The clouds were still bleeding gold when Aether and Aira landed atop a ruined cliff, overlooking what remained of the battlefield.
Below them, the earth was scorched black, rivers of molten energy still simmering. The scent of divinity, ash, and blood lingered in the air.
But above all…
Silence.
Not a god stirred. Not a demon dared speak. Not even the world's will seemed to breathe.
Aira collapsed to her knees, wings vanishing, face pale but smiling. "We… actually won."
Aether fell beside her, exhausted, his skin cracked with energy lines. "Not won. Survived. There's a difference."
She laughed softly, reaching over to brush hair from his bloodied face. "Still… you made the stars shut up."
He looked at her, fingers interlacing with hers. "Only because you stood beside me."
Inside his mind, the Beelzebubb System spoke with a hollow, echoing voice:
"Skill [Infinite Regeneration] permanently lost. Energy flow unstable. Authority Burn has triggered a mutation."
"Your soul can now devour—but cannot heal."
Aether clenched his fist. One more ability sacrificed. One more piece of himself gone.
Aira noticed his silence and asked, "What did it cost this time?"
He turned his palm up — black veins pulsed beneath the skin.
"I gave up regeneration. If I die now… I stay dead."
She gripped his hand tighter. "Then don't die. Simple."
Aether smirked. "You make it sound easy."
"Because it is," she replied, leaning closer. "Not when you have something to live for."
Her lips brushed his cheek—soft, fleeting—but enough to make his breath hitch.
He turned to her, eyes glowing faintly, but gentle. "You know what scares me more than the system, the gods, or death?"
Aira raised a brow. "What?"
"Losing you again."
She leaned her forehead against his. "Then stay. Just stay."
Across the continent, the aftershock of their victory echoed.
In the Elven Kingdom:
Nahida's homeland—Elaris—a land once filled with singing forests and moon-blessed lakes, had long mourned her death. Now, word had reached even the high court.
"Princess Nahida lives… and has bonded with a human?"
The high elders whispered, shocked. Some wept. Others plotted.
The Elven Queen, Nahida's stepmother, gazed at the message with trembling fingers. "She… she remembers?"
But not all rejoiced.
In the shadows, a noble faction loyal to the gods began mobilizing. If Nahida was alive, she was a threat. And if she returned…
There would be war.
As Aether stood staring at the horizon, Aira stepped beside him.
"You're thinking about the elves."
He nodded. "Your homeland. Your people. It's time."
She looked uncertain. "They may not accept us. Especially me."
"They will." Aether said firmly. "And if they don't, I'll burn their pride down and rebuild it from ashes."
Her heart pounded at those words. Not because of the threat—but because he meant it.
"Let's go home," she whispered.
Their journey would be long.
The path would take them through the Cradle of Spirits, across the cursed Mirror Lake, and into the heart of a kingdom that once buried her memory.
But this time, Aether would walk beside her.
And this time… the world would see not just a demon contractor and a fallen princess.
They would see a king and queen of fate rising from ruin.