The forest no longer felt the same.
Without Victoria, the glow that once danced between the trees had faded into a dull shimmer. The balance they had created was still there but weaker, like a heartbeat struggling to stay steady.
Samuel stood beneath the half-lit tree where they had shared so many moments.
Now, it felt empty.
"Find me."
Her voice echoed in his mind.
It wasn't just a wish.
It was a promise.
Samuel clenched his fists.
"I will," he said again, more firmly this time.
But there was one problem.
He didn't belong in her world.
The fairy realm was not a place for devils. It was built from pure light protected by ancient magic that rejected darkness completely. Crossing into it wasn't just difficult…
It was dangerous.
Even for someone like him.
But Samuel had already made his choice.
That same night, he walked deeper into his own realm not toward power, not toward his throne but toward something older.
Something forbidden.
At the edge of the underworld stood a gate.
Ancient.
Cracked.
Covered in symbols that even time had tried to erase.
The Gate of Passage.
A path between worlds.
No devil had used it in centuries.
Because those who entered without balance…
Never returned.
Samuel stepped closer.
The air grew heavier, resisting him.
"You seek the light," a voice echoed from the darkness.
A shadow emerged older than the rest, its form shifting like smoke.
"The cost will be everything you are."
Samuel didn't hesitate.
"I've already lost what mattered most."
The shadow circled him slowly.
"You are no longer the king you were," it said. "Love has weakened you."
Samuel's eyes darkened but not with anger.
"With her," he said calmly, "I became stronger."
Silence followed.
Then slowly
The gate began to respond.
Symbols glowed faintly.
The ground trembled.
A path opened.
But as Samuel stepped forward, pain shot through his body.
His wings flickered.
His dark energy began to react violently against the light beyond the gate.
Still
He didn't stop.
Each step burned.
Each breath felt heavier.
The darkness within him resisted, as if trying to pull him back.
But Victoria's voice remained in his mind.
And that was enough.
"I'm coming," he whispered.
With one final step
Samuel crossed the gate.
Light exploded around him.
The fairy realm.
It was nothing like his world.
Everything shimmered.
The sky glowed with soft gold and silver hues. The air itself felt alive, filled with warmth and peace. Floating lights danced like stars, and the ground beneath him pulsed gently with life.
It was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
And immediately
The realm reacted.
Samuel dropped to one knee as the light pressed against him.
Rejecting him.
Testing him.
His wings flickered violently, struggling to hold form.
But he forced himself to stand.
"I didn't come here to fight," he said through clenched teeth.
"I came for her."
Suddenly
A circle of light formed around him.
And from it emerged figures.
Fairies.
Their wings shone brighter than Victoria's, their presence powerful and commanding.
Guardians.
"You should not be here," one of them said.
"Your kind is forbidden."
Samuel straightened, despite the pressure weighing on him.
"I'm not here as a devil."
The fairies exchanged glances.
"Then what are you?"
Samuel's voice softened.
"Someone who refuses to lose the one he loves."
A silence followed.
Not peaceful.
But uncertain.
Then one of them stepped forward.
"And if she chooses her world over you?"
Samuel didn't hesitate.
"Then I'll still choose her."
The light around him flickered.
Not rejecting him.
Not fully accepting him either.
But something had changed.
Far in the distance
A familiar glow appeared.
Soft.
Warm.
Pulling closer.
Victoria.
Samuel's eyes lifted.
For the first time since she disappeared
Hope returned.
And as the light began to guide him forward
The journey was far from over.
But he had made it.
From darkness…
Into light.