I Am The Game's Villain Chapter 767: [The Rewritten Lost Past] [7]

Though it seemed like a full day of journeying, only two hours had truly passed.

Neither Lisandra nor Alphonse voiced any complaints. Instead, both remained silently and deeply impressed, since Amael never once eased his speed. There was no dip in momentum, no pause to catch his breath, no hint whatsoever that transporting two grown women across the vast ocean at such velocity taxed him in the least. He soared through the skies with the effortless calm of someone on a relaxed morning walk.

Well. After all, he was the offspring of a Guardian God.

This could well be the bare minimum expected from one who had also vanquished a Guardian Spirit.

At some point over the endless sea, Lisandra had silently set aside her pride.

The shift occurred bit by bit—the rhythm of flight, the comforting warmth of his firm, steady chest—until her hold changed from mere avoidance to a real embrace, fingers clutching his shirt's fabric. Then her head tilted down a touch. Then her eyes drifted shut.

Suddenly, she slept peacefully against his chest, her face fully relaxed for the first time since he'd met her.

Alphonse stayed alert throughout, her arms loosely circled around his neck, observing the landscape blurring below with focused interest. The ocean extended endlessly in all directions, immense and barren, its sheer vastness alien compared to the enclosed realms she'd navigated her whole life.

Suddenly, with no warning or obvious marker, Amael came to a halt.

They floated amid the open sea. Sky, water, and whispering winds enclosed them completely.

"Are you lost?" Alphonse inquired.

"Why would I be?" Amael responded.

His silver gaze swept the surrounding atmosphere, discerning something unseen, perhaps verifying a detail. Then, without a word, the arm cradling Lisandra’s legs adjusted position.

The shift in posture jolted Lisandra awake before awareness fully returned. Her eyes fluttered open, hazy and bewildered—only to meet a face mere inches away.

Her body stiffened instantly.

Amael had drawn her into a tighter embrace, her form pressed to his torso instead of slung over his arms, their faces now aligned. Yet his attention fixed not on her, but on his freed right hand.

Lisandra fixated on the scant space between their faces, momentarily speechless.

Above his extended palm, a shape began to emerge.

A glowing crimson pentagon appeared in midair, spinning deliberately. Both women immediately recognized it as a mana circle, their instincts labeling it so first.

Yet it wasn't. The intricate, unfamiliar symbols formed a script beyond their comprehension.

Whatever its nature, it surpassed mere mana by far.

The circle accelerated, whirling faster, and then—

The entire world transformed.

No slow fade, no warning. In the space between blinks, the boundless ocean disappeared, replaced by a hovering view over solid ground—a colossal, expansive island absent just moments before.

"What the—" Lisandra blurted out, her eyes widening as she peered downward.

Beneath lay no trace of civilization. No paths, no villages, no tilled fields or signs of human dwelling. Only thick, multilayered forest blanketing the island to its boundaries.

The noises rising from below belonged to no tame land: deep, echoing rumbles traveling vast distances, unearthly howls unlike any familiar creature's, massive wing flaps from birds gliding at their level, utterly indifferent to the intruders at their height.

One such bird, enormous with a wingspan defying Lisandra's vast encounters, flew near enough for her to discern every feather. She followed it with her gaze until clouds swallowed it.

"What is this place?" Alphonse asked, stunned. Her sapphire eyes darted everywhere—from the woodland to the soaring birds to the shadowy mana beasts below, far larger than any she'd battled, some towering over the trees they traversed.

"Hold on a bit more," Amael instructed, then surged ahead even swifter.

The tallest summit dominated the view ahead. Amael beelined toward it unerringly, and for brief seconds, both women braced for a crash into unyielding stone—

Until they spotted it. Not purely natural, but a cavern recessed into the cliffside high up, concealed unless approached head-on, reachable solely by flight.

Amael decelerated smoothly, touching down on the stone ledge at its mouth.

He gently lowered Lisandra, his arms disengaging.

She retreated a step right away, pausing without meeting his eyes. Never before had she been held so intimately, so prolonged, by any man....

"You can get down too," Amael told Alphonse, still clinging to his back.

Alphonse unlooped her arms from his neck and dismounted.

The cavern proved bigger than its entrance hinted, a spacious vault with lofty ceiling delving deeper into the rock than visible outside. Sparsely furnished yet maintained. A straw mattress filled one corner, garments neatly stacked or spread nearby, the setup bearing the mark of regular habitation—tidy and purposeful.

"What is this place?" Lisandra questioned, pivoting to assess its scale.

But Alphonse ignored the inside entirely. She'd wandered to the cavern's brink, overlooking the exterior, transfixed by the vista from this vantage.

From above, the island revealed its full majesty—lush and untamed coast to coast, forest canopy rippling like waves in the breeze, gigantic birds wheeling lazily below the clouds, mana beasts as distant silhouettes weaving through the canopy. The horizon bent visibly. The sunlight dazzled.

Amael joined her side. Lisandra approached shortly after, pulled by their expressions, and froze upon beholding it herself.

"An island hidden from most," Amael said smiling. "An island of peace."

No matter his visits, its allure never faded.

"A Khaos Princess discovered this place," he went on softly. "Thousands of years back. She concealed it from all—from every force and God that might claim her."

"Khaos Princess?" Lisandra shot him a look.

Alphonse pivoted slightly, intrigued.

Amael skipped detailing the term, deeming it too lengthy for now, and pressed on.

"Freedom meant more to her than anything," he explained. "Not luxury, might, or fame—just liberty. She chafed at duties, bonds, and Eden’s overarching control, dictating unchosen roles for all." His silver eyes lingered on the distance. "Thus, she retreated here. She forged her realm at the world's fringe, surrounded solely by trusted companions—her beasts, who sought nothing but her company."

"She sounds like someone I would have liked," Alphonse murmured after a pause.

"I would have liked her as well," Amael agreed.

"You don’t know her?" Lisandra asked, surprised, facing him. His tone had implied familiarity.

"She passed away long before my birth," Amael replied.

Both women fell silent briefly.

"Did they find this place?" Alphonse wondered after a moment. She left 'they' vague, unsure herself, but suspected foul play over natural death.

"If they had," Amael chuckled briefly, "this haven would seem far less serene." He eyed the woods below. "I’m unclear on her exact fate. Likely, she ventured beyond its safeguards for some reason, and peril awaited outside. The island stayed untouched."

"If not even Gods could find this place," Alphonse said, turning puzzled toward him, "how did you find it?"

"Before her end, she passed the key and its secrets to a sister," Amael answered. "I acquired it from her." His lip quirked faintly. "Locating it afterward demanded years. The key reveals its existence and grants entry, but not its location."

"Why would her sister reveal it to you?" Lisandra pressed, brow creasing. "If so vital and secret, why entrust it to you?"

"Who knows Princess Merithra’s whims," Amael sighed. "My guess? She sought to delegate it to one who’d truly cherish it. Someone who’d come here."

"That feels reckless," Lisandra objected, tone edged with indignation for the sister. "Her sibling’s legacy, so intimate—passed on like that—"

"Not precisely a gift," Amael clarified. "Enigma’s desire wasn’t possession. She aimed to preserve the island’s secrecy, spare the beasts disturbance. The bearer mattered less than the duty being upheld."

"And now that bearer is you," Alphonse noted.

"Yeah." He nodded curtly.

"But what needs tending?" Lisandra asked, truly baffled, surveying the pristine wilds. "It’s concealed already. The beasts thrive independently. Why not leave them be?"

Amael shook his head deliberately.

"Enigma concealed it not just for solitude," he stated. "She knew the peril if ill-intentioned eyes found it." He hesitated. "These beasts aren’t commonplace. Some possess ancient power rivaling weapons for any would-be wielder—Eden’s forces, rivals, warmongers." His silver gaze traced the far trees. "Invisibility shielded them. That veil requires a constant guardian."

"So you’re a guardian," Alphonse said, arching a brow.

"Something like that." He looked between them, grinning. "But starting today, I share the duty."

Lisandra eyed him a moment, then folded her arms. "You’re just dumping your duties on us."

"What I offer," Amael replied calmly, reclining against the stone with gaze outward, "is the ultimate sanctuary in the known world. Concealed from Gods, realms, anyone hunting you. Rest here safely." He cocked his head. "Leave anytime, of course. Nowhere surpasses this."

"And you?" Alphonse asked. "Returning to Celesta now?"

"No." He shook his head. "I’ll remain awhile. Can’t vanish forever—my suspicious father would hunt me down. Persistent enough, he might uncover the forbidden."

He trusted its defenses yet avoided needless gambles.

"So that’s why you never lingered eternally," Lisandra realized. "You longed to."

"Far simpler," Amael conceded. "But my circumstances demand complexity."

"So you’re staying with us now?" Lisandra ventured tentatively.

"At least a month," he confirmed.

"A month?" Alphonse lifted an eyebrow. "Won’t your father panic and search if absent too long?"

"A month to a God equals our mere minute," Amael explained. "I could extend it far more. Just some obligations await eventually."

"A whole month," Lisandra echoed, realization dawning as color flooded her cheeks amid the scan. "Together? Here? Sleeping?" Her gaze hit the lone straw bed, voice pitching up. "On that?"

"Together," Amael affirmed gravely, perhaps overly so. "One bed. Huddle for heat—nights chill at height. Body warmth works best."

"L—Like absolute hell it is!" Lisandra yelped, voice breaking, face aflame from neck upward.

"Then craft your own," Amael suggested, gesturing to the sprawling wilds below. "Ample resources there. Though note—" A subtle smile flickered— "This forest defies normalcy. But two ex-Demigod queens of rival realms should cope."

Lisandra’s chin lifted defiantly, pride eclipsing blush. "We absolutely can." She faced Alphonse. "Come on, Alphonse. Back in twenty with supplies."

"I don’t mind the shared bed, Lisa," Alphonse sighed mildly, yet followed, leaping from the ledge after Lisandra.

"You are a woman now, Alphonse! Drop the act already, you aren’t in Celesta anymore" Lisandra called from below. "Start acting like it means something! I will need to teach you what being a woman is!"

"I doubt you can help me with that..."

"What does that mean?!"

Amael observed their descent to the treetops serenely.

He allotted twenty minutes, generously.

They’d return sooner, faces promising amusement.

An island shaped by a Khaos Princess could never be ’ordinary’.