Your time has not come yet

Prologue

Dark and still. That was all Roses mind could feel around her. Not even the slightest noise could be heard in that space out of time, that welcoming void which had embraced her right after everything had come to an end. Am I dead, at last? She asked herself, unable to feel her body. Maybe it was really over, after all those years of suffering. Maybe that eternal rest she had sought for so long had finally been granted to her tired soul. Yet, in the middle of that darkness, there was something missing. Something wrong, that prevented her from stopping those incoherent thoughts that kept wandering in her tired mind. Zieg she thought all of a sudden, and a mostly vivid image of their last moments violently popped out in front of her. After all they had endured, they had chosen to put an end to their eternal enemys madness by joining together in a final, crushing blow. They had left that world for whom they had fought for so long, sacrificing their very souls in order to stop the wingly who had tried to conquer every living thing with his enormous magic power. Melbu Frahma. That hated name echoed through her mind, bringing back wounds that, even after eleven thousand years of lonely wandering and suffering, were still fresh and painful. He had tried to ruin peoples life, and their in particular, to the very last by taking control of Ziegs body and becoming the God of Destruction himself. But all of that was already gone now, and all that remained was that darkness. Was Zieg there, too? Rose couldnt be certain of it. The place all around her was not in the least what she had thought heaven to be like. Or hell, for instance. Honestly, she considered, as her mind kept drifting away from thought to thought, it was the latter she deserved. In her way too long live she had taken so many innocent lives, crushed so many hopes and dreams that it was impossible to think of another destination for her soul. However, she had hoped that she could have lived at least one last and perfect moment of harmony with the friends she had lost long ago, those brave warriors who had perished to assure freedom to humans. She had longed for a last moment with Zieg, the man she had loved so desperately and that had been torn away from her. Judging from the look of things, her fate had been once again different. Tired of mumbling over her past, Rose tried to move; still, that darkness appeared so thick that every single movement was merely impossible. The woman found herself smiling: she was constricted in her own element, the one whose powers she had harnessed for her whole life. Kind of hilarious, she thought passively.

Time seemed to inexorably fade away, but there she was, always immerged in that endless obscurity. Suddenly, just when Rose was starting to actually feel comfortable in that nothingness, a blinding light shattered the black veil that had covered everything until that moment. She blinked twice, finding it impossible to resist such a heavenly stream of pure white, but every effort was in vain. That light pierced through her carefully lowered lids, nearly making her regret the earlier darkness. That is surely more heavenly-like, she thought confusedly, but she immediately stopped when a soft, harmonic voice chanted through her head. The time of your departure has not come yet, Darkness Dragoon. Dragoon? No more, thought Rose, trying to figure out who was addressing her in such a way. She had ceased being a dragoon as soon as life had stopped flowing through her body. Although the question, at that time, was another: time of departure? Wasnt she already dead, for Gods sake? There is one more task that requires your presence. That is why you cannot leave this world yet. Only you can do this. Rose opened her eyes, too shocked to bother of the blinding light that continued to shine from everywhere. Another taskas if spending eleven thousand years preventing the birth of the God of Destruction isnt enough, she thought bitterly. What was this new task, now? All she wanted was a peaceful death, not some new reason to still walk on that world which she had come to love and hate, albeit for different reasons. Worry not, at the end of this ordeal you will be able to rest forever, along with the ones you love. After these last words, the light seemed to slowly fade and darkness returned. This time, however, it was different: Rose began to feel her body again. Slowly she saw her slender legs, one of them enclosed in a high boot which ended just at the middle of her thigh; her dark armor, decorated with gold trimmings; her choker, the object which had permitted her to live eleven thousand years and still look like a young woman in her late twenties. Lastly, her rapier. She briefly closed her eyes, sighing quietly. Ive grown tired of waiting for this eternal rest At least, this time you wont be alone. A last echo of the words spoken by that mysterious voice filled her mind, and she was just beginning to wonder what their meaning could be when she suddenly opened her eyes and found herself in Vellweb. It was night, and moonlight lit dimly the remnants of that ancient human city, the city where she had lived, alongside with the others, when the Dragon Campaign had took place.

So many memories she thought nostalgically, glancing at the seven towers that stood in a circle overlooking an empty space. Each one of them nothing more than a ruin. A cold wind streamed through her dark, long hair, as she turned to her left. She almost staggered back when she saw that she was not alone. Just a few steps away from her was a tall figure clad in a glorious red armor, his blond hair flowing in the night breeze as he silently watched Vellweb and remembered what had had place there in a distant past. He seemed to notice Roses astonished glance and turned towards her. For a brief moment their eyes met and locked in a warm, loving look, then he broke into one of his grins and just stood there, cross armed, bold and handsome as ever. Rose didnt move either, trying to figure out if that was a dream or, actually, reality. Well, arent you even gonna say hello? Murmured Zieg softly, bending his head a little. Rose smiled: Then it really is you, no doubt. The two finally joined in a warm hug, and Rose buried her face into Ziegs wide chest. This was something she had longed for at least the last eleven thousand years, ever since that terrible day when her loved one had been turned to stone by Melbu Frahma. They stood like that, at the top of a forgotten city, while the moon looked down at them with its cold glare.