Within a dark room, three Vampires greeted the mysterious Vampiress that had just arrived in front of them. Smiles surged in their lips as they gave her a glance.
"So? How did it go?" Asked the oldest of the Vampires in the room, his sharp eyes glancing at her.
"Fufu, how do you think it went?" She laughed, materializing a big blue jewel over her left hand, which emanated a powerful, divine energy from within…
"Y-You got it…?!" One of the Vampires asked. "How were you able to secure it?!"
"It was as easy as stealing the candy from a child." Giggled the Vampiress. "Once the tower crumbled apart and everyone was busy fighting that little girl, I just stepped into the room and took the core when nobody was watching! Easiest job of my life."
"Excellently done." Smiled the oldest of the three vampires sitting around the table. "With this, we have most of the pieces we need. And with that girl out of the equation, we can advance much faster…"
"Though, is that ghost still kicking?" Asked the other, burlier vampire.
"Sadly, yes. She was… unexpectedly powerful. Much more powerful than I imagined. "She's not someone we can easily mess with, not until that day."
"Well, we can leave her be for a bit. Our next target is not her after all." Smiled the oldest vampire. "But the Empire of Light."
"Are we finally doing it? Are we finally striking?!" Asked the burly vampire, getting pumped up.
"Not get, idiot, calm down." Sighed the slimmer vampire. "But very soon, I assume, Patriarch?"
"Yes, indeed, very soon." Giggled the old vampire man. "We will avenge our kin and the Demon King's death, and set an example to all other Kingdoms… We Vampires will be the new tribe that will dominate Midgard."
"Tear, I've always loved you…"
Tear's eyes opened in surprise, as she was gasping for air out of the shock her dream gave to her. However, once she realized she had finally woken up, she felt… surprised.
For how long has she been wearing that Crown? So many years she couldn't even count them now. It felt like such a long eternity… It was almost baffling.
It was as if she was always dreaming. She wasn't seeing through her eyes, but through the eyes of the crown. Without realizing it, her mind became twisted by it, as her emotions were heightened, making her become a complete nutjob.
"I-I'm… me?" Tear was surprised, glancing at her own hands, and caressing them.
She touched her own head, feeling her long, blue horns, but no crown at all. The feeling of not having that piece of metal over her head… made her feel unease.
Yet at the same time, she felt freed, relieved, even…
"W-Where am I?" Once she finally calmed down, she started looking around, feeling lost.
She found herself resting inside a large room, looking like something in an old and regal castle. As she walked to see through the windows, she noticed several people outside, walking around, talking, and smiling.
Tear quickly realized she was inside some sort of town, or city. And it had big walls, leading to an outside world covered on green grass, with piles of snow slowly melting.
The sky was clear, and the sun was shining brightly. It was still rather cold, but not as cold as it was before, where snow was falling from the skies every single day.
"Where is this place- Huh? Ice Giants…" Tear was surprised. "Those people… The villagers. But where is… where is Veredorr?"
The door slowly opened, as Tear felt slightly afraid, someone entered the room without even knocking!
"Huh? Oh! You're awake!" It wasn't anybody intimidating though, but an adorable little half-dragon girl, with long silvery-white hair and black scales growing in her tiny hands and neck.
It was nobody else than little Nyx, of course.
"E-Eh?" Tear was confused, of course, she didn't knew her.
"I'll go tell mommy!" The little girl suddenly used her tiny wings, flying away at a rather fast speed.
Just seconds later, her mother, Maria, appeared.
"Tear… You're finally awake." She smiled gently. "How do you feel?"
"W-Who… who are you? Where am I? H-How do you know my name?!" Tear panicked a bit, feeling afraid of everything.
"Hahh… I guess it is natural that you would feel a bit surprised, or afraid… Since you put on that crown, it has felt like you've been in a long dream, isn't it?" Maria sighed. "Please calm down. You've been asleep for three days since we took away your crown. We are the people that helped you freed yourself from the crown. It is long gone, and we also brought along your tribe, which was frozen before."
"M-My tribe…" Sighed Tear. "I… Thank you for helping me…"
Maria smiled gently, sitting at her side. In all this time, Tear seemed to not have aged at all, still remaining in her young appearance. Nonetheless, she was still an Ice Giant, of almost three meters of height, so she was easily taller, despite her adorable appearance.
"Name's Maria, I am the one that… Well you could call me the village chief, yeah." Maria nodded. "I am not dreaming in making a huge country or anything like that right now, I just want a place where everyone can just live comfortably and happily. I hope you wouldn't mind staying with us, and your villagers. We've explained them what happened, and they don't blame you for the Frost Curse either. There are some aunts and uncles within them, you should go meet them later."
"I-I see…" Tear sighed, feeling down.
She couldn't help but recall the words of Veredorr, blushing a bit. She still felt confused and wanted a lot of time to process everything.
However, she couldn't help herself but ask for him. Tear wanted to see him more than anything now, to thank him for his bravely, and for everything… he has done for her.
And of course, to tell him that she share the same feelings for him.
"Where is Veredorr? Is he busy somewhere?" Tear wondered.
"…" Maria remained in silence, looking down with a sorrowful glance. "Veredorr… didn't made it."