Night settled gently over the buried kingdom.

  It wasn’t the oppressive kind of darkness Akitsu Shouga was used to—the kind that pressed against his chest and whispered of endings. Instead, it was calm. Almost kind.

  The ruined house they chose stood near the edge of a collapsed street. Its stone walls were cracked, its pillars broken, and its roof had long since fallen away. Ivy crawled freely over the remains, and moonlight poured unobstructed into the open interior.

  Above them, the sky stretched wide and clear.

  Stars glimmered between drifting clouds, framed by jagged stone like a painting that had forgotten its borders.

  Kael Ardent set his bag down and looked around. “…This place is falling apart.”

  Akitsu glanced up at the open sky. “But it won’t collapse tonight.”

  Kael snorted softly. “You say that like you checked.”

  “I did,” Akitsu replied flatly.

  Kael laughed under his breath and sat down against a half-broken wall. “Alright. I trust you.”

  A small fire crackled in what used to be a fireplace. Akitsu crouched beside it, sleeves rolled up, calmly arranging a battered pot over the flames. Seraphine Orion lingered nearby, quietly weaving a simple wind barrier to keep sparks from spreading.

  Ayaka sat cross-legged near Akitsu’s feet, hugging her knees, staring into the fire with sleepy eyes.

  “…You’re cooking?” Kael asked after a moment.

  “Yes.”

  Kael blinked. “…You can cook?”

  Akitsu paused, ladle hovering over the pot. “…I think so.”

  “You think so?”

  “I don’t remember learning,” Akitsu said calmly. “But my hands know what to do.”

  Kael leaned forward, intrigued. “That’s unsettling.”

  Akitsu shrugged slightly and stirred the pot.

  Inside simmered a simple but hearty stew—dried river meat Akitsu had hunted earlier, soaked grain crushed into rough flour, salt scraped from mineral stone, and herbs Seraphine had identified as safe for humans. The scent was warm and grounding.

  For Kael’s portion, Akitsu added slices of vivid elf-grown root vegetables and pale berries Eldran had given them—foods Akitsu deliberately kept away from his own meal.

  Kael watched carefully. “…Why are you making two different versions?”

  Akitsu didn’t look at him. “Because yours would kill me.”

  “…What?”

  “The vegetables. The fruit. They’re elf-grown.”

  Kael frowned. “And?”

  “They’re poisonous to humans.”

  Kael stared at the pot. “…I ate those all week.”

  “Yes.”

  “…Why didn’t you say anything?!”

  Akitsu finally glanced at him. “You’re half elf.”

  Kael paused. “…Right.”

  After a beat, he sighed. “You could’ve warned me.”

  “You were enjoying them.”

  “…Fair.”

  Akitsu finished cooking and served the stew into two mismatched plates—one cracked ceramic, one stone. He handed Kael his portion first.

  Kael accepted it, sniffed, and smiled. “…Smells good.”

  Akitsu sat opposite him, Ayaka immediately climbing into his lap and curling against his chest. He adjusted slightly to support her, unfazed.

  Kael raised an eyebrow. “She really likes you.”

  Akitsu looked down at the little girl’s white hair. “…She’s tired.”

  Kael hummed and took a bite.

  His eyes widened. “…This is actually really good.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Akitsu took a bite of his own. “It’s edible.”

  “That’s not the same thing.”

  They ate quietly for a while.

  The fire crackled. Night insects chirped somewhere beyond the ruins. Leaves rustled in the wind.

  Eventually, Kael broke the silence.

  “…So,” he said carefully, “what are you going to do now?”

  Akitsu paused mid-bite. “…About what?”

  “The future.”

  Akitsu frowned slightly. “Define ‘future.’”

  Kael sighed. “I mean… after all this. After we stop running.”

  Akitsu stared into the fire for a long moment.

  “…I don’t know,” he admitted.

  Kael blinked. “You don’t?”

  Akitsu shook his head. “I don’t plan that far.”

  Kael leaned back. “…I think I will.”

  Akitsu glanced at him.

  “I’m done,” Kael said quietly. “With titles. With kingdoms. With being used.”

  “…What about your fiancée?” Akitsu asked.

  Kael’s jaw tightened.

  “…She’ll move on,” he said after a pause. “With or without me. Either way… I can’t go back.”

  Akitsu nodded slowly. “I see.”

  Kael took another bite, then asked, “What about you?”

  Akitsu answered without hesitation.

  “I’ll get stronger,” he said. “And I’ll find Kaoru one day.”

  Kael looked at him. “How?”

  Akitsu shrugged lightly. “I don’t know.”

  “…That’s it?”

  “I’ll go with the flow.”

  Kael burst out laughing. “That’s your grand plan?!”

  Akitsu tilted his head. “Is that strange?”

  “It’s reckless.”

  “Then it suits me.”

  Kael wiped his eyes, still smiling. “…You’re unbelievable.”

  After the laughter faded, Kael leaned closer, curiosity glinting in his eyes. “So… how did you meet Kaoru?”

  Akitsu paused.

  “…In a horse barn.”

  Kael blinked. “…A what?”

  “I woke up on a haystack,” Akitsu continued flatly. “She was sleeping next to me.”

  Kael stared. “…That’s it?”

  “She had hay in her hair.”

  Kael laughed so hard he nearly spilled his stew. “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m not.”

  “…That’s the most ridiculous first meeting I’ve ever heard.”

  Akitsu shrugged. “It worked.”

  Kael shook his head, still grinning. “Alright. My turn.”

  Akitsu listened as Kael spoke.

  “I was taken,” Kael said quietly. “By human traffickers. I was young. Don’t remember my parents. Just cages. Chains.”

  Akitsu’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t interrupt.

  “They died during a battle,” Kael continued. “Seraphine found me in the middle of a war zone. Carried me out while everything burned.”

  Seraphine Orion smiled faintly. “You bit me the first time.”

  Kael scoffed. “You deserved it.”

  She laughed softly.

  Kael looked at his sword resting beside him. “I found the Rosary in an abandoned house. It was raining. I was freezing. That sword… felt like it chose me.”

  Akitsu nodded slowly.

  “It’s my life,” Kael said. “That’s why I trained. Why I became the hero.”

  Ayaka shifted in Akitsu’s lap, murmuring softly. “Ayaka…”

  Akitsu adjusted the blanket around her. “…Sleep.”

  Kael watched them quietly.

  “…You’re strange, Akitsu.”

  “I get that a lot.”

  The fire burned low.

  Their voices softened.

  Eventually, silence returned.

  Under the broken roof, beneath a sky full of stars, two fugitives and two spirits drifted into sleep—unaware of what waited for them when morning came.