The air in the Nexus still crackled with the remnants of the power Aiko and Ryou had unleashed, but now, silence stretched between them. The Watchers remained rigid, their unreadable gazes still processing what had just occurred. But Aiko—Aiko couldn't think about them. Not now.
Because Ryou was still holding her hand.
His grip had not loosened, even as the world settled. His touch was warm despite the cold uncertainty that surrounded them. When she looked up at him, she saw something flickering beneath the guarded steel of his eyes—something raw, unspoken.
The realization that neither of them could take back what had just happened. That this—whatever this was—had changed everything.
Aiko swallowed, her heartbeat unsteady. "Ryou—"
"We should go." His voice was low, rough, like it had cost him something to say.
Aiko hesitated. She could still feel the power thrumming beneath her skin, but it was different now. Less wild. More… anchored. And she knew why.
Because of him.
The Watchers did not stop them as they turned toward the exit, though their silence was heavier than words. Even Mei, usually armed with a sharp remark, said nothing as she followed. It wasn't until they stepped beyond the temple's barriers, beneath the fractured sky of the fading day, that the weight of everything finally pressed down on Aiko's chest.
They had survived the trial. But something far greater had begun.
Ryou stopped ahead of her, exhaling sharply. His posture was tense, his shoulders tight with something unsaid. When he finally turned to face her, his expression was unreadable. "Aiko."
She hated the way her breath caught at the sound of her name on his lips.
"You scared me back there," he admitted, his voice softer now. "I thought I'd lost you."
Aiko's throat tightened. He had seen it—how she had nearly been swallowed whole by the power. How, for a moment, she had been slipping away. And he had reached for her, pulled her back. Saved her.
"I'm still here," she whispered.
Ryou's eyes darkened. "But for how long?"
There it was. The question neither of them wanted to ask. The fear neither of them had spoken aloud. The power inside her was changing, and no one—not even the Watchers—knew what it meant.
But before she could respond, before she could even think of what to say, Ryou's hand lifted, his fingers brushing against the side of her face. It was hesitant, unsure, but Aiko leaned into the touch before she could stop herself.
"I don't care what the Watchers say," he murmured. "I don't care what this power means." His thumb traced lightly over her cheek, his touch reverent. "I just—I can't lose you."
Aiko felt her chest tighten, warmth curling through her like fire. "Then don't."
For a moment, it was as if the world held its breath.
Then, Ryou closed the distance.
The kiss was not desperate like before, not hurried by fear or the threat of losing everything. It was slow, deliberate—like he was memorizing the feel of her, the way she fit against him. Like he had wanted to do this for a long, long time.
And Aiko let herself sink into it.
Because for all the chaos, for all the uncertainty—this, this, was real.
When they finally parted, Ryou rested his forehead against hers, his breath uneven. "Whatever happens next," he murmured, "I'm with you."
Aiko let her fingers tangle in the fabric of his cloak, anchoring herself to the only thing that felt steady in a world unraveling at the seams. "Then we face it together."
And for the first time since this all began, she wasn't afraid.