I returned to Mount Hua Sect with Seraphina, our time in the Northern Sea Ice Palace behind us.
She didn't say much when we arrived, but I could tell—something had shifted. The weight she had carried for so long had lessened, even if only slightly.
When it was time to leave, she hugged me tightly, her arms wrapped around me with a warmth that contradicted the winter chill of her mana.
"See you soon, Arthur," she murmured.
I nodded, my hand briefly squeezing hers before I turned and left.
Avalon.
The city greeted me with its usual hum of activity, the grand capital of the Slatemark Empire ever-moving, ever-thriving. But the moment I stepped through the doors of my home, all the noise of the outside world faded into something quieter, warmer.
Familiar.
"Brother!"
I barely had time to react before Aria practically materialized in front of me, eyes bright with mischief.
"Did you get me a souvenir?" she asked, tone dripping with cheeky expectation.
