Leiya stood at the foot of a cliff, overseeing the interpass.
The frigid wind tore at her clothes, biting at her skin. But it did nothing to her.
Cold was familiar. In the Fallen Kingdom, she was subjected to various mana storms, and it made her more relentless.
Her attention remained fixed on the map in her hands.
Ordinarily, other people wouldn't be able to use the artifact, but since Airi and Xerxes were destined companions, she was able to inscribe Xerxes' signature on it.
Something that made Leiya shift uncomfortably was the rapid marking.
Xerxes' movement was moving by hundreds of metres every second, and before she could fully process that thought, a violent tremor surged through the interpass beneath her feet.
The ground shook as snow burst upward in uneven waves, and gusts of gale-force wind approached.
It would be devastating for them if it hit. Luckily, one of the members thrust their staff forward, summoning waves of wind. Then, she expelled it, countering the impact.
That mage was Learna.
Dane stood behind her, clenching his teeth. "You youngsters are outright crazy!" He exclaimed.
Hours earlier, they decided to come along.
Admittedly, Learna was the first to agree. The gravity of the situation settled into her far too deeply for her to choose the comfort of the guild.
Naturally, he couldn't leave her behind. Not now. Not when whatever awaited them felt closer to catastrophe than battle.
Airi then stiffened suddenly.
A sharp unnatural chill crawled through her, spreading wing to wing.
"Quickly," she said urgently. "Everybody. He's close. I can feel it and-"
What she felt next was worse than fear. It was something she had sensed a few times before, and each time it made her swell with pain.
The suffocating pressure of Xerxes' selflessness. The kind that came when Xerxes stopped thinking of himself entirely.
When he pushed beyond reason.
When he strove himself towards death.
Leiya turned sharply. "What is it, Airi? Don't tell me that wave was the result of his battle."
Airi's voice barely came out. "He's going to die."
The party didn't waste time talking.
Instead, they all moved in unison, attempting their best to reach him. Leiya continuously traced her eyes from the map back up to the surface, but it was hard to get an accurate direction.
There was too much movement, and something else was dawning in on her.
She hadn't allowed herself to feel it for so long because when she had last allowed herself to worry, she couldn't do anything to help her family.
However, it was resurfacing now, and she was worried.
Truly, deeply worried.
Leiya knew full well the lengths he would go to.
Perhaps better than anyone.
She had seen him choose sacrifice without hesitation, and Airi's words echoed in his mind verbatim.
'He's shouldering these burdens because he can't handle anyone else carrying them.'
Don't do anything stupid, you fool.
Then, Leiya's instincts screamed out at her; she could feel something bubbling within the very mana that surrounded them.
"Magical rejection!" Xerxes' voice echoed through the interpass.
Her entire body reacted before her thoughts could catch up. A pressure unlike anything she had felt before surged.
Leiya's face tightened. As she spun. "Thornfum, create your best earthen wall. Everyone else, get down! NOW!" She urged.
Without hesitation, she drove her fist straight into the ground.
The impact was immense, and the ground beneath them buckled and collapsed inward, forming a divot large enough to shield them.
In the next moment, a deep, inverted hum rang out like air, and mana was being pulled inward instead of being pushed out.
Then a terrifying warping roar cracked through the air. Their ears rang violently, and for a heartbeat, the world seemed to freeze after what they saw.
One of the mountains in the Mons Mountain range exploded.
Not cracked. Not fractured.
It exploded, with raw power ripping through the stone and earth, in hues of gold and sapphire.
It sent colossal chunks of rock flying outward in every direction, and the force was unimaginable.
Thornfum bellowed, his voice cracking with disbelief. "W-what the FUCK?!"
Dane's blade slipped from his grasp, clattering uselessly against the stone. His mouth hung open, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing.
Learna stood frozen, her pupils reflected the destruction as debris the size of castles rained down from the sky. Entire sections of the mountain disintegrated mid-air, reduced to dust by the sheer force.
But that wasn't their only worry; an avalanche was approaching them, and it would only take a few moments for it to hit.
Leiya's eyebrows knitted, she was stronger now, but her mana wasn't attuned to tackling this sort of threat, however, the one who acted without any question was Xerxes' destined companion.
Airi burst from the earthen divot without hesitation, her body already moving before thought could catch up.
She shot forward like a living comet, flames trailing behind her as the avalanche thundered down the slope ahead.
Her chest expanded as she drew in mana, wings snapping wide at the last possible moment. The sudden halt sent a shockwave of wind tearing outward.
Airi's Phoenix fire detonated alongside it. Heat and pressure collided with the rushing debris, and in a deafening roar, the avalanche was swallowed by incandescent flame.
Snow, stone, and ice evaporated into steam.
Leiya didn't wait.
She launched herself forward, plunging straight into the scalding fog, boots striking uneven ground as she ran through the aftermath.
Learna followed close behind, heart pounding, her breath shallow but determined.
Dane lingered a heartbeat longer, paralysed by the destruction until Thornfum's voice cracked through the haze.
"The hell you starin' at me for?! Start runnin'!"
Thornfum hauled himself upright and barreled ahead, swearing under his breath. Dane swallowed hard and chased after him, questioning every decision that had led him here.
"Wait for me!" He bellowed.
The parties' goal was simple.
Find Xerxes.
The path was anything but treacherous. They strenuously weaved through descending castle-sized debris and much more.
Miraculously, after a few gruelling minutes, Leiya finally looked down at the map again, and she realised they had finally reached him.
It was the first time she had seen Xerxes in months.
His lilac hair had grown longer, brushing past his ears, his features sharper, more defined. He looked older, somehow hardened. Stronger.
He should have looked indomitable.
Instead, he was on his knees.
The flesh along his right arm was mangled beyond recognition, skin torn away to reveal raw bone beneath. Blood streaked down his face, shadowing his eyes, soaking into clothes that were barely holding together. Wounds littered his body, some still fresh, others barely closed.
Learna covered her mouth, a soundless gasp caught in her throat.
Dane pulled her close, steadying her as the rest of them ran towards him.
Xerxes' mana was almost gone. What little remained flickered weakly, like embers struggling to survive. His eyes were pried open by pain alone.
Slowly, impossibly, his head turned.
Through the haze, he saw her.
But he didn't have the strength to keep his body upright, and it began to drop to the ground.
Leiya caught him before he could fall.
She dropped to her knees in the snow, pulling him into her arms as though letting go might shatter him entirely. Her voice cut quickly through the chaos.
"Airi!"
The Phoenix was already there.
Airi hovered close, eyes burning with focus as she wrapped Xerxes in healing flame, pouring everything she had into mending shattered flesh and sealing torn veins.
Xerxes lifted his arm weakly, fingers trembling as he reached for Leiya. Through ragged breaths, barely audible, he whispered, "I'm… sorry, Leiya."
Her head snapped down, facing him. "What are you apologising for?" She questioned fiercely. "You damned idiot. You fool. You-"
The words broke apart, anger dissolving into something she couldn't name.
She shook her head, gripping him tighter.
"Just don't die. Keep that promise. You promise me that." Leiya urged.
His lips trembled as he forced a nod. "…Okay."
Thornfum approached carefully, boots crunching through wreckage. He glanced down at Xerxes, then snorted softly. "Y'know, boss… you're lookin' better than ever. An' you'd be real glad to hear I gave one hell of a speech, I even got all this cavalry with us. Ow' about that."
He continued defensively, "Don't think ya' so special topalling a mountain, anyone can do that!"
Thornfum crossed his arms, tracing his eyes from Xerxes to the mountain that was once there.
Learna and Dane reached them moments later. Learna knelt beside Xerxes, hands hovering uncertainly, but he spoke before she could.
"The Gem'rafh…" he rasped. "Help them. And… Lilith, save the girl."
The clash of fists and roars echoed in the distance, snapping them all back to reality.
Thornfum straightened and forced a nod, "Relying on my wits, are we? I suppose I can extend my kindness after you dealt with the 'easier' stuff for us."
Xerxes forced a smile through the pain and tried to put his thumbs up.
Quickly after the three began running towards the battle. They ensured they weren't going to hold anything back.
After all, they all saw what Xerxes had done and how damaged he was.
The only ones who stayed behind were Airi and Leiya.
They lingered there for several minutes, the battlefield fading into distant noise, the cold settling back in.
None of them seemed to know what to say. Even Airi, usually quick with words or complaints, remained silent, wings folded close to her body.
Xerxes noticed it first.
Leiya's hands were trembling.
"Is everything okay, Leiya…?" Xerxes asked quietly, his voice strained.
She didn't answer straight away. Her jaw tightened, and she shook her head, as if holding something back.
"Why do you have to do that, Xerxes?" she demanded suddenly, anger bleeding through her words. "Why do you always have to be so selfless all the time? Damn it."
His eyes softened despite the pain ripping through him.
From the way Airi glanced at him, he knew she'd said something to Leiya.
But he couldn't find an answer.
Instead, he spoke to Airi mentally, 'I wish I could explain it,' he thought faintly. 'But how do you explain caring, Airi? How do you explain something that feels as natural as breathing?'
Airi's voice brushed against his mind, gentle but firm.
'I believe it best to let her speak, your answers will come, Xerxes. She needs this. More than you do. After this, I will be sure to give you an earfull as well!'
Leiya's voice wavered as she finally spoke again. "Do you know how hard it is… seeing you like this?"
"Like what?" he murmured.
Her reply came hoarse. "Broken."
The word settled heavily between them—not cruel, not accusatory. Just true.
She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his chest. Her breathing grew uneven, sharp inhales that refused to calm.
"I think about that day," she whispered. "Grandfather Aemon is telling us everything will be alright. Saying he wasn't afraid."
Xerxes stayed silent.
"That was the first time he ever lied," she continued. "And I didn't realise it then. I only understood later, when I stayed with Saint Nikola."
Her fingers clenched his clothes.
"He trusted Father. He trusted Mother. He trusted the lieutenant to fight. But not me." Her voice cracked. "And that was when I realised why I hated lies."
She pulled back just enough to look at him, eyes burning.
"Not because they hurt, but because they leave you alone. Because they tell you that someone decided you weren't strong enough to share the truth." Her breath shook. "And in that loneliness, I was forced to face who I was… and how powerless I felt."
Her grip tightened.
"I hate lies because they mean someone didn't believe in me," she said. "And in some twisted way, I hate the truth too, because if he'd told me I was weak, it would have hurt just the same."
She lifted her head fully now.
"I hated you," Leiya admitted. "Not because you failed me. But because you didn't trust me enough to stay with you...That's why I left."
Xerxes swallowed.
"I watched my grandfather die," she said evenly. "And he told you to keep me safe. He trusted you with everything he built. With me."
Her voice hardened. "And you carried that burden like it was yours alone."
She exhaled sharply.
"My mother used to say strength meant knowing when to lean on someone else." Her gaze dropped briefly. "And father taught me that leadership isn't about standing in front, it's about standing beside."
Her eyes met his again.
"But you kept walking ahead."
Silence stretched between them.
"I thought leaving would fix it," she confessed quietly. "That the outside world would fill the void. That staying in Luminaria's church would help me move on."
Her hand pressed flat against his chest.
"It didn't."
Tears finally spilt.
"And every time you got hurt, every time I saw you tear yourself apart for strangers, for ideals, for destiny...I hated you for it," she said, voice rising. "Because it felt like you were choosing everyone over me."
Xerxes' voice was pure when he answered. "I was afraid."
She stiffened.
"Afraid that if I let you carry it," he continued, "you'd be crushed by it like I was."
"That wasn't your choice to make!" Leiya snapped. "You don't get to decide who I become, or what I do just because you're scared of losing me."
She inhaled shakily, then whispered, "And I don't get to pretend I don't need you."
Her hand rose to his face, careful, reverent.
"You're my family," she said. "You're all I have left. And I don't want to stand behind you anymore. I don't want to chase you through blood and ruins."
She met his gaze fully.
"I want to fight with you through them."
Something in Xerxes broke then—not loudly, not dramatically. Just quietly.
"I should have told you," he admitted. "About the voice. About the weight." His fingers closed over hers. "I thought protecting you meant silence, meant lies...meant running."
Leiya huffed weakly. "You can tell me about it after, you need to focus on this first. But I want you to understand." She said softly.
"I'm not some weakling. I'll admit." She said, whilst looking up at the mountain, "You're quite the badass, but even if I can only do a fraction of that, I want you to rely on me. I want you to see me as someone who stands beside you."
She paused, then finished, "I want you to trust me with everything you have."
She softened.
"Let me believe in that."
Xerxes smiled faintly.
"Then… I trust you," he said. "I'll try to be better."
She wiped her face, managing a crooked grin, and wrapped her arms around him.
"I don't forgive you yet, reckless, idiotic, dumbass, airheaded fool!" she muttered. "I'm still furious, and I'm still hurt." Her voice steadied. "But I choose you. And I won't let you do this alone again."
Xerxes let out a breathless laugh as her grip tightened.
"…You're going to kill me one day."
She sniffed. "If you don't let me help, absolutely."
And for the first time since the Fallen Kingdom fell, since the truth family were killed and their world was shattered again, it felt like the pieces were being picked up.
Maybe not as a whole, but one by one and both Xerxes and Leiya could live with that.