The night was cool, the full moon soared high, and as the gentle breeze blew, Yusuf Zuck called Miles O’Brien out alone and strolled by the side of the Jar Fountain.
"Louise, three days from now, I plan to leave with you, Ruth, and Ember to go to Dragon Gate, so if you want to visit home, you should set off tomorrow." Lately, Miles O’Brien’s spirit had been poor, worn out, often waking in fright during the night.
"Go to Dragon Gate? No, I won’t go!" To Yusuf Zuck’s surprise, Miles decisively rejected the proposal without a second thought.
She stood still, gazing blankly at Yusuf Zuck, "Yusuf, I don’t want to go, please, don’t take me with you!"
"Why?" Yusuf Zuck never expected Miles to react so vehemently.
"I..." Miles shook her head: "I don’t want to go to that world, I don’t want to see blades flash, I don’t want to see blood, I fear those days, it’s not what I want. Besides, what will become of my parents if I leave? My sister has already gone in, so I won’t go."
Yusuf Zuck suddenly fell silent. He had been unilateral in his wish, thinking there would be no issues, that Miles would leave with him without hesitation.
However... he couldn’t control Miles’s mindset.
"But I don’t know if I will have the life to return, if I will ever be able to see you again!" Having said this, Yusuf slowly walked forward.
After a moment of thought, Miles followed him and murmured, "I just want to live an ordinary life."
"I understand. With your current state, it’s really not suitable for you to come with me." Yusuf Zuck didn’t try to persuade any further, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss, even unsure if Ruth would agree to leave with him.
But he had to enter Dragon Gate. Ariel’s death, Paisley’s capture—he couldn’t get past the barrier in his heart if he didn’t go to Dragon Gate!
The two didn’t speak anymore and just walked around the spring pool before returning to the main building.
Before entering the main building, Miles paused briefly and said, "I will wait for you to come back."
"Hm," Yusuf nodded heavily.
Overnight, Miles drove away without saying goodbye to Yusuf; perhaps her mind was too troubled to know what to say, so she chose to say nothing at all.
"Why did Miles leave?" Ruth ran to Yusuf’s room, seemingly baffled, "Why did she leave alone in the dead of night?"
"Ruth, take a seat. I have something to ask you." Yusuf gestured for Ruth to come sit with him.
"What is it?" Ruth asked, puzzled.
"I’m going to Dragon Gate for revenge, to rescue Krew. Will you come with me?" Yusuf asked cautiously, his heart in his throat, fearing that Ruth too might refuse.
"What do you think? We’re joined at the hip, united as spouses. I’ve already said, wherever you go, I go, never to part till death!" Ruth grabbed Yusuf’s hand, smiling, "Even if a mountain of blades or a sea of fire lies ahead, Ruth will jump with you!"
"Hahaha~" Hearing Ruth’s words, Yusuf laughed loudly, embracing her tightly.
"What’s going on? Are you okay? But... does Miles... not want to go with you?" Ruth finally realized, her face showing surprise.
"I don’t know, maybe she wants to go, but she’s afraid." Yusuf shook his head, "It’s okay if she doesn’t go, and besides, we will come back!"
"I’m here with you, don’t be sad. Perhaps she really is afraid, she was quite traumatized after all." Ruth consoled.
"Right, then get ready. In three days, we’ll set out!" Yusuf nodded and said.
"Just the two of us? What about the others?" Ruth asked thoughtfully.
"Sara definitely won’t go, the old man won’t either, Fleur needs to look after his wife and child, as for Ember... I plan to take her with us. Perhaps the Dragon Gate World has a way to help her recover her memory!"
"Have you asked her?" Ruth inquired.
Yusuf Zuck shook his head, "Not yet. I’m afraid she won’t agree."
"You should still ask. Whether she agrees or not, it’s better to be mentally prepared," Ruth Wilcox considered and then suggested.
"Alright, I’ll go ask now. You get ready," Yusuf said as he stood up and left the room.
Ember Vance had been living in the villa for several months. During these months, she hadn’t gone anywhere or asked about anything. Normally, her personality wasn’t ; she couldn’t usually sit still. Yet she had become idle here. Although she didn’t know anyone in this place, she insisted on staying, not even returning home.
When Yusuf knocked on her door, Ember was reading a scripture, a Buddhist text on reincarnation.
"Why are you so free?" she opened the door and invited Yusuf in. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ noᴠelfire.net
"There’s something I’d like to talk to you about," Yusuf smiled as he sat opposite her. He truly, deeply liked miss Ember because she was a pure individual, a woman not of the underworld, but one who carries its spirit!
"Hmm, go ahead," Ember nodded.
"You may have understood by now. Ariel Higgins is dead, Paisley Kirk has been captured, and I’ve been preparing to enter Dragon Gate. Now, I’ve found a way to enter, so I’m going in."
"Right, you must go there, because you are a man. You should kill those despicable bastards!" Ember said fiercely.
"But I want to take you with me." Yusuf suddenly said.
"Uh..." Ember was stunned and instinctively asked, "Why?"
"Because I don’t know if I can make it back. This journey is fraught with life-and-death peril. If I never return, I’ll never see you again in this life. Leaving you behind, I won’t be at ease anywhere. I’ll worry about your future, your life, and I even fear that if I can’t make it back, you’ll marry someone else. That’s why I want to take you!"
Ember gave him a peculiar look and then bowed her head in thought.
Yusuf patiently waited for her reply.
"Who else is going with you?" she asked softly after a moment.
"Ruth Wilcox, you, and me—just the three of us," he answered.
"Oh," Ember drew out the word, then suddenly lifted her head and asked with courage, "My... first time, it was with you, right?"
"Uh..." Yusuf was momentarily at a loss. What was this all about, and why did she suddenly bring this up?
"Yes, absolutely," Yusuf nodded vigorously.
"Did I know before whether you had other girlfriends?"
"Okay, then I’ll go with you" After asking these few questions, Ember agreed promptly.
Yusuf was a bit stunned and somewhat lost as to what miss Ember was getting at.
"I don’t want to have regrets. If one day, I regain my memory but find my man gone, what’s the point of being alive? I don’t know what’s come over me. Seeing you distraught the other day, I couldn’t sleep from distress. In my dreams, in my world, it seems there’s only you!"
"Actually, I quite liked what you said at the hospital the other day. It had a kind of boldness, a manly spirit!" Ember looked at Yusuf.
"What did I say?" Yusuf asked, trying to recall what he had said at the time.
"You said: ’Ember, from now on, follow me. Wherever I go, you go. I’m not any kind of group leader, but I am your man. I was in the past, perhaps not now, but I will be in the future. I just lost a woman, so I don’t want to lie to you or say anything else. I don’t care whether you accept me, but you... you’re mine.’"
"When I heard that, I knew that you wanted to protect me, to keep me safe by your side, and not let anyone hurt me the way Ariel Higgins was hurt!"