The war ended.
But silence did not bring peace.
It only made the pain louder.
---
A few weeks later, Sun and Yuki moved into a small house at the edge of the capital. It wasn't grand like the palace. It wasn't magical or majestic.
It was simple.
Wooden walls. A small kitchen. Two rooms. A quiet garden outside with white flowers that bloomed even in winter.
Yuki chose it.
"It's peaceful," she had said softly.
Sun had only nodded.
Since that day in the palace courtyard-
He had barely spoken.
He woke up every morning before sunrise and sat near the window, staring at nothing. His eyes were empty. Not angry. Not broken in an explosive way.
Just... hollow.
He didn't train.
He didn't read.
He didn't even touch his sword.
Sometimes Yuki would call his name three or four times before he responded.
Sometimes he didn't respond at all.
He ate only if food was placed directly in front of him.
And even then, he barely touched it.
---
That morning, sunlight entered through the curtains.
Yuki walked into the living room carrying a tray.
Rice. Soup. Vegetables.
She placed it on the table gently.
"Good morning," she said cheerfully.
No response.
Sun sat on the floor, back against the wall, staring at the garden outside.
Yuki walked over and crouched in front of him.
She leaned slightly into his field of vision and waved her hand dramatically.
"Hello? Is this the legendary hero Sunstar? Or did a ghost steal his body?"
A very faint blink.
That was all.
Yuki smiled softly.
"Okay. Ghost Sun it is."
She sat beside him.
For a few seconds, she just stayed there quietly.
Then she picked up the bowl.
"Open your mouth."
No reaction.
She puffed her cheeks cutely.
"You defeated a demon general but you can't defeat a spoon? That's embarrassing."
His eyes shifted slightly toward her.
Progress.
She scooped some rice and held it near his lips.
"Come on. If you don't eat, I'll tell everyone that the great Sunstar is scared of vegetables."
A very small, almost invisible breath escaped him.
Not quite a laugh.
But close.
She gently tapped the spoon against his lips.
"Open."
After a moment-
He did.
She smiled brightly like she had just won a championship.
"There we go!"
She fed him slowly, patiently. Bite by bite.
She wiped a grain of rice from the corner of his mouth with her finger.
"You're messy," she teased softly.
He looked at her for a second.
Actually looked at her.
Her warm eyes.
Her small proud smile.
He looked away again.
But that was enough for Yuki.
---
Days passed like that.
Yuki cleaned the house.
She repaired the broken shelves.
She planted more flowers in the garden.
She made sure Sun bathed.
Yes-she literally dragged him to the bathroom once.
"Even depressed heroes need hygiene," she said seriously.
She talked constantly.
About random things.
About a bird that stole bread from the window.
About how she burned soup yesterday but pretended it was a new recipe.
About how she once tried to cook rice without water when she was younger.
Her voice filled the quiet house.
Even if Sun didn't answer.
She would sit beside him every night.
Sometimes she leaned against his shoulder.
Sometimes she rested her head on his arm.
"Today was boring," she would say. "You should talk more. I feel like I'm living with a handsome statue."
One evening, rain fell softly outside.
Sun sat near the window again.
Yuki brought two cups of warm milk and sat beside him.
She didn't say anything this time.
She just gently placed her head on his shoulder.
After a long silence-
He spoke.
"...I couldn't save her."
His voice was hoarse.
Broken.
Yuki didn't interrupt.
"I had power," he continued quietly. "I had Dead Lock. I had strength. But I still couldn't protect her."
His fists tightened.
"I lose her every time."
Yuki slowly reached for his hand.
She didn't grip it tightly.
Just held it.
"Sun," she said softly, "you're not a god."
Silence.
"You fought an army. You defeated a general. You saved a kingdom."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"You did everything you could."
He shook his head faintly.
"It wasn't enough."
Yuki turned toward him fully.
Her eyes were gentle-but firm.
"Then live."
He looked at her.
"Live enough for both of you."
Tears filled her eyes, but she smiled anyway.
"If you stop living, then her love disappears too. And I don't think she'd like that."
His breathing became uneven.
Yuki moved closer.
She wrapped both arms around him slowly.
Not tightly.
Not desperately.
Just warm.
"You don't have to be strong right now," she whispered.
"You don't have to talk."
"You don't have to smile."
"I'll stay anyway."
That was the moment he broke.
His hands slowly lifted.
And he hugged her back.
Weak at first.
Then tighter.
His face buried into her shoulder.
His body trembled.
Yuki gently stroked his hair.
"It's okay," she whispered again and again.
For the first time since Aria's death-
Sun cried.
Not like a warrior.
Not like a hero.
But like a human.
And Yuki held him through all of it.
---
After that night, something small changed.
He still wasn't fully himself.
But he started walking in the garden sometimes.
He started eating without being forced.
He even repaired a broken chair one afternoon.
Yuki clapped dramatically.
"Wow. He can use tools. I'm impressed."
He gave her the faintest glare.
She grinned proudly.
One evening, she brought him tea and sat unusually close.
Their shoulders touched.
She looked at him sideways.
"You know," she said casually, "if you stay silent forever, I'll have to marry you just so I can complain legally."
He blinked.
"That's not how marriage works."
She gasped dramatically.
"He speaks!"
For the first time-
He smiled.
A real one.
Small.
But real.
Yuki froze for a second.
Then her cheeks turned pink.
"There it is," she whispered softly.
He looked at her.
Really looked at her.
She had dark circles from sleepless nights.
Small cuts on her fingers from housework.
But she still smiled like sunshine.
Still teased him.
Still stayed.
He reached out slowly-
And brushed a strand of hair from her face.
She stopped breathing for a second.
"Yuki," he said quietly.
"Yes?"
"...Thank you."
Her smile softened.
"You're welcome."
There was a pause.
Rain tapped softly against the window again.
He leaned forward slightly.
Rested his forehead against hers.
Her heart pounded loudly.
"I don't know how to move forward," he admitted.
She smiled gently.
"Then we'll walk slowly."
His hand moved to hers.
Their fingers intertwined.
"Together?" he asked.
She squeezed his hand.
"Always."
Outside, the white flowers in the garden swayed gently in the wind.
The house was still small.
The pain was still there.
Aria was still gone.
But inside those wooden walls-
There was warmth again.
And slowly-
Very slowly-
Sun began to live.
Not because the pain disappeared.
But because someone refused to leave his side.
And that someone-
Was Yuki.