Chapter 66: Reunion, Sealed in Fire

She collapsed into his arms, her body limp.

"Elena!" Niegal barked. His hands glowed violently green, pressing to her chest as panic overtook him. "No, no, no- stay with me, stay with me-!"

Her eyes fluttered, blood soaking through her tunic. She tried to speak, but no sound came. Just pain. Endless, blinding pain.

Niegal carried her, heart racing, arms trembling. The old chapel, it was the closest structure still standing. He burst through its ruined doors, collapsing with her before the broken altar.

The stone floor turned red beneath her.

Niegal worked with everything he had. Mana sparked around his hands. Ancient healing spells spiraled like vines. He muttered prayers. Curses. Pleas.

"Please… please, not now. Not you. Not again."

The bullet finally slid from her body, clinking to the ground, huge. High-caliber. Nearly fatal.

Still, Elena didn't wake.

People trickled into the ruined chapel, drawn by the silence. Whispers fell like ash. A soldier sobbed into their helmet. Aurora placed a trembling hand on Niegal's shoulder. He couldn't stop. Refused to.

"Elena, come back to us." Usually so composed, Niegal was wracked with sobs. His body shook with them.

"You never gave me an answer, you stubborn woman."

And all the while, the bronze statue of Saintess Yidali in the alcove behind the altar… glowed.

Her flaming heart pulsed with light.

Elena floated in darkness.

Relief. And dread.

Not dead. Not yet.

But this time… this time, it hurt. Her chest ached in slow, heavy waves.

"Elena…"

Her eyes snapped open in the dreamscape.

That voice.

It had been years.

She turned, breath catching.

Seamus stood before her- unchanged. That mischievous spark still lit his eyes. That half-smile she used to tease. He looked just as he did the last night they were together.

"Hello, darling."

Tears burst from her eyes as she rushed into his arms, sobbing. He held her tightly, stroking her back as she clung to him like a lifeline.

"You feel… real," she whispered.

"I am, in a way," he said. "But you know you can't stay."

Elena shook her head, pressing her forehead to his chest. "I know."

He cupped her cheek gently. "They need you. He needs you."

Before she could respond, a soft cry echoed nearby.

She turned.

There, on the bed they once shared, lay a child, barely a newborn. Curled into the sheets, cooing, tiny limbs stretching.

Elena fell to her knees beside the child, reaching with a trembling hand. The baby's tiny fingers wrapped around hers.

A little girl.

Her curls were wild like Elena's.

Her eyes… silver.

Seamus knelt beside her, one hand on her back. "Meet our daughter."

She sobbed again, smiling despite the ache. "She's beautiful."

"She is," he murmured. "And strong. Just like her mother."

They stayed that way for a moment. Quiet. Full of pain, and peace.

Then Seamus spoke.

"In another lifetime… maybe we could've had this. A home. A child. Peace."

"But not this one," Elena whispered.

He nodded. "Not this one."

She clutched him one last time, burying her face in his chest.

"Take care of them," he said, voice breaking. "Especially Niegal."

She looked up, shocked.

Seamus smiled. "He's the only man I could ever approve of loving you more than I do."

That broke her.

They kissed, desperately, tearfully, a goodbye sealed in fire.

"I will always love you," she whispered.

"And I you."

Then, with a sad smile, he pressed a hand to her chest-

and pushed.

Light exploded behind her eyes.

Elena gasped, breath shuddering back into her lungs. She blinked-

Niegal.

His face hovered above hers, stained with tears. His arms cradled her gently.

"My heart, no me dejes, please…"

Around them, the chapel was packed; friends, comrades, survivors. Aurora and Cheri. The people.

"Niegal…?" she croaked, dazed.

His eyes snapped to hers, wide with disbelief. "Elena?"

She touched his cheek with weak fingers. "Why are you crying?"

He laughed. He sobbed. He kissed her again.

"No more tears," she whispered, smiling faintly. "Alright?"

The crowd erupted into cheers.

"The Witch rises again!"

"All hail our Viscountess!"

Niegal helped her sit up, then scooped her into his arms when she swayed. She kissed his cheek, her lips trembling.

They stepped out of the chapel together.

She was alive.

They had won.

But war still loomed. Retribution would come.

Elena narrowed her eyes at the retreating smoke, her head leaning on Niegal.

There would be hell to pay.

But for now… there was relief.

And joy.

And love.