Riding on the back of his own dragon, flying into the blue sky, is a different feeling from flying into the blue sky piloting a supreme masterpiece of his own creation. It's as if after grafting a pair of wings onto himself, he had conquered the heavens. That sense of pride was in no way comparable to being carried by Melusine, although strictly speaking, having a dragon carry you is a testament to one's ability in itself.
Because the materials for the supreme masterpiece were primarily sourced from Machine Gods and the bones of the White Dragon, and since the Machine Gods themselves were beings that had traveled across the sea of stars, the masterpiece naturally had the ability to break through the atmosphere and withstand high temperatures.
Aslan piloted the supreme masterpiece all the way up, soaring towards the sky. Above the clouds and beneath the sea of stars, the horizon, which was originally visible, began to gradually shrink. Soon, it transformed into a round arc. A corner of the Earth was thus reflected in Aslan's eyes. In the distance, the sun and the edge of the Earth converged. The light transformed into long rays, passing through the masterpiece and reaching into the depths of the distant sea of stars.
Due to the use of magic, the cockpit was far more sci-fi and fantastical than those in the Gundam series. At the very least, after activation, everything around them became like glass, allowing them to see completely through the mecha to their surroundings, with no sense of confinement at all.
Spreading his arms wide, it felt as if he himself was in this vast sea of stars. Sitting behind Aslan, Melusine's eyes also held a hint of nostalgia. In Albion's memories, there was also such a beautiful scene. Serene, magnificent. This azure planet was a miracle and beauty itself.
Aslan stretched his hand towards the sea of stars. Looking at the sunlight reflected in his palm and the distant stars, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. He was probably the first among all humans to reach this height and see such a beautiful sight. He could finally personally feel and understand why humanity has always yearned for this sea of stars.
For a moment, Aslan didn't hurry to return his hands to the controls. Instead, he felt the weightlessness of his body and gently relaxed. He had accomplished his goal and his ideal. He would allow himself a brief moment of relaxation here, beneath this beautiful sea of stars, in this weightless space.
Melusine stood up. In the zero-gravity environment, her entire body floated in the cockpit, her white hair drifting gently behind her. Aslan had fulfilled the promise he had made to her before. Perhaps even Aslan himself no longer remembered it, but Melusine remembered every single detail of their time together.
At that time, Aslan was still a child, unable to be certain if the Ring of Contract in their hands could be completed. Faced with Melusine, who was in her young girl form and couldn't revert to her original shape to soar in the sky again, Aslan had grabbed her hands, looked into her golden eyes, and made a vow—
If Melusine could never again spread her wings and soar through the sky, and could only stay by his side, then he, Aslan, would definitely become Melusine's wings and take her to see the magnificent scenery she had once seen before!
Although the Ring of Contract was completed as planned, making the vow's fulfillment irrelevant, right now, Aslan had truly and tangibly carried her into the sky. Looking at the scenery that Albion had once seen, it would be a lie to say Melusine's heart wasn't moved.
As the pinnacle among dragon-kind, as a being of great power, Melusine considered herself to be an existence that other, weaker beings should rely on. But now, at the moment that vow was fulfilled, looking at this vast sea of stars, Melusine felt for the first time what it was like to be held in someone's hands, the feeling of having someone to rely on.
At this moment, Melusine was not Albion, the one who stood at the pinnacle of all dragons. She was just a young girl named Melusine. This was a feeling she had never experienced in 4.6 billion years.
"It's like... I've surpassed even a dream..."
Melusine's words faintly reached the ears of Aslan, who was spacing out. Aslan sat up, turning slightly to look at his dragon. "What did you just say?"
Melusine smiled and turned her head. Her long white hair appeared even more ethereal under the effect of zero gravity. Even Melusine herself didn't notice that her smile at this moment was extremely relaxed, with even a hint of tears at the corners of her eyes. The relaxation and joy she felt were visible to the naked eye, making her even more captivating.
Melusine at this moment was indeed captivating enough. Just imagine, a white-haired beautiful girl in the sea of stars—what boy's heart wouldn't be moved?
Aslan stood up from the pilot's seat. With a gentle push of his feet, Aslan floated towards Melusine. He then reached out his hand and wiped away the teardrop at the corner of her eye, a tear she hadn't even noticed herself.
"Melusine, I permit you to reveal your true form."
Watching as the girl's figure before him gradually elongated, Aslan leaned forward and gently kissed her.
What happened in the sea of stars naturally needs no further explanation.
However, staying in the sea of stars for a long time did indeed make Aslan discover a small problem. His supreme masterpiece probably needed a slight improvement to its oxygen generation function for when it was in space. He had only considered the problem of food and drink in a long-term space environment, which was why he had made the Machine God fragment of the god of agriculture into a portable machine that could produce food and water daily. Next, he would have to find some time to use Faerie Letters to add an oxygen generation function to the food bay created from this fragment, or add a magic formula to the entire machine for a carbon dioxide-oxygen conversion cycle.
Forced to return from the sea of stars to below the clouds due to lack of oxygen, Aslan covered his face with his hand. This was really a bit humiliating! Then again, his initial purpose was for terrestrial combat; he hadn't considered the space environment. Such an oversight could be considered normal.
Just as Aslan was improving this final small problem while flying back to Great Britain from the sky, one day, a golden and a purple beam of magical energy shot up into the sky from the distant horizon. The intelligent system of the supreme masterpiece instantly captured an image of the scene and then magnified it. The golden light within it was incredibly familiar—wasn't that the light of the Sword of Promised Victory? Then the other purple beam must be the attack from Lucius's demonic sword.
Aslan slowed his flight speed and finally landed temporarily in a forest. Since he had already decided to witness the fall of this Roman Emperor, and had also said he would sing "Today is a Good Day" on his grave, he might as well pay his respects. At the end of this Arthurian legend, the people he knew and was familiar with would eventually depart...
Aslan did not use his supreme masterpiece again when heading to the location where the light beams had clashed. After all, it was far too conspicuous. Since Lucius's body was directly blasted to ashes by the light cannon, he would just consider the battlefield to be his grave.