'Doth not standeth at mine own grave and weep.' The book was several hundred pages with earthly hue, warming to the eyes, and comforting. Despite the cover about to fall off, it was kept with thorough care as one would do to prolong their wealth.

If thou be' st to strange sights,

Things piqued to see, 

Ride ten thousand days and nights, 

Till age snow white hairs on thee, 

Thou, when thou return' st, wilt tell me,

All strange wonders befell thee, 

Apocope, A half-demon, and a half-human appeared out of nowhere. He possessed charming and silky purple hair that made any woman jealous. His innocent bluish eyes even made the fearsome men smile. With his powerful and scaly tail, it admired the whole heteromorphic races.

He never once proclaimed himself as 'A God', but people around him revered him as one.

His unique appearance shocked every race in existence. Everyone researched him, staged events to test his powers, and happily took his advice. He was once a good man. 

From rest and sleep, which thousands of pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

If thou find' st one, let me know,

Such a pilgrimage were sweet,

Yet do not, I would  go,

Thine oceans we might meet,

He only yearned for one thing—to satisfy his curiosity. He spent decades to centuries to millenniums. He made both good and sad memories with his human comrades.

However, 'The Angels' changed their minds and didn't approve of him existing with humans. Apocope struggled with all of his might to justify his existence. He was punished and thrown to the other side of their paradise. 

Will thou forgive the sin where I exist,

Which was my sin, though it were done before?

Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I sustain,

And do scamper still, though still I do deplore?

When thou hast done, thou hast not done,

For I have more…

"Thus, on that day, he decided to continue his life as a myth." Bancroft closed the book when he flipped the last page. 

In that small room, cramped table, and meager lightning, Eura is sitting on top of Bancroft's lap. 

"Bancrofie-nii… As many times as you read it for me, I'd like to cry but—"  

"I know, but it doesn't mean you have to give up. If you can't cry, try to imagine how you would cry in other ways." 

Bancroft eagerly patted the head of Eura softly with gentle strokes and endeavored to keep the mood light by suggesting another option. 

As soon as Eura heard this, she immediately embraced Bancroft with her warmth, thawing the coldness from his body until the visible veins from his skin disappeared.

"If I hug you like this, isn't it beautiful to feel how each other feels?" 

Nevertheless, Bancroft finds himself repeating the same unsolvable question to himself as he gazed with the eyes of a dead fish at the gigantic object outside the windows in that room. After a moment, he snapped back into reality—as if the strings of the puppet have been cut down. 

"Yes… I promise you that I'll work hard to earn Apocope-sama's trust and save you." Bancroft denounced as he ripped the puppet that looks like him into shreds. "Also, I commend you for standing in my place and activated 'the puppet of strings' from that trial."

Bancroft gently felt Eura's face and wiped the cotton away with his white napkin and lastly, wiped the blood from her forehead. Then the scars of the wound quickly faded away due to her ability.

"And I also commend you for standing in my place during the failed assassination attempt," Eura replied. She holds Bancroft more closer to her and stood together. 

"This is the only place where we can switch. By making you crippled, everyone believed you were harmless and…" Bancroft continued as he guided and raised the other arm of Eura.

"And as you pretending as my big brother, you did all sorts of things to prove yourself to Evanslei Kingdom and…" Eura forwarded and led the dance.

With small steps and circling the table, they matched their rhythms and closed their eyes as they danced until they reached the door.

"They're foolish enough to think that they converted me. Eventually, we will repay our sufferings and let that stubborn King experience what true tragedy they inflicted on our country." As Bancroft opened the door, wild spiritual energies flushed through them—making them open their eyes from the sight of the strange world.

As they looked up, there was a starless night emitting loneliness. Below them was the searing heat of the sun and the waves of a turquoise ocean as it gently breathed. Water droplets fell upside down—each one of them becoming a star.

"My dearest Vetocia, burning like a wildfire, abandoned like a needy child, lying restless at the deep." Eura conveyed as she looked back at the wooden shack, surrounded with icy towers of crystal that stretched beyond the horizon.

"How pitiful. How pitiful for 'Dyaus Pita' to let this happen. Curse Ciel Rochieren. Curse its allies!" Bancroft asserted as he looked into the gigantic egg-shaped object covered in various minerals.

"I'm sorry. It seems I caught too much of your time. You need to finish those reports, right?" Eura suggested. 

"It won't be long, Eura…"

I worked extra hard in this chapter on how not to spoil too much and referenced certain passages. I wonder if I should be more direct next time or subtly hint things in this way?