Some sand stirred into the air at the final beats of Urru's wings, and then he landed on the island with his talons piercing into the beach.

Arius jumped off of his back and landed with a tap to the ground.

"I will let you handle the hysterical human," Urru grumbled as he slunk away, tails and wings hanging low.

A quizzical look crossed Arius's face as he watched Urru leave, but his attention was quickly dominated by the other person.

"Oh, thank goodness!" The woman ran forward and threw herself into Arius's arms. "I am so grateful that you saw me from way up there. Thank you for coming for me! A thousand times, I thank you." Her sweeping, blonde hair covered up her face from where she buried herself into Arius. The melody of her face rose up in crisp, clear tones despite the way that she should have muffled herself against Arius's chest.

Val did not even need to get a better glimpse to recognize her. A swell of hate burned through her as she gazed upon Evalaite in the past.

Meanwhile, Arius held out his arms in discomfort, not quite sure how to react to the scantily-clad woman who had just latched onto him. "Uh, you're welcome. What are you doing here? Are you a castaway?"

With a humph of displeasure, Evalaite took a few steps back from him. "Do I look like a castaway to you?" Her arms brandished out to either side while her elbows pointed inward to her ribs. This position made her forearms press into her breasts, displaying her cleavage in the low-cut dress that looked awfully similar to the one in the vision where Val had seen Evalaite with Tavras. The way that Evalaite presented herself was tacky and classless, even worse given her supposed relationship with Tavras at this point in time.

A hand went up to Arius's face to conceal his reaction, and he flitted his eyes away. He probably could not say what she actually looked like if he wanted this meeting to maintain some sense of propriety.

At least, Val thought that Evalaite looked more slutty than anything else. As honest as her assessment may be, those words were not to be said upon a first greeting, especially if Arius thought that he had come to the aid of some poor, helpless woman stranded on an island.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. "I meant no offense."

Exaggerated emotion filled Evalaite's voice as she bent over with the weight of her own drama or boobs—one of the two. "I have been trapped here on this island by Tavras! I cannot even say how much time has passed, but I think that I have been isolated here for hundreds of years. What year is it?"

A bewildered frown pulled down Arius's lips. "It is Year 37. Honestly, I do not know of any other calendars to compare to."

"You must be a young demigod, if that is the calendar that you have learned. I think that I can remember when Tavras informed me about a new God Supreme usurping the old, but oh, it feels so long ago that I cannot remember." Evalaite feigned a weary hand pressed against her forehead.

"Did he tell you that thirty-seven years ago by any chance?" Arius deadpanned.

"Maybe," Evalaite said with a shy smile, a tilt of her head, and a mindless giggle. The luscious, golden locks completed her image as a stereotypical dumb blonde.

In reality, Val sensed something dangerous lurking beneath the surface. A smidgen of respect had been earned back, because Evalaite played up her image as the clueless, busty, blonde to divert attention away from her intentions. Cold and calculating, Evalaite knew exactly what she was doing, and she wanted to keep Arius's guard low for what she had planned.

"Well, don't worry about it," Arius said. "I will get you off this island and help you start a new life on the Summit. If you happen to have any possessions here, you should pack them now. I am going to fetch my dragon friend, and then we will be on our way."

"Thank you. Thank you! I will be back here shortly," Evalaite said while taking up a run towards the treeline.

"Miss, wait," Arius called, half-choked. "I wanted to add that I am terribly sorry for what has happened to you. As you probably saw from here, I was fighting with Tavras just now and defeated him. He will never bother you again. You're safe now." While his voice sounded lame in his uncertainty, Arius's eyes burned in a way that communicated his sincerity.

"Thank you." From a habit of some older age, Evalaite curtsied to him. After that, she continued running off, most likely to the same building that Val had found on Tavras's Paradise previously.

Her departure left Arius alone on the beach, so he headed to the trees in another direction. The undergrowth had been flattened where Urru had trodden which gave Arius an easy time finding the hulking, red dragon amidst the trees.

"I have good news and bad news," Arius said as he approached Urru.

The spines of his back arched up as he hunkered away from Arius. His head swung back to stare at him, unamused. "Give me the asinine piece of good news that you have made up, first."

A grin climbed across Arius's face. "I don't have to feel so bad about being such an asshole to Tavras. He totally deserved it."

"Okay," Urru said slowly. "Now give me the bad news and explain."

"Well, that woman…. She is being kept here against her will by Tavras. I am guessing by her clothes or lack thereof that it was not a platonic relationship. What's more fucked up is that I can sense that this woman and Tavras are destined for each other."

"Please do not start with your theory on soulmates," Urru groaned out.

A brief analysis with Insights of the Past informed Val that among Arius's combat abilities, he possessed some softer skills too. As a god of love, he had developed the ability to sense the pull of destiny in regards to romantic relationships. Hence, he could know from his encounters with both Tavras and Evalaite that they had the red strings of destiny entwined to one another.

A dreadful emptiness washed over her at the prospect of Tavras having a soulmate. According to a minor god of love, she was never fated to be with him because his heart would belong to another woman. Maybe Val could accept that amicably enough, if not for his soulmate being a woman as horrendous as Evalaite.

This simply could not be true. Kind-hearted and jolly as Tavras was, he could not end up with a woman who Val had no words to describe, other than a bitch. Anger boiled up within her at the mere thought, nevermind the strands of destiny already sealing her fate. Val did not want to be shoved aside by the forces that be, without so much as a chance. Her worthlessness and frustration all twisted up inside and made some black edges begin to permeate her vision.

A deep breath of her physical body was required to calm herself and focus on the moment at hand.

Rather than reiterating the obvious about his abilities, Arius leaped into a major tangent of soothing Urru about his love life. "You may not have a soulmate who exists in the world yet, but I am sure that you will one day! Remember that I do not have anyone who I am destined to be with either. Practically speaking, you are as immortal as I am! We still have time for our future girlfriends to be born or, er, hatched."

Even though his words had been intended for Urru, Arius could have easily given Val the same pep talk.

"If that ever happens," Urru snapped, "do not let me know. I do not want to think of some fresh hatchling as my future mate."

With a wince, Arius gave a nervous laugh in agreement. "Yeah. Sure thing." In his own case, he would not have the capability to shut off his ability. Arius would know the exact second that his soulmate was born—if ever. Despite laying claim to the attribute of love, it was doubtful that a man like him could find anyone to love him, not even his own mother.

In a shift back to the matter of immediate importance, Arius asked, "Was this enough of a rest for you? Let's head back to the beach. We should get that poor woman away from this island. The sooner that she has a new environment, the better." He turned his back to Urru and started walking away, expecting him to follow.

That was when Urru's body seized up.