That night, Virel and Aniel woke.
Their consciousness returned in layers.
Then awareness sharpened.
This was not their private chamber. That realization came first.
Then memory returned.
Not all of it at once, but enough.
The East. The siege. The retreat. The final instructions. The fall into sleep.
And then—
the chamber doors opened.
Vivian stepped inside.
She had only meant to check on them again. She had not expected them to be awake already.
Vivian stopped breathing.
Her hand flew to her mouth, and tears welled at once, so quickly and so helplessly that they blurred them before she could even take a step.
"Mother… Father…" she whispered, and then her voice broke completely. "You're finally awake."
The two Celestials on the bed froze.
For a moment, they only stared at her.
Not because they failed to recognize her.
Because recognition hit too hard.
Virel's eyes widened first.
Then Aniel's.
The years between then and now collapsed in a breath.
