"... build a kingdom. Where everyone... can live happily ever after," Roland echoed in confused thoughts when they, with heartbroken Evan, climbed out of the rotten catacombs, which caused Roland to be disgusted as a place that had become a damned tomb for a young girl.

Evan and Roland settled in a small secluded glade guarded by a dense thicket of trees. Weakened with the irrepressible tears of loss, Evan was sleeping quietly, his golden head was resting on a hard stone. Roland could not fall asleep for a long time because of confused thoughts, impressions, images swarming in his head. For a while he sat and watched Evan: periodically he sobbed in his sleep, two large tears rolled down his cheeks, a shadow of suffering and pain appeared on his face; but then one phase of sleep was replaced by another, Evan stopped sobbing, his face brightened, filled with peace and quiet. Roland carefully stroked the boy on the shoulder, lay down beside him and closed his eyes, trying to sleep, but the dream could not find sufficient depth and was more like some kind of non-stop rotation, like on a carousel. He opened his eyes - rustled above him and swayed from side to side of a tree branch, like a swing. Suddenly these swings fell and flew, carried away by the wind. There, far away. There is an edge, so clean, bright. There, the sea merges with the sky.

And on the seashore there were the outlines of a child with green eyes. It laid out yellow, blue, green shells in the sand. Seagulls fell from the rocks with a fierce and demanding cry of life, soared down to the very water, as clear, crystal-emerald as the eyes of a green-eyed child, playing peacefully on the shore. They touched the surface of the water with their wings and emitted a loud cry, and drops falling from the wings fell with pure tears back to the surface. Ah, how pure, how beautiful these tears are, how much freshness and life in them! To draw and drink from them without stopping. Seeing the singing-crying seagulls, the child threw shells into the sky - they turned into colorful birds. The child reached out to meet the birds, laughed joyfully and ran, squishing small legs on the water. Water and tears. Tears and seagulls. Tears and crystal. Emerald and life. Tears and life. Ah, how good! It is impossible to describe with words.

The child ran along the coast, but suddenly stopped. The light of the emerald died out in it, changing its color to the ominous scarlet in which the sky-clothed dressed, capturing the water surface in its veils. A huge flaming star was racing at the speed of light, swallowing everything around and leaving billowing ashes. It grew to gigantic proportions, capturing everything around. The seagulls rushed to meet the scarlet, claiming the rights of the emerald and pure tears of life, but they paid for it: the star singed their free wings, and they fell in a lump of ash into the now crimson water. And everything around has become ashes. The child burst into tears, the last tears of life poured from his emerald eyes, he rushed towards the water poisoned by fire and fell into the fatal waves. The waves scorched him and brought him to the surface, the shape of the child suddenly smoothly replaced by the shape of a beautiful green-eyed girl, whose helpless body of the wave carried further and closer to the center of the giant star. The giant star poured blood and became more and more. Suddenly her bloody color began to fade, and she herself turned into a large shining emerald-colored crystal ball.

The erratic whirling is over; Roland's mind pierced the light. It came from the depths of a thicket of trees. It seemed to be calling for him. Roland got up and followed to the light source. A ball of light suddenly took on the outline of a transparent image of a beautiful girl in a snow-white radiant robe. A crown of golden emerald stars rested on her dark hair. The image of the girl Roland seemed familiar, he came closer - and recognized her.

"Aranella!" He exclaimed.

The girl's green eyes were filled with the power of life, which Roland did not see, it seems, no one living on earth.

"Aranella, is that really you?" Roland remembered the exhausted and fragile body that he carried out of the dungeon. And now this girl is standing in front of him, radiating light around.

Aranella nodded.

"Do you dream me or are you a ghost?" Roland held out his hand to touch the girl's hand, but the hand passed through the light. "So a ghost ... But why did you appear to me?"

"Let's go for a walk?" Aranella smiled in response.

Roland and Aranella walked silently through the dense thicket of trees. Finally they reached the edge of a large mountain elevation, on which he and Evan stopped. Ahead, beyond the cliff, a canvas of the night sky, decorated with gold stars and a crescent spread. As they walked, silence did not break. From the moment Roland, in an unknown way after death, ended up in this world full of miracles, magic, amazing creatures and inhabitants, he began to gradually react on everything unusual as something ordinary and natural. Nevertheless, he was surprised at himself - the ability to relate to the paradoxical, inexplicable, as in his perished world, calmly by the arguments of reason and scientific laws. This usually happens in a dream.

For example, now he was walking with the ghost of Aranella - and this also seemed so natural. He could not explain to himself why he felt calm and easy with the Aranella's appearance. He feels the same only with a close and dear person or old friend, and he did not have time to get to know Nella any closer, as she died. He knew Nell as a defender, mentor, friend who replaced Evan's mother all day, and then in a hurry, in a panic, on the run, but it seemed to him that he had known Aranella for a long time.

Nella's gaze was fixed for some time in the distant night distance, then she turned to Roland and looked attentively at him.

"How are you feeling? How are your wounds?" She asked sympathetically.

"Huh?" Roland looked questioningly at the young woman. "Wounds? I do not feel pain. On the contrary, I am now in such relief that I have not experienced so long ago."

"You do not feel them, but with the dissipation of sleep charm and night, the dull pain will intensify again. Now the wounds will heal - and you will completely recover physically."

Indeed, the wounds received during the battles that Roland forgot about in the midst of mental anguish and worries about saving the young king were completely healed - and he felt completely light and well.

"My wounds have completely healed!" Exclaimed Roland enthusiastically, feeling a surge of strength in his body.

Aranella shook her head.

"You recovered physically. But there is another wound. It tooks root deep inside you, in your soul. This wound will grow over time and pierce your heart with icy cold and longing, you will fight, but do not give in to it!

Roland listened and did not understand what was going on.

"Roland, trust me and close your eyes," Aranella asked.

Roland closed his eyes. He didn't see, but felt that Nella came close to him, felt a warm touch on his forehead, as if a warming ray of the sun had fallen on him — it was the touch of her hand. Apparently, such a touch is characteristic of angels: the whole body and soul for a moment filled with pleasant warmth.

"Aranella, thank you," said Roland.

"Not at all," the girl bowed. "I just slowed down the process of spreading poison in your heart, but I did not eliminate it. Excuse me, please, this is the least I could do for you after what you have done and, I think, are doing."

"But what have I done?"

"Roland," Nella raised her eyes to Roland, "I want to thank you for saving Evan's life by risking your own, and not leaving him in difficult times." I don't know who you are, where you are from, my gratitude is so great that I would sacrifice my life again for your sake, without thinking.

Roland saw so much light and appreciation in Nella's shining eyes, his heart trembled.

""Nella, Nella, no, I ... " Roland moved to the girl to take her hand as a sign of reciprocal appreciation, but remembered that he could not touch her.

Aranella continued, this time with a prayer in her eyes.

"Roland, I know that you have done so much, sacrificed a lot, but I ask you: do not leave Evan, help him become a king and build a kingdom where everyone can live happily ever after, where everyone can smile." Promise me.

Her eyes were so close, they shone with life, they reflected so much inner purity and beauty, so much clarity that the words spoken from her lips, the contents of which would sound naive and childish (especially in the world from which Roland came from, where the concepts of goodness, faith, love were leveled and ridiculed to the category of utopian tales), did not seem so ridiculous and childish. They sounded like wonderful music. Moreover, they cannot be ridiculous from the lips of the one who sincerely believed in what she was striving for, and for this she voluntarily threw herself into an avalanche of fire and died.

Roland's internal resistance was almost broken, but suddenly a line of shadow lay on his forehead in a dark fold. A terrible picture of the death of his world and a fiery star appeared in his mind again.

"Nella, I wouldn't abandon and leave the boy alone, I managed myself to become attached to him in this short period of time, and I foresee that I will become even more attached. However," Roland bowed his head and turned away. "I can't ... I'm not worthy." I am not worthy of your words. I ..." - He sat on a stone and covered his face with his hands.

"Roland," Aranella went up to him and laid her hand on Roland's shoulder.

"I'm just a wrecked ship. My life is debris circling in the ashes - and nothing more. Do you know what happened to my world, where did I come from? He burned in a boiling cauldron of hatred and human greed. I tried to do something, I tried to restore peace and harmony, but history is ruthless to the human person. Fate was inevitable. Our world blindly, but purposefully walked into the fiery furnace. I lost everything: the country, the world, the son, the chance to fix something. I was thrown inside out by space and time. I don't know who I am and why I am here? Why did you have to die and fate did not give you a chance to survive, and I, a loser-president, miraculously regained my youth and was given another opportunity?"

"So maybe it's time to find out?"

Roland looked questioningly at Aranella.

"If you ended up here after death, it would be more logical to assume that this may be a chance to change something, challenge evil fate, build a kingdom where faith, goodness, joy and a smile will resist human enmity and will put an end to it?"Aranella suggested, looking at Roland, and it seemed to him that her eyes were looking straight into his soul.

"But is it possible?"

"Hurricanes of evil and darkness are raging around us, but there is a force opposing them and defeating them. It is within you, in your heart ... Evan's strength is in his kindness, and he will manage, he will be an extraordinary king who will change history. But he needs your help. Please help Evan.

Roland looked thoughtfully into the distance. Each word of Aranella and the soft, gentle sound of her voice revived him from the inside again, filled him with determination. What if it really is his calling to help change history, challenge evil? He is ready to challenge evil and fate. Let it be necessary to survive the defeat, but the main thing is to go the way of the heart, he is ready to go to the goal, go to the end, no matter how the circumstances arise.

"I agree. I will help Evan build a kingdom where everyone will live happily ever after. I will go with him to a victorious end," Roland said decisively.

"Roland, I believe in you. The main thing to remember: your strength is your heart. Take care of it."

The rustling branches picked up the melody of Nellan's voice and carried it through the leaves - and it disappeared into the air along with a miraculous image.

Roland came to his senses and found himself lying almost at the edge of the cliff, beyond which the sun could now be seen — this was the rise of great achievements, this was the dawn of hope and good. This is a new way.

And so they stand with Evan and watch the growing thin strip of light of the new dawn.

"So I really am in another world," Roland said, not taking his eyes off the horizon. "There's no Ding Dong Dell where I'm from. And no view like this either...".

"...What's it like...where you're from?"

- Hm. I guess it's...ahead of this world in some ways, and...behind in other.

"Nella used to tell me a store, you know. When I was little..." Roland looked at Evan with interest. – It was about another world. One very closely connected to our own...I always imagined it was just a fairy tale, but... I suppose there must have been some truth to it after all...

"So, I got...lost between two worlds and wound up here...? Does that mean...there's no way home...?

"Roland, what did you do there?"

"I was...a king," Roland said in a voice of irony.

"What?"

"Well, a president. It's kind of the same thing. Which means I have a little experience when it comes to running a country." concluded Roland.

"Really? Then perhaps you might be king enough to share some of it with me? Thing may not be quite the same here as in your world but still...". Evan thought.

"What exactly are you planning?" Roland turned to the essence of the conversation. "A quiet life in the mountains might not be such a bad idea, you know."

"No," Evan shook his head decisively. "I've made up my mind... I'm.. I'm going to keep my promise to Nella. I'm going to build a kingdom where everyone can live happily ever after!"

"You are, huh?" Roland smiled amiably and winked at Evan. "Good for you. I've my mind up too. I'm staying here, in this world. With you, Evan."

"You are?" Evan's face shone with enthusiasm, gratitude, and happiness.

And thus young Evan, though heavy of heart,resolved to honor the wish of his dearest friend by becoming a king once more. And Roland, sensing something special in his youthful companion, decided to join him in his journey.