FIREFALL, OR IN EXO WONDERLAND ▷ COMPLETE

Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye

CHAPTER 41: WISH ME LUCK AS YOU WAVE ME GOODBYE

I love you.

The moment was perfect. To her, time had stopped though Tao denied any kinds of involvement.

It was normal for a person not wanting to leave this perfect moment, but in this case, she must.

Eun-soo released herself from the embrace when her surroundings were pervaded by a paradoxical high temperature. What reaction had caused this exothermic release of energy? It has something to do with fusion, she'd learned...

With the increasing distance, she regained her sight. The destined pair of a rising Resistance looked into each other's eyes, looking deeper down from Above to Wonderland.

Down, down, down. Kris's beautiful eyes went straight on like a tunnel. If they were a rabbit-hole written in a fairy-book, she was falling, oh, too slowly! She wished that she could say something in return, but the clear brown ring of his eyes glowed into an intense shade of amber.

Eun-soo backed away for her safety.

Kris felt his heart turned, then clicked.

A pair of scaly red wings burst out from his back. Behold the legacy of a manxome foe in human flesh! The wings bled into flames in the guise of molten gold, blazing down his right arm towards his trademark black sword. As the flames ran down his skin, they brought no pain—they brought with them purification, redemption; rebirth.

The sword was reborn.

Where the flames had left, the braided leather handle was encrusted with gold and the long, steel blade was no more of steel. It was made of solid diamond that shone like the moon beneath a twilight sky. Engraved into its silken surface were patterns of black roses with snaky, thorny stalks and a key in the middle. Sharply enticing, it was.

"At last! The Golden Flame of Jabberwocky had been unlocked by the Key of Fire. Why fire?" Luhan breathed, then yelped: "Love is a fire that burns eternally! A fire that sparks life!"

Love?  Eun-soo forgot the precise definition of that particular word. To her now, it means embarrassment, confusion, dragons and other jabberwockies. But, with the Dragon Warrior's confession, new life did sweep through her—like sea breeze. Kris.

"Duizhang! You're jjang~" Tao clapped his hands and shouted his multilingual cheer.

"Meep!" Ace congratulated his father.

"The prophecy is finally fulfilled! Do you know what that sword is, Resistance of Shuffling Decks?" Lay announced the facts that he'd strained to remember. "It's the Vorpal sword! The mythical sword that could cut through anything!"

"Yo—yo—yo, man! I can't believe it! It's the Vorpal sword!" a jolly Luhan hopped up and down. He raised his hat in respect. "Nice, Kris. We, the mad ones salute you!"

"Well, I'm not mad. I'm naturally insane. My, my..." Kris lifted the Vorpal sword in his hands—for a diamond sword, it wasn't heavy at all!—and marvelled at its dangerous beauty. This once had been the sword too large in the hands of little Kristoff Einarsson, the unlucky boy without a father. Now, it's the crucial part of his family saga. The sword that had freed his grandfather from a miserable curse. And his mother was right.

"Don't cry, Kristoff. You'll be stronger one day. For every warrior there's a loyal companion."

"A sword, Mamma?"

"No, a key to your heart—you'll find it soon. With its advent, you'll possess the best gift of all."

The best gift of all. The golden fire on one hand and the Vorpal sword in the other.