The Grid's hum was softer now, no longer the fractured, chaotic current they'd lived under for weeks.
The battle was over, the relic in place, Rin restored.
The Citadel corridors no longer smelled of burnt circuitry and ozone—just cool steel and faint traces of fuel from the docking bays.
What Became of Warden
Deep in the Citadel's sublevels, Warden was confined inside a reinforced containment sphere, suspended in a field of Grid-neutral energy.
Once a towering, armored warlord capable of tearing through Ranger lines, now he was silent, his helm lowered.
Kael stood outside the field with Zara.
Zara: "He's not dead. Just… stripped of his link to the Grid. Without it, he's nothing more than a man with too many ghosts."
Kael: "And too much blood on his hands."
Kael turned away before he could feel the stirrings of pity.
The Celebration
That night, the Citadel's mess hall became something it hadn't been in years—alive.
Engineers laughed over drinks, Guardians swapped war stories, and music, for the first time in memory, filled the air.
Ayla stuck close to Rin, under the excuse of making sure he didn't "wander off and get lost."
She watched him from across the table—calm, composed, completely unaware that every time he spoke, her heart felt like it was leaning forward to listen.
When the others drifted off to mingle, she nudged him toward the balcony.
The Balcony
The stars were sharp pinpricks against the black, the Grid's faint shimmer like an aurora across the void.
Ayla leaned on the railing, fidgeting with one of the silver clasps on her gauntlet.
Ayla: "You know… when you were gone, I didn't think we'd get you back."
Rin: "You still fought like you knew we would."
Ayla: "Yeah, well… maybe I couldn't stand the idea of losing you."
Rin glanced at her, eyes narrowing slightly in thought.
Rin: "…Why?"
She laughed under her breath.
Ayla: "Guess I'm done pretending."
Before her nerves could argue, she stepped forward, hands light on the sides of his face, and kissed him.
It wasn't rushed—just steady, certain, the kind of kiss that didn't need explaining.
When they broke apart, Rin's gaze lingered on hers.
Rin: "…You're full of surprises."
Ayla: "You have no idea."
The Farewell
The next morning, they stood in the Citadel's main hangar.
Kael headed toward a deep-space transport bound for his home galaxy. Mira returned to her lab with Zara's data core. Thorne limped toward his own repaired ship, throwing them a rare half-smile over his shoulder.
Ayla stood with Rin at the end of the platform.
Ayla: "You'll find me again, right?"
Rin: "The Grid doesn't let bonds like this fade."
Ayla: "Good. Then I'll be waiting."
They parted, each walking into their own paths, the Citadel growing smaller behind them.
Somewhere out there, the Grid was healing—but both knew it wouldn't sleep forever.
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