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For several seconds, nobody spoke.
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The Dreamer.
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The name seemed to drain warmth from the entire world.
The flowers that had bloomed beneath Sol's feet stopped moving.
The stars that remained in the heavens dimmed.
Even the Void creatures lowered themselves until their foreheads touched the ground.
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Rosy slowly released her mother's hand.
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"...What exactly is the Dreamer?"
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Her mother looked at her.
For the first time since appearing, there was something unmistakable in her eyes.
Fear.
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"Something that should never have awakened."
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Rosy frowned.
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"That's not an explanation."
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"I know."
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"Then explain."
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Her mother sighed.
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"You haven't changed."
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Rosy crossed her arms.
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"Apparently that's becoming a family complaint."
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Kael quietly nodded.
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"It is."
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Rosy glared at him.
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"Not helping."
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Her mother smiled faintly.
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Then the smile disappeared.
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"Before there was creation, there was possibility."
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Orion stepped forward.
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"Before possibility, there was thought."
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Rosy looked between them.
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"And the Dreamer?"
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Her mother answered softly.
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"The thought that dreamed possibility into existence."
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Silence.
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Rosy's expression slowly changed.
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"...So it created everything?"
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"No."
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Her mother's gaze moved toward the endless heavens.
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"It dreamed everything."
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A pause.
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"Dreams are not the same as creation."
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Rosy understood immediately.
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"If it wakes up..."
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Her mother nodded.
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"The dream ends."
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The words were simple.
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Yet horrifying.
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Rosy looked upward.
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The stars were still disappearing.
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One.
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Two.
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Three.
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And suddenly she understood.
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The Dreamer wasn't destroying the stars.
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It was waking up.
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And the stars were disappearing because they had only ever existed inside its dream.
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Her stomach turned.
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"...Then we're all imaginary?"
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Orion shook his head.
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"Not exactly."
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"That's comforting."
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"It shouldn't be."
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"...Great."
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Sol suddenly stepped forward.
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"Can it be stopped?"
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Everyone became silent.
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His golden eyes were steady.
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His voice wasn't.
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Because beneath his composure—
Rosy could hear the fear.
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His mother looked toward him.
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"Perhaps."
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Sol's eyes brightened slightly.
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"How?"
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She looked toward Rosy.
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The answer was immediate.
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"Through her."
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Everyone turned.
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Rosy pointed at herself.
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"...Me?"
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Her mother nodded.
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"The Dreamer cannot awaken completely while you exist."
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Rosy's expression hardened.
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"Why?"
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"Because you are the contradiction it cannot understand."
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"...Meaning?"
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"You were born from Darkness."
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She touched Rosy's cheek gently.
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"But you chose to create."
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A pause.
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"You carry destruction."
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Her gaze shifted toward Sol.
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"Yet you protect life."
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Then toward the Devourer.
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"You are connected to both."
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Rosy slowly understood.
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She wasn't merely the Eternal Sun.
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She was the balance.
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The impossible middle between creation and destruction.
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The Dreamer couldn't erase reality while that contradiction existed.
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But then—
The Devourer's voice interrupted.
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"THAT ISN'T THE WHOLE TRUTH."
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Rosy turned toward it.
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"...Of course it isn't."
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The Devourer stepped out from the darkness.
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Its crimson eyes were unusually serious.
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"The Dreamer doesn't simply want her gone."
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"What does it want?"
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The Devourer looked directly at Rosy.
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"It wants her back."
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Rosy's blood ran cold.
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"...Back?"
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The Devourer nodded.
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"You weren't created by my mother."
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Rosy froze.
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Her mother's expression became complicated.
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The Devourer continued.
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"She found you."
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Silence.
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"She didn't give birth to you."
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Rosy slowly turned toward her mother.
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"...Is that true?"
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Her mother didn't deny it.
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Rosy's heart sank.
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"Then who did?"
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Nobody answered.
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The silence stretched.
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Then her mother whispered:
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"The Dreamer."
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Everything stopped.
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Rosy stared at her.
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"No."
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"It dreamed you into existence."
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"No."
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"You were its first creation."
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Rosy's breathing became uneven.
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"The first thing it ever dreamed."
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She stepped backward.
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"No."
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Her mother reached toward her.
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Rosy moved away.
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"No."
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Because suddenly—
Her entire existence felt like a lie.
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Her name.
Her powers.
Her memories.
Her life.
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Everything.
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"Then why did you call me your daughter?"
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Her mother's eyes filled with sadness.
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"Because I loved you."
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Rosy's lips trembled.
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"That's not what I asked."
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"I know."
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"Then answer me."
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Her mother closed her eyes.
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"You were abandoned."
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Rosy's chest tightened.
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"The Dreamer created you..."
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"...and then forgot you."
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Silence.
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Forgot.
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The word hurt more than anything else.
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The Devourer looked away.
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For once, it didn't make a joke.
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Sol stepped toward Rosy.
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"Mom."
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She didn't respond.
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"Mom."
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Still nothing.
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He gently reached for her hand.
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She allowed him to take it.
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His fingers tightened around hers.
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"You chose us."
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Rosy looked at him.
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"What?"
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"You may have been created by it."
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His golden eyes were unwavering.
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"But you chose us."
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A pause.
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"That's what makes you Mom."
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Rosy's eyes filled with tears.
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The words were simple.
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But they reached somewhere nothing else could.
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She slowly smiled.
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"You're becoming annoyingly wise."
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Sol smiled back.
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"You raised me."
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"...My mistake."
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He laughed.
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For one brief moment—
The darkness lifted.
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Then—
THUMP.
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The universe shook.
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Rosy's smile disappeared.
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The Dreamer's heartbeat had returned.
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But this time—
Something else accompanied it.
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A voice.
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Not from the heavens.
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From the palace.
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A human voice.
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Familiar.
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Rosy's eyes narrowed.
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Someone was laughing inside the royal palace.
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A servant came running through the ruined street.
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"Grand Duke!"
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Rosy turned.
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The servant was pale.
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"The royal family..."
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"What happened?"
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"They're gone."
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Rosy's expression changed.
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"All of them?"
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The servant shook his head violently.
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"No."
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He swallowed.
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"Only the prince."
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Rosy went still.
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The foolish prince.
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The male lead of The Sunshine.
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The man who was supposed to be central to the original novel.
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The man whose destiny should have been connected to the fake heroine.
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Yet now—
He had disappeared.
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Azrael's expression hardened.
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"That's impossible."
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Rosy slowly looked toward the palace.
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A dark mark had appeared above its highest tower.
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A symbol.
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One she had never seen before.
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But somehow—
She understood it.
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The Dreamer's mark.
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Rosy smiled.
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Not happily.
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Coldly.
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"So."
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Darkness gathered around her fingers.
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"While everyone was busy discussing cosmic family drama..."
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Her violet eyes gleamed.
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"...someone kidnapped my kingdom's idiot prince."
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Kael sighed.
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"Of course."
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Azrael drew his weapon.
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Sol's golden aura returned.
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Orion looked toward the palace.
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And Rosy's mother whispered:
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"Be careful."
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Rosy turned toward her.
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"Mother."
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"Yes?"
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Rosy's smile sharpened.
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"If the Dreamer wants me..."
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She looked toward the palace.
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"...it can wait."
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Her darkness spread across the ground.
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"I have unfinished business first."
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Because before she faced an ancient existence older than reality—
There was one thing Rosy refused to forget.
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She was still Liliet Isle Blackwell.
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Grand Duke of the Blackwell family.
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The woman whose name had once been a brand no one dared cross.
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And someone had just stolen something under her protection.
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The palace would answer.
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Whether it wanted to or not.
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End of Chapter 42