The days went by peacefully. No signs of demonic activities or any sort appeared. As promised by Nadea, Henry was now able to go back to Ulrum after nearly a week’s worth of time in this unsavoury and filthy place. The short but insufferable period was made bearable and slightly pleasant due to his fated encounter with a certain woman that was his mate.

The distance between Henry and Yula was considerably shortened in just the span of three days. They had done nothing but affirmed their love for one another nearly every hour of the night and day. They told each other their deepest and darkest secrets that they would have carried to their graves. Henry had told Yula everything, from who he was, how he came to be, the existence of Nadea, and also the fact that their love was a result of his magical pheromone as a Dragon.

Henry was prepared to be hated for this.

However, Yula’s reaction was the opposite of Henry’s expectation. Not an ounce of suspicion or hate could be seen on the thrilled Yula’s expression. If anything, her affection only seemed to be deepened and she went on babbling something about their encounter being fated and the pheromone was just additional insurance. Her fidelity only made Henry more conscious and unfounded guilt just kept growing.

“You’re not bringing anything with you?” Henry asked.

“From what you have told me, I doubt anything I bring over there will be of use unless those things are able to last forever,” Yula answered with a shrug.

“Not even cosmetics?”

Yula tittered. “Only if my plain face displeases you, Henry. Does it?”

Henry smiled wryly in response. After that day where he laid everything bare before Yula, they had spent the remaining time on this world all cooped up in Yula’s room. They had non-stop sex every other hour, stopping only for sustenance. Whatever makeup she had, it had all but shed off. There was nothing between their bare skin, not even artificial products, but the beads of their bodily fluids.

“May I assume the two of you are ready?” Nadea asked as she opened up the portal. They were currently standing atop the cliff where Henry was when he first arrived in this world.

“Ready as I can be,” Henry retorted dryly with his nose and mouth covered. “If it wasn’t for Yula, I would have gone crazy. How can any creature stand this? I hope you don’t send me to this kind of world in the future anymore.”

“The future is uncertain and unpredictable. Not even gods can do anything about it. Anyway, what about you, Yula? Are you ready?”

“I am, Nadea,” Yula responded in a courteous manner. “I have been ready since three days ago. I’ll be in your great care, Nadea. Henry’s god is my god.”

“Hmm, such a polite child. Maybe I should have made her into my champion instead.”

Yula giggled but the edge of her lips did not reach her eyes. “You jest,” she said. “If you hadn’t chosen him as your champion, we wouldn’t have met. Is that what you're aiming for?”

Even though Nadea was just a voice in their head, Henry could see the cramped smile Nadea had as he shared her sentiment. Yula’s affection for him ran deep and weighed more than a pile of steel.

“Well, if you two are truly ready, then you best be off now. I can’t keep the portal open forever. See you two on the other side.”

“Hopefully not immediately,” Henry mumbled.

“Hopefully not,” Nadea was in agreement.

“Why did you make it sound like you’re heralding something terrible?”

“Truthfully, I’m not convinced that the demonic threats have truly been quelled in this world.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “What would you have me do? Stay here longer?”

“That did cross my mind but that would be unfair for you, Henry, which is why I would be asking for aid from the other fellow gods. So fret not your pretty head over this and just return home with ease.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why? You want to stay?”

“I don’t but… what if something terrible happens here that I could have otherwise prevented if I had been here?”

“If you feel bad about that, don’t. This isn’t your responsibility anymore. I have already said that I will be having another god overseeing this world.”

“A god like you?”

“Not exactly like me but they hate Demons. So they would be more than happy to assign their champion to this world.”

“I see…”

“Well, let us not dwell on this any further and proceed into the portal,” Nadea said and the portal swallowed the two instead of them walking into it.

“Whoa…” Yula gasped as she looked around the infinite darkness with a seemingly endless straight path of light as their sole guidance and salvation. “Where is this place?”

“The point between worlds, or that’s how Nadea explained to me.”

“Huh… it’s really… fantasy-ish.”

Henry nodded. “It certainly is.”

The path of light gradually became wider as they walked further from the point they entered from. When it became wide enough, Henry assumed his Dragon form, garnering a moan of awe from Yula.

Hmm… did I get a little bigger?

“My god, Henry…” Yula breathed. “You look even more dazzling and amazing with the darkness behind you.” The smile she had was beaming.

“Really?” Henry didn’t know if he was supposed to be pleased or terrified to hear that. He was leaning towards the latter. As this was his own body, his impression of his own appearance was moot and neutral. As far as he knew, Yula was the only one not intimidated by his Dragon form and that was because she was his mate which made her impression partial.

Nevertheless, now that he had someone beside him all the time, he was starting to become conscious of his looks even in his Dragon form.

“You truly don’t find my form unpleasant or terrifying? Even a little?”

“Never,” she said, conviction filling her voice. “Somehow, I don’t think I will find any of your form or appearance unpleasant. Maybe it’s because I’m your destined mate and nothing and no one can ever split us apart, including Nadea…”

Henry smiled and acted like he didn’t hear the last part. He wondered if Nadea did. She most likely did, Henry thought but chose to keep quiet about it since she was the type to find this kind of development amusing.

A glaring beacon eventually came into sight in this vast world of darkness, welcoming their arrival with a pulsating glow. As if eager for their arrival, the beacon moved towards them with the path of light being akin to a conveyor belt.

Henry did not flinch or frown at the phenomenon as his danger sense was not acting up. He stopped walking and stood there for the beacon to come to him instead. Naturally, Yula also halted her tracks. Together, they waited for the beacon’s arrival.

When it did arrive, they were once again swallowed by a gulf of light and when the light dissipated, they were no longer in a world of darkness. A patch of green spread before them but it wasn't a large patch as it came to an abrupt end. They were on a cliff, high above the lowlands.

Yula looked around and saw only forest after forest, untouched by the greed of humans. As she had never seen so much green in one place before, she didn’t know how to respond. It was noon, so she could see far and wide of Ulrum. “So this is Ulrum… your home?”

“It is,” Henry answered with a relieved smile as he took in a deep breath of the fresh air that only a place like Ulrum could provide. Seeing Yula’s amazed reaction, he felt a little bit proud.

Yula suddenly shuddered and hugged her shoulders. “W-where are we? It’s cold here.”

“This is the north if I remember correctly…” Henry said. “Damn it, I forgot about the weather here.”

“You don’t feel cold?”

“No, I don’t. I’m not bothered by the heat either. It would seem that I have been remiss and I can’t afford that. I’m not alone anymore. Forgive me, Yula.”

Yula giggled. “Oh, stop that. You don’t need to apologise, Henry. I share the blame for not being prepared despite being warned and told. Be that as it may, you need not worry about me.”

As Henry wondered about the meaning behind Yula’s words, her shadows rose like a small tide. Instead of crashing down on her, her shadows draped gently over her. The shadows then melted onto her body.

“There,” Yula said, spreading her arms to show off the impromptu coat she made for herself using her shadow power.

“Impressive, Yula, but how long can you maintain this?”

“As long as I wish, Henry. In fact, I don’t think it goes away unless I will it to. I have even tried using it as a blanket and it did not disappear when I woke up the next morning. Safe to say, the duration is indefinite and I don’t need to consciously maintain it.”

“Can you make them into proper clothes?”

At her will, the shadows began to swirl and morphed into the shape of a simple dress that was similar to the Victorian design. It was only similar, not an exact copy as there were glaring flaws to the dress such as the hem being jagged and the sleeves being uneven in length. Still, it did fine as proper clothing and no one was around to judge. As an extra service, Yula did a little twirl on the spot with the shadow dress of hers.

Henry clapped lightly, chuckling. “If that’s the case, garments wouldn’t be a problem for you then.”

“It certainly wouldn’t be. I don’t need to do any laundry if I use my shadows as my garments. Moreover, they also do well as protective gears.”

“That sure sounds very convenient.”

Yula simpered. “And it’s easier to take them off at night too.”

“That’s not really a plus. I much prefer the challenge. It makes the end goal all the more worth it.”

“I will keep that in mind, Henry.” Her grin widened. “Anyway, where exactly are we? Is this place far from your home?” She looked around once again.

“These are the snowy mountains where the Zeva clan lives by the mountainsides.” He grimaced as he recalled the events before he got promptly sent to another world.

“The Zeva clan? Are they the tribe you told me about, the one which displeased you or something?”

“Someone from the tribe did more than just displease me. I had a terrible first encounter with them. They look like dark elves. They have long pointy ears. Their skin is pale. All of their hair is in the shade of white. They all possess the body of an athlete.”

“They sure do sound like those snow or night elves from the stories. Say, are they the ones you’re talking about?”

“Hmm?” Henry realised Yula’s gaze was fixed on something and he turned to see what.

There were three Zevas standing a few yards away from them, in the shade of large boulders. Their eyes were wide and they were staring with trembling gazes and shoulders.

“They are indeed the Zevas I’m talking about.”

“They’re hostiles?” Yula asked. A sharpened tendril of shadows rose beside her, preparing to strike at any given moment.

“For their sake, they better not be,” Henry said and began to approach them.

The Zevas immediately turned around and tried to run. But before they could even take a single step, Henry spoke.

“Run and you die right where you’re standing.”

The threat came through immediately as the three stopped and turned back around to face Henry with pale expressions. Judging by their thick and armoured garments, Henry guessed that they were most probably the patrol guards.

“You know who I am?” Henry asked.

Two of them stared blankly at him whereas one of them managed to nod.

“P-please don’t kill us…” the guard said, shivering.

“Why would I do that? Is it because your lady tried to turn me into a willing slave?”

“Who tried to do what!?” Yula yelled.

“Calm down,” Henry said.

“No, I will not,” she baulked. “Some bitch tried to enslave you! And you want me to be calm about that? Imagine me in your place, would you have been able to calm down?”

“No, I would not be able to, but you have to calm down. I’m fine now, okay? Besides, that bitch’s trick won’t work a second time. Speaking of which…” Henry cast a sidelong glance at the guards.

They sobbed and whimpered. They were battle-hardened warriors but in the face of an overwhelming presence and existence like a Dragon, even they would be paralysed by the primal fear.

“Rayne, I believe her name was. Can one of you be a dear and go call her for me?”

“T-that’s not possible… L-Lord Dragon…”

Huh, it seems like they somehow figured it out and are certain that I am a Dragon. Splendid.

Henry cleared his throat and asked again. “Why is it not possible?”

“B-because she was exiled… m’lord Dragon. We don’t know where she went…”

Well, that was disappointing.