Two autumns. That meant two full years had passed. It sounded absurd, but as much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn't. After all, it didn't feel like a lie.0

I looked at Isaac. His feathers were patchy and missing, while his beak was cracked. He bore the marks of a brutal journey, it made me believe twenty years had passed.0

Gone were his layers of gaudy accessories, likely sold off somewhere along the way. If it were two years later, then Gith-Za-Rai would've been long gone. The Empire's war of invasion had probably begun. That guy, Chandler, had probably turned into a caterpillar by now. More than anything else…0

I gritted my teeth. "Rubia… what happened to her?"0

Two years passed without me by her side. Anything could've happened. Perhaps it was just gut feelings, but I always felt that this world had never been fair to Rubia. 0

I remembered the handkerchief she gave me, which she embroidered herself. It had long since rotted away with everything...0