Rose whispered to Kai, her hands covering his ears as she brought her mouth close to his.
Kai tried to bend down a little because his sister, who was quite short, had her arms crossed over her chest.
"Don't you think this girl is crazy? How can someone as stupid as you become an emperor? The kingdom would be sold out in a second..."
Kai nodded.
"Yeah, I'd take all the money and run away, leaving you to handle the rest."
They both looked at the girl simultaneously. Her eyes were shining, and it really seemed like she wasn't faking her words.
At that moment, four more people suddenly appeared out of nowhere and bowed to the two of them.
One of them tried to calm the situation.
"We apologize for the commotion. Both of your faces really resemble our past king, his sister, and our queen's father. She just misses the deceased because your face looks exactly like his. We hope you can forgive her."
Rose felt a bit sad hearing this and was somewhat interested in knowing more of the story, but for now, she just accepted their explanation.
"It's okay, but why did the five of you come here? Are you all lost?"
The queen's expression turned sad, and the other four also looked sorrowful.
"It's not that. Her mother passed away a week ago. We elves can live for about 300 to 400 years. She asked us to go to the World of Three and bury her body here."
"So, can we fulfill her mother's wish and bury her here?"
Kai and Rose looked at each other, and at that moment, they nodded in unison.
"You guys can bury her here. And what should we call you all?"
One of them told all of their names. They were simple: K1, K2, K3, and K4. Only the queen had a name—Daisy.
"Okay, thanks for telling us your names."
Kai then showed them a suitable spot to bury the body. It was at the back of the tree, a place that had been left aside for human burials.
Once they reached the back of the tree, Kai started digging the grave for Daisy's mother. He didn't know why, but he didn't say much and just did it quickly.
After digging about 7 feet deep—enough to ensure no animals or wild creatures could smell or dig up the grave—he stopped.
"So, where is her mother's body?"
The five of them chanted some words that Kai and Rose couldn't understand. A light emerged above them, forming a portal. Slowly, the figure of an elderly woman, who still looked beautiful, emerged from the portal.
The body floated slowly toward Kai, who was standing in the grave below. Kai reached out to receive it, his touch gentle to ensure nothing went wrong.
But something went wrong. Kai just stood there without doing anything, holding her tightly.
"What are you doing, bro? Why are you standing there so long?"
Rose pushed her brother's body, but he remained stiff and unmoving.
"Hey, what happened to my brother? Did you guys do something to him?!"
Daisy then held Kai's body to check what was happening. As she touched him, something like an electric spark pushed her hand away.
"Hey, what's going on?!"
Rose felt that something was wrong.
But from Daisy's expression, it seemed like she knew what was happening.
"This is the last moment of our soul before we depart. It looks like my mother held on for a while until she met someone she wanted to see. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen." Daisy tried to reassure Rose.
The scene shifted to a place where the ground was covered in water, and the sky was filled with beautiful clouds.
Kai stood there, looking around as if he were in another realm.
"Where am I?"
He turned left and right, but everything was empty. From behind, he heard a faint, melancholic voice.
He turned around and saw a woman lying down. Her face was somewhat aged, and she was dressed entirely in green.
He approached the woman and greeted her.
"Hello, are you okay? Why are you lying here?"
He helped her up and sat her down.
"Do you know where we are? This place only has the two of us, as if we're floating in the sky."
The woman, in a weak state, rested her head on Kai's lap.
"I miss you," she said softly, her hand gently touching his face. "It's been a long time since I waited for you. I'm sorry you have to see me in such a frail and old state. You might have already forgotten about me."
Kai's head began to ache as images flashed through his mind. He saw a portrait of himself and Rose sitting together, with nine women standing behind him.
"Kai... Kai... Kai..." A faint voice called out to him.
The vision began to fade, and the elderly woman transformed back into her youthful self. Kai rubbed his eyes, thinking there might be something wrong with his vision.
But the woman remained unchanged—she was one of the women from the portrait. His curiosity surged.
"Do you know me? Do we know each other? Memories are swirling in my head, but I can't grasp them."
She simply smiled and nodded.
"My time is running out. I used all my power just to wait for you. But one thing is certain—we were husband and wife. As for your true self, you'll need to find it in this world."
"I'm so grateful to have met you one last time, my love. You're still as young as you were back then—the face I fell in love with."
She began to cough, her condition seeming to worsen. Kai grew worried.
"You should rest. Don't talk too much. I'll try to save you."
Kai started thinking of a solution, but there was nothing he could do in this place. For the first time, he felt utterly helpless.
She held his hand with both of hers.
"Don't worry, it's just my time. I just wanted to see you one last time. But can you promise me something? Take care of Daisy. She's our only daughter. Will you grant me this wish?"
A soft light began to emanate from her body, slowly causing her limbs to disappear.
"What's happening...? Why is your body fading? I still don't know myself or our memories!" He tried to hold her tightly, but her body kept disappearing.
She tried to calm the frantic Kai.
"Don't worry, you'll understand everything in time. But one last thing—can you call me 'honey' before I'm completely gone?"
Kai shook his head.
"No, I'll try to save you. Just stay here. I'll find something."
She held him tightly, her eyes and expression pleading for him to say the words she longed to hear.
Kai lowered his head and remained silent.
It seemed like she would never get what she wanted, but she didn't regret it. Slowly, her body turned to ash, starting from her feet and drifting away into the air.
She closed her eyes.
"Goodbye, my love..."
Just before her body completely vanished, a voice, filled with tears, could be heard.
"Honey... I'll take care of our daughter."
She opened her eyes, her smile never fading... She hugged him, and then her entire body disappeared.
Kai sat down, his head bowed. One by one, his tears fell.