Seonghwa was heartbroken to leave his kids behind once again.

He told them all the words to soothe them, caressed their little cheeks and hugged their light frames, but the knot in his throat kept choking him up. Once he climbed into the box so their titan helper could carry his group to the exit of the cave, he was battling his own sobs.

The twins were still young. Eager to follow San's footsteps in protecting their beautiful elven parent. They swung their wooden swords and declared their love for their emmya full of conviction, so it was all the more painful to leave them.

Seonghwa promised himself that his children would get a happy life. That he would be there for them after his past mistakes. That he would catch up on the lost time in Morana's and Aodhán's youth.

But here he was, leaving again. Having to see those beautiful eyes fill with big, round tears as he disappeared from their lives once more.

Seonghwa didn't know how much more of this pain he could take. It gnawed on him with its very own sting, different from when he missed his husbands.

Yeosang's twig hand found Seonghwa's nape, tugging him closer gently to rest against a shoulder cushioned with moss. The elf was exhausted before they even departed. His head kept replaying desperate little hands holding on to him, needing their emmya.

Yeosang smelled of woodruff and lilies. It was a calming scent, shrouding Seonghwa with a sense of safety. He leaned closer, hiding his tears behind his hair.

"Shh, it's fine, Hwa. We'll be back soon. This time, they are safe," Yeosang whispered to him and a large hand caressed over Seonghwa's leg as Yunho's warmth spent comfort from his other side. Yunho and Mingi had a similarly hard time as he. San took it a bit better. His education of the twins wasn't near as strict as the Vault of Heaven training their young soldiers into obedience, but he saw character building in occasional independence.

Still, they all mourned with their unhappy moon. His beauty eternal, yet tarnished by his agony.

"I detest this evermore... I always leave them behind," Seonghwa whispered as Yeosang poured his strength back into him. The titan above was quiet as he carried them and their belongings toward their next journey, but the years spent in their cave had been too short. Seonghwa yearned for ongoing peace and normalcy, but he couldn't hide in their temporary haven forever while his folk suffered.

Yunho had the same thought. His long fingers squeezed around Seonghwa's ankle.

"If we succeed, it will be the last time. Then they can live without fear and you can always be with them."

He was right. This time, they left to make things right.

In the past four years of ducking under the titans' protection, they had gathered their strength and their remaining allies, communicated in secret about their hope to reunite the kingdoms and the plans to turn that dream into reality. Only their closest friends knew of Seonghwa's survival and watched with breathless anticipation how his stars glowed brighter and brighter in the night sky.

So much depended on them now. They were to create harmony anew, to recover what could be recovered.

With Yongguk dead and the empire in pieces, they were the only remaining allies between nations. It had to be them and it had to be now. There wouldn't be a better timing.

But it still ached.

Hongjoong had been helping Mingi don his sending stone. The chain needed adjustments since his horns had grown in size, and the sorcerer was comfortable in his lap, supported by careful hands on his hips as he attached the finished product back to the demon's horn, so he would always find back to them and vice versa.

"Morana and Aodhán will take care of them. They are strong now," the mage commented, but that was part of what made Seonghwa's heart heavy. He promised to stay with them. And now he left. Morana would hate him all over again.

His sole consolation was that he should be back soon to burden their wrath.

The group's path took them to Veg Boldhir, the biggest town of the Dwarven North, and the seat of their king's dwelling. Over the past years, the smiths and miners of their folk supported Yongguk and his warmongering multiple times. Supplied weapons and secret pathways and armour for them.

Seonghwa needed to make sure the dwarves wouldn't ally with the orcs anymore by cutting them a better deal. The dwarves were easily bought, loyal only to the coin they made from their business. So Seonghwa would appear in person and ask them for their help.

Once the orcs were cut off from all support systems, their remaining order would collapse. With no union among their troops, no goal and no promise from battle, they were easily defeated.

It took his husbands a while to convince the nonviolent elf of an attack. He scorned war and death, would always do. Hated targeting specific races of people.

But as much as he cared for his foes, they didn't care for his people. Thousands of elves were trapped in the orkish tunnel systems, used to breed and nourish the orcs. They deserved their freedom more than Seonghwa needed his vow of peace.

If it meant killing orcs to restore balance, Seonghwa would do it. He learned from the past and he knew what his allies expected of him. He needed to show strength, and he needed to regain the faith of his people.

By getting rid of everyone's common foe, he could achieve that.

His husbands were with him, his weapons. In his name, they would side with the dwarves and battle the orcs. And if they succeeded, if they made it out alive, then Seonghwa had a chance to rebuild his empire. Not before that.

He wasn't too eager to get his throne back, but he was eager to free his people and give them back their home that had been razed to the ground. The elves would know peace again. So he could be with his family and kids without fear.

It was a long and difficult ordeal, only possible because of the help they gained from the titans and the nymphs, but they were finally ready to strike. Before anyone else could give order and before the orcs could breed even more to boost their number. During the Night of Starfall, Nox Eltanin and the allies had killed many of them. Their goblins were young enough to make no proper army yet.

So Seonghwa had to say goodbye, as much as it pained him. To his lovely angelic twins, his strong darkspawn daughter, and his witty little mage. He wasn't the only one who hurt, but his husbands and he cheered each other up with the promise of a better future. When the kids could be home and among elves without fearing for their lives.

Seonghwa wiped his tears and took a shuddering breath. Smiling weakly at all the concerned faces directed at him. Even Buddy whimpered by Yunho's side, sadly peering up from between his paws.

"You're right," he whispered. He had to be strong. This was only the first trial of many. And thanks to Hongjoong, the kids could be safe and still see Seonghwa frequently. They were too young for war. His two eldest had already seen too much. He was glad to leave them in the safety of the titans' cradle.

Seungyoun, his dear, loyal Seungyoun, promised to take good care of them. In a few weeks, when they would see each other again, Seonghwa would make sure to praise his kids' patience.

At his smile, the others relaxed. Jongho's crystal changed colours as he alternated with the expressions he read, creating worry, relief, hope, and pain in a colourful mixture.

They were all there with him. San's magical hand reaching out, bathed in the same warmth of the sun as the rest of him as it caressed a stray tear from Seonghwa's cheek. Wooyoung looking close to tears himself, but he played it off by hugging Mulberry and whispering that the gryphon would be fine.

Mingi's hearts were just as heavy. He was curled up in his spot, his arms slung around his legs to hug them against his chest. The fur on his shoulders hid his expression as he ducked his head behind his knees, tall horns impossible to hide. His tail was usually shy and curious, balancing his step or exploring his surroundings with touch, but today, it lay in a lifeless heap around his hooves.

His bond to Morana was deep, and she spent a lot of time with him, even when her sense of adventure usually brought her outside and into the forests. So often when group settings became overwhelming to them, they liked to retreat together and she would tell him about their surroundings and things she saw during her trips, painting a picture for her blind father to see.

Seonghwa was always scared when she left. Always feared she wouldn't come back one day. And though he always insisted she took one of her uncles along (Wooyoung was more than ready to escape the darkness of the caves and spread his wings), she kept refusing. In her words, she needed freedom and to be alone. Explore without supervision.

Worried as Seonghwa was, he had too many husbands who were too independent for him to argue with her. She was a third on the way to an adult elf now. Almost grown out in demon years, with 17. She killed the brother whose mark still stung his shoulder when he was tormented by nightmares. Mingi trusted her to return to him, despite her yearning for freedom.

Their daughter was strong. Seonghwa just loathed how he couldn't be there for her to ease her into that strength slowly. A lot of her independence came from her forced loneliness.

So Seonghwa did his best to catch up with that time. To understand her and Aodhán in the way they grew up so differently under the mages and the gryphon-borns. Sent countless letters to Hlin and Lillwen, thanking them for being such steady and strong figures in Morana's life.

His husbands did their best despite their grief while he was gone. This mission was Seonghwa's gift to them.

The exit of the cave announced itself with a cold breeze. An infinite starry sky greeted them, twinkling at Seonghwa's rare sight. As the stars awoke to peer down at him and marvel at his beauty, nature rustled to life with excitement.

It was time.

Crius awaited them at the exit with Asteria. The two titans had become the dearest friends of the family, educating them with their long-forgotten knowledge and providing everything their guests could ask for. Seonghwa would be eternally grateful to them and he knew their loyalty was a valuable part of the stories Jongho and the golems would remember for many centuries to come.

Asteria chuckled at their crowded box, so often forgetting how small they were compared to the titans, not even the size of their feet. When she bent down to look at them, Seonghwa stood to smile back at her. His black cape shrouded his shoulders.

"And thus, fate takes you for your last trial. The stars are in your favour, child of the elves," she hummed at them and Seonghwa bowed his head.

"We will return with good news. Thank you for sheltering us for so long." Seonghwa's thanks came with more than just words. The titans enjoyed Yeosang's help with their nature lusher than ever, exchanged wisdom with Hongjoong and Jongho, and they would be paid in every artefact of their interest from Seonghwa's treasure. He would return everything they ever lost during wars and plundering, and he would preserve the remains of the old world they protected with all he had.

Once the orcs were gone, no one threatened their destruction anymore.

"We will look forward to our reunion. But your troupe will be missed among our own," Crius rumbled. Seonghwa's family had become such a common occurrence among the titans, taken in despite all their differences. The titans respected them and exchanged knowledge, pleased to learn Seonghwa was interested in their stories.

They put their faith in him like so many others. Looking breathlessly at the shine of the moon.

Seonghwa would keep his promises.

"We'll be back," he said with a graceful smile. Everything else was taken care of. All plans made.

The two titans saw them off as the youngster carrying them brought them to the border to the Glistening Walnut Grove. Soon, they packed their bundles and bid their helper goodbyes to put their feet onto the soft soil, listening to the whispering of the trees to guide their path.

"Come now, star. Let's return to Lonan and Fiorello soon, so they won't cry too much," Yeosang grinned at Seonghwa as they picked up their march into their last adventure.