641,

Attersass Calendar, Year 502. The beginning of winter.

As the year neared its end, a major event took place in Kakarl.

The Great Dragon's attack had left Kakarl utterly unrecognizable, with the destruction reaching every single building.

That was how things should have been.

But before winter arrived, the various countries joined forces, and somehow managed to restore most of the residential buildings to normal.

All-powerful magic had returned the dead city to its former glory.

Of course, it was only an illusion.

Materially speaking, the city had been restored.

But the losses in people's hearts could never be recovered.

The streets had grown nearly empty, and the tourists who had come here had already returned to their hometowns.

The Great Dragon Festival had ended in tragedy. After this, people would finally realize that the gap between humans and dragons wasn't something mere mortals could overcome.

And while the city was being rebuilt, the distribution of political power also took on an entirely new form.

King Allen became the biggest winner. After the battle with the Great Dragon, with the support of the Water Shrine's leader, the Water Shrine no longer governed Kakarl as a religion. Instead, the city was placed under the rule of someone like King Allen, a man who knew how to govern a country.

Although the army's organization still remained under Alexander's control, Alexander was no longer one of the Four Saints. He had become an aide to the new lord of Kakarl.

Of course, control of the military was only temporary. Before long, it would be transferred into the hands of the new lord.

The Four Saints disbanded, and each of them returned to the world of ordinary people.

Before long, King Allen began stationing some of his officials in Kakarl, further consolidating his influence.

Of course, the Water Shrine didn't mind, and neither did the local officials.

Even though they had a new master, as long as there was profit to be made, serving one king or another was all the same.

Not to mention the Water Shrine. Its followers themselves didn't care about politics in the slightest.

Now that King Allen had opened the permits for constructing Water Shrine churches, the Water Shrine could spread the love of the Water Goddess to the northern regions of the continent.

It could even use Sunset City's harbor to carry its teachings across the seas and into the wider world.

To the faithful, King Allen's policies instead perfectly demonstrated the wisdom of the Water Shrine's leader.

On the other side, the death of the King of Dusk made his young son the new king.

Rumor had it that the new king was merely a puppet, while the group of ministers behind him were the true rulers of the City of Dusk.

There were even rumors that quite a few of those ministers belonged to King Allen.

Taking all of this into account, King Allen's influence had spread across the entire continent. The only exception was the Iron Tribes in the southeast, which were still caught in turmoil.

Some said that once the factional struggles within the Iron Tribes came to an end, King Allen's army would surely launch a massive invasion.

The Allen Continent, divided for more than five hundred years, would be unified once again.

It was as if everything followed the will of fate: what stays divided will eventually unite, and what stays united will eventually divide.

Of course, as one of the people who had set the Great Dragon battle into motion, Cyclone Theodore received no increase in political power.

Instead, during this incident, Cyclone had turned his wife, Princess Elyse of Dusk, into a princess of a fallen kingdom.

His older brother, the King of Dusk, was dead—and had been devoured by the Great Dragon at that.

Having gained true freedom from the hands of that twisted siscon, the two of them should have been able to live happily ever after.

However, Elyse was still deep asleep after losing too much blood.

To be honest, Cyclone was afraid, too.

During the days he spent waiting for Elyse to wake up, he had even entertained the faintest hope that she wouldn't.

Because once Elyse woke up, Cyclone would have to tell her.

Her son—their little Wind—was gone.

On the rooftop, Cyclone looked up at the sky, trying to find comfort amid his unease and pressure.

The sun had climbed directly overhead when the door behind him suddenly opened.

“Cyclone? We have a guest.”