A/N:
✨ Warm Christmas Wishes to You, My Dear Readers ✨
As the year gently wraps itself in twinkling lights and the air fills with the magic of Christmas, I want to pause and say thank you. Thank you for being here, for reading, for supporting, and for sharing this journey with me. Each message, like, and moment of connection means more than you know.
May this Christmas bring you peace that feels like home, joy that stays a little longer, and love that surrounds you and your loved ones. I hope your days are filled with laughter, your nights with warmth, and your heart with hope for all the beautiful things still to come.
Whether you're celebrating with family, friends, or enjoying a quiet moment for yourself, may this season remind you of the simple wonders: kindness, gratitude, togetherness, and new beginnings.
🎄 Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a bright, beautiful New Year ahead.
May the coming days sparkle with happiness and endless possibilities.
With love and gratitude,
Zevion Asgorath.
✨💫
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Time didn't move normally after that.
It didn't tick or flow or pass.
It dragged—slow, heavy, syrup-like—each second stretching out as if the world itself was holding its breath, terrified to disturb the fragile peace of the room.
The soft beeping of the house's subtle magic wards, the faint hum of warm air, even the slow exhale of those still unconscious… everything felt painfully loud against the silence.
And then…
A small, barely noticeable movement broke through it.
Sona's fingers twitched.
Just once.
But that single motion hit harder than any explosion.
Everyone froze.
Even Serafall's breathing halted.
Sona's eyelashes fluttered, trembling like a butterfly's wings fighting to open.
Her brows furrowed slightly, as though waking from a dream she didn't remember drifting into.
A soft, shaky exhale escaped her lips.
Then her eyes—those calm, indigo-blue eyes—finally opened.
Slowly.
Gently.
Like dawn rising after a long night.
She blinked several times, her vision adjusting to the dim lights of my room, a faint flicker of confusion crossing her features.
Her breathing was light, careful, unsteady.
Her skin was pale and cool to the touch, and her magical aura felt like it had been wrung dry and left out in the cold.
But she was alive.
Truly, undeniably alive.
My chest loosened so violently it almost hurt.
But before anyone else could even think of reacting—
Serafall moved.
No, "moved" was too small a word.
She launched.
A blue blur shot across the room like a missile of pure emotion, crashing into the bed so fast the wooden frame groaned in protest.
"SO-TAN!! SO-TAN!! SOOOOO-TAAAAAAN!!! YOU'RE ALIIIIIIIVE!!!"
The sound wasn't just loud — it was raw, torn straight from her soul.
Sona's entire body jolted at the impact, eyes widening in utter shock as Serafall wrapped herself around her with such force that even I winced.
"Onee—san—!? Wait—!"
Sona tried weakly.
But Serafall didn't let her speak.
Her arms tightened even more, shaking violently with sobs, tears dripping like rain onto Sona's shoulder, her hair messy, her breath uneven.
It wasn't the refined, cutesy Magical Girl Leviathan everyone in the Underworld admired.
This was Serafall, the big sister—the one who had just watched her little sister die in front of her.
She didn't even try to pretend otherwise.
Sona froze, overwhelmed, her eyes darting everywhere in confusion…
…until something in her softened.
Her expression melted like frost under morning sunlight.
She slowly lifted her arms and wrapped them around Serafall, pulling her close.
"Onee-san… I'm fine. Okay?"
She whispered, voice soft and steady in contrast to Serafall's chaos.
"Really. Don't cry anymore, okay? You're… not a crybaby anymore, right?"
That was the moment Serafall broke completely.
Her sobs grew louder, her shoulders shaking even more fiercely as she buried her face in Sona's neck.
She clung as her life depended on it.
And honestly?
It probably did.
Even I couldn't stop the small smile tugging at my lips.
It was impossible to determine who was the older sister at that moment.
On the other side of the room, as if the emotional earthquake had shaken him awake, Kiba stirred too.
His revival wasn't as explosive.
He blinked.
Exhaled.
Blink again.
Slowly pushed himself upright, his expression tired, confused, and disoriented.
There was a small pause before he realised where he was, and then another pause as he remembered the events that led to his death.
He swallowed hard.
The tension left Rias's entire body as her shoulders slumped in relief.
"Kiba…"
She whispered, voice cracking with relief.
"Thank goodness…"
Akeno pressed a hand over her heart, whispering something under her breath.
Koneko exhaled so subtly that anyone else would have missed it.
Kiba looked at all three of them, guilt clouding his features.
"President…"
But before he could say anything—
SLAP!
Rias's hand whipped across his face so sharply the room echoed with the sound.
Kiba froze.
Everyone froze.
"You… FOOL!!"
Rias shouted, tears immediately filling her eyes.
"Even if it was important— even if it was for your fallen friends — could you not think for even one second about the people around you now?!"
Kiba stared at her, stunned.
Rias grabbed his collar with trembling fingers, yanking him toward her.
"Do you think your old friends… the ones you lost… would want this?!"
She cried, voice cracking.
"To watch you throw your new life away?!"
Kiba's eyes widened, breath catching.
"Would they want you to die for revenge that solves nothing?!"
She demanded.
"Or would they want you… to be happy now? With the people still here?"
Akeno looked away, wiping her eyes.
Koneko bit her lip, expression tight.
Even I felt that one.
Rias continued, voice breaking completely.
"You died, Kiba… twice! Twice!"
Her voice wavered.
"And after everything—after all we've been through—you still tried to face it alone! I won't allow it anymore… I can't."
Her grip tightened on his shirt, knuckles white.
"This is my absolute order as your King… as your master… and as your friend…"
She sobbed.
"Please… stop living in the past…"
Her tears fell onto his hands, warm and trembling.
Kiba stared at her—shock, guilt, shame, relief, all swirling together—before his shoulders finally slumped.
He bowed his head deeply.
"President…"
His voice trembled.
"I swear… on everything I am… I will let go of vengeance. I'll stop living in the past. I'll live… for my current friends."
Silence.
Warm, heavy, emotional silence.
Then—
Koneko stepped forward.
Walked right up to him.
Stopped.
"K-Koneko-chan…?"
Kiba asked nervously.
She didn't answer at all.
She punches him suddenly.
Straight hard.
Right in the stomach.
"Guh—!!"
Kiba folded instantly, all air leaving his lungs in a painful wheeze.
"Just live for yourself… idiot," she muttered.
And then—
POW.
Another punch.
Kiba curled up on the bed, groaning.
Koneko huffed.
"That one was for making us worry."
I snorted.
Rias's jaw dropped.
Akeno giggled behind her hand.
"Fufufu~ don't forget to rest properly, Yuuto~"
She sang.
"You have sooo much work to do after worrying us this much~"
Kiba paled.
But after a moment, through the pain, he managed a shaky smile.
"…Koneko-chan is the same, I see…"
He winced.
"And Akeno-san is still terrifying…"
Finally, the tension in the room eased.
Sona was alive.
Kiba was alive.
The others were safe.
And for the first time since this nightmare began…
People were laughing.
Smiling.
Crying tears that weren't soaked in despair.
When everyone finally calmed down, we began explaining what had happened.
The escaped exorcist.
Kokabiel's insanity.
The frozen world.
The near-deaths.
The revival.
Everything.
They listened.
Asked questions.
Held one another.
And as I watched them…
A warmth settled in my chest.
But beneath it—deep, quiet, and slowly rising—
…a storm brewed.
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