The nameless god still held a sliver of consciousness as he watched the fate of his world and the gods he had created.
He wept a final time, and a single tear fell just before the last of his essence passed away.
Luna stretched out her hand and caught the tear in her palm. Around them, the vision of the universe began to collapse.
The memory had reached its end along with the god who had held it. They were within an echo, and while Luna had taken the tear from the memory, she knew that in reality, the tear had fallen upon a distant island.
It had formed into a volcano in that world, which was the last sight they saw before the echo vanished entirely.
Luna shaped the tear into a milk-white crystal before sprinkling a fine dusting of the sands of Morpheus over it.
"What are you going to do with it?" Aaric asked. His hands were still wrapped around her waist from behind.
"Can we not bring him back?" Luna asked as She tilted her head slightly to look at him.
"Who knows what state he would be in if we did that," Aaric whispered.
Luna hummed thoughtfully at his words. The god had watched his kin being imprisoned while their children suffered.
If he were revived now, he might succumb to a cycle of vengeance on the humans and the gods responsible.
"Is this not the world we will be leaving for soon?" Luna asked.
She placed a finger on her chin as she felt a growing connection between herself and that distant realm. Aaric nodded against her neck in confirmation.
Luna thought for a moment before waving her hand. A golden portal appeared in front of her.
Aaric sensed the energy within the gateway and understood exactly where it led. He shrugged and moved to her side and walked with her as they entered the portal.
They found themselves in a cozy living room that was identical to the one in the Hawthorne mansion.
Two people were sitting in each other's arms beside the hearth, watching the flames dance.
"Sorry to intrude this way, Luxarion," Aaric said with an apologetic smile.
"My Lord. Please, there is nothing to apologize for. It is good to see you," Luxarion greeted him with a happy glint shone in his golden eyes.
"Let me introduce you to my wife, Rhaella," Luxarion added. The couple stood up, and Luxarion introduced the beautiful woman with silver-gold hair.
"It is good to see you, My Lord and Lady. Luxarion talks of you often," Rhaella said.
She gave Aaric and Luna an elegant curtsy, though a hint of confusion remained on her face.
She had heard many stories about Aaric and his family during her years with Luxarion, and she was thinking why they had visited them within a dream.
Aaric and Luna greeted her with warm smiles. They were genuinely happy that Luxarion had found his other half in this world.
Aaric knew of the original fate Rhaella would have suffered because of the memories of his previous life, and seeing her alive and healthy brought him a sense of peace.
He tilted his head as he sensed her energy. It felt remarkably like that of Nyxthar, but he shrugged the thought away, assuming she simply had her own story to tell.
"Will you be arriving in our world soon?" Luxarion asked. He was clearly excited. He had been waiting for their arrival for a thousand years, after all.
"Yes, in a few months," Aaric said with a nod.
Luna stepped toward the gold dragon and showed him the milk-white crystal she had retrieved. She was about to speak when Rhaella interrupted her.
"I have felt this energy before," Rhaella said. She tilted her head and took a moment to recall the specifics.
"In the volcano where Viserion was hatched," she added with a look of realization.
Luna and Aaric looked at her with curiosity, prompting her to explain in more detail. She described how Viserion was the high wyvern bonded to her daughter, Daenerys.
The creature had been formed with the blood of Rhaella and the concentrated magic and vitality of two other eggs, giving it a magical reserve comparable to a true dragon.
However, because it still possessed the limited intelligence of a wyvern, it could not fully utilize that vast power.
They called it a high wyvern for that reason. In the end, the arrangement worked in their favor, as it gave Daenerys a potent source of energy to supplement her own magical studies.
By now she was a high level magic caster and skilled wyvern rider.
"That must be the volcano where the tear fell originally," Luna muttered.
She looked at Aaric, who nodded and explained the true origin of their world and the story of the nameless god. Luxarion listened intently.
The retelling answered many of the questions he had gathered over his thousand-year stay. It explained the nature of the spirits and demons as well as the history of the Children of the Forest and the giants.
Rhaella listened in awe of the hidden history of her home world. She felt a deep pity for the fallen god as she looked at the crystal in Luna's hand.
"This contains some of the divinity and essence of the god. We will entrust this to you both," Luna told them. She handed the milk-white crystal to Rhaella.
By now, Aaric had deduced that the nameless god was truly special. Even as a god born within the waking realm, his power was comparable to that of Luxarion.
Aaric realized this was because the god had no restrictions placed upon him by a creator deity, putting him at the very top of the hierarchy for the waking realm.
Luxarion, by contrast, was restricted as he was not given the sands of Morpheus, which prevented him from using his full strength outside of the Dreamlands.
"And here," Aaric added. He raised his hand and a golden thread formed in the air.
"This will connect you to our pantheon in the Dreamlands. You will be able to visit whenever you sleep," Aaric explained.
The thread wrapped itself around Luxarion and Rhaella after they nodded.
After that, they all sat on the couches and spoke of the world for a while longer.
Luxarion did most of the talking, sharing his experiences from the last millennium, while Rhaella listened quietly. She had little to say about her life before Skoll and Hati had entered her life.
Aaric was fascinated by the changes they had caused. Every shift seemed to have moved the world toward a more positive future.
After a time, Luxarion and Rhaella bid them farewell, eager to go and explore the Lux Aeternum Court for themselves.
Aaric and Luna went back to Aaric's dream and spent their time there before waking up the next day.