"A Soul Crystal? How can this be…" Oben mumbled with a puzzled expression as he noticed the round white crystal on Viktor's palm that continued to shine with a mystical radiance.
His words didn't go unnoticed by Viktor, who immediately asked, "Soul Crystal? What do you mean?"
Nyissa also seemed to be surprised to notice the white crystal on Viktor's palm.
Oben said with a slight smile, "She may not be really dead. I don't know how she got her own Soul Crystal since only the gods can deal with these things. But I think she gave you this because one day she could possibly return to you under the right conditions, which I am not sure about. The Soul Crystal contains all her memories and Origin Power. So you don't have to be sad since she meant every word when she said she would be with you. The very reason you are even able to hold it means that she trusts you with every inch of her soul."
Viktor felt as if a flood of hope surged through his body, getting rid of the gloominess he was feeling as he gently held the soul crystal in his hand, "Then I will wait for her...no matter how long it takes…"
At least now he was sure that Sae wasn't gone forever, but then he remembered her mentioning the scarf, which confused him since in the past Sae never gave him any scarf though there were other things they exchanged between them.
'It can't be…' A sudden realization dawned on Viktor as Umilia's face flashed in his mind, making him unconsciously smile.
'No wonder…' Viktor now felt as if things made sense, especially why he got attracted to Umilia the way he did. However, he decided to not get too excited till he verified things with his own eyes.
*Whish!*
"Aros...it's time…" Oben said, seeing that Viktor seemed to be out of it.
Viktor looked ahead and saw a black portal opening up before him.
Nyissa's expression again came down, knowing that she wouldn't be able to see her grandfather anymore and even his soul would cease to exist.
The two exchanged words of farewell as Oben gave something to Nyissa and also his staff as he said, "Use this staff. It suits you more than me and will help you to become the most powerful witch our clan has ever known, surpassing even me."
Nyissa's eyes became watery, feeling sad even if she only knew her grandfather not more than a day but felt as if she had known him for centuries. However, the sacrifices he made and the concern he showed for her made her realize how much he loved her and her clan.
So she knelt before him and raised her hands towards him to receive the staff as she said, "I will remember your teachings, grandfather, and won't fail you."
Oben nodded with a smile as he placed the staff onto her hands and said, "Now rise...go...live your life to the fullest and be happy."
He then glanced at Viktor as he sent a mental message, "I entrust her in your hands. Please look after my granddaughter and...my sister as well."
Viktor gave a nod, making Oben feel that he longer had anything to worry about, and nudged Nyissa to leave since time was running out as the portal was going to collapse soon along with his soul.
Viktor grabbed Nyissa's wrist and pulled her along since she seemed reluctant to leave her grandfather behind.
"Let's go...He wouldn't want you to get stuck in here…" Viktor said in a low voice, making Nyissa take a deep breath as she followed him and entered the portal. But right after entering the portal, she looked behind to take one last look at her grandfather, who smiled as his body began to disintegrate, making Nyissa mumble in a woeful tone, "Grandfather…"
However, their surroundings suddenly dissolved into darkness, and the next moment they felt cool air brushing against their faces and could hear the swinging of the trees around them.
Viktor took a look around and let out a sigh of relief, seeing that they were back on the Wailing Hills but a different spot since he saw that he and Nyissa were standing on one of the peaks of the hills.
But it was the surroundings that surprised him. The skies, including the atmosphere around them, were clear and no longer cloudy and gloomy. The trees and flowers looked vibrant and beautiful, just like the first time he saw them, and there were no longer any wailing sounds or any unpleasant stench permeating through the air.
"We are back...finally…" Viktor mumbled though he didn't feel exactly happy knowing that he had to say goodbye to the ones he cared about, especially his parents in this world who could only remain as a memory forever in his mind.
But he decided to continue to cherish those memories so that they would continue to live on inside him and wait for Sae's return.
He already lost too much in his long life, losing people he loved and cared about because of his eternal life. However, after experiencing everything today, he felt that not meeting the people he loved and cared about would have made his life dull and cold, turning into something or someone he may not even recognize, just like his Blood Demon persona in the past.
He imagined how his life would be if he didn't meet Sae and knew that he would have never experienced love or learned to love without her because of what he was at that time.
He was the Blood Demon, a person who only knew to devour blood and massacre people, but Sae, his first love, was the first woman in this world to make him feel that he was more than a cold-blooded killing machine...a person with a heart.
That was why till today, all these centuries, no matter how much he wanted to erase memories of her from his mind, he couldn't. And now, he was glad that those memories never left him.
He saw Nyissa still in a daze, feeling grief about her grandfather, and said as he held her shoulder, "Come...let's go...our people are waiting for us…"
Viktor wanted to see if Brad was alright, and the only reason he wasn't too worried was that Nyissa told him that they would be alright as long as everything returned back to normal.
Nyissa nodded as she cleared her eyes and decided to make her grandfather proud by becoming the strongest witch in history.
But suddenly, Viktor felt the soul crystal in his palm shaking as if in excitement, and when he involuntarily opened his palm to check out what was happening to it, he was taken aback to see it suddenly shoot out of his palm and into the skies like a comet, disappearing into the skies.
"What the…" Viktor had a flabbergasted expression, but then it turned into worry since it was the only hope of Sae returning back to him, "NO!"
Nyissa was also puzzled, but then she speculated something in her mind.
However, he had no idea that Sae's soul crystal was heading towards a place he was very familiar with....the Snow Mansion!