The Cursed King

Since Elise was incapable of taking care of little Alexei, Dante would be the one who took over the role of a parent while he was handling her recovery and that of the baby. 

It was a task that the bachelor god was very ill-equipped for.

What were the powers of time when a baby could cry so hard, enough that thunderstorms started coming around Dante's secluded mountain? You couldn't actually even try to speed up the baby's growth either.

It was difficult, but secretly, Dante actually liked taking care of the baby. At first, the Time Master thought Alexei was taking too much time, but he didn't despise the baby at all as much as he thought he would.

Instead, the Time Master actually relished and loved the baby as much as if it was his own child. There was something good to be found in the child and it wasn't just because he was the son of Elise.

Dante really found fulfillment in taking care of Alexei and seeing the baby respond back in its own way. He would spend a good amount of time doing his best in creating the baby formulation.

This formulation for Alexei involved scouring the entire realm for numerous magical plants and even milk from a celestial beast. The gods normally didn't require food as it did nothing to offer them sustenance, but for a young god, it was vital for him to eat and grow stronger while his powers also grew.

So it was at this point where Dante and little Alexei were gone that Elise finally woke up.

When Elise's eyes finally fluttered open, the woman's mind had healed enough that she could now think for herself and understand concepts. She had pieced herself back together from the state of coma.

Unfortunately, her mind was still devoid of memories so she was confused as she looked at her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she asked herself aloud. Her voice was wobbly and parched after not drinking for so long. Carefully, Elise lifted herself up from the bed and stepped on the stone floor, and looked all around her.

She did not recognize her surroundings at all.

Elise soon came across a mirror and found her reflection staring back at her, but at first, she didn't even assume it was herself. She pressed a finger on the glass and watched the other 'Elise' do the same thing.

"Ah!" she stepped back uncertainly and then touched her face. Elise finally ascertained that it was herself but she still wasn't even sure about the concept of self at this point. Was the person in front of her, really her?

Then who was she? 

Confused but also not wanting to tackle the situation, Elise stepped away from the assigned room that Dante especially prepared for her and soon started to travel around the isolated research area of the Time Master.

There were countless bookshelves in the god's study area and Elise's gaze trailed after them idly. She touched the books' titles but rarely did she take one out to actually study it, instead there was a part within her that felt like something was missing.

Little by little, Elise drew closer to a part where she had once stepped in before when she asked Dante to go back in time. The woman took out a specific book and watched one area of the cave reveal a hidden doorway.

The sound of silent whirring and ripples played in Elise's ears as she entered the domain of time. Room of Time? Elise could barely remember how Dante once called this place and the man's face and name didn't appear either.

Instead, Elise would find herself surrounded by a lot of portals that were reflecting various points in time. Each one of them was immeasurable and uncountable, but a few periods would catch her eye.

There was a portal that showed a beast greater than anything that Elise had ever seen even before she lost her memory. Dragons and other large predatory beasts skulked the earth and dominated it.

A prehistoric age unlike any other lay before her and though Elise was initially drawn to it, the fearsome appearances of the creatures made her step away from it and she shook her head.

The next one that came up was something beyond the stars and world she was familiar with. Elise's gaze widened at the sight of the expansion of the galaxy right before her and little traveling 'dots' hurtle through the dark inky space.

A time in the future where humans had advanced so much that they traveled in the stars and created their colonies there. 

It was a future and time period that was completely foreign to Elise but she did not reach out for it. Instead, Elise's gaze finally landed at what seemed to be strange to her and something she could not recognize.

However, there was a feeling in Elise's stomach that drew her to this place despite being so sure that she had never seen it before. A beautiful snowy mountain alps and Elise found herself attracted to its beauty.

Elise reached out to it and felt the force of time pull her in.

"Aaaahhhh…!!!!" 

Elise was sucked in before she realized what happened and before she could look back and see a man storm in with a baby.

Dante burst into the portal room of time and shouted at Elise, but it was already far too late. The Time Master helplessly watched the woman get pulled into the portal and the portal shutting right after she disappeared.

Elise was gone.

This was not the only thing that saddened Dante on that day. It was not the only thing that made the god's heart shatter into pieces and made it impossible for him to find it in his heart to forgive.

The Time Master soon came across the news that his brother, Dimitri was dead and killed by no other than 'Loriel Ashborn' himself who ascended Cretea to become a god. 

On that day, Dante's heart grew cold and he vowed to avenge his brother and find Elise.

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