In a green lush garden full of golden roses, there was a huge pond at the centre filled with sparkling water, from the depth of the pond a huge tree with a radiant vitality stood and stretched across the clouds into the distant golden skies.
a figure of a mature woman dressed in golden white attire sat on one of the trunks of the trees, she was surrounded by many palms sized humanoid like spirits all female with wings at their back.
At this point in the mature woman's embrace was a young man in his twenties, he was Klaus now fully healed up.
"leave him Raphael, I bet he doesn't even remember you. Being a mortal has its limitations so you should not keep any false hope" a small spirit floating near her said.
"no mum, even though he is a mortal I still feel we are connected. in his last life he promised me he would return and look he did" Raphael said in a defiant yet calm tone.
"Tch.., this shameless man didn't come here deliberately he was being hunted by a bat, had I not saved him he would have been food to that thing." the small spirit replied with her arms folded
"I don't know mum, last time I made him chase because you wanted to prove that mortals get over love too soon, because of that my darling suffered so much, this time I won't let that happen again." Raphael said with tears in her eyes as she combed Klaus's hair.
Thanks to the dashing face of Klaus he looked like a prince charming right now in her embrace, his face made her daydream about her memories with him.
Soon Raphael's mum said "you know your father won't let you get along with him right, only the inheritor of the black dragon throne will be able to marry you, that was the condition your father set even before you were born"
"I know mum, and I know I can't defy the heavenly fate set by father, but still I have to try no matter what" saying this a small blue crystal appeared out of nowhere in Raphaël's hands.
seeing the blue crystal all the spirits gasped "this stone...????? what is this Raphael???"
"this was given to me by my grandma, she said it would help me defy the heavenly fate if in case I feel bound by it, I don't know what it is and how it works, but I have a feeling that it will help darling greatly" with that she kept the crystal on Klaus's chest.
a second later the crystal shone brightly and melted into Klaus's chest, everyone around except from Raphael looked dumb founded.
"you gave a divine item to a mortal, you know that this will put in him even more danger right? "
"I just gave my darling the means to face those dangers, if my real destiny allows then he shall rise and sit on the black dragon throne and if he is bound to die even in this lifetime then I will die with him"
with that said she kept her hand on his forehead and chanted a spell, a magic circle appeared in the sky and heaven and earth were shaken.
a massive black hole appeared and swallowed Klaus. with that silence returned to the garden.
-----
In the outside world somewhere in the slums of city-35. in a shabby, ruined house Klaus woke up feeling fatigued.
"what the fck?? did I get eaten?? is this that bat's stomach??"
in a disoriented manner he picked himself up and stood near the mirror as he touched his forehead again and again with his fingers.
"why do I feel so comfortable here. as if I was massaged by Sydney weeny"
he sat on his bed and closed his eyes as if trying to remember what happened. how did he escape the Gate?
soon he noticed a letter slid inside the house through a door that was there untouched covered in dust so it was a little hard to notice normally.
he went ahead and opened the letter only to find a card and a short letter from the association.
the letter wrote
----
"Government of the Union Territories
Department of Awakened Affairs
Official Notice of Condolence and Recognition
To the family and loved ones of Mr. Vance,
It is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that we convey the unfortunate news of the passing of Mr. Vance, a registered Awakened individual under the jurisdiction of the Department of Awakened Affairs. Mr. Vance tragically lost his life during an expedition into a C-rank dungeon, which, due to unforeseen and rare circumstances, experienced a mutation of its gate. This incident occurred several days prior, during which Mr. Vance and the members of his assigned party became trapped within the mutated gate.
Upon receiving the emergency signal, the Dungeon Response Division of the Association mobilized all available resources to execute a coordinated rescue effort. Despite sustained attempts and the deployment of specialized units, the situation escalated beyond recoverable thresholds, and the operation, regrettably, did not succeed in retrieving Mr. Vance or his companions.
Mr. Vance served as a courageous and devoted member of our nation's Awakened corps. His willingness to enter high-risk dungeons in the service of public safety and advancement is a testament to his character and his dedication to the greater good. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.
In recognition of Mr. Vance's valour and service, the Union Government has authorized a bereavement contribution in the amount of 100,000 Union Credits. These funds have been transferred to the designated National Bank account linked to the card inside the attachment. We hope that this contribution, though modest in the face of your loss, provides some measure of support during this difficult times.
On behalf of the Union Government and its citizens, we extend our most sincere condolences. May the memory of Mr. Vance endure, and may his soul rest in eternal peace.
With profound respect,
Director general of city #35"
-----
looking at the letter a headache creeped up his head, Vance was the name he used in this world, the association hadn't even bothered to look up his family history to check if he had a relative or not.
Klaus was alone in this world, an orphan without parents. when he had transmigrated here originally he had changed his permanent address and moved out of the orphanage.
but still looking at the card in his hand, Klaus smirked at least he got some big money, it was equivalent to him working for a whole year.
with that he checked his laptop to see the date, earlier he had lost his phone in the dungeon. looking at the laptop screen he sighed. Almost two weeks had passed since the incident. he opened the news portal to check and as expected apart from a few articles the news of gate mutation did not make many headlines. everyone knew how commonly mishaps happened so no one made a fuss about it.
soon he kept scrolling through his device to get all the recent updates and once he was done he stood up and retuned to his bed to lay down. looking at the ceiling he got lost into his own thoughts on how to proceed further from now on.
that was until a strange red popup appeared in front of him.