The family finally stepped into the activated array and they were swallowed by the bright multicolored light, leaving the ever-warm cottage desolate and empty.
No one knows when the small yet cozy cottage will be filled with warmth and life once again.
Eli, Leon, and Little Han walked inside the spatial void, where a vast number of twinkling denoting a doorway to a certain destination lit up the vast empty space.
"Master~~~" Suddenly, there was a childish voice interrupting the painful silence that surrounded the family of three.
???
Little Han's eyes widened in curiosity. Hearing a child's voice, his interest was immediately piqued. He lifted his head around and looked for the source of the voice.
"Oh! Is this my future playmate?" The voice squealed, and in an instant, a little ball of light hovered around Eli, Leon, and Little Han.
Then it stopped at Little Han as if observing the toddler's appearance. The next moment, the ball of light made a soft 'poof!' sound and transformed into an adorable little child that is about five years old in age.
He had fluffy blue colored hair and his body was covered by a white robe that covered his undergarments. His eyes were sparkling but when Eli looked at them, it was as if she was staring into the neverending galaxy!
The same mysterious eyes looked at Little Han carefully, it blinked for a while until it squinted in excitement as he exclaimed with a happy grin on his face, "He is so cute!!!! Just like me~~"
Eli chuckled lightly, feeling quite amused by the little kid's bubbly reactions. Then she glanced at Leon asking him who the child is.
"This is the Spatial King." Leon introduced the child to Eli and Little Han.
"Hello~~ I am the Spatial King~ You must be my playmate's mother and my master's future wife!!! Welcome to my kingdom!~" The Spatial King beamed in delight as he hovered towards Eli and greeted her while he was floating freely in the air.
"Hewwo…" Since the other party greeted him warmly, Little Han smiled gently and responded. But then, he frowned upon realizing that he did not know his name. His daddy only told them his title.
So then, Little Han looked at the Spatial King and asked, "What is your name?"
"..." Eli and Leon were taken aback by their son's question, usually the people would just address the mysterious being as Spatial King, not by a particular name.
However, the Spatial King was dumbfounded. "Right! How could this be? I don't have a name!!!" He exclaimed and looked at Leon accusingly.
"You, cold master, you did not give me a name! Boohoo! Now my playmate could not even call me properly! Boohoohoo!!" The Spatial King covered his face and cried as his body tumbled in the air while he was accusing Leon of not liking him enough to give him a name.
Eli and Little Han looked at each other, then they both looked at the accused who was left in an awkward position because of the sudden outburst of the Spatial King.
"Sigh… he could be so childish inside his domain…" Leon looked at Eli helplessly as he sensed her confusion about the Spatial King's real character when she already saw him once in action during the war.
"Boohoo, Master's future wife, could you give me a name instead? I believe that my master would be so cold that he would give me a terrible name! *sniff*" The Spatial King set his eyes on Eli to plead because he truly believed that Leon would not give a good thought to his name!
Eli could only helplessly chuckle. She really did not expect that the Spatial King, who appeared in such a formidable manner last war could be this adorable.
She really could not find a trace of semblance between the child in front of her, and the titan-like being that appeared in the skies of the Capital to save a lot of people!
"Alright… I'll think of a name for you." Eli smiled and comforted the crying child, her motherly instincts kicked in, especially when she saw how heartbroken he is to have desired a name. "By the way, just call me Eli…"
"Really? Lady Eli??" The Spatial King froze midair and stared at Eli with anticipation in his eyes. Then he looked at Leon and proudly said, "Did you hear that master? The lady will give me a nice name! Humf!"
"Good for you…" Leon could only leave his eyebrows twitching as the Spatial King dared to put Eli on the spot and even throw a tantrum in front of them.
"En... Let me think for a while…" Eli replied softly as she observed the Spatial King's features, actions, and surroundings. After a while, she smiled and said,
"I hope you will like this name, Zenith. It means 'the highest point or peak' since you are the Spatial King and you rule over this space as you observe every doorway… I think it suits you.."
"Zenith… Zenith… Zenith!!! I like this name very much!!!" The Spatial King rolled the name on his tongue as he remembered what it meant from Eli's explanation. The more he thought of it, the more he was pleased. In the end, he jumped in the air and rolled happily.
"My Playmate! Do you hear that? I finally have a name!!! My name is Zenith!!! My name is Zenith!!" He then looked at Little Han and happily introduced himself again.
"Hewooo Zenith… my name iz Johann! Nice to meet chu!!!" Little Han also happily replied, since Zenith the Spatial King called him playmate, he also treated him in a friendly way.
"Hihihi!!! I am so happy!!!" Zenith grinned happily as he did a cartwheel midair, making his blue hair bounce freely.
"My Lady! Thank you for giving me a name! Hihihi!! In return, tell me one request and I will fulfill it if it is within my abilities!" Zenith approached Eli and held her hand affectionately.
Due to the proximity, Eli once again saw the deep starry eyes he had and fell into a daze.
"Don't pester my fiance too much." Leon could only reprimand the overly enthusiastic Spatial King, but he could not help but indulge him either.
As a Spatial King, he already existed since the beginning of Prasinos with no companions but the spatial fairies. Only when the Prasinons discover teleportation magic did he also start to interaction with selected people, but only the worthy ones did, like Leon.
"Look, my playmate! My Master is so cold… boohoo!" Zenith became more mischievous as he pouted and aggrievedly told Little Han how stern Leon was.
Little Han, however, blinked. Unfortunately for Zenith, he was not aware that Little Han had already seen his father act like this to other people, except for him and his mommy.
Eli could only smooth out things and said, "Alright… come here and I'll whisper to you my wish. Don't share it with anyone alright? It will only be between you and me…"
Hearing Eli's words, Zenith became curious. The thought of having something that he could not share with Leon made him excited.
Although Leon was curious about what Eli's request would be, he opted not to ask her. Since she already explicitly said that it was a secret, he was sure that Eli would not want him to know that too. Besides, knowing Eli, she would have wished for something that would become his or Little Han's protection.
Whatever it is, Leon knew that Eli would not wish for anything that would harm anyone, so he smiled and watched the two-step at a certain distance and talk in a very secretive manner. They were even covering their lips as if to refrain Leon and Little Han from reading their movements.
After some time, they went back with Zenith visibly satisfied with his interactions with his Master's family.
"Now it's time for Zenith to take you to your destination… My playmate, please don't forget me okay? We will play soon~" Zenith looked at Little Han once more with a friendly smile.
"Yesh!! Johann will remember Zenith!" Little Han said as he stuck his pinky to promise Zenith.
"You promised with pinky swear!" Zenith locked his tiny pinky with Little Han's, he was wearing an excited smile.
Finally, he opened the portal, the other end showing the current location where the Forgeworns were.
"Let's go…" Leon looked at Eli and rubbed Little Han's head once again. After saying goodbye to Zenith, they stepped into the portal and saw the Forgeworn elders, Kayden, and the rest waiting for them.
"Finally you are here, my dear!" Grandma Brygid happily welcomed them.
"Thank you for patiently waiting for us, Grandma… Mom, Dad…" Eli gave them a hug and saw that everyone is there except for Grandpa Andi and Randel. They most probably went on their separate missions to help with the war, so she no longer mentioned them.
Leon also greeted them and pleadingly asked the elders to protect his family, Eli and Little Han. He respectfully bowed to show his gratitude and sincerity.
After that, he could only hug and kiss the two one last time before he reluctantly stepped back to the portal, truly parting with his family.
