chapter twenty-six;
if i fall

—

THIRD PERSON'S POV

THE hearts of the people who witnessed the astounding scene stopped as they held their breaths. The shrouded night seemingly disappeared as the light they never expected to shine was bestowed in the holy land of their homes.

The blue and violet hue's light exploded in the sky; then its tiny glitters were falling with the gigantic ice wall that stopped the tragedy that almost devoured everyone.

Silence lingered in the air. And that silence was mixed with overwhelming emotions and tears. They were saved. They were saved. They were saved. Some who were standing fell on their knees. And there were those who also shed tears.

Those who accepted their deaths realized that at that moment, what they wished for was to live.

Slowly, those who felt the desperation to survive held their swords, their magic, their willpower, and their hearts as they all shouted and fought those who were trying to take away their land and lives.

In the face of the ice that was falling down the ocean, the people of Elysia had one thing running on their minds, and that was to fight. They were a great nation. Even without Kings and Queens, they were hailed to be the highest.

No one would have the right to make their land—fall.

No one.

They all shouted and fought all the enemies that were invading their holy grail.

Without knowing the effect of what they did, Evienne and Kallisto panted and tried to catch their breath as the power they used took a toll on their bodies. They both watched as the waterwall became frozen and the ice fell in the ocean.

Their blurred vision was not a hindrance for them to see the result of what they did.

Yule, who almost fell from Evienne's shoulder, was caught by Kallisto as he patted the head of the little fox, who lost a lot of strength. "Good job, little one..." Kallisto whispered to him, and Yule gave a very faint smile.

Evienne stumbled a little because she couldn't believe she managed to pull it off! She managed to stop the tsunami! She really did it!

Kallisto held Evienne's waist automatically when he felt her lose her balance a little, and she didn't seem to notice as she was looking up in the glistening hails. Her smile as she breathed created a smoke.

Her silver hair was dancing with the wind as her eyes sparkled like the moon.

'Beautiful.' Kallisto couldn't help but think about his stubborn, powerful, and unpredictable wife.

"Good job... Evienne..." he told him in a fleeting whisper.

The excited Evienne stiffened the moment she heard that soft and deep voice.

It was only simple words. Only just a simple praise. But her heart swelled in unexplainable happiness. For someone who grew up being criticized for her every move, hearing a simple good job was an achievement.

Without intending to, a greedy thought occupied her head. She wanted more. More of his praises. More of his warmth. More of his words. More of his smiles. More of his laugh. But instead of reaching it... she turned her back on it.

"'Di ba ang galing-galing ko?!" she stated gleefully. And Kallisto nodded at her.

"Kulang na nga lang kumanta ako ng: Let it go! Let it go! Can't hold it back anymore! Grabe, sobrang cinematic siguro no'n! Hehe! Baka mag-number one 'yon sa most memorable Lantern Festival ever ever!" She clapped her hands then faced Kallisto with a bright smile.

Kallisto sighed and shook his head lightly as he somehow expected that from her.

"Don't think that this is over yet!"

Sabay napatingin si Evienne at Kallisto sa pinanggalingan ng boses. Do'n, nakita nila si Samael na nakalutang sa ere, sa gitna ng whirlpool habang kumikidlat. Napalunok si Evienne at napatiim-bagang.

"Yule," Evienne called the little fox who was recovering thanks to her Celestia. "Let's do this again." Yule jumped from Kallisto's arm to Evienne's shoulder as she stood straight. Kallisto also prepared to get ready.

Samael laughed evilly like he wasn't fazed by how Evienne and Kallisto stopped the massive attack that the gigantic water snake created. He flew toward the head of the water snake and landed in there.

"Now, let's finish this night for real!" he declared eerily, and his eyes shined in red like they were the eyes of the snake.

The rumble of the thunder made Kallisto and Evienne step back as the ocean started to become violent again. They both jumped back as the whirlpool began to gather more water again. The water snake roared with the lightning and storm.

The patter of the rain started to fall in the land of the holy. The night became colder, rougher, and ruthless as Samael laughed victoriously with the power that was surging in his whole body.

Evienne stared at the disaster happening in front of her face.

Samael... Samael was becoming one with the water snake.

At first, the water from the snake engulfed Samael, and now she could clearly see that he was being shielded in the serpent's forehead. When his head and eyes move, the snake would do the same.

Samael managed to transform and be one with the monster!

"Shit just got really real," Evienne murmured under her breath. This had never transpired in Fatebound. Samael just used the gigantic water snake, but he never became one with it.

Pagak na lang siyang natawa sa nangyari. Whatever. Even if she didn't expect this development, it wouldn't stop her from ending it.

The gigantic viper created another two snakes, and it felt like a headache to her. "One is already troublesome; now there's three." She sighed and glanced at Kallisto, who seemed to understand the unsaid words that she wanted to convey.

He only nodded and went to the water snake that wanted to go and create havoc in the port.

"You shall not pass from here onwards," he stated at the snake who looked up at the sky to howl. And with that, he got ready to fight the water serpent.

Evienne looked at the two remaining snakes, and she was about to attack both of them when someone passed by her while shouting. "We'll deal with this one!" Her eyes followed the redhead lady who was holding a fire sword made from her Celestia.

Evienne became overwhelmed because the character that saved her thousands of times was now someone she could fight alongside with. She smiled and nodded at Juno as she watched how she launched a strike to the enemy.

Kaagad ding sumugod si Azazel papunta kay Juno. He didn't say anything to her when he passed by, but he nodded and smiled. He started to attack the snake, too, teaming up with Juno.

The bright red-orange and blood-red light showed their glory as they moved fast and charged towards the snake. They were slicing it powerfully. Juno also gathered a lot of arrows using her fire Celestia as she released it toward the face of the snake.

While she was doing that, Azazel created a great sword that was as huge as him and tried to behead the snake using it.

Evienne held her breath at how fast Juno and Azazel demonstrated that their titles weren't just fluke. And before she could even process her admiration for the two who coloured her dull world, she returned to reality when she heard Samael.

"Give up! And succumb to despair!"

He controlled the snake that was in the middle. It almost crawled on the sea at an unimaginable speed to meet Evienne, who was running toward it with a water sword in her hand.

The moment the snake's mana ball in its mouth and Evienne's sword clashed, a massive explosion of power occurred. Evienne's wings hugged her to shield her from the blast.

However, if Evienne was affected by the powerful crash, the snake wasn't, and when Evienne's wings removed themselves from protecting her, and she opened her eyes, she saw the snake's wrath, how it didn't hesitate to attack her.

Lumubog si Evienne sa dagat dahil ginawang pag-atake sa kanya ng kalaban. Like there was gravity pulling her down to the bottom of the sea, it seemed like she was crashing down to it quickly.

The bubbles and the pressure of the water made her struggle as the snake pushed her down firmly. And when they were deep in the dark water, the snake's red eyes shined brightly. The viper was about to attack her again.

She swam away from it and composed herself. Her silver hair fluttered in the water as her crystal blue eyes glowed powerfully.

"Die!!!" Samael yelled hysterically like he was excited to kill the biggest hindrance in his plans, but instead of being afraid for her life and struggling, Evienne just floated in the water with her wings.

"Dealing with me in the water is your mistake..."

The arrogant Samael's smile faded because of the threat that wasn't empty. He felt goosebumps spread in his body, and when he glanced back at the silver-haired lady again, his eyes widened when she was already in front of his eyes in a blink.

Her sword was aimed at his forehead, and if it weren't for the snake water that was protecting him, he was sure that he would be dead now.

"Fuck..." he grumbled under his breath, couldn't believe the pressure that had just spread in the sea.

And before he could attack her, she gave a creepy smile with her shining eyes giving the snake a powerful kick. Halos tumalbog ang ahas nang napakalayo dahil sa lakas ng sipa na 'yon. Samael could see her feet that were surrounded by a colour blue intricate pattern.

'Such a powerful celestia,' Samael thought.

Avalon knew the powers of each celeste as they had been planning and watching everything from afar and from somewhere close. But, they couldn't decipher Juno's power as she was new, and now... there was another Celeste that was off their radar.

Samael was about to counter her attacks, but at a speed of light, she was in front of him again, and with one powerful punch, his eyes widened as the snake flew up from the water as if there was no pressure.

Sa sobrang bilis no'n, halos mapanganga na lang siya no'ng nasa ere na sila at wala na sa ilalim ng tubig. "Shit!" he cursed because of how strong she was under the water.

Napatigil din si Juno, Azazel, Kallisto, Willow sa biglang paglipad no'ng isang ahas na galing pa mula sa ilalim ng dagat. They couldn't believe how that powerful being seemed so vulnerable after coming out of the ocean.

The snake managed to fly in the air and glared at one spot. And that was where Evienne went out of the water. Her dress was now silver, and there were patterns in her hand and feet. Her hair that was flowing freely earlier was now tied in a beautiful braid. And Yule was still with her, being protected by her Celestia.

Kallisto halted in awe but continued fighting his enemy to lessen the burden of Evienne.

Walang alinlangan na sumugod ulit si Evienne kay Samael at sa ahas kung nasaan ito. Samael didn't back away from her challenged and faced her. He commanded the snake to release a lot of attacks.

Sunod-sunod na tira ng mga water ball ang kinaharap ni Evienne, at mabilis niyang iniwasan 'yon. Halos sumabog ang dagat dahil sa pagtama no'n do'n, pero patuloy lang sumugod si Evienne kahit napakaraming hadlang sa daan niyang mga tira at kapangyarihan mula sa kalaban.

She even used some of the water attacks as her stepping stone as she went up in the air. She jumped and twirled her body to dodge every attack, and she also spun in the air to stop some of the blitzes.

People who were seeing what was happening couldn't breathe from its intensity.

Such power.

Such skill.

Such will.

And while evading every strike from the monster, Evienne created sharp ice edges with the help of Yule, and she released it from the monster's back. When she thought that she had succeeded, she couldn't help but hissed when the snake managed to stop her attack just by using one water strike towards it.

Kahit gano'n hindi siya tumigil para puntahan ang kalaban at nang makalapit siya ro'n kaagad siyang tumira gamit ang dalawang espadang hawak niya.

She slashed the water ball that was aiming to blow her away. Then she spun in the air to cut the other water balls that was supposed to strike at her back. Nakabaliktad pa si Evienne sa ere no'ng mahiwa niya ang atakeng 'yon at nang makatindig ulit ang ayos sa ere ay kaagad na hinarap ang kalaban.

Sobrang bilis ng labanan na nangyayari sa pag-itan nilang dalawa. Samael was being serious and quiet as he commanded the snake to attack and imbued his power. For the snake and him to level up.

Dahil sa ginawa ni Samael, naramdaman ni Evienne ang kakaibang lakas nito. She tried to evade the attack from its mouth, but she couldn't; thus, she flew away and landed on the sea.

Halos gumulong at tumalsik pa siya kung hindi dahil kay Yule na pigilan 'yon mangyari gamit ang kapangyarihan niya. She stood up and tightened her hold at the two water swords.

She stood firmly in the raging wave, and Yule started to share his power again with her, as they both watched the monster going down to her drastically and wrathfully. It was screaming as the air and water became more violent.

She readied herself for the impact as the monster gathered a lot of power in its mouth then blasted it off to her directly in pure rage.

Evienne crossed the two swords she held to shield and face the attack. She felt a significant impact coming her way. Halos tumalbog siya papalayo at manginig ang buong katawan niya. The blast and the sword met, and Evienne struggled to fight such enormous power.

"D-Damn..." she stuttered as she used her and Aqua's strength. For her not to be blown away by such pressure and intensity.

Napaatras siya nang kaunti sa tindi nang kapangyarihan no'n. Her breathing became ragged. "Ugh!" Her arms and legs were shaking, but she couldn't just go down without a fight.

"Aaaaah!" she shouted as she pushed forward. Then using her feet that moved a little to the side, she unleashed her Celestia and Yule's ice power.

The water turned to ice, and it didn't just end there; its violent waves roared as it arced and created sharp edges towards the monster as it froze quickly. It created a concave shape sheltering Evienne but threating the enemy with its sharp edges.

Muntik nang matamaan si Samael no'n at nanggigil ang mga panga niya bago umaatras nang kaunti kasama ang ahas kung nasaan siya. He was about to deal her extensive damage! But she stopped it once again!

Uminit ang ulo ni Samael at halos magwala ang ahas at sunod-sunod muling nagpakawala ng mga atake patungo kay Evienne. Pinaulanan nito si Evienne ng iba't ibang porma ng tubig at hindi nakaiwas si Evienne sa ilang mga atake sa tindi at lakas no'n.

The wave became uncontrollable as the storm in the sky continued to give a bad omen.

Evienne's blood was mixing with the sea water and the rain. It stung, but she didn't even think about it as she was trying to evade all the attacks that were aimed at her. Halos matumba at mawalan na siya nang balanse, mabuti na lang pinoprotektahan pa rin siya ng pakpak na nasa likod niya.

She tried to heal herself, but she couldn't as she felt like it would be a waste because healing oneself would take a huge amount of her celestia. Kaya naman umiwas lang siya nang umiwas at halos mapaupo at lumubog na sa tubig dahil sa tindi at walang tigil na atake ng kalaban.

Hinabol niya ang hininga at napaluhod sa tubig no'ng matigil ang pag-ulan ng kapangyarihan ng ahas sa kanya. She was about to stand and look at Samael again, but she didn't expect the snake's tail to whip her away.

Tumalbog siya patungo sa mas malawak na parte ng dagat, papalayo sa gitna ng bagyo. The rain was harsher, and the wave was more brutal in the part where she landed. Kita niya rin ang pakikipaglaban ni Kallisto kasama si Willow sa isang parte ng dagat at gano'n din si Juno at Azazel.

They seemed to be struggling in their own fights, too. So, Evienne knew that she couldn't really ask for their help. Dumating din kaagad ang ahas sa harap niya at hindi man lang siya bigyan ng pagkakataon para makatayo dahil mabilis muli itong umatake.

Ginamit nito ang katawan at buntot para bigyan ng malalakas ng tira si Evienne. She used her water shield to protect herself from the powerful assault. Halos tumalbog at mabugbog siya dahil do'n.

"Damn, such a difference," she murmured. Samael and the snake's power together was giving her a hard time. She needed them separate. Because if this continued, she didn't know what would happen.

She might have been overpowering them earlier, but her body was still not used to the amount of powers she was manipulating. It was taking a toll on her. It was aching, and she felt heavy and tired, unlike when she first started. That was why she wanted to finish the fight early, but damn, such a strong opponent wouldn't just go down.

Pero kahit gano'n sumugod pa rin siya habang sumisigaw rito. Umiwas siya sa lahat ng atake na binigay sa kanya. The snake tried to trip her, but she jumped to escape it. At kahit tuloy-tuloy ang pagpapakawala ng kalaban ng kapangyarihan, hindi siya tumigil.

She jumped, ran, and flew towards danger; nothing could stop her; even if she was bleeding and hurting, she just went straight. And flew up high to the head of the snake where she could see Samael.

"Elysia will not fall."

Samael's seething anger exploded with her calm and sudden declaration.

"But you will fall!"

Samael yelled at her, and Evienne twisted in the air as she tried to strike the snake's head from above. Itatarak niya sana ang espadang hawak niya sa ulo nito, pero nanlaki ang mga mata niya no'ng makita si Samael na gamitin ang sariling kapangyarihan sa kanya.

He blasted her off from him and the snake. Tumilapon si Evienne sa ere hanggang tumama ang likod niya sa napakalaking alon. She was engulfed by it, and instead of breathing normally like she used to because of her celestia, she suddenly struggled.

The water inside the giant wave was full of whirlpool and energy of power from Samael.

"S-Shit." Evienne struggled and tried to pull herself out of the wave, but she was being swallowed by it.

Aqua's muffled voice echoed in her head, and Yule was also having a hard time breathing with her. Halos lumayo na si Yule sa kanya dahil sa kapangyarihan sa loob ng alon.

She tried to reach for Yule, and Yule also swam towards her. Evienne's eyes were blurring but she still wanted to fight even though it seemed impossible. Halos maubusan na siya nang hininga at sobra-sobra na ang panghihina nang katawan niya.

She was really close to falling into the endless darkness that had relentlessly chased her.

And when she was about to lose consciousness inside the suffocating water, Yule managed to touch her hand. His cry and desperation were inaudible, but Evienne could feel it intensely.

"No! You can't die! You can't die!" For the first time, a clear and loud voice was heard.

Her closing eyes opened immediately.

Time froze.

Evienne felt the coldness covered her skin and being. Her eyes shined in a circle, and she felt a power unleashing in her body as she held Yule's paw. She remembered his crying voice earlier.

'No... I can't hurt a child. I can't leave him traumatized for the rest of his life,' she thought.

On the other hand, Samael smiled evilly when he saw how the Celeste was imprisoned inside a tremendous wave. She fell into his trap. And his sounding laugh echoed through the storm. The clouds gathered above where Evienne was as the thunder and lightning wrathfully revealed their presence.

The water snake controlled the ocean water once again, turning the wave that captured Evienne into a big circle of water. It was like a trophy for the monster and Samael. After being humiliated by her earlier, they finally got their revenge.

"Such a beautiful struggle only to end up dying in the water—a power that was supposed to be yours," he declared with such a low and sinister tone.

Cruel. It was cruel to think that she, who was supposed to be strong in the water, was defeated by it.

"But you need to die!" Samael howled diabolically.

He wasn't contented by Evienne just being inside that circle. So he used his power once again to slash her inside that water. He laughed as he could see the slashes of his power like lightning was striking it down.

Walang makakalabas ng buhay sa ginawa ni Samael. Nakakulong ka sa loob ng tubig at binigyan niya pa 'yon nang napakaraming hiwa at atake. Once he removed the shape of the water, the one inside it was sure to be cut into tiny pieces.

That was why Samael was satisfied with his victory. Tumalikod siya kasama ang ahas para umalis sa lugar na 'yon at sugurin ang Elysia. And when the snake was about to crawl quickly toward the direction of the city... Samael was stopped by cold air.

"No... it's impossible..." he murmured to himself.

"Yes, it's possible, fool!" Evienne yelled as she turned in the air, granting a kick to the snake's head. The snake was blasted off, but it managed to stand back up immediately, and Evienne smirked.

When Samael with the snake turned its back against her inside the circular-shaped water, he didn't see how it slowly froze.

Because before he could give the water thousands of slashes, Evienne had already protected herself and Yule. Further, Yule froze the water with his own will.

That was why they broke free from that prison. She kicked the snake for locking them up and for almost giving Yule a nightmare.

"I don't forgive those who hurt my child, you know..." Evienne warned Samael dangerously, and the thunder rumbled as the lightning struck in the atmosphere.

Kaagad siyang sumugod papunta sa kalaban. Yule also controlled his own power, and when Evienne attacked, he released a massive amount of ice. The violent waves froze, becoming sharp and pointing toward the opponent.

Naglaban muli si Evienne at Samael, kasama ang tubig na ahas at si Yule. They exchanged a lot of strikes and charges. Evienne didn't dodge. She bled, but she didn't care. She was full of rage.

Yule was also using his ice power freely. He was attacking the snake and trying to freeze it with all his might. It was the first-ever fight for the young beast, but he was fighting like he was born to do it.

A considerable part of the sea was freezing because of Yule. Samael couldn't believe that such a young beast could have that amount of mana.

Samael struggled in fighting Evienne and Yule, who were using water and ice power simultaneously. The water snake was having difficulty obeying Samael as the ice was closing in to freeze it.

But Samael saw an opening to Evienne and Yule's relentless onslaughts.

He and the serpent created a tremendous amount of water ball once again and aimed it toward Yule, and just as he expected, he froze it quickly! Kaagad gumawa si Samael nang napakaraming water ball at lahat 'yon ay ginawang yelo ni Yule.

Still, Samael used his mana so all the ice balls would remain afloat.

While fighting the snake's body and tail, Evienne noticed that there were numerous ice balls above them. She saw through Samael's schemes, but Samael didn't care about that because she was still trapped.

The snake also tied Evienne to its body. It didn't care if it would be hurt in the process. Yule was alarmed and terrified because of the unfolding scenario. He tried so hard to control the ice above them, but with Samael being more experienced and stronger, Yule was no threat.

Evienne, who was being locked inside the snake's body, used her power for her to be released, but when she couldn't do it, she tried to shield herself and Yule instead. The ice pieces above them were being gathered into one place.

As it was taking a shape of a cone. The tip was directly above Evienne's head while she was strengthening the shield so she'd survive.

She could feel Samael's power, and she fell into helplessness.

'No! We can do this! Just focus on strengthening the shield!' The Celeste followed her Celestia.

Samael was laughing at the glorious struggle that was no use because he was also adding his and the monster's power to the ice.

"Die!" Samael yelled as he released his power for the ice to drop upon Evienne.

Evienne didn't close her eyes and faced the calamity that was being dropped to her. She believed Aqua, and she believed herself. They would succeed, they would breakthrough, they would preserve. Even if the enemy was strong... she was sure their willpower was stronger.

When the ice tip was nearing Evienne, she saw everything in slow-motion as her eyes circled widely with the sudden glow.

"Kalli!"

Goosebumps covered Evienne's body when she saw how quickly Kallisto arrived at where they were and how his fist directly touched the ice.

Yule's mouth circled when he saw the ice shattered above them with just one hit from Kallisto's fist.

"Didn't I tell you..." Kallisto arrived at the back of Samael without the latter noticing. And he whispered. "Don't take your eyes off me."

With his last word uttered, he kicked Samael down the sea. He saw how Samael plunged deeply into the deep.

Kaagad namang tinanggal ni Evienne ang shield at mabilis na bumababa si Kallisto papunta sa kanya. He sighed, looking at her bloody and messy look, but he wasn't the one to speak as he was also the same as her.

Evienne's worried eyes landed on Kallisto's knuckles. It was bleeding. "Tsk! Why did you punch it bare handed?" she asked and took Kallisto's hand to heal it, but before she could do so, he stopped her.

He knew that healing would waste her power for now. So he wanted her to conserve it for the critical moments. Evienne understood the meaning behind his refusal, so she just nodded and felt thankful for his thoughtfulness.

Napatingin din sila kaagad sa isang banda dahil umahon na si Samael mula sa dagat. Kallisto and Evienne prepared themselves, and they both attacked him simultaneously as the snake roared once again.

Evienne made a bow and arrow using her Celestia and aimed it at Samael, who was inside the snake's forehead. Samael thought that the arrow wouldn't go through the snake's head, but his eyes widened when it pierced through.

Umiwas kaagad siya dahil sa pagkabigla dahil muntik nang tumarak ang palasong 'yon sa mata niya. Pero isang pagkakamali ang pag-iwas niya dahil sa paglingon niya sa isang banda ay nakita niya si Kallisto.

Nakabwelo na itong sumipa at may nakabalot na kulay lilang kapangyarihan sa may paanan nito. He was sure that it was the abyss, and it was more powerful than before because it was also wrapped by Celestia!

Before Samael could use the snake to shield himself, Kallisto put all his strength into that one kick!

"Aaaah!" Samael yelled as Kallisto's kick went through the water snake and kicked him out of it!

Nang nasa ere na si Samael dahil sa naging tira ni Kallisto kaagad na sumugod si Evienne sa kanya at mabilis siyang sinuntok at sinipa pababa. Samael felt the air pressure on his back and the pain from Evienne's attacks.

He put his hand in his pocket and took the corruptive explosive he had been keeping for the city, and threw it toward Evienne.

But Evienne saw him do it, and she immediately aimed her Celestia arrow at the explosive, and Yule jumped from her shoulder to take the crystal ball that turned to its pure colour of blue.

Samael's eyes widened as he couldn't believe how the corrupted explosive became pure mana.

He was about to unleash his power and use the snake again, but he couldn't do it when some power suddenly crept to his neck—"Acck!" And before he could even speak, the purple mana strangled him as he fell to the ocean.

Evienne once again aimed her Celestia imbued with Yule's ice power and Kallisto's abyss to Samael.

"Noooo!" Samael shouted, and the last standing water snake went to him.

Kallisto already defeated one when he rushed toward his wife, and Juno and Azazel just killed the other one. The water snake that Evienne and Yule had been battling since earlier was the only one left.

The water snake engulfed Samael, and Kallisto's eyes widened in shock. But Evienne was unfazed.

She was just in the air, her glorious water wings glistening and her silver hair fluttering as she aimed toward the gigantic water snake that swallowed Samael.

She put all her remaining Celestia to it, and Yule also did the same with his remaining power. Yule slowly fell, and Kallisto flew towards him to catch him.

The water snake gathered a lot of power in its mouth, and the ocean simmered.

Kallisto knew that Evienne planned to end her last attack with one arrow. So without saying anything—in the face of the brewing disaster—he put a tremendous amount of abyss to her.

"Hey..." Evienne suddenly murmured while he was holding her hand, transferring his abyss to her.

"If I fall—"

Before she could even finish her words, Kallisto spoke. "Don't worry. I won't let go of you."

She chuckled in relief. Well, it looked like catching her wasn't even an option because he wouldn't let her fall, as he'd hold on to her.

The unfading blue and violet light once again blinded the people of Elysia as a total silence flared in the holy land.

And without any sound.

Just full of stillness.

Evienne let go of the arrow that contained all of their strength.

It travelled slowly in her eyes but quickly in the eyes of all people.

One last lightning glowed in the skies of Elysia.

The ice violet slowly changed its colour to blue. Then the clear azure arrow pierced through the water snake's head and Samael's core.

The monster roared its last breath.

All of the people had their eyes at the monster's fall, but Kallisto's eyes never left Evienne. And as she lost strength, he pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly as they both slowly descended into the ocean.

In the middle of that ocean... where Kallisto was embracing his wife and Yule.

The storm stopped.

The clouds parted.

The thunder and the lightning vanished.

And the dawn slowly crept to break the night's murk.

"K-Kalli..." Kallisto heard Evienne's tired voice.

"Hmm?"

"It's over right?"

"Hmm..." He nodded at her.

"Then, can I... rest?"

"Then I'll bring you to your chambers in a moment so you can rest..." he said as he planned to make sure that she'd be comfortable.

"No... I don't think I have enough strength 'til there..."

"Don't worry; I'll do it..."

"No... can I rest... here?"

"Here? In the ocean?"

"No... in your arms..."

There was a silence after she said that.

Evienne looked up at Kallisto languidly because he didn't respond to her.

"Can I?" she repeated with a small smile tugged on her lips.

"Of course..." he whispered as he lowered his head to her.

"Oh, don't w-worry. I'll do the oath after I wake up..." she added to reassure him.

At first, Kallisto was confused about her sudden words, but he realized that she was talking about the oath that she wanted to take so he'd stop doubting that she was fooling him and she was actually part of the enemies.

"Don't worry about that," Kallisto replied softly.

"No. I want... I want us to trust each other from now on... so—"

Hindi na naituloy ni Evienne ang sinasabi niya no'ng ilagay ni Kallisto ang hintuturo niya sa labi ng asawa.

"Just rest, Evienne..."

"But, the oath—"

"I don't need the oath."

"Huh? You need it... and I need it for you..."

"I don't need it."

"W...why?"

"Because I'm already blinded by you."

Kallisto smiled faintly. It was true. He was blinded. By her light. By her words. By her smile.

He didn't need a trivial thing like an oath anymore. Because he doubted he'd ever see anything other than her. He was utterly... totally... and willingly blinded by her.

"So... stop worrying about things. And just rest."

"Kalli—"

"Evienne Soleil St. Auclain, hush."

And finally, his stubborn wife nodded and closed her eyes as she snuggled closer to his embrace.

Kallisto smiled and tightened his embrace to her, who was now breathing more peacefully than earlier.

He just stayed there, afraid to wake her up. He didn't mind.

But people were watching them. In awe of them. Because in the middle of that ocean. The first sunray peeked and granted its light to them.

And the people of Elysia discovered that tomorrow had arrived with their land being blessed by the new lights that allowed them to survive the calamity, and a new beginning was really about to begin.

—

ツ