raizel. Muzaka, a familiar face, someone he knew, someone who meant much to him.
Gradeus was still somewhere out there, though Urokai wasn't aware of any leads pointing towards him. An outlaw on the run, far less famous and illustrious than Frankenstein. Lagus had lasted quite long, but got put down, eventually. To get to Edian meant to get to the Lord – no, Raskreia, she did not carry that title anymore. So only Roctis left... He needed to remember to call him.
"Hey, Zarga, I gotta take care of a thing." Stay cool. He didn't need to share his thoughts and concerns with him, he already knew the answer. Now that Sir Raizel was with his old friend... This was no matter he meant to discuss on board with him around. Besides, maybe... maybe Zarga shouldn't know either. Even after so many years, he still sometimes found himself thinking about it.

Urokai returned to their small ship alone, retiring to his room with the holographer. Establishing connection took almost ten minutes, but he knew that Bekenstein had a shit connection. Besides, maybe he was busy wrestling some chupacabra. Just as he meant to give up on trying to establish connection, the other end of the line picked up. There he was, in a simple dark green space suit, almost black, his hair tied back loosely. A monkey-like creature with purple fur and four large, black eyes sat on his shoulder, nibbling on a yellow fruit with red sprinkles.
"Hello Urokai. You didn't call in a while! Everything alright?"
"Yeah. The fuck is that on your shoulder...? Anyway. Guess who's back. Sir Raizel." He was met with a few moments of silence. The monkey-thing jumped off Roctis' shoulder and out of the frame of the transmission.
"The Noblesse?", Roctis repeated after a few moments. The quality of the hologram was rather poor, bad connection, but Urokai could swear that he had paled a bit.
"Yes. His coffin was recovered and he is with us now... shit. He has no idea of anything that happened."
"Does he know what we did?"
"That's what I meant to talk about. We gotta keep lying to him, don't we?"
"Yes. It's been more than a thousand and sixhundred years. It doesn't matter anymore."
"So we just lie to him? Is that what we are going to do?"
"Well, I am not going to do anything. He is with you. I know you hardly ever listen to anybody... but telling him the truth will bring nothing but grief. To him, to you, to us."
Urokai grit his teeth, hands shaking as he clenched his fingers into fists. His nails dug into his palms. Of course, Roctis was right and Zarga would say the same thing: no matter how much respect they might hold for Raizel, telling him the truth... telling him that everything was their fault... would bring nothing but grief. He swallowed.

"Hey, how about we visit you? Surely you can get us some sort of VIP access. I know that you and Kei are keeping the interesting shit in there."
"Hmmh... I will talk to him. I'll get back to you in a few days, does that sound good?"
Urokai nodded. "Okay. Fine. Sounds good. Oh.. and.. Roctis... you know, I'm glad you are out of prison. It's too bad you are not joining us."
"Obviously, I'm glad too. Come visit me from time to time, I think I can see myself doing this for a long time."

Urokai wondered whether he would leave it all behind once Ignes got released from prison, though that wouldn't happen before another four hundred years passed.

Zarga and Raizel returned to the ship almost three hours later and Urokai almost cussed them out for it - the wait was unbearable! Zarga carried a white box he could identify by the scent already. Muzaka had not let his friend leave without some pastries and other baked goods. Great! Hopefully Sir Raizel would decide to share with them. Though none of them needed food, there was no reason not to appreciate it anyway.

"Urokai. We decided to go and visit The Agora." The gigantic space station that also doubled as the largest city of the galaxy with a population of almost 14 million people. Seat of the galactic government and home to countless celebrities. Maybe they would even meet some familiar faces there. Urokai merely nodded.
"Sounds good to me. I also called Roctis, we could visit him at some point. "

Raizel paid little attention to their further conversation. The Agora... A single city holding so many people... Zarga had mentioned that the Lord would be there, even if she no longer carried that title. This world had changed so much... Even though he appreciated that his former companions were here by his side, even though he was glad to see Muzaka so happy... he needed to find Frankenstein.