Zaffre turned back, and there at the end was Ryuk, just descending onto the roof.
But he had yet to take a second step when she swam into his embrace.
It surprised Ryuk a bit, looking at Zaffre buried in his chest.
She had always been the one who disdained physical closeness, after all.
"I thought you... left," she whispered to him, and Ryuk smiled, patting her on the back.
"There, there," he said, and only now did Zaffre discover her own actions.
She scurried back like a rabbit, hiding her red face behind her mother.
And speaking of her, Ryuk turned to the mermaid before bowing slightly.
"I’m sorry for my earlier actions. I shouldn’t have left you standing there," he said, as she swam forward, slightly tilting his head back up.
At this point, both their eyes stared into each other, and Ryuk witnessed a runic circle appear in her eyes, shining purple rays into his.
He felt the light harmless, so he didn’t resist, and soon enough, it dimmed as she stepped back.
"You have a rare soul purity. You can be trusted," she said, before eyeing Zaffre.
"I am a mermaid, and among the other aquatic creatures, we spend most of our time in slumber, hidden away."
"I have been far away from Zaffre’s life for about thirty-five years now," she said to Ryuk, who had a glint flash across his eyes.
That was a long time to remain in slumber.
No wonder he had never seen or even heard of another mermaid.
"It seems she went out of the kingdom to take a breath of water, only to get herself locked up."
"So, I’m not at all offended."
"If anything, I’m the one who should be thankful to you for keeping her safe up until now," she said, bowing instead.
"It’s okay," he said, waving it off.
"Zaffre has made her choice."
"She wishes to stick with you from now on," she said, and Ryuk paused to look at Zaffre, who remained hidden away.
"I’ve learned from her how you consider and care for those you fuse with as family, so I’m not worried any harm will come to her with you by her side.
"You have my will to leave with her." She said, reassuringly, but then Ryuk’s gaze trailed behind her.
"And what of him?"
He said, and in the next moment, the water swirled, forming a spiral from within which stepped out a figure.
King Yorimunda.
"You have my will too," King Yorimunda said, as Zaffre’s gaze lit up in disbelief, looking at her father.
"Father..." she began, when in the next moment, he did something that shocked not only Zaffre but even Celeste.
He hugged her, Zaffre, and he embraced her deeply.
"I’m sorry," he whispered in her ear, and her eyes turned glassy,
Never.
Never had she gotten this close to her father.
Never had he spoken so gently to her.
"I have treated you wrongly all your life."
"I am indeed a failure of a father, but...it was necessary for me as the king."
"I wish there was a way that I could explain it to make you understand," he said, but a third voice rang out.
"I can."
In the next moment, from Ryuk’s side, someone stepped out of the space.
Yorimunda paused, looking at the man, and Celeste did the same, both their eyes criss-crossing with light.
How could he not know him?
It was his brother, Ourimunda.
Zaffre turned to look at the man, not recognizing him until King Yorimunda spoke.
"Brother,"
"Uncle?" Zaffre uttered beneath her lips unconsciously as Ourimunda walked toward her.
"Your father loves you, Zaffre, however cold or tyrannical he may be," King Ourimunda said, looking at her.
"He had remained cold and stoic up until now, for he could not afford to lose the fight in his heart."
"And that was because he had me to face."
"If he allowed love to infiltrate his heart, he might have lost his fighting will."
"And when he faces me, he would die, and the entire kingdom would have been destroyed along with him," he explained to Zaffre, who remained speechless.
"But the war is over now, and all our hatchets have been buried."
"Now, he can love you as a father while still keeping the kingdom at peace."
"So I plead with you to forgive, and give him a chance," King Ourimunda said, as Zaffre’s lips opened and closed.
In a way, she understood.
In a way, it made more sense now.
If her father wasn’t in slumber cultivating, then he was either training with his most powerful generals or waging war beyond the sea.
He was a battleaholic, and she had indeed heard the tales of why he did so much.
A great unavoidable future enemy, one which he couldn’t lose to against lest he be destroyed.
But she never knew it was this man before her.
She never knew that the so-called great enemy of her father, who made him lose sight of his family, was her own uncle and his brother.
To give him a chance?
A chance to feel what it was like to be family.
She would love to.
She would do anything to fall into his embrace once more.
But...
"It’s too late," she whispered.
"I promised to leave with him, to be by his side wherever he may be," Zaffre said, her voice firm as she moved toward Ryuk, watching him grin mockingly at her.
He got on a knee and tapped her nose.
"And what if I decide to remain here for some more time?"
"You would stay by my side then, wouldn’t you?" he asked.
"Please don’t, Ryuk," Zaffre said, shaking her head firmly.
"You might not say it, but I know you have things... more important things to accomplish," she said, as Ryuk rolled his eyes.
"Knowing you is one of the important things I have to accomplish. And I have seen the cold Zaffre who rejects love," he said.
"Now, it’s time to see the real Zaffre, the one who accepts the love she’s been given," he said, as the tear she struggled to hold back slid down, marring her beautiful face.
"And as for the other important things," Ryuk said, and Zaffre watched as a mote of light coalesced around Ryuk before it shifted to the side.
Right before her eyes, a new Ryuk appeared, and he also crouched to her eye level.
"Who said I am just one?"
He said, and she looked between both Ryuks, one grinning at her while the other smirked.
She could only giggle, though tearfully, as she jumped into both Ryuks’ arms.
"Thank you."