Shortly afterward Magus, Lylana, Glawlrhain, and Stamat departed for the H'raal sphereship to timeshift it and then accelerate it to lightspeed on collision course with Terra Para. Nobody who remained on Ouroboros had prior experience with operating a dreadnought, yet between Kiana, Zuckeroff, Bernard, Zeromon, and a few other Radiant Knights who had participated in astral missions before, there was enough shared knowledge on board to make-do under the circumstances, especially with assistance from Yeoman Cloud.

Within minutes after Airo's rousing speech, Ouroboros fired its main drives and headed at full speed toward Terra Para. However, even with maximum acceleration and Æther assistance, the journey would last several hours. Onboard maintenance drones were dispatched to clear the dead from needed critical sections and people were assigned into two groups – those who'd remain aboard as crew and those who'd be in the escort squadron.

With those tasks done, there was nothing else to do but wait for time to pass.

Airo and Veralla were together amidst a cluster of communication stations on one of the bridge's elevated platforms, where they could have some privacy. He was still dismayed at the string of recent events. Mere days ago everything seemed all right – the war, the future, his own life. And then the world had come crashing down in every way imaginable. Victory was replaced with sheer defeat. A powerful ally had turned into a terrifying enemy. Millions had died, their souls defiled and gone.

He himself had been dead. Worse, he had been erased from reality. He shuddered at the thought. Under any other circumstances, he'd never believe that fact, or would've been paralyzed with existential fear whether his resurrection was true or he was in some illusory afterlife. Yet as miraculously as it sounds, he not only had died, but he had been returned to life by Veralla. Only because it had been her who saved him he believed it happened, and found at the same time enough strength to overcome the dread arising from such a harrowing nightmare.

He turned, seeking her eyes, and she craned her neck, meeting his gaze. He sat on the edge of a rounded floor casing, and she sat on her haunches next to him, her wing wrapped around his shoulders. He smiled and she returned the gesture with a happy hrrr. They both looked at the bridge at large.

Zuckeroff was in the process of boasting his academical knowledge of astral combat, while both Kiana and Cloud corrected him at every other sentence. Kiana had quickly gotten the hang of Ouroboros' systems and when she wasn't busy caring for Nightsong she was giving a multitude of orders to make the others familiar with their stations. It looked amusing, having a slender girl standing at the command helm of a titanic starship, bossing around heavily armored soldiers, futuristic career heroes, and dragons.

"Kiana better not get used to the idea of being in command," Airo remarked in a pensive tone. "Otherwise the rest of us will never hear the end of it."

"I think she is doing fine," Veralla objected lightly.

"Well, she is," he agreed. "I was just joking."

"Oh."

In truth, she would make a fine starship captain, he added privately to himself, watching as Kiana grew more and more confident with each instruction. Merely a couple of hours had passed and already she looked like someone who had done this for years. It was possible her performance was just a byproduct from the hyperfocus of a life-or-death situation, yet it was impressive nonetheless.

Oh, yes, I think the same, too!

"What!?" Airo nearly jumped. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Veralla asked with mild alarm.

"There was this... warm wave... and then I felt you... speaking in my mind!"

"Oh," she said, inclining her snout in apology. "Should I have not done so? I thought you simply wanted to change to non-verbal talking."

"No harm done," he said, petting her twin crests. "I was just... I had no idea you could communicate telepathically, let alone hear my thoughts."

"Oh, this is new for me too," she said, swishing her tail. "I started to sense what you are thinking only an hour ago or so. I was very happy and wanted to tell you something too, but your thoughts were a little confusing and absorbed, like you were speaking to yourself. So when you made this clear remark about Kiana, I thought you wanted, well, for us to talk this way."

Airo was surprised, and even a bit overwhelmed. He had heard before at the Starspire Academy, in his previous life, theories how people's mental processes often were like a broadcast to those who could perceive them. He had trained himself to be able to think 'quietly', yet he had done so mostly out of discipline, not because he ever expected such a skill to be useful.

"This is truly fantastic," he said to Veralla. "And you say it happened to you so recently?"

"Yes," she said. "Why, is it something wrong?"

"No, no, I am just surprised. Can you sense the thoughts of others?"

"I am not sure," she hrrr–ed. "I guess I can probably do so if I channel the Æther, but I can sense you so easily, as if we are in the same place at once! Oh, Glawlrhain told me about this – it is called 'mindlink'! It happens when soulkin become very, very close to each other."

"I see," he replied. Mindlink... a phenomenon whose prerequisite was genuine intimacy between individuals? Like Ferrtau and Kalessia... so in the end they hadn't flaunted their arcane prowess as mere display of power to fashion a more profound way of communication. They had been speaking mind-to-mind because they already had had deep feelings for each other. How was such a supernatural trait facilitated? Still... was the answer important right now?

As he reflected upon this revelation, Airo employed long-learned techniques to shield his thoughts from interception. He looked at Veralla and decided to test his half-forgotten skill. "Do you sense what I am thinking about now?"

She snaked her neck this and that way, her concentrated expression almost comical in its sincerity. "I can sense you are thinking and feeling in general, but not what in particular," she said. Her frown suddenly melted into a smile. "Oh, can you try sensing my thoughts?"

Airo blinked. "Well, I..."

"Come on!" she urged. "Please, please, please! I am going to keep them as clear as I can!"

"All right," he said. "Let me focus."

He closed his eyes and calmed his mind. Almost immediately, he felt another presence. It was simultaneously away and within; free in its own manner, yet close like a warm embrace. He reached out gently and touched this presence. Instantly, he recognized Veralla.

She responded to his mental touch, her thoughts flowing in a swirl of tender resonance, carrying kindness and joy. Hers were pure feelings, notions beyond any words, flights of brilliant light more vivid than any image, lucidity perceived straight by the soul. It was beauty given form. Airo was perfectly aware what he sensed.

Love.

He opened his eyes and reached out, cupping her snout softly. "Thank you, Veralla."

She hrrr–ed at his touch, rubbing her cheek against his palm. "But I have not formed my thoughts yet!"

"What I sense is enough to make my spirit soar. So I thank you again."

"Oh, okay," she said, her voice a little uncertain, yet she swelled with happiness. He could feel it through the mindlink.

"I am glad I am your soulkin, Veralla" he said, making sure his feelings resonated in his mind as brightly as possible.

"I am glad I am yours too, Airo" she said, smiling in her fierce draconic way. Her eyes lowered. "Although I wonder... can we be truly soulkin without being Radiant Knights?"

"Of course we can," he said confidently, frowning at her sudden worry. "Nothing, neither no one, says we must be part of the Order to have affection for each other – especially when we have reached a point where our mutual fondness gives us extraordinary traits like the mindlink."

"I know, I just... Kiana and Nightsong became Knights first, and then they declared each other soulkin..."

"That is what bothers you?" Airo chuckled. "My dear, we can become Radiant Knights right this instant if you so desire, even though I already proclaimed everyone aboard as such regardless."

"We can?" Veralla perked up, full of hope. "But we have to take the Pure Vow and there is no one to guide us through the rite of initiation."

Airo smirked. "You forget I am still the leader of the Order. We need no one." He quirked an eyebrow. "Do you want us to?"

"Yes!" she said eagerly. "Let us both become Radiant Knights now, Airo! I am ready!"

He began without pause, leaving his mind wide open. "No matter darkness, I am light."

And she continued, her voice and thoughts in perfect harmony with his. "No matter fear, I am love."

"No matter death, I am transcendent."

"Even in failure, I accept the beauty of All."

"Even in defeat, I prevail in my soul."

"Even in despair, I walk fully aware the Celestial Way."

"I am an exemplar to all who seek the light of the Great Cosmos."

"I am a beacon to all who yearn the embrace of the Fire Eternal."

"I am the shining star, the guiding light, the undying champion."

"I am a Knight hallowed in Radiance," they both sang out. "And I vow to bestow my flame, my heart, and my soul to any and all."

They finished the Vow, their eyes locked together in a loving gaze.

"There," he said. "We are now official Radiant Knights."

"Oh, Airo, I am so very happy!" she rawr–ed, her purple eyes bright. "And now we can also be soulkin, too!"

"Yep, even though I told you before we can be soulkin no matter what," he said warmly.

Veralla rawr–ed again, looking around the starship's bridge as if she wanted to embrace the whole world with her beaming spirit. Abruptly her wings drooped. "I am very glad, Airo" she said quietly. "It makes me infinitely happy we became Radiant Knights and that we are soulkin, and that our hearts and minds soar with each other. If only... we could enjoy ourselves... a little longer..."

"I feel the same way," he said, and leaned to hug her. She returned the gesture and they sat so for a minute, basking in their shared presence. Then he gently broke the contact and smiled. "Since both of us will face the risk of death soon, I might as well give you this now."

He took out his virtualizer and rematerialized one of the device's stored items. It was a large, translucent bracelet, its structure criss-crossed by a matrix of intricate, amber-colored crystals. Airo took the bracelet and fastened it to Veralla's foreclaw.

"This is an aethertech gridcaster," he said. "Its outer layer is made from damage-resistant polymer and has additional length to allow for adjustment as you grow."

"Oh, Airo, this is so nice!" Veralla squeed. She rotated her foreclaw, looking at the gridcaster from different angles, her drawn-out hrrr mirroring the excitement in her mind. "Thank you so much!"

"I wanted to make you a present, so I asked Bernard and Zeromon to craft it," he said, happy at her reaction. "They say it is among the most advanced designs currently in the galaxy. I was going to give it to you after the war, yet now when there may be no after... I thought this was the next best opportunity."

"Thank you again, Airo!" Veralla exclaimed. "I will keep this forever." She clutched the gridcaster, admiring it for a while. Then she lifted her head "Now," she said, her webbed ears twitching, and he felt a strange hesitation in her mind, "I want to give you a present, too."

"Oh," he said, taken aback pleasantly. "What kind of present?"

"A kiss," she said, her voice shy.

"A kiss?" he asked, amused. His smile widened. "Sure, go ahead. Although I do not know how a human and a dragon would... you know, do such a thing."

In response, her large serpentine tongue licked him across the face.

"Okay... that also works."

"Was it a good kiss?" she asked anxiously.

"It is difficult for me to decide," he replied mildly. "This is the very first time I receive a kiss from a dragon. I have no previous experience to–"

Veralla licked him again, dazing him into silence.

"What about now? Was the first kiss good?" she asked.

"You... you kissed me again only so you can ask the same question?" Airo balked.

She showed her teeth in a devious smile, her slit-pupiled eyes sparkling. "I will continue to kiss you until you have enough experience to answer me."

"We have been mindlinked soulkin for less than two hours and already your dragon nature pushes for dominance," Airo groaned. "Not fair."

"I think it is fun," Veralla hrrr–ed.

They both laughed, but then became grim again. Ouroboros was blazing toward Terra Para, where the fate of everything would be decided in a few hours. What had happened and what was about to come weighed heavily in the atmosphere, dampening their spirits.

Yet even then their love sang, keeping their resolve and their hopes strong against the sheer odds. Airo felt a strength inside him that made him able to endure everything, to accomplish anything, to stop at nothing no matter what, if it meant he would be with Veralla.

He had felt such a strength once before. And... by all reckoning it should have been his last. Not merely because of his deadened heart; he had died in truth, before the realization that he still carried the holiest of flames in his soul. He had experienced this moment of the absolute, and nevertheless was here again within the mortal realm.

All of it thanks to her.

"I guess you have saved my life twice now," Airo said quietly, his thoughts suddenly roiling. "I... do not know what to say. I can never thank you enough for your selflessness, especially when you have given it to me knowing what kind of a person I–"

"You have saved my life two times also," Veralla interrupted him softly. "And you are my soulkin now. Whoever you have been in the past, that is over. Now is what matters from here on."

"Two times?" he echoed. He was infinitely glad for her words, and made sure she knew by letting out his thoughts flow outward, and sensed her reassuring response.

"Yes," she flapped her wings. "Once, when you accepted me still unhatched from my dying mother," she said, her voice betraying the faintest tremble, "and once, when you protected me from Ferrtau at Dragon Retreat."

He nodded, humbled by her words. Indeed, even in his darkest moments, he always had carried the light within. Regardless how far he had strayed, the Way had always been there for him, always available, always ready to forgive and to redeem.

He remembered that night at the secluded town amidst the frozen wasteland, where he had first met Ferrtau after seven centuries of separation. He remembered his former friend's pleading eyes and his strangled voice. He remembered how Ferrtau had begged him to take Veralla. With the impenetrable curtain of revenge gone now, Airo re-evaluated the whole encounter and realized how wrong he had been.

"I protected you, yes," he agreed. "But Ferrtau never intended to hurt you. He merely wanted to assure himself of your existence and to have you remind him of his soulkin. Perhaps, if I had never come between you and Ferrtau, none of this would have happened. None of us would be in the situation where we are now, even Ferrtau himself."

"Maybe this is true," she said hesitantly, and he felt a wave of regret and sorrow in her mind. "Yet even so, I still did not want to go with Ferrtau, because he was very terrible, and that scared me. I was small and scared, and there was no one to help and guide me.

"So when you protected me, Airo, you gave me the assurance that I was not alone in this world. That there was someone who would help me, and guide me, and keep me company."

"Veralla..."

"Please hold me, Airo."

He did so, taking her in a tight hug. He fought the sudden tears which threatened to blur his vision, yet through the mindlink he sensed she had let hers flow freely, and followed her example. Their thoughts and feelings merged, mutual, matched, intense. Their passionately tender communion brought their spirits closer than ever, leaving no gaps, no secrets, no fear – only light, everywhere.

Except one place.

Airo gasped softly, startled by the memory. It was time for his last, final wound to heal and go away. He carefully pushed himself apart.

"Veralla, there is something I must tell you."

"Anything," she said instantly, lifting her glistening eyes. "You can tell me anything, Airo."

He sighed. "You once asked me why I was so sad. These were the very first words you spoke after you hatched. These were the first words we exchanged when we met. You then asked me a lot of other questions." He struggled to continue despite the lump in his throat. "I think it is only right that I finally answer your questions. I think it is time for you to know fully who I am. This is my story, Veralla. This is how I came to be who I am."

And then he told her everything. At first he stumbled over his words, unsure from where to begin and what to explain first. He told her how he became a warrior; how he yearned to accomplish great things and how he met the love of his life. He recounted his perilous journey to the stars, and the distant place where they took him. He described his first encounter with a living dragon, and brought forth memories of the Red Colony Campaign – a war in which hundreds of thousands had died, the casualties terrible on both sides. He recounted his military career, from his humble beginning as a fresh cadet to his apogee as a division commander. He told her about his greatest invention, veronite, and how he created it, sparing no ugly detail. Gradually, his tale unfolded, his voice becoming stronger and more confident, old pain unburdening his heart with every spoken word.

For her part, Veralla listened, for once not asking a single question. She sat still, her purple eyes alert, her webbed ears spread fully, her whole attention focused entirely on what he said.

So he went on, adding detail and context to places and events, sometimes repeating himself to reveal new aspects of his life. He described the green, magical plains of Arceria, where it all had begun. He talked at length about the wonders of the Starspire Academy and the legendary reputation of its Magisters. He remembered the night of the Great Equalizing and the arrival of the Transhuman Order on his homeworld. He portrayed the brutal, savage landscapes on Utopia Draconis, every day there a battle for survival, and he reflected on how that world had been different than his.

He spoke of all the people he had met: from those he had encountered on his travels from the outer provinces to the Academy, through those he had interacted with during his training and graduation, to those who had died before his eyes and in his arms.

Most importantly, he spoke about Zenassa and Ferrtau, and how the three of them had become friends, and then how rivalry had risen between him and Ferrtau, because it had turned out they both loved Zenassa. But in the end, she had chosen Airo.

And finally, rising to his feet from sheer emotion, he told the story of the love he and Zenassa had shared: from the moment when their eyes had first met, to the last, tragic second when their gazes had separated forever, he recounted their life in full, each sentence wracking him with emotion. Their first kiss. Their first night together. Their wedding ceremony. Their mutual worry and relief during the long, final years on Utopia Draconis.

And then Zenassa had died.

Airo had been left alone.

He spoke of his tortured struggle afterward, yet he didn't dwell too much on that period of semi-existence. He recounted it for the sake of completeness and moved on, for that was not the point. But the point had already been made, and thus this brought an end to his tale, and an end to his pain.

He was free.

"Zenassa," Airo breathed, as he drew to a close. "I will never forget her. She was the greatest thing to happen in my previous life, and I always loved her with all my mind, heart, and soul."

"You loved her very deeply," Veralla murmured.

Airo turned. "Yes, I did," he said with a sad smile.

"Do you love her still?"

He paused, rocked at the openness of her tone. There was also a frailness to it, which made him afraid to answer. Yet he couldn't force himself to say to Veralla anything but the truth. "Yes. Yes, I still love Zenassa. Not in the same way as when she was alive, yet I carry her in my memory, and will always think fondly of her and of the time we have spent together."

Veralla sat on her haunches, her wings and tail limp, suddenly looking small and vulnerable. She lifted her snout and looked at Airo, her amethyst eyes deep and intent.

"Will you love me as you did Zenassa?" she asked in a very small voice.

Airo held his breath. Moments passed, suspended in eternity. Never in his life he had heard a more profound question.

And never he had felt more certain of the answer.

"Yes, I will," he said. "I will love you now and forever."

Happiness and joy swelled in her mind, overflowing in her every fibre, and her claw-like stripes glowed warmly. He made a step forward and she rose, both of them meeting halfway in a heartfelt embrace.

"I love you, Airo."

"And I love you, Veralla."