Henry made his landing as gently as he could, stirring the air as little as possible. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to cause any trouble but because he was cautious and wary of the lady in white’s scent. Her aromatic and fragrant scent was still clear in his mind. He feared her scent would make him lose his mind again but he refused to let himself be ruled over by his hunger. He didn’t want to run away from his weakness. He intended to challenge it and hopefully, overcome it.

What the… No way.

As Henry took in the full brunt of Iluna’s scent, he realised his perception was mistaken. He was not seeing Iluna as food. Far from it. He felt the desire to devour her but now he knew it wasn’t to devour her in the traditional sense. He took a deep whiff again and his doubts were fully erased. Her scent was not stirring his appetite but his carnal desire. She was exuding the scent of a mate.

Oh god… How did I not realise this before?

Iluna did not bear the same kind of scent as Yula but Henry knew this was the scent of a mate nonetheless.

Hmm, not all mates produced the same kind of scent but I would know the scent regardless. Interesting.

Yula’s scent brought him comfort and solace. Whenever he was basking in her presence, he would feel at ease. But for Iluna, her scent stirred a very sadistic side of him. He wanted to ravage her. Her scent made him want to see her squirm and cry as he brought her to the rawest level of pleasure. He wanted to make her beg for him to stop as he fuck the shit out of her, this was what Iluna’s scent brought him.

No no no, Henry. Now’s not the time for this. Duty first… Duty first…

Henry convinced himself as he struggled his damnedest to stay sane while Iluna’s scent drifted around him, tempting him.

Iluna approached Henry without a hint of fear present in her steadfast gaze. Her guard, Iora, followed closely behind her with the same manner of gaze but a small trace of apprehension could be found lurking in the corner.

“Well met, Lord Henry,” Iluna greeted with a small bow as she lifted the hood off her head, though the hood hardly concealed her identity. Henry guessed the hood was there to fight off the sun instead of hiding her face. “We finally met again. It has been so long. You have changed a great deal but I know the appearance of my saviour all the same. I don’t believe I have introduced myself yet. My name’s Iluna, a High Priestess of the moon.”

Henry nodded curtly in response. He had already known all about that from Eria. She was chatty while under the influence of alcohol.

“I have heard so much about you, Lord Henry. I don’t believe I had the opportunity to thank you for saving my life back then. Thank you, Lord Henry. I wouldn’t have died from those wounds if treatment was delayed, I would certainly be a cripple today. You have spared me from such a fate. Words are not enough to express my gratitude.”

Hearing the words of their esteemed lady, the surrounding Lavans lowered their guards and crept slowly out of hiding but their spears and swords were still trained on Henry.

“I did only what I wanted. I did not save you out of the kindness of my heart,” Henry retorted.

“I know, Lord Henry, but it doesn’t change the fact that you have saved me from a life of misery. You have my eternal gratitude. I knew not of your reason for suddenly taking an abrupt leave back then but I sincerely apologise if it had anything to do with a misunderstanding on our part.”

“There was no misunderstanding. It was a problem of mine, Lady Iluna.”

Iluna smiled sweetly. “I’m relieved to hear that, Lord Henry. Anyway, why are you here, Lord Henry? Could it be that this strange congregation of Murux attracted your presence and attention?”

“You are correct.”

“You know something about this… conjuration?” Iora asked as she gestured at the rift portal.

“I do.”

“What is it then?”

“You can tell her it’s a portal, Henry,” Nadea said. “Just don’t tell her anything more than that or anyone you don’t absolutely trust for that matter.”

“It’s a portal, that’s all I can say.”

“A portal? That’s all you can say?” Iora narrowed her gaze. “Why is it so?”

“Because I do not trust you. I do not know you. Our acquaintance is brief so far. There is no absolutely no reason for me to reveal everything to someone that I knew nothing about but their appearance.”

“His reasons are valid, Iora,” Iluna said. “We should not pry further for now.”

“Understood, milady.”

“I’m your sister, Iora. Your formalities are unnecessary with me.”

“That will be very unbecoming of me, Milady, for I am currently your sword and shield. My status as your sister comes second.”

Iluna sighed. “Why are you so stubborn, Iora?”

“Pardon me but I’m afraid this isn’t the time and place to be bickering about your social status and family relationship.”

“Ah, of course. Apologies, Lord Henry,” Iluna said. “That was unseemly of me. But rest assured, Lord Henry, my vigilance is constant and so are my people.”

“You should be vigilant too, Henry,” Nadea said.

“I am.”

“I still do not know how this portal came about. It’s certainly no work of the Demons but I’m sure this rift portal was not opened by the whims of nature.”

“An artificial manifestation?”

“It can be nothing else. This is a headache.”

“Someone tried to forcefully open a rift portal to another world. A Lavan?”

“Or it’s the work of someone from another world. Ulrum could just be collateral.”

“But which world?”

“Not a world that I govern, or else I would have known immediately. In order to figure out which world is the cause, you’ll have the enter the portal.”

“Ah, figures…”

“But first, you have to ask the Lavans to clear this area. An artificial portal is very volatile and unstable. There’s no telling what would happen in the next minute.”

“Lord Henry?” Iluna called out.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about the matter at hand.”

“Well, Lord Henry, what can you tell us about this portal?”

“Hmm…” Henry rummaged through his mind to think of an excuse.

“Is it dangerous?” Iluna asked.

“Very,” answered Henry.

“Obviously, it is, milady,” Iora chimed in.

“It’s more dangerous than you could imagine, Lady Iluna. So you and your people should stay clear of this place.”

Iora stepped forward with a wronged expression. “Dangerous or not, this is our land, Lord Henry. We should not be shirking from this problem. We should be facing it.”

“Yes, very honourable and commendable but this out of your—” Henry’s words were cut short by a sudden great unease pouring over him.

“Henry, the portal’s fluctuating! Get everyone away from the portal now!”

Henry didn’t need to be told twice and be told at all. His instincts had warned him of the imminent danger long before Nadea did.

“Everyone, get away from the portal!” shouted Iluna, who appeared to have also sensed the imminent danger.

The Lavans that were just coming out of their hiding quickly fell back at the bellow of their High Priestess. Many of them were confused but none of them disobeyed her. Some looked reluctant but they heeded her words nonetheless.

“Iluna!” Iora grabbed her sister’s hand. Perhaps swept away by the mood, she called her sister by name. “You should be the first one to—”

An invisible shockwave emanated from the portal, throwing everyone off their feet and sending them tumbling backwards. As Henry was standing between the two sisters and the portal, they were spared of the abrupt shockwave’s assault, but they weren’t spared of what came next. The portal expanded.

Oh… shit!

“Get out of there, Henry!” Nadea screamed.

“I know!”

Henry scooped the two sisters into the paws of his forelimbs, which were glowing, and rushed out of the portal’s rapid expansion as quickly as possible. However, the portal’s expansion was far too meteoric. Even with his limbs glowing, his increased speed could not outrun the portal’s expansion. The glow spread to his wings, increasing his speed further but even so, the portal’s expansion was faster.

Damn it!

The portal stopped expanding but the three were entrapped within it, drawing them closer to the centre. They could still see the trees and grass of Ulrum around them but all those were slowly fading out of their sight as the portal gradually swallowed them. The Lavans rushed to their aid but there was nothing they could do but stare hopelessly at them. They didn’t even know what they could do.

“I’m sorry, sister,” Iluna muttered in a low voice, unheard by Iora but it did not escape Henry’s hearing. She undid the pendant around her neck and whispered a faint chant to it. As the pendant began to glow, she shoved it onto Iora’s bosom.

“Iluna?” Iora gasped as she realised what her sister had done.

“Be safe, sister. I love you,” Iluna said with a sorrowful smile as the pendant glowed even brighter.

“No! Iluna, don’t do—” Iora’s sentence wasn’t even fully formed before the glaring glow swallowed her up and she was gone from Henry’s grasp in the next second.

Immediately after Iora disappeared from Henry’s paw, the portal gobbled the two up and plunged them into a vast pit of darkness where they fell seemingly without an end. But Henry had wings, so their fall did not last forever as the bottomless pit suggested.

“Well, that sucks…” Henry muttered as he looked around. It was darkness everywhere he glanced. He plopped Iluna onto his back as he hovered in the midst of the infinite darkness.

“Where are we?” Iluna asked once she had gathered her bearings. Though she tried to sound unfazed by the abrupt development of their circumstances, she failed to conceal the shivering in her tone.

“Probably the point between worlds,” Henry answered. Due to Iluna emanating the scent of a mate, he revealed such a core fact plainly and he wasn’t bothered by the slip of his tongue even after realising what he just said.

“The point between worlds?”

“What happened to Iora? I assume she’s safe?”

“Being the High Priestess and a chosen of the moon, my being is important to the Lavans. I am not my people’s leader but a symbol. I don’t lead the Lavans. I symbolise the Lavans. My death means the ruin of the Lavans. That pendant was to be my lifeline should any unfortunate event befall me. It would transport me back to the temple regardless of where I am at my wish.”

“But you used it on your sister.”

“She is my sister. I know what you’re thinking, Lord Henry. That was a very selfish act from me. I placed the life of my own sister over the lives of my people. I don’t regret it.”

“I’m not judging you, Lady Iluna.”

“Please, just call me Iluna.”

“Then you can just call me Henry, Iluna.”

Iluna chuckled. “Very well, Henry. Back to what I was asking. What do you mean by the points between worlds? Is that something you weren’t supposed to tell me?”

“Hmm, a moment please,” Henry said and called out his mind. “Nadea, are you there? Nadea?”

But the silence was his response.

Well, shit. I’m cut off from even a god. This isn’t good.

“H-Henry? Are you alright?”

“Considering where we are, I would say no, I’m not alright. Neither of us are. We can stay here forever. We need to get out of here.”

“I concur but how will we go about that?”

Just then, a crack began to form in the patch of darkness in front of them. Lights were spilling through the crack.

“I guess we can go out through—” Before Henry could finish his words, the crack burst into a large hole that pulled them in like a star at the end of its lifespan.