The cabin was quiet.
Not the uneasy silence before battle.
Not the suffocating stillness of space after a universe dies.
Just… quiet.
Snow drifted softly outside the frosted windows while pale morning light spilled across the wooden floorboards in thin golden lines. The scent of pinewood and burning herbs lingered faintly in the air, mixing with the sharp smell of medicine.
For several long seconds, I simply stared at the ceiling.
Alive.
That realization still felt strange.
Every inch of my body ached. My ribs felt shattered all over again whenever I breathed too deeply, and dull pain crawled beneath the bandages wrapped around my chest and arms. The fight with the phoenix and the peacock still replayed in fragments behind my eyes.
The frozen time.
The broken planets.
The feeling of being completely overwhelmed.
Tch.
I hated remembering it.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright against the bedframe. My body immediately protested, muscles tightening violently as destruction magic flickered beneath my skin.
"Don't."
A calm voice stopped me.
I looked up.
Amela sat beside the nearby fireplace, crimson eyes watching me carefully over the rim of a steaming cup. Her long white hair spilled over one shoulder while the orange glow of the fire painted soft colors across her pale skin.
She looked different outside of battle.
Less terrifying.
Still dangerous though.
Beside her stood the other girl from before, the unfamiliar one bundled in dark winter clothing. Long silver-blue hair framed her face while nervous blue eyes darted toward me every few seconds before quickly looking away again.
Neither of them moved closer.
Probably smart.
After a moment, I glanced around the cabin properly.
Small.
Isolated.
One bed. One table. Weapons stacked carefully near the far wall. Snow coats hanging beside the door. The entire place felt hidden away from the world itself.
"…How long was I out?" I asked quietly.
"Three days," Amela answered.
Three?
My eyes narrowed slightly.
That long?
The silver-haired girl handed Amela another bandage roll before finally speaking softly.
"You crashed through three mountains before landing here."
I blinked once.
"…Sounds about right."
The girl let out a tiny laugh before immediately covering her mouth like she regretted making noise at all.
Amela rolled her eyes faintly.
"You almost died."
"Almost isn't dead."
"That mindset is exactly why you almost died."
Fair point.
I leaned my head back against the wall behind the bed and closed my eyes briefly. My magic still felt unstable. Violent. Every heartbeat carried destruction energy through my veins like poison trying to escape.
But underneath that…
something else was gone.
The slave seal.
I slowly looked down at my wrist.
Nothing remained.
No leash.
No cursed brand.
Raiku couldn't command me anymore.
The realization should've made me happy.
Instead, all I felt was exhaustion.
Amela noticed where I was looking.
"…You were muttering in your sleep," she said quietly. "About someone named Raiku."
My expression darkened instantly.
The temperature in the room dropped.
The fireplace flickered violently as destruction magic leaked unconsciously from my body.
The silver-haired girl froze.
Amela's crimson eyes sharpened slightly.
"Relax," she said calmly. "If we wanted to hand you over, we would've left you buried in the mountain."
Silence settled afterward.
Then she sighed softly and stood from her chair.
Up close, I finally noticed the faint scars running along her arms and collarbone beneath her dark clothing. Old scars. Battle scars.
Interesting.
"You fought people far stronger than you," she said while walking toward the window. "Most would've died immediately."
"Yeah well," I muttered bitterly, "I usually have a bad habit of surviving things I shouldn't."
That earned a tiny smirk from her.
The silver-haired girl finally gathered enough courage to step closer.
She held out a wooden cup carefully.
"Medicine," she said softly. "For the pain."
I stared at it suspiciously.
"…Is it poisoned?"
She looked horrified.
Amela burst out laughing.
Actually laughing.
"You're paranoid."
"You say that like it's irrational."
"Fair."
After another second, I accepted the cup cautiously and drank.
Instant regret.
"That tastes like liquid death."
"It works though."
"Torture also works. Doesn't mean people should do it."
The silver-haired girl laughed quietly again, this time unable to stop herself completely.
For a brief moment…
the cabin didn't feel heavy anymore.
No screaming.
No collapsing universes.
No blood.
Just warmth.
My eyes drifted toward the falling snow outside the window.
The phoenix and peacock were still alive somewhere.
Raiku was too.
And eventually, every road would lead back toward them.
Toward war.
Toward destruction.
But not today.
Today, I was too tired to hate the world.
I slowly leaned back against the pillow again while the fire crackled softly nearby.
Amela glanced over her shoulder at me.
"You should sleep more."
"…Probably."
My eyelids already felt heavy again anyway.
As darkness slowly pulled at my consciousness, the last thing I heard was the silver-haired girl speaking quietly near the fireplace.
"He doesn't look like a monster."
Amela was silent for a moment.
Then—
"That's the dangerous part."