The halls of the Naravit estate were quiet now, sunlight pouring lazily through the tall glass windows. The echoes of their friends' voices faded behind them as Pond and Phuwin slipped away into the East Wing.
They walked in silence until they reached the room where they'd been sleeping since Pond's return. The door closed with a soft click behind them.
Phuwin didn't speak right away. He moved slowly, settling by the window, his fingers trailing the smooth edge of the curtain. "You meant it, right?" he asked softly, without turning around. "When you said we'll face it together."
Pond approached quietly, his steps silent like shadow. "Yes."
"Even if it gets worse?" Phuwin's voice cracked a little. "Even if you... forget who you are?"
Pond's arms wrapped around him from behind, slow and sure. He rested his chin on Phuwin's shoulder, his voice barely above a breath. "If I forget who I am... remind me. You're the only one who can."
Phuwin turned in his arms, searching his face. "Then don't shut me out, Pond. I don't care how strong the Enigma is or how powerful you've become. I still need *you.* The boy who made me laugh when no one else could. The boy who asked me what my favorite fruit was like it meant something."
Pond closed his eyes, the memory slipping through the cracks in his cold control like sunlight through fog.
"Apples," he murmured. "You said green apples."
Phuwin smiled, tears burning in his eyes. "You remember."
Pond pressed his forehead to Phuwin's. "I remember everything about you."
And for a moment, the Enigma was silent.
The heavy power within him stilled—not gone, but waiting. Yielding, if only briefly, to something deeper than vengeance or fate.
Love.
A knock sounded on the door.
Pond didn't let go of Phuwin, but his eyes opened, glowing faintly before softening as familiar voices called out.
"It's just us," Gemini said gently. "Don't mean to intrude."
The door creaked open, and Joong peeked inside with Dunk by his side, their hands intertwined. Santa, Perth, and Fourth followed, each holding something—tea, blankets, a bowl of sliced green apples.
"We thought you might want company," Santa said with a sheepish smile. "The quiet after everything... can be too loud."
Phuwin looked surprised but moved to sit cross-legged on the plush carpet, pulling Pond gently down beside him. Pond didn't resist.
Dunk placed the bowl in front of them. "We brought snacks. Not because we're worried or anything—okay, we are. A lot."
Joong added, "We're not here to ask questions. Just... to remind you you're not alone."
Pond didn't speak. He simply looked at each of them, expression unreadable. But he didn't push them away.
Fourth dropped a blanket across Pond's shoulders with a wink. "You're stuck with us, even if you grow wings or breathe fire next."
A faint twitch pulled at Pond's mouth—nearly a smile. He looked to Phuwin, who nodded gently, silently saying *they're safe.*
And for one precious hour, they sat together. Sharing warmth. Memories. A quiet that healed.
But peace, in Pond's life, never lasted.
Later that night, when the others had gone, Pond sat alone by the window, moonlight spilling over his face. Phuwin had drifted to sleep nearby, his breathing soft and steady.
Then—
A sharp pulse shot through Pond's chest.
He gasped, clutching his ribs as the markings along his spine ignited with violet fire. His reflection in the darkened window stared back—not human, not entirely. His irises had turned the color of midnight, ringed in gold. The Enigma stirred within, restless.
*They plot again,* it hissed in his mind. *They will come for him. They will bind you. You must end it before it begins.*
"No," Pond whispered aloud, teeth clenched. "Not yet."
*You wait too long,* the Enigma warned. *They will bleed him to weaken you.*
Pond turned back toward Phuwin, watching the rise and fall of his chest. A fierce protectiveness surged through him.
"If they try to touch him," he murmured, voice steel, "I'll burn their gods to ash."
The next morning, silence fractured.
The Naravit estate's gates opened not to guests—but invaders.
Councilmen in white ceremonial robes stepped into the courtyard, flanked by guards bearing enchanted spears. A sacred dagger glowed faintly in the High Seer's hands.
Off and Gun stepped protectively in front of Phuwin, who was still in his night robe, confused and alarmed. Pond emerged slowly from the East Wing, every movement radiating cold fury.
"Don't," Phuwin whispered, catching his hand.
But the Seer raised the blade, eyes full of sorrow. "We did not want this, Enigma. But your awakening has no balance. We must seal you—return you to sleep."
"And Phuwin?" Pond asked quietly.
"He is the tether," one councilman said. "If he remains close, you remain unstable. He must be confined."
The guards moved to take Phuwin.
Everyone screamed at once.
Phuwin backed into Pond's arms, and Pond didn't move. Didn't blink.
Until—
A shockwave pulsed from his body, sending the guards flying into the courtyard pillars. The dagger fell from the Seer's hands.
"You brought your blade," Pond said, stepping forward as black-violet threads crackled around him, "expecting I'd let you touch what's mine."
"Pond—" Joong warned, heart pounding. "Don't kill them."
"They tried to take *him.*"
Phuwin pressed his hand to Pond's chest. "Don't let them turn you into a monster."
Pond looked down at him—his anchor, his mercy.
His voice dropped to a whisper. "Then they'll see the monster and wish they never did."
The dust hadn't yet settled when Pond stepped into the courtyard, violet-black light still flickering around his body like coiled serpents.
The council stood in chaos — guards groaning on the ground, the sacred dagger scorched, and the Seer breathing hard as he knelt, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"You really thought," Pond said, voice calm, cold, terrifyingly steady, "I didn't know what you planned?"
The Seer's mouth opened. "We—"
"I let you bring your weapons into my home," Pond continued. "I let you speak your threats in front of my mate. Because I wanted the truth shown, in full daylight. So they—" he gestured to his friends, his family behind him "—could see the kind of people who claim to protect balance."
Off growled low in his throat, stepping beside Pond now. Gun gripped Phuwin's shoulder, but his gaze never left the Seer.
Joong snarled, "You planned to *bleed* Phuwin to seal Pond? Are you insane?"
"You don't understand," one council member pleaded. "The Enigma is—"
"I *am* the Enigma," Pond snapped. "And I have *not* forgotten who I love."
He waved a hand, and the sacred dagger flew up from the dirt, hovering midair before spinning, hovering like a blade waiting for command. "You came with a choice for me. Let me offer *you* one."
The dagger stopped—its point aimed at the Seer's chest.
"Swear an oath to never touch Phuwin again," Pond said, "or I drive this through your heart and bury your name with your lies."
The Enigma inside him pulsed, ready for blood.
But before the blade could fall—
Phuwin stepped forward.
No magic. No violence. Just his hand, reaching out, steady and open.
"Pond," he said, his voice quiet, but it cut through the storm like a bell, "don't let them turn you into what they fear."
Pond didn't move. The dagger trembled, waiting.
"Look at me," Phuwin whispered, walking until he stood directly in front of him. "You already won. You *knew*. You protected me. That's what makes you different from them."
Pond's eyes were glowing now — fully violet, edged with gold. Not just his. The Enigma's.
"I am not just one thing anymore," he said, voice layered with a deeper, ancient tone.
Phuwin nodded. "I know. But I also know you're *mine*. And I'm yours. That hasn't changed."
He reached up, cupping Pond's face. "You promised. If you forget who you are—I'll remind you."
The dagger dropped.
The power pulsing around Pond dimmed, drawing back into his body like a beast curling into sleep.
His eyes slowly returned to gray.
And then he fell to his knees, head bowed, trembling—not from weakness, but from the effort of holding back what the world wanted him to become.
Phuwin knelt with him, arms wrapping around his shoulders. "I've got you. Always."
Behind them, the council said nothing.
Because in that moment, even they realized: they had not just created a monster.
They had awakened something far more dangerous.
The courtyard was silent.
Even the wind held its breath.
The Seer remained kneeling, his face pale with the knowledge of what could have happened — what *still* might happen if they pushed any further.
Pond stood slowly, power no longer lashing out but coiled deep within him, a quiet, watching thing. One hand rested on Phuwin's back, protective even in calm.
"You brought holy weapons into my home," Pond said, voice cold but precise. "You threatened the one tether holding me to mercy."
The sacred dagger now floated beside him again, but this time it spun lazily — as if bored by their fear.
"Let this be your only warning," he continued. "If you attempt to cage me again, I won't just turn your blades on you. I will erase your memory from every record, every bloodline, every plane."
Santa stepped forward, the air vibrating faintly from residual power. "You crossed a line. There won't be a second time."
The Seer finally lowered his head. "We... were afraid."
Phuwin looked over his shoulder, voice gentle but unyielding. "Then *learn* the difference between fear and cruelty."
There was no formal declaration. No farewell.
The council simply turned and left — broken, exposed, and quiet.
They came to unmake a god.
They left after watching a boy tame him.
That night, the estate was hushed.
Everyone gave them space.
Even Off and Gun, despite being shaken to the core, didn't interrupt when Pond pulled Phuwin by the hand into the quiet garden behind the East Wing.
The moonlight cast soft silver across the grass. A small bench sat beneath a flowering tree, and the scent of jasmine floated in the breeze.
They sat in silence for a while. Phuwin's hand was warm in Pond's.
"I almost lost it," Pond murmured finally, staring at the stars. "I was one breath away from becoming everything they fear."
"You didn't," Phuwin said. "Because you chose *me.* Not power. Not wrath. Me."
Pond turned to him, his eyes still lined with faint violet, but now quiet. "You're the only reason I remember how to choose."
Phuwin rested his head against Pond's shoulder. "You don't have to be strong all the time. Not with me. Not with them. You were never meant to carry all of this alone."
Pond closed his eyes. "But I was *created* to carry it."
"No," Phuwin whispered. "You were created to *love*. The rest... the power, the storm — that was just armor."
Silence again, but it was soft now. Not tense. Just full of unspoken things.
Then Phuwin added, teasing gently, "Though I won't lie — it was *very* hot when you made that sacred dagger float."
Pond chuckled — *actually chuckled* — low and broken and beautiful.
Phuwin leaned in closer. "Stay with me tonight."
Pond didn't hesitate. "Always."