They stared at the lifeless monstrosity, chests heaving, hearts still pounding.
Azrael dropped to his knees, blood pouring down his arm and chest. His breath came ragged, but a wild grin split his face.
Olivia staggered toward him, pink eyes glinting, her blade still slick with black blood.
"Az, are you okay?" she called, stumbling closer.
He didn't answer. Instead, Azrael collapsed into the snow that was already stained crimson, patches of it hissing into deep arctic blue as poison burned through the ground.
"AZ!!!"
Her cry tore through the frozen air. She pushed her body harder, fighting the pain, the snow, and the crushing sorrow sinking into her chest as she watched him fall.
Azrael looked up at her, a small, weary smile on his face resigned, almost peaceful.
"Goodbye, Liv. You better live. Leave this place I'm counting on you. I know it was short, but… I really enjoyed my time with you."
He paused, lips twitching, then broke into a savage grin.
"Who am I kidding? I didn't just enjoy it; I loved it. Every single second of it."
With that, he gave her one last wild smile and collapsed face-first into the snow.
Finally reaching him, Olivia pulled his body into her lap. Her gaze swept over him until it locked onto the gaping hole through his shoulder.
It was a miracle his arm still clung to him. Blood gushed from the wound, mingling with the searing blue poison that ate away at his skin like acid.
Taking a shuddering breath, Olivia placed her trembling hands over the wound. She gathered the last scraps of mana she had left.
The poison began to draw out of his body, writhing as it left the wound, while the blood itself seemed to weave the torn flesh together in a desperate, fragile stitch.
Olivia's vision blurred, her body trembling as the last of her mana drained from her. The poison fought her, thrashing against her pull like a living thing, refusing to leave its host.
Each second felt like hours as she forced it out, strand by strand, until the surrounding snow sizzled and steamed with its corruption.
Her breath hitched. The wound was closing, but too slowly.
The blood she willed to stitch his flesh together was weak and uneven, more a bandage than a cure.
"Stay with me, Az…" she whispered, voice cracking. Her hands shook violently, her lips trembling as exhaustion crushed her shoulders. "Don't you dare die here. Not after everything you still owe me 4 favors remember."
Azrael's chest rose faintly, but his eyes were closed, his grin gone. The silence around them pressed in, broken only by the faint hiss of the poison dissolving into the snow.
Her heart pounded. It's not enough.
If she pushed any harder, she would burn herself out—inviting impurities into her body.
But if she stopped now, the poison would creep back, and she'd lose him forever.
Tears welled in her eyes, freezing at the corners before falling onto his pale skin.
"I won't lose you," she said, her voice trembling with a vow. "Not now. Not ever."
Olivia closed her eyes, drawing deeper, past exhaustion—into the very air around her. She drew mana from her surroundings as fast as she could pulling it into her core
The snow around her began to swirl, pulled by an unseen current. Her pink eyes burned brighter, glowing with a violent light as her power surged past its limits.
Azrael's body jerked in her lap, blood boiling around the wound as her magic tore the last of the poison free in a scream of steam.
His chest heaved, his lips parting as if searching for breath.
Then silence.
The world seemed to hold its breath with her.
"Az…" she whispered again, her voice fragile. "Please… open your eyes."
A faint sound stirred beneath the silence. Breathing.
Olivia froze, eyes widening as her ears caught the shallow rise and fall of his chest. It was faint, fragile yet it was there. Life still clung to him.
A broken sob slipped from her lips, relief crashing into her like a wave. She pressed her forehead against his, whispering, "That's good enough… that's all I need."
Forcing her aching body upright, she hooked her arms beneath him and pulled him across her shoulders.
His weight nearly buckled her knees, but she gritted her teeth and pushed forward. Step by step, her boots crunched through the snow as the cold wind bit at her face.
The forest stretched endlessly around her, dark and merciless, but she refused to stop. I'll find shelter. I'll keep him safe.
Minutes bled into hours or maybe it was only moments; time blurred in her exhaustion.
Finally, the jagged outline of a cave broke through the white haze. She staggered inside, nearly collapsing as the sudden stillness swallowed them.
Carefully, she lowered Azrael against the rough stone wall.
His head lolled to the side, lips pale, but his breath still whispered in and out. Olivia let out a shaky exhale and sank down beside him.
Her body ached, mana spent, heart raw. Without thinking, she climbed into his lap, curling herself against him.
She rested her head on his chest, listening to the faint thrum of his heartbeat.
It was weak. Unsteady. But it was there.
Her eyes fluttered shut. "That's enough," she murmured, voice barely a whisper as sleep pulled her under. "As long as you're still here… it's enough."
And with that, the cave fell quiet—two broken warriors clinging to life, pressed together against the cold.
The cave settled into silence, broken only by the faint crackle of wind at its mouth. Olivia drifted into exhausted sleep, her head pressed to Azrael's chest, listening to the fragile rhythm of his heart.
But somewhere deeper, far beyond the cave, beyond the snow and blood Azrael's consciousness stirred.
His eyes opened to a sky unlike any he had ever known. It was blindingly white, an endless canvas where countless black stars hung suspended like holes burned into the heavens.
Among them, six shone brighter than the rest, glowing with a strange, commanding luster. They seemed alive—watching, waiting.
Beneath him stretched vast plains of grass, endless and still. Each time his bare feet touched the ground, serenity seeped into his bones, filling his soul with a peace he hadn't felt in years.
The wind was warm, carrying whispers he couldn't quite understand, and the horizon stretched on into infinity.
Azrael stood there for a long moment, breathless, the weight of battle and poison stripped away. His chest rose, steady and whole, his body unscarred.
Confusion pricked at him. This wasn't the battlefield. It wasn't the cave. It wasn't anywhere he recognized.
His throat tightened. He swallowed, glancing out at the boundless expanse, then finally found his voice.
"…Hello?"
The single word echoed across the plains, swallowed by infinity.
And the world seemed to listen. As immediately, after the words left his mouth, he felt a sensation of cold cover his eyes like hands that have never known the touch of warmth
"You're finally here My beloved"
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So yeah… I'm finally back after taking a "small break"… okay, fine, almost a month. But let's not focus on the small details—what matters is I'm back, right? You were all waiting for me and are glad to see me back, right?? No? Well… whatever. I'm back now, so it doesn't matter.
I really appreciate all of you for sticking around, it truly means a lot 🙃. Now, let's get back into the story!