There was a Kailyn, but no Lady Kailyn.
The lady who had helped him and saved him, that powerful Domain Knight, seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Holding the box, Ruger blinked, then bowed respectfully to the large bird at the head of the stairs. He was already planning to return to the Flower Room.
A question rose unbidden in his heart and kept circling through his mind: had he brought trouble upon Lady Kailyn? Had he dragged her into this and caused the situation before him?
Lady Kailyn had said that she had used some of her power, and might not remember him the next time they met.
Clearly, amid these repeated failures, she and the Old Wizard were different from passing visitors like them. She and the Old Wizard were deeply entangled in it all, an indispensable part of each failure. Only their formidable strength allowed them to retain some memories of new changes.
Kailyn had said outright that the Old Wizard was stronger and could change more things, but had more demands on his attention. She was freer, but far weaker than the Old Wizard.
Ruger turned and headed downstairs.
Perhaps Lady Kailyn had long since grown weary of these endless failures, one after another?
Ruger shook his head, rejecting his own disrespectful conjecture. Lady Kailyn still trusted the Old Wizard and firmly believed he could succeed. How could a Domain Knight with such a powerful will be so fragile?
Bird Kailyn said nothing as he quietly left.
He made his way to the Flower Room and wandered through the enormous Garden. Sitting down beside a path, he opened the box. He had yet to see the other two visitors; perhaps they were not in the Garden.
Deep down, Ruger believed they were Black Wizards, but