Drip…
A warm drop slid down onto unconscious Delphine's eyes, carrying a sickening heat that did not belong to water. The sensation tugged her from the dark, her lashes twitching as awareness clawed its way back.
She stirred weakly, and as her eyes finally opened, another heavy drop fell directly onto her gaze, thick and unmistakably warm.
Her vision swam as her eyes fluttered violently, a sharp burning sensation stinging them.
"Arh!"
The sound tore from her throat as she blinked furiously, breath coming in ragged gasps while the blurred shapes before her began to sharpen.
"AETHER!!"
She screamed his name with everything she had left, her voice cracking as the sight before her carved itself into her mind.
Aether held her tightly in his embrace while expression twitched into a strained smirk, faint yet defiant, as though he had finally accomplished something he once believed impossible.
Except… his left arm was gone, severed cleanly up to the elbow.
