Aria's POV

  An hour ago...

  Five years had passed since I vanished from my Glacians. From the Glacia Kingdom, where I swore to protect my people. Within the portrait, time moved differently. Every moment in reality was a lifetime there.

  For the first time in years, I could breathe without worrying about another cycle.

  But Celestia Collfumes had died—my only trusted advisor—and I fed the mud with my tears. I hoped the plants would have sympathy.

  I was a mess. I'd failed to protect my kingdom and my subjects. My reputation had been tarnished by whatever Laura had done while disguised as me.

  I couldn't remember the details, so I was going to confront her.

  Or it didn't matter at all.

  She didn't deserve to live after this.

  "Goodbye, Celestia."

  I buried her where she died and flew away with a heavy heart.

  The moon rose on the horizon as I levitated through the air, lighting the silhouettes of distant islands.

  I was too far from my continent. I could only return to Glacia if I had inner magic. Even traveling with my wind ability, I'd exhaust myself midway over the ocean and drown.

  Trees stretched beneath me. Weird animal sounds filled the atmosphere.

  I saw two soldiers walking on a trail. They looked expensive. I used the wind to carry their voices.

  "It's bad news that Princess Royalty is still missing. We looked for her in every corner of our continent, and there's no sign of her. She must be on the other continent," the first soldier said.

  "That's impossible. It's too far away. Think about it. She might have been eaten by a monstrous plant or incinerated," the second soldier said.

  "Why would you say that? You're creeping me out. This is why I hate being partnered with you."

  "I'm merely stating my guesses. Oh, look there." He pointed at the sky.

  A huge portal opened, swirling with magical energy.

  Someone fell from it, and in an instant, the two soldiers were gone. Crushed by a large temple.

  "Oh my God..." I whispered.

  The temple was massive and possessed a weird sensation. Moss around the cobblestone blended it perfectly into the jungle.

  I drew my crossbow and entered.

  ***

  I found Laura standing in a dim-lit room. Electricity flashed at her side.

  "...I would have given myself Dreamer's Magic long ago."

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  What was she talking about?

  I came closer. Aerol—my son, my dear son—sat on a chair with his eyes closed. A horrendous amount of electric energy came from his Sapphire Berry, forming a crackling blue ball between repelling magnetic forces. Zips. Zaps.

  "You've been raised oblivious about your own magic for so long that—"

  The room flashed white. A loud crackling sound struck us, and suddenly we were flying on a fast-moving pathway of space.

  Energy filled everything.

  "What the hell were you talking about?" I shouted at my former sister.

  "I was talking to your daughter, Aria. Right now, you won't be able to save her because we're going to the future!" She cackled. "It's much more interesting with you, because I can tor..."

  I didn't want to hear the word.

  "Aerol!" I caught his floating body in this flowing space and hugged him close. I'd missed my son. And my daughter.

  "What have you done to him?"

  "He died already. I revived him in secret to be a puppet of mine. He's my instrument for making time travel possible, and good for you that you came just in time."

  Aerol's eyes flinched.

  "He's not a test experiment, you lunatic!"

  "Mother... the babies," Aerol said.

  I saw two little humans wrapped in towels, floating in the space. One of them was crying loudly.

  Laura threaded her way to get them. I pulled the string of my crossbow and aimed at her.

  "Try it, Aria. I could manipulate your dear son anytime." She patted her crying child.

  "This is time travel. You can't use your inner magic here as time is constantly fluctuating," I said. "Therefore, you are powerless."

  I released the arrow without hesitation. My outer magic of wind anchored it toward her. It pierced her chest, pouring blood, and she let go of the infants.

  They were too far away for me to reach. All I could do was shoot them to prevent devils from growing up.

  "Don't," Aerol said, his voice weak. "They're my cousins too. They can start a new life somewhere, without knowing who their parents were."

  He shot a blast of ice at them. It encased them, protecting their fragile bodies from the force of time. They vanished into the horizon, their mass too low to resist.

  I turned toward my timeline. It was futile—the force was too strong. There had to be a way out without getting thrust into the far future.

  But I needed to go back to the same day to stop the Frostbound Blood prophecy. Killing Laura didn't mean it was finished.

  To do that, I had to let go of my son. I wanted both of my children alive and well.

  I reached for the side and went deeper. The current was manageable here, and I could bring my son with me.

  Then a flash of light came again, and I emerged from a robust tree trunk.

  I looked at my son. His eyes were shut. There was no movement.

  His sky-blue hair fell across my arms.

  "No, you can't die, you can't die!"

  My tears fell on my hands and passed through him. Ashes flew into the sky, fading away the form of my son.

  "Damn you, Laura!" I tore the words from my lungs.

  Magic Law #2: The user cannot bring back the deceased to life. It will always be a temporary spell.

  Terror shot through my chest. I had no idea where I was or what timeline I'd fallen into.

  The sky above was navy blue, filled with stars and constellations. Tents stood in the gloomy mud, standing lamps giving life to the place.

  A young Ashman approached me—slim and tall. "Are you a refugee too? I heard the Eldritch Queen is... terrifying."

  "What?" I blurted out.

  "It's okay to not recall it. It is traumatic."

  "How many years has it been since King Domestan's death?"

  "Around five years, I think."

  I froze. I had to go back. I had to.

  "Are there witches or warlocks here?"

  "The use of any form of inner magic is banned here. Are you one too, madam?"

  "No, I'm looking for a way to travel back to the past."

  "There's a saying that you can only go to the future, but never the past."

  I covered my nose with my hands and pulled the air from my body.

  Laura had only made time travel possible by using my son's heirloom to revive him, making him invincible to endure days of nonstop electricity generation.

  No human being here would dare to do that, despite possessing the power.

  Laura was something. She was the epitome of evil.

  The Ashman was correct. Time traveling back to the past was impossible. It was one of the magic laws.

  "Madam? Oh, you're not doing that because of the ashes!" He pulled my hands before my last breath and carried me on his back.

  Melancholic music played on a violin. He dropped me gently on a cushion. Crimson curtains were drawn here.

  "I'm still figuring you out, madam, but I saw the loneliness in your eyes. Those dead eyes. You need to rest, madam." A purple aura came from his dark-furred hands, and a banana levitated toward him. "I have a vision to make everyone happy." He peeled the banana.

  "I should introduce myself. I'm Phantom Dash."

  He handed me the banana. I had no choice but to accept it.

  I'm just going to eat bananas for now, I thought while crying.

  "Do you have an apple too?"