Reunion and Eternal Promise
The story of the girl trapped in lonely time had come to an end.
Tap... tap...
Ciel steadied her trembling legs as best she could and stepped forward.
"Is that... really you, Oppa...?"
"Lucifer Oppa... it's you, right...?"
One step. Another step. It was so close, yet it felt endlessly far away. A distance that seemed reachable with an outstretched hand, but stretched on forever.
Tap.
Finally reaching him, Ciel stared straight into his eyes with her ruby-red gaze and asked once more.
"It is... right? Or not...?"
"It is you, Oppa...?!"
—Thwack!!
The moment he acknowledged himself as Lucifer, Ciel poured all her strength into a punch straight to his chest.
Thud!
"You idiot! Where the hell have you been all this time?! Why did you just vanish like that?!"
The girl's outburst, laced with pent-up rage, exploded out.
Crack!
"How could you just leave without a word like that?! Sis too! Me too! Does it make you feel better to abandon us so heartlessly?! Did it feel good?! You rotten Oppa!"
Ciel no longer referred to herself as "this lady." In front of him, she was always just an ordinary girl—not a king, not an advisor.
Smack!
"I... I was so alone, struggling all by myself... Sis suddenly went weird! Our kingdom was on the brink of destruction...! Hic, hngh...! Waaah!!"
His tone was exactly the same as before. That ever-soothing resonance. But that's precisely why tears welled up even more in Ciel's eyes.
Because she feared he'd come like the wind and vanish like a dream once again.
"Too late...!! Way too late!!"
"Explain everything! If you don't convince me, I'll whack you with my magic staff!!"
"...If you don't want to get hit, then pat my head instead. Like you used to."
Ciel grabbed his hand and placed it on top of her head. Unlike before, dark, black energy swirled around him, but it didn't scare her one bit.
The joy of reuniting with her longed-for Oppa overshadowed any fear.
"Qu... quick...! If you don't pat me, I'll cry again."
"Hmph... I dunno!"
"I've been stuck here staring at it every day—I'm sick of it..."
Lucifer scooped Ciel up in his arms and lay down with her on the block floor, chatting about this and that. They'd known each other for ages, and he was the big brother figure she trusted and followed, so their conversation flowed smoothly without a single hitch.
"Oppa, remember when the three of us—me, you, and Sis—lay in the imperial training grounds stargazing?"
"That's 'cause Sis was glued to you, and I had to keep her from hogging you!"
......
......
The talk was mostly trivial, everyday stuff, but that's what Ciel loved about it.
"Oppa, it's weird. I was willing to break taboos just to go back to the past... but now, without even using magic, it feels like I've returned to those days."
He let out a soft sigh, his eyes holding a complex emotion. Gazing at the world purely for the first time in ages—what did that even mean?
"Oppa..."
Ciel wanted to ask him everything. What had happened all this time? Why did he disappear? What became of the empire, Sis, and the 12 Knights? And... why was he here?
So many burning questions. But she couldn't muster the courage.
'This is weird... It feels like someone's telling me 'don't ask.''
Lucifer was a knight chosen by the gods—maybe this was divine will, forbidding rash inquiries.
"......"
As Ciel bit her lip, lost in tangled thoughts, Lucifer muttered softly to the air, tapped something with his finger, then looked at her and moved his lips.
He took her hand, smiled, and assured her it was okay.
"Wh-what...?"
"H-how did you know...?"
Again. Casually dropping lines that made the girl's heart race with that bright smile! Did he even realize?
'He's always like this, that's why Sis the Knight King and I kept bickering over him, knowingly or not! This playboy pervert Oppa!'
—Thud!
"I dunno, you idiot...! You deserve more beatings! You're a lolicon pervert uncle toying with a girl's heart!"
Tap. Tap. Tap...
Ciel lightly pounded his chest a few times before collapsing onto him.
'I wondered if that strange black energy made him a ghost story too... but he's still as warm and cozy as back then.'
"Don't read a girl's heart so casually!"
"I seriously hate you so mu—huh?"
Sparkle. Twinkle twinkle.
Just as she was about to ask her one burning question, golden specks of light began swirling around Ciel's body.
'This is...'
The girl instantly knew what it meant. With Arcronus gone, her toll was paid. Kraheim's frozen time was flowing again.
Kraheim ghost story began with the 'seal of time'—now unsealed, it was only natural for her to fade away too.
"Oppa... looks like I have to go."
"Tch... How are we supposed to meet again...?! I'm not falling for lies anymore, you dummy Oppa."
"...???"
Lucifer just held the puzzled Ciel close, patting her back. Despite her curiosity boiling over, his words somehow felt undeniably true.
"...If it's a lie, I'll whack you 100 times with my staff. Got it?"
She wanted to stay in his arms until the light fully enveloped her, but one last thing remained.
A question anyone watching their story would be dying to know. One that'd leave a bitter aftertaste if unanswered!
"Lucifer Oppa, did you reincarnate as Si-hyun?"
"You promised one answer. If you don't tell me, my last expression you'll see will be tears."
Lucifer averted his eyes, but smack! Ciel grabbed his cheeks with both hands, forcing eye contact.
"Don't dodge my eyes!!"
"Just spill it! I can't hold back my curiosity!"
Lucifer paused briefly, murmuring softly.
"...Then why do you look different?!"
"Wh-what?! That's not fair! This pisses me off so mu—!!"
Whoosh!
"Eeeeeek!!!!"
Ciel immediately raised her magic staff to strike Lucifer down.
"...Really...? You're not some other being with just Oppa's memories?"
"If you're lying... I'll smash your skull with this for real..."
Drip. Drip.
Despite her menacing words, tears like chick peas streamed from her ruby-beautiful eyes.
"Hic...! I still don't get it all, but... w-we really can meet again, right?"
"Sniff... When we meet again, no secrets between us...! You have to tell me everything you're hiding then...!!"
Ciel quietly closed her eyes in Lucifer's embrace.
'Warm.'
Just like back then. No—maybe even warmer.
His cozy body heat made even this crumbling world feel like a peaceful dream, if only for a moment.
Then, the golden particles enveloping her began spiraling around her body.
Sparkle— sparkle— The golden light seeped in from her fingertips, signaling the time had come.
"...Oppa."
"I... guess I have to go now..."
Ciel bit her lip hard, trying to hold back sobs. But she knew—tears were already dripping from her eyes.
"Isn't it weird...? Back then, I wanted to die quick. Wanted the tragic story I made to end fast. But... after meeting Oppa, I don't want the story to end..."
"But it's okay. Oppa promised we'd meet again, right? That's... enough for me, Oppa."
Partings always hit in inexplicable moments. Farewells always carry regret.
"Oppa, we really can meet again, right?"
Swish— Then, the glow intensified, rising from her toes like golden petals scattering beautifully—yet heart-wrenchingly.
"Next time we meet, tell me everything without hiding. No secrets... all of it."
"I'm just a bit short, not a little girl...! I-I'm old enough to marry... always teasing! Dummy pervert lolicon Oppa!"
Ciel squeezed his hand once, then slowly let go—brushing a quick kiss on his cheek.
Mwah—
"...Next time, it's the lips. I held back before 'cause of Sis watching, but not anymore! So we have to meet again. Got it?"
"Hehe, finally not calling me little."
Ciel smiled her brightest, most radiant smile one last time.
"See you later, Oppa... next time."
"Yeah...! Bye, Lucifer Oppa...!"
The girl waved her small hand with a smile, looking just like the day they first met.
And then.
She melted into the vortex of light, quietly, ever so slowly. Like an old memory fading. Like a parting destined long ago.
Leaving just one tiny sparkling fragment of light in Lucifer's hand.
Obtained Piece of the Story: Knight King with Violet Eyes.
As reward for saving the pitiful girl from the 'Agent of Providence', automatically acquired one of his abilities.
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