Chapter 351 - "Returning Home!"

The fire had burned low by the time Luca spoke again.

He looked at all of them—really looked this time—and smiled, a little tired but genuine.

"Where else can I go?" he said lightly. "Home, probably. Or I’ll run into Eric... maybe some others along the way. Yeah , I will just meet up with Eric and come with him to the academy."

Kyle chuckled. "Figures. You always end up somewhere troublesome even when you don’t mean to."

Aurelia nodded in agreement. "I think... it’ll be good for all of us to return for a while."

Sylthara gave a quiet hum of approval. "The road teaches you many things. But staying still teaches others. And I still has many things to manage at our new home."

Everyone seemed to agree.

Everyone... except Selena.

She stood slightly apart, gaze drifting from face to face, as though she were trying to decide where she belonged in the picture. Her hands rested at her sides, fingers curling and uncurling faintly.

Kyle looked at Lilliane as he thought for a moment..

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing just a bit. "Hey," he said, pointing lightly. "What about you, Lilly?"

Lilliane didn’t respond.

Her eyes were unfocused again, fixed somewhere far beyond the present moment. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

The air shifted.

Sylthara stepped forward without hesitation, her voice gentle but firm.

"I’ll take her home," she said. "Explain everything. Make sure she’s safe. Then I will go back to valentine territory."

No one argued.

It was the right call.

Selena suddenly spoke. "I’ll come too."

All eyes turned toward her.

Even Luca looked surprised.

"Selena..." he said slowly. "I think you should go home."

She flinched, just a little.

He continued before she could speak. "Not because you’re weak. Not because you can’t keep up." His voice softened. "But because there are things you need to face. Things that... if left alone, might happen again."

The air grew heavy.

The others didn’t understand the full meaning—but they could tell it mattered.

Selena looked down.

Her fingers clenched.

For a long moment, she said nothing.

Then she exhaled.

"...You’re right," she said quietly. "Running won’t fix it."

She looked up, meeting his eyes.

"I’ll go home."

Luca smiled—not relieved, but proud.

The tension finally eased as the group began to move.

They walked together out of the tavern, down the stone road that opened into a wide clearing beyond the dwarven gates. The night sky stretched overhead, deep and endless, stars sharp against the dark.

Kyle stepped forward first.

With a whistle and a snap of his fingers, wind rushed downward as a massive shape descended from the clouds. His griffin landed with a heavy beat of its wings, feathers rippling as it folded them neatly at its sides.

Selena raised her hand next.

Frost gathered in the air, spiraling upward in elegant arcs before forming wings of ice and light. The Ice Phoenix emerged in a burst of cold brilliance, its cry soft but powerful as it lowered itself beside them.

Aurelia stepped onto the griffin’s back, steady and sure.

Sylthara helped Lilliane onto the phoenix, careful and patient, her movements protective without being forceful. Selena followed, taking her place behind them.

They all turned back one last time.

Kyle grinned. "Try not to get into trouble without us, yeah?"

Aurelia smiled softly. "We’ll see you at the academy."

Sylthara inclined her head. "Stay alive."

Selena hesitated.

Then she looked at Luca and nodded once. "Thank you."

Luca raised a hand in farewell.

"See you soon."

With powerful beats of wings, the two beasts rose into the sky. Wind rushed through the clearing as they climbed higher, silhouettes shrinking against the moonlit clouds until they were nothing more than shadows fading into the horizon.

Silence returned.

Luca stood alone.

The road ahead stretched wide and empty, bathed in pale starlight.

He exhaled slowly.

"...Guess it’s just me now."

The wind brushed past him, carrying the faint echoes of laughter, fire, and everything they’d endured together.

And with that—

He turned forward.

And began walking.

The air rippled.

Not with sound—

with presence.

Space bent above Luca as a massive silhouette began to take shape, mana folding inward like waves answering a tide. Wind surged outward, scattering dust and loose leaves in a wide circle as something enormous emerged from the Beast Space.

A cry echoed across the open land.

Half avian.

Half aquatic.

A body like flowing steel and moonlit scales, wings vast enough to blot out the sky, fins rippling along its sides like living currents.

The Kunpeng descended.

Its massive form hovered for a moment before lowering, wings folding with controlled power. Golden-blue eyes locked onto Luca instantly.

"...So," a voice rumbled directly inside his head, rich and deep with familiar irritation,

"you remember I exist now?"

Luca laughed softly.

"Hey, Aira."

The beast snorted, a gust of wind blowing past him.

"Now only you remember me, huh? After vanishing for weeks, getting crushed, burned, beaten half to death—now you call."

Luca rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"When did I forget you?"

Aira’s massive head tilted.

"When you were getting hammered by dwarves."

Luca barked out a laugh. "Hey, that wasn’t by choice!"

The Kunpeng narrowed one eye.

"Hmph."

Then Luca stepped closer, placing a hand against the warm scales near her neck.

"You were the reason I didn’t let myself die," he said quietly. "Had to come back. Someone’s got to feed you, right?"

The air shifted.

Aira clicked her beak once, then turned her head away slightly.

"...Tch. Annoying human."

But she lowered her body anyway.

Luca grinned, leaping onto her back with practiced ease. The familiar sensation settled in—wind, height, freedom. He took a steady breath, then pointed forward.

"Alright," he said. "Let’s go."

The Kunpeng’s wings spread wide.

With one thunderous beat, the ground vanished beneath them.

Wind howled. Clouds tore apart.

And in a single breath, they were soaring—

leaving the foreign lands behind,

carrying the weight of everything past

and the promise of everything yet to come.

****

[Valentine Territory]

The wind picked up as they walked, carrying with it the scent of wild grass and distant rain. The open ground stretched endlessly ahead—too vast, too quiet—like the world was deliberately giving them space to say what neither of them wanted to.

Vincent’s steps were steady, measured. Every movement was precise, controlled. The kind of walk that came from years of discipline rather than comfort.

Elowen walked half a step behind him.

She watched the way his cloak shifted with each step, the way his silver hair caught the light, how his shoulders never quite relaxed. He looked the same as always—unshaken, unwavering—but she knew him too well to believe that.

"...Thank you," she said again, more softly this time.

Vincent slowed, just slightly.

"For helping us settle again," she continued.

He exhaled through his nose, a breath that barely counted as a sigh.

"It was what I should have done," he replied. "Nothing more."

Elowen’s lips pressed together.

"You always say that," she murmured. "As if none of it matters to you."

He didn’t answer right away.

The wind tugged at her hair, brushing it across her face. She pushed it aside, glancing at him again.

"...Are you sure he’ll be there?" she asked.

Vincent stopped.

This time, fully.

The sudden stillness made her halt too. He turned slowly, silver eyes sharp but steady, carrying a certainty that left no room for doubt.

"He will," he said.

Not I think.

Not I hope.

He will.

Elowen searched his face, trying to find hesitation—anything that hinted uncertainty.

She found none.

"You sound so sure," she said quietly.

Vincent looked past her, toward the horizon. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

"I am," he said. That made her breath hitch.

"You are right," she said quickly.

He finally looked at her then.

His fingers curled slightly at his side, the only visible sign of tension.

"I feel..." he continued. "I am responsible as well for what happened."

His gaze sharpened.

Elowen’s chest tightened.

"...Vincent."

"If I had been a bit earlier," he went on quietly, "if I had acted sooner—maybe none of this would have escalated the way it did."

She stepped closer, almost instinctively.

"Don’t," she said softly. "You can’t rewrite the past."

He didn’t respond.

For a moment, they stood in silence, the wind passing between them like a living thing.

Then Elowen spoke again, her voice lower, heavier.

"If things were different," she said, staring ahead, "if our people weren’t still struggling to recover... I would have gone with you."

Vincent’s eyes flickered.

"You shouldn’t," he said at once.

"I know," she replied. "That’s not what I meant."

She hesitated, then added, "I just... don’t like the idea of you walking into this alone."

Something shifted in his expression.

Not softness.

But weight.

He reached out slowly, hesitating for just a fraction of a second before taking her hand.

His grip was firm. Grounding.

"You’re exactly where you need to be," he said quietly. "They need you here. More than they need me."

She tightened her fingers around his.

"...And you?" she asked.

He met her eyes.

She let out a breath that trembled despite her effort to keep steady.

"Come back safely," she said.

Vincent inclined his head—just a little.

They stood there for another heartbeat, hands still joined, neither willing to be the first to let go.

Then, gently, he released her.

He turned.

And walked forward without looking back.

Elowen remained where she was, watching his retreating figure until the distance swallowed him whole.

Only then did she whisper, so softly the wind nearly carried it away—

"Just return as soon as possible.."