The Dread Knight's Rage

As the night slowly fell over the lands of the fae, a single carriage rolled along the pathway to the crystal spire.

Underneath the archway that led to the home of the realm’s monarch, two fae guards stood side by side, blocking the way forward.

When the carriage drew close enough, one of the soldiers hit the butt end of his spear against the ground to command the attention of the man in front, holding onto the reins of the horses.

"Turn back, visitor." One fae said. "The Empress is not hosting any festivities for the time being."

Rather than leaving as he had been asked, the coachman held up a roll of parchment bearing a very specific seal.

At the sight of it, the guards glanced at each other momentarily.

"We need to confirm it’s authenticity."

"Sure thing."The coachman shrugged.

The second guard sauntered forward on wings of silken membrane. Going over the paper with his eyes once or twice, he nodded before passing it back to it’s owner.

"...Give us a moment to inform her of your arrival."

As soon as the guard started to turn back, the sound of beating hooves filled the air.

Three horses of untold height and power bounded along the path from the spire.

A horse of orange led the pack, followed by a horse of violet and one of red.

Mercy stopped just in front of Jiaoying’s horses, prompting Trauma and Scorn to do the same.

The door to the carriage opened with a creak.

As Solomon got down from his horse and helped Yari do the same, a series of small, excited barks came from behind.

A ball of black fur rushed out of the carriage.

Tongues wagging and tail spinning, Bansha moved all four of her paws as fast as they could go.

Smiling, Solomon kneeled down to greet her. "There’s my girl."

Bansha leapt into Solomon’s arms happily, planting a series of small, desperate licks on the underside of his jaw.

"Alright, alright... Once you get a bit bigger, I won’t leave you at home anymore. You have my word."

The cerberus paused for a moment to stare at Solomon. Their heads tilted as they noticed the new color of his hair, as well as his very noticeable new change in aura.

But eventually, she decided she didn’t actually care all that much and went back to nuzzling.

The group looked up as a pair of boots stepped down from the carriage.

When the figure stepped past the door, Solomon, Yari, and Nila’s jaws all dropped.

Jiaoying stared back at them with a shy smile, her hand rubbing her wrist awkwardly.

"Before you ask... I have absolutely no idea either." She chuckled softly in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

When her eyes fell on Solomon, her laughter was cut short and replaced by a subtle flush in her cheeks.

"Wow... Just... wow." Jiaoying was at a near-total loss for words. "Bet you didn’t think you were going to be the first of us to end up with gray hair, did you..?"

Solomon placed Bansha on the ground and started walking toward Jiaoying. However, Yari was about three steps ahead of him.

Jiaoying saw the look in Yari’s eyes and tried to back away preemptively.

"S-Solomon, hang on for just a seco-"

Her words were cut off when Yari pressed her lips against her own. She had intended to push the elf away instantly, but the familiar sensation of her body against Jiaoying brought about a lapse in judgment and thus promoted a critical delay.

"Mother...?"

Yari and Jiaoying broke their kiss like two teenagers who’d been caught doing something indecent.

Slowly, they turned to the inside of the carriage, where a young man in armor sat beside a young woman in bright blue robes.

Their faces were aghast.

Jiaoying cleared her throat as heat rose to her cheeks.

*Ahem* "There was an... Incident at home, so they wanted to come with me for the time being... I wasn’t really sure how to divulge everything that had been taking place, so I may have been putting it off a bit."

Yari blinked slowly. "When she said ’mother’..."

"Ah, yeah... These are my kids."

Jiaoying pointed to her son first. "This is my oldest, Tavian... and that is his sister, Liora."

Jiaoying took her wife’s hand. "This is Yari... She’s the woman I’m seeing."

Liora cleaned her glasses for the first time in weeks just to make sure she wasn’t just seeing random things.

"S-So... you’re seeing someone again..?"

Jiaoying’s awkward smile only worsened. "Well... It’s... more like two someones..." She waved to someone just outside the view of the siblings.

Slowly, Solomon stepped into view just behind the two women. The situation couldn’t have been more awkward even if they were all standing around naked.

After a full ten seconds of silence, a deep, raunchy laughter came from within the carriage.

"Oh, man... That was really worth keeping the secret all this time, I mean gold star, everyone. I’ll be laughing about this for days on end."

Solomon and Yari’s eyes settled on the white-haired figure who was trying hard to stay out of view during this introduction.

He stood up, revealing a tall, chiseled physique bound in black and silver. His hair was restrained in a single braid that he kept just in front of him, and a simple bandana to shield his forehead.

Yari did not recognize him right away, but Solomon did. His new senses hadn’t had an opportunity to fail him so far, but on this day, he was beginning to doubt them.

"Brother...?"

Raizel stepped down from the carriage, his long coat settling behind him as he took a deep breath of fresh air. The sensation of having a body again, enjoying such simple things as a chilly breeze, was extremely nostalgic.

His eyes finally settled on Solomon again, and his full, mocha lips spread into a devious smile.

"Now, be honest with yourself... I look damn good, right?"