SPURRED on by her desire to see Elias again, Aki hurried straight down the hallway from her room to Elias’s door. Mina said he was resting alone in the room at the end of the second-story hallway.
Is Elias really okay?
It was hard to picture him healthy and well when she last saw him struggling to regain control of his mind. She believed Mina, she just couldn’t shake the anxiety welling up inside her and ran the last few feet to his room.
Arriving at the wood door, Aki swallowed the lump in her throat and calmed her panicky feelings with a few deep breaths.
He’s in there…right? What should I say when I see him? I’m glad you’re okay? How are you feeling?
No, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to say anything once I see he’s all right. With that thought, Aki broke free of the doubts plaguing her and put her hand on the doorknob without hesitation. She quietly turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open.
“Elias…?” she whispered.
The first thing that caught her eye was the peach-colored curtains, which swayed gently in the wind blowing through the partially open window.
The plain room consisted of a single bed and the chair next to it. The constant breeze cooled the small space, and the wood floor was warmly illuminated by the sun filtering inside.
The warbling of tiny songbirds outside the window filled the otherwise silent room. Surrounded by the definition of peace itself, Aki’s anxiety abated, and she tiptoed to his bed.
She glanced down at the head of the bed to find Elias peacefully asleep, caressed by the gentle breeze.
His chest rose and fell with undisturbed breathing under the simple cotton comforter.
His usual white cloak and coat worn as a symbol of his Hero status had been removed, leaving him in just his baby-blue inner shirt. Though his complexion was on the paler side, his expression was at peace and betrayed his youth.
Relief washed over Aki upon seeing him in person. She stayed rooted to the spot, staring at his face.
She swiped at the tears misting her eyes and sat on the chair beside the bed. He was finally within reach again.
…He’s sound asleep.
Smiling at how innocent he looked in his sleep, Aki reached out and ran her fingers through his bangs, lifting them off his forehead. His golden hair spilled through her fingers like silk.
“…Elias,” she said in a hushed tone even though she knew he wasn’t listening. She rose from the chair, leaned over him, and whispered in his ear, “Welcome home.”
“Mngh…” He stirred in bed, his eyelids flickering open.
His eyes hadn’t focused on her yet, but they were their original green rather than the lifeless golden hue they had taken on while under the Solar Goddess’s influence.
“Aki…?” Elias called her name in a hoarse, fleeting voice.
The emotions she had kept at bay burst forward, and she threw her arms around his neck in bed.
“Elias, what a relief… I’m so glad you’re okay!”
Everything she had wanted to say to him disappeared as she sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder.
Elias’s warmth, smell, and the soft hair tickling her cheeks were all things Aki had longed to regain, and being able to hug him again felt like a miracle. Especially after she thought she had lost him and the sound of his voice forever.
Elias reached up and rubbed soothing circles into her back as she clung to him, her tears unending. “Aki…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…! I…” he fumbled with his words as if he had a lot to say, but didn’t know how to voice it.
Aki pulled back slightly so she could look at his face and shook her head. “It’s all right, Elias… We’re all okay… You don’t have to apologize. You came back to us. That’s all we—all I—wanted!”
Roughly rubbing the tears from her eyes, she kneeled on the side of his bed and smiled at him. To her, just having Elias present was more than enough.
Elias muttered “Thank you” with a sad smile as he caught her cascading tears with his fingers.
He came back to me just the way he was before…!
✦ ✦ ✦
AFTER crying her heart out until her eyes dried, Aki explained the events that brought them to where they were now. Elias in turn said that he had a vague recollection of everything that happened after the Solar Goddess’s powers took over and that he clearly remembered the horrible things he did.
His consciousness finally shut down for good after Aki used the Lunar Goddess’s power to seal the Solar Goddess’s power, and he had no memory of how they got from the ruins to the inn.
Aki let him know that Louis and Sutcliff teleported them back with magic and that Leo and Johann weren’t in critical condition.
Elias’s eyes widened when he heard they were all right and he muttered “Thank the Goddess” over and over as some of the tautness left his face. His shoulders shook like a boy trying to hold back his tears as he silently wept.
Watching on without being able to stop himself while the Goddess turned him on his friends caused him to suffer in ways only he could understand.
Aki gritted her teeth as she thought of the miserable experience he went through, holding him in her arms as he lamented his actions.