"Since you've also lost a part of your soul, will that cause any aftereffects?"
I couldn't help asking. The outcome was entirely foreseeable. As a sliver of soul separated from Cyrae, Cylaren might be kept stable in terms of her light-puppet body with Cyra's help, but in terms of long-term survival she would surely be far worse off than Gisphrael. She wouldn't last long before disappearing.
That also meant that even if we ever managed to reopen a portal to Earth, Cyrae's soul would never be truly whole again. And the consequences of a missing soul fragment were undoubtedly serious—even if it was only a tiny portion, the long-term effects over years and decades were impossible to predict.
Cyrae clearly hadn't expected me to suddenly pivot to this question. She froze for a moment, then hesitantly shook her head and replied with optimistic calm:
"…It should be fine, I think. As for the effects of soul loss, I can't find any related records in Lady Elara's inherited memories. At least from my own experience so far, I haven't noticed anything unusual. Besides, after coming to this world with you, I've met so many important people from the past again—so even if something does happen later, I won't have any regrets."
Her confidence eased a lot of my worries. But my question also reminded her of things back on Earth, and she couldn't help murmuring with a hint of nostalgia:
"At this point, Cylaren has probably almost completed her final mission. I'm sure Cyra has successfully taken over my work and is living peacefully on Earth with Raydwin…"
"As if it's that easy," I said, completely unconvinced. "And that girl can't compare to you. If you hand all your companies over to her, she'll probably burn through the assets in a few years."
Before we parted, I'd had the vague sense that Cyra's attitude toward Raydwin had softened a little, but for the two of them to truly end up together would still take time.
And thinking about it—Cyrae had now met Elara. Her late husband's soul had been placed safely into this world's Cycle of Rebirth. In principle, every goal she'd had for coming here had already been achieved, so I couldn't help feeling curious about what she planned to do next.
"Of course I'm going to rejoin the angel race," Cyrae said. "I've already discussed it with Lady Elara. After she returns to Edenmere, I'll go back under Cyra's identity and help her manage all angel affairs in the primary world. Then, after another ten-plus years, I'll search for my husband's reincarnation—so we can be together again."
As she spoke, a bright smile spread across her face. It was obvious she'd already planned everything out—she'd even drafted a timeline spanning decades.
"But once your husband reincarnates, he definitely won't remember you. And what if he reincarnates as a woman?" I asked instinctively.
The moment the words left my mouth, I realized how foolish I sounded. An angel at Cyrae's level, with high-tier light-element magic, could restore memories through magic if she needed to. And given her past experiences… would her husband's future gender really be a problem?
Before Cyrae could answer, a voice suddenly came from behind us:
"Lady Reed—wait for me! I'm the assistant His Majesty personally assigned to support you. Don't run so fast—whatever trouble you have, I can help!"
We turned around and saw it was Alfred.
He and Reed had just come out from another exit on the far side of the palace platform. Alfred was holding a thick stack of blueprints and documents—it looked like they were handling official business together. After all, several floors below were offices for high-ranking royal officials; at this hour, it was still possible to catch someone on duty.
Reed, however, looked thoroughly annoyed that Alfred kept trailing her. But Alfred was a certified high-tier warrior—not someone she could easily shake off. The moment she stepped outside, she spread her wings and shot straight up into the dark sky, instantly leaving the "tag-along" far behind.
"Ah…" Alfred sighed.
He couldn't fly, so he could only watch Reed's figure vanish into the night, his shoulders slumping in frustration.
Reed had left in such a hurry she hadn't noticed Cyrae and me in the garden nearby. But once Alfred regained his bearings, it wasn't hard for him to spot us.
"Feliciana? And… Cyra? What are you doing here?"
"Couldn't sleep, so we came out for a walk," I answered honestly. Then I pointed at the documents in his arms and asked with curiosity, "What are those? Why didn't you put them away? And why are you here?"
Only then did Alfred realize what I meant. He hurriedly crouched down to store everything into his storage ring while answering:
"Didn't Adrian want Reed to help produce ammunition? That requires some special rare magic materials, and the approval process is complicated. I remembered a high-level meeting had just ended, and the supply official probably hadn't left the palace yet, so I brought her here at night to submit the request."
So it was related to Adrian's weapon resupply. I naturally didn't press further—but after hearing Alfred's explanation, Cyrae's eyes flicked with sudden interest, as if she'd caught a scent.
"If it's work, you should've clocked out and gone back to rest already. Tonight's meeting was an emergency session about preventing Michelle from invading again—it's not part of the normal routine. So… are you actually into Reed?"
Cyrae didn't even try to be subtle—she bluntly exposed Alfred's hidden intentions in one breath.
I was startled, but after thinking it over… it really did seem possible.
Even if Alfred and Reed hadn't had many chances to interact, this wasn't their first meeting. They'd crossed paths as far back as the Parristol battle, so it wasn't strange if something had grown out of repeated contact.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Alfred denied it immediately, trying hard to explain himself. "Reed is an angel—there's no way anything could happen between us. Besides, I'm not some royal noble descendant. Our status is far too different… I just admire her research attitude, and I want to understand her and her work better. And anyway—this is my assignment right now!"
Even as he smiled, a trace of bitterness still crept into the corners of his mouth.
"Who said you have to be a royal noble?" I clicked my tongue slightly.
I couldn't help noticing how deeply rooted these "status" ideas were in this world—even Adrian had them. They probably weren't easy to change. And honestly, Reed didn't seem to have any romantic interest at all.
Still, the truth was there was an opportunity. Ammunition production needed to happen in the primary world, where light-element concentration was relatively low, so Reed would likely remain in the Astralrealm Kingdom for a while. The two of them might work together for quite some time.
But if Alfred kept stubbornly following her around as the king's "assistant," he might suffer for it. Whether he would truly give up after being worn down… was anyone's guess.
A night passed…
The next morning, after breakfast with Adrian, we soon received a reminder sent by Elara. Only then did I remember we'd agreed to report to her office today with Adrian.
The moment we stepped inside, we found the office wasn't occupied by Elara alone.
"Long time no see. I finally found you two."
The Sage Alliance's astrologer, Meredith, was already waiting inside. She smiled and greeted us.
"So it's you?"
So the person Elara said wanted to see Adrian… was Meredith. I'd already heard she'd arrived, but I still hadn't expected her purpose to be us.
"Because you vanished for a long time inside the Empire's territory, and then the otherworld human invasion happened," Meredith explained. "It was difficult to track your whereabouts. This time, we finally contacted you through Lady Elara."
Since we were old acquaintances, Meredith exchanged a few pleasantries and briefly asked about our past months on Earth. Then she gradually steered the conversation to the point:
"The person I'm really here for is Adrian—so, Adrian, do you remember your latest identity?"
"If I remember correctly, it's 'Fate Breaker,'" Adrian answered.
From the look on his face, the Sage Alliance's visit didn't seem minor. He frowned slightly, then asked with visible concern:
"What is this about?"
"Fate Breakers have the power to alter a fixed future," Meredith said, her expression turning solemn. "So of course we're here because of an impending major crisis. To be blunt, this crisis concerns the entire continent—and even the future of humanity."
As she spoke, the atmosphere in the room visibly changed, growing heavy.
"No way," I blurted out. "We already drove Michelle off—what could possibly be big enough to matter that much?"
At first, I didn't believe it. I couldn't imagine what kind of crisis could be severe enough to threaten an entire continent.
But in the next instant, I remembered the information we'd received when the "Saint" descended in Adrian's hometown.
My stomach tightened.
Could it be…?