Chapter 459: Home

By the next evening, the room no longer felt unfamiliar.

Aestrea had memorized the ceiling’s silver lines and even the faint crack in the corner near the carved border.

His divine energy had already reached its maximum once again.

The chains had come off that morning.

Olivia had removed them herself with a soft hum, as if she were undoing ribbons from a gift she had decided to keep anyway.

Now he stood at the edge of the bed, rolling his right shoulder once, then twice.

The joint felt smooth again.

The burn across his ribs had faded into a faint pink line. The gash along his side had sealed completely.

“Phew…”

He exhaled deeply.

“Good.”

He reached for his clothes, which had been neatly folded on a chair near the window. Surprisingly, even the torn sleeve had been stitched with thread so fine it almost looked untouched.

He pulled the shirt over his head.

The door opened.

He did not turn around at first.

Tap, tap, tap…

Bare feet crossed the stone floor in soft steps.

“Aestrea,” Olivia’s soft voice drifted across the room-

He finished adjusting his collar before glancing over his shoulder.

She wore something different today.

A loose ivory blouse that slipped off one shoulder without permission, paired with a short skirt that swayed around her thighs when she walked.

Her golden hair fell freely down her back, slightly messy as if she had woken from a nap.

Her eyes moved over him slowly.

“You’re dressed,” she stated.

“I’m leaving.”

Her smile remained, but her eyes sharpened slighly at those words.

“Leaving?” she repeated.

“The others are fine, you said so yourself,” he replied. “Which means the Primordial Court is moving. I won’t lie in bed while they prepare a response.”

He reached for his swords.

Olivia moved.

She stepped between him and the door without haste, placing herself there as though that had always been her position.

“You need more rest,” she muttered gently.

“I’ve rested.”

“For a single day.”

“That’s more than enough for me.”

Her gaze dropped to his ribs, then to his shoulder, as if she could still see the wounds beneath the fabric.

“You were coughing blood!”

“I’ve done worse.”

“I know.”

Her fingers reached up and caught the edge of his sleeve, hholding the fabric between thumb and forefinger.

“You do not have to go today.”

“I do.”

Her lower lip pushed out slightly.

“You promised,” she murmured.

“Promised what?” He blinked.

“That you would rest.”

“I rested.”

“You fell unconscious.”

“That counts as resting.”

“It does not.”

Aestrea stared at her.

She stared back.

Then, without warning, she stepped forward and wrapped both arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his chest.

He stiffened slightly.

“Olivia.”

Her grip tightened.

“I was scared,” she muttered into the fabric of his shirt.

Her voice had lost its playful edge.

“When I arrived, you were barely breathing. Your heart was irregular. Your divine core was flickering.”

Her fingers curled into his back.

“You always say you will stand back up. You always do,” she paused lightly.

“One day you won’t.”

He looked down at her golden hair spread against him. His hand hovered awkwardly before settling on her head.

“I will.”

“You say that so easily.”

“I mean it.”

“I know you mean it.” Her arms tightened again, pressing him closer.

“That does not make me less afraid.”

He sighed.

“Olivia. Move.”

“No.”

“Olivia.”

She tilted her head up to look at him. Her eyes shone, not with tears, but with something deeper and far less stable.

“If you walk out that door right now…” she mumbled.

“…I will follow you.”

“I know.”

“I will not stay behind.”

“I know.”

“I will fight beside you again.”

“That was the plan.”

Her expression shifted.

“That was not what I meant.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Her hands slid up from his waist to his chest, palms resting flat over his heart.

“You go to battle as if your life belongs to fate,” she whispered. “As if your body is a tool to be broken and repaired.”

Her fingers pressed lightly.

“It belongs to me too.”

There it was.

The warmth in her eyes deepened, and beneath it, that thin thread of madness shimmered again.

“You are mine,” she said with a soft smile, as if stating a pleasant fact.

“And I refuse to let mine walk into slaughter while still wounded.”

“I’m not wounded.”

She tapped his chest.

“You are.”

Aestrea caught her wrist gently.

Her pulse thudded against his fingers.

“Olivia.”

She did not pull away.

“If you insist on going,” she stated firmly, her voice lowering into something spoiled and stubborn, “then I will make this difficult.”

“You already are.”

Her smile widened.

“Good.”

Before he could step around her, she moved with him, mirroring each attempt.

When he shifted left, she slid left. When he angled right, she matched him perfectly, her skirt brushing against his legs.

“Stop this.”

“No.”

“Olivia.”

“You stayed one day. Stay one more.”

“I do not negotiate under emotional blackmail.”

She leaned closer, her breath warm against his throat.

“Then consider this emotional bribery.”

She rose onto her toes and pressed a slow kiss to his collarbone, lingering there long enough to be deliberate, then resting her forehead against his chest again as if nothing unusual had happened.

He went silent.

Her fingers traced lazy circles over his sternum.

“One more day,” she repeated softly. “Train in the courtyard. Eat properly. Sleep beside me without chains.”

Her arms slid around him again, but this time the hold felt less desperate and more possessive.

“Leave tomorrow,” she added.

Aestrea stared at the closed door over her shoulder.

He could force his way past her.

She knew that.

He knew that she knew.

Her cheek pressed against him once more, and she murmured with quiet satisfaction, “You are not walking out.”

He looked down at her luscious golden hair, at the calm confidence in her posture.

“…One day,” he said at last.

Her smile curved slowly, triumph flickering through her eyes.

“One day,” she echoed sweetly.

Her grip did not loosen, not even a little.

….

The next day, Aestrea finally arrived back at his base.

The sky above the floating citadel split with a clean vertical tear.

The servants below looked up first, then the guards, until everyone focused.

A streak of silver light cut downward from the rift and struck the courtyard stone with a controlled impact that cracked the tiles in a spiderweb pattern without collapsing them.

When the light faded, Aestrea stood there.

Dust rolled outward in a thin ring around his boots.

For half a second, nobody moved.

“HE’S BACK—!”

The shout tore through the courtyard like an explosion.

Chaos followed.

James vaulted clean over the railing of the second-floor balcony instead of taking the stairs, lightning snapping around his limbs as he landed hard enough to fracture more stone.

“You absolute piece of trash!” he roared, sprinting forward with a grin that was one breath away from breaking into tears.

“You fucking disappeared for two days!” Derek was right behind him, not bothering to hide the relief in his face.

Vivian smiled as soon as she saw him, but she didn’t run like the others, instead, she calmly walked. And just like that, Rose passed by her in a flash.

She shoved past James without hesitation, nearly knocking him sideways, and slammed directly into Aestrea’s chest with enough force to push him back half a step.

“Y-you!!!” Her hands fisted in his coat.

“You said ’in a bit.’!!!”

He blinked down at her.

“…In the Divine Realm, two days is a bit.”

Thud!

She smacked her shoulder upon hearing his words.

“You fought an army!”

“And won.”

“That’s not the point!”

James crashed into him next, throwing an arm around his neck in a half headlock.

“You insane bastard! Do you have any idea what kind of pressure wave hit the divinerealm after you snapped us out of there?”

“Enough to be satisfying,” Aestrea replied dryly.

“We thought you were dead.” Derek grabbed his other shoulder and shook him once.

“I wasn’t.”

“That’s not reassuring!”

Behind them, the smaller figures hesitated only for a second before committing fully.

“Master!”

Lumi was first among them, colliding into his side, arms wrapping around his waist.

“Papa!” Chaerin followed, clinging to his coat from the other side.

Ruli and Leaf nearly tackled his legs together, hugging him so tightly he had to shift his stance to keep from toppling over.

“Big Brother, you liar!” Ruli sniffed.

“You took too long!” Leaf added, eyes watery but stubborn.

Lilith approached slower than the rest.

Her tail swayed low instead of high, and when she reached him, she didn’t tease or smirk. She simply pressed herself against his back, arms sliding around his waist from behind.

“You made me worry,” she murmured against his shoulder blade.

“…You damn idiot!” Yara crossed her arms, trying and failing to look unimpressed.

“Sniff…” Zeva exhaled through her nose.

“You smell like blood and divine ash.”

“I washed,” he replied.

“Not well enough.”

Violet stood a few steps away, her mother beside her, both staring as if confirming he was solid.

Maya, Iris, and Lucas approached more carefully, relief written plainly across their faces.

And then, Vivian stopped directly in front of him.

Everyone else gradually quieted.

She looked him up and down once and started analyzing his body for any kind of damage.

No visible wounds.

No limp.

No missing limbs.

Her hand slowly rose…

Smack!

The sound echoed crisply across the courtyard.

Nobody breathed.

A red mark bloomed faintly across his cheek.

“You are not allowed to decide alone when to throw your life away,” she said calmly.

He met her gaze without flinching.

“…I didn’t throw my life away, I knew what I was going to fight already.”

“Knowing you, you probably gambled yourself away!”

“I won.”

Her jaw tightened.

For a second, it looked like she might hit him again.

Instead, she stepped forward and wrapped both arms around him, pressing her forehead into his chest.

Her shoulders trembled once.

“You don’t get to scare us like that,” she whispered.

His expression softened.

His arms lifted slowly, carefully disentangling himself from James’ half-headlock and the cluster of smaller bodies long enough to settle around Vivian and Rose both.

Rose was still gripping his coat.

Lumi refused to let go.

Lilith tightened her hold from behind as if testing whether he would vanish again.

He stood there in the center of the courtyard, completely surrounded by the people he deeply cared about.

’…Only surrounded by them, can I truly call this place…’

His gaze swept all over them.

’Home.’

’…I’m finally home.’

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