After checking on Arelus and making sure Runar was finally stable, Sera returned to Azron's tent carrying her medical bag close against her chest. The camp outside was quieter now compared to earlier. The wounded had already been sorted, the dead separated with respect, and the physicians moved from tent to tent under the dim orange glow of torches.
But inside Azron's tent, the air still felt heavy.
Sera stepped toward the bedside and immediately checked him first before anything else. His breathing remained shallow but steady. The bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and shoulder, already stained with faint traces of blood beneath the layers. The IV line continued dripping slowly into his vein.
She placed her bag on the table and opened it.
Then she froze.
Her eyes lingered on the remaining contents of her medical kit.
A few antibiotics.
A small amount of pain medication.
One last IV bag.
A limited number of syringes.
Nothing more.
Her fingers slowly moved through the supplies one by one, counting them carefully as reality settled heavily inside her chest.
It was only enough to sustain Azron for another day.
After that…there would be nothing left.
No more medicine to fight infection.
No more fluids to stabilize him if his condition worsened.
Nothing.
Sera stared silently at the medical kit for a long moment before lowering her gaze.
"He'll get through this."
General Jidu stepped inside the tent, his voice quieter than usual.
Jidu walked closer and looked at Azron lying unconscious on the bed.
"He survived many battles before," he said softly. "He'll survive this one too."
Sera connected the new IV bag to the tube carefully, making sure no air entered the line before adjusting the flow. Then she disinfected the port and injected antibiotics into the tubing slowly.
Her movements were calm and practiced despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on her body.
After securing everything properly, she sat down beside Azron again and pulled the blanket higher over him, making sure his body stayed warm.
"How was he?" she finally asked quietly. "After…we disappeared."
Jidu remained standing a meter away from her, his eyes also fixed on Azron.
"He searched endlessly," he answered. "For years."
Sera lowered her gaze.
"He traveled across territories, villages, mountains…every place he thought might lead him to you. Even when everyone believed you were gone, he never stopped believing the three of you were still alive."
A painful ache tightened inside her chest.
"And he was right," Jidu continued with a faint smile.
The tent became quiet again except for the soft crackling of the lantern nearby and the slow drip of the IV.
Jidu turned to face her fully.
"He truly loves you, Sera," he said gently. "When you disappeared…he was never the same again."
Sera's fingers tightened slightly around Azron's hand.
"I know it may not be my place to say this," Jidu continued, "but I can see you feel the same way."
His voice softened further.
"Don't make each other suffer anymore."
Then he stepped outside the tent, leaving the two of them alone.
Sera remained still for a long while after he left.
Her eyes slowly returned to Azron's face.
Even unconscious, he still looked tense, like his body refused to rest completely unless he knew she and Arelus were safe.
Guilt slowly filled her chest.
"I'm sorry for leaving you," she whispered softly.
She lowered her head carefully against his lap while holding his hand close to her chest.
"It won't happen again," she murmured. "I promise."
Her body finally began surrendering to exhaustion.
For days she had barely slept.
She had chased the Vaiels army without rest, infiltrated Ormr Fortress alone, fought on the battlefield, watched Azron die in front of her, then forced his heart to beat again with her own hands.
The exhaustion she had ignored for so long finally caught up to her.
Her eyes slowly closed despite trying to keep herself awake.
She wanted to continue watching over him.
Wanted to make sure he kept breathing.
But her body could no longer endure it.
Still holding Azron's hand tightly, Sera finally drifted into sleep beside him.
...
Hours passed before Azron's eyes slowly opened.
His vision was blurry at first, the ceiling above him shifting faintly as consciousness gradually returned. Pain lingered heavily throughout his body, dull yet deep, like every movement threatened to tear his wounds open again.
His brows furrowed slightly as fragments of memory returned.
The battlefield.
Lurion.
Sera.
Arelus.
The arrows.
He remembered shielding her with his own body, forcing himself to stay awake while blood poured from his wounds. He remembered hearing her voice through the chaos, desperate and trembling.
Then darkness.
Azron tried to lift himself immediately, panic rising inside him at the thought that Sera and Arelus might still be in danger.
But the moment he moved, a violent pain shot through his chest and shoulder.
A sharp breath escaped his lips.
His strength failed instantly.
The room spun around him and dizziness crashed heavily into his senses, forcing him back against the bed. He shut his eyes tightly as the pain became unbearable for a moment.
His breathing turned uneven.
Then he felt it.
Warmth.
A hand holding his.
Azron slowly shifted his gaze downward.
And there she was.
Sera was asleep beside the bed, her head resting near his lap while her fingers remained tightly wrapped around his hand even in sleep.
Relief washed through him so suddenly it almost hurt more than the wounds.
She was alive.
She was really here.
Azron stared at her quietly, his gaze softening in a way only she could draw from him. Strands of her hair rested against her face, slightly messy from exhaustion. Even asleep, her brows were faintly furrowed like her mind still refused to rest.
Slowly, carefully, he lifted his free hand.
His fingers touched her hair first.
Then her cheek.
Warm.
Real.
Not another hallucination born from years of longing.
The gentle touch stirred Sera from sleep.
Her brows twitched slightly before her eyes slowly opened.
For a second she looked disoriented.
Then her gaze met his.
Her entire body immediately straightened.
"You're awake."
Relief flooded her voice so quickly it nearly broke.
She leaned closer at once, her trembling hands reaching for his face, checking him carefully like she still could not believe he was conscious.
"How do you feel?" she asked softly, though tears had already begun forming in her eyes again.
Azron looked at her quietly.
Concern.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Love.
Everything she had been trying so hard to suppress was right there on her face.
"I'm fine," he whispered hoarsely.
He lifted his hand again and touched her cheek gently, wiping away a tear before it could fall.
Sera immediately held his hand with both of hers, gripping it tightly.
"Why did you do that?" Her voice shook. "Why are you such an idiot?"
The tears she had been holding back finally escaped down her cheeks.
Azron smiled weakly at her, his thumb brushing softly against her skin.
"I would do it again if I had to."
His eyes never left hers.
"I love you, Sera."
The words came out quietly, but there was no hesitation in them anymore.
"I should've told you long ago."
His gaze softened even more.
"I have always loved you."
Sera's breath caught painfully in her chest.
For years she had run from those feelings.
Buried them.
Denied them.
Yet hearing the words from him now, after almost losing him with her own hands covered in his blood, shattered whatever walls she still had left.
Her eyes trembled.
Then she leaned toward him and kissed him.
The kiss was desperate from the very beginning.
Not gentle.
Not careful.
It carried years of longing, fear, regret, and love they had both kept buried for far too long.
Azron's hand immediately moved to her waist, pulling her closer despite the pain tearing through his body. A quiet groan escaped him from the strain, but he didn't care.
Sera held his face firmly as she kissed him again and again, like she needed to feel him alive beneath her hands to believe this moment was real.
Azron kissed her back with equal hunger.
Every second apart from her suddenly crashed into him all at once.
The empty years.
The sleepless nights.
The endless searching.
The grief.
And now she was finally here again, warm in his arms, kissing him like she had no intention of leaving ever again.
Their breaths tangled together as the kiss deepened, emotional and consuming, both of them clinging to each other like survivors pulled back from death itself.
Azron rested his forehead against hers afterward, breathing unevenly.
His hand remained firmly around her waist, unwilling to let her go.
For the first time in years, the emptiness inside him finally began to fade.
"I'm sorry…I left you…I was afraid."
Sera's voice was soft and trembling as she held his hand tightly between both of hers. Her eyes lowered briefly, unable to fully look at him as guilt weighed heavily inside her chest.
Azron slowly shook his head.
"Shh…it was my fault." His thumb brushed gently against her hand despite his weakness. "I failed to give you the peace…the freedom you've always wanted. I wasn't able to give you the happiness you deserve."
His voice carried no anger toward her.
Only regret.
Years of regret.
Sera immediately looked at him and shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes again.
"No. You didn't fail." Her grip around his hand tightened slightly. "It's just that I didn't give you the chance…I didn't give us a chance."
The tent fell quiet after her words.
The years they lost suddenly felt painfully real between them.
Years where they could have loved each other openly.
Years where they could have been a family together.
Years wasted because neither of them knew how to reach for the other properly.
Sera held his hand firmly, her gaze soft as she finally allowed herself to look at him without fear.
"Can we…start over?"
Azron stared at her silently.
Then a smile slowly formed on his lips.
A tear slipped from his eyes, touched deeply by Sera's words.
For years he had searched for her without rest.
For years he had lived with the emptiness of losing her.
And now the woman he loved was sitting beside him, asking him to begin again with her.
Azron lifted his hand weakly and touched her face.
"Yes," he whispered softly. "Always."
Their gazes locked on each other as they gave each other small reassuring smiles, both overwhelmed by emotions they had hidden for far too long.
Then suddenly—
A sound of soft sobbing interrupted the moment from near the tent entrance.
Sera and Azron both turned their heads.
The four generals were standing there.
General Dan was quietly sobbing while wiping tears from his eyes repeatedly. His shoulders trembled as he tried to compose himself but completely failed.
General Wang stood beside him, one hand patting Dan's back awkwardly while trying to comfort him.
General Jidu had his arms crossed while smiling helplessly at the sight of Azron and Sera together.
And beside them stood General Rin, covering Arelus' ears as he stared at Sera and Azron looking slightly embarrassed by how affectionate they were being.
It was clearly the first time he had ever seen his sister act so soft and romantic toward someone.
The sight genuinely shocked him.
Meanwhile, Arelus looked extremely confused beneath Rin's hand. His eyes widened curiously as he tried to hear what his parents were talking about despite his ears being covered.
The four generals stood there witnessing the two most feared and skilled warriors in the continent acting impossibly soft toward each other, completely opposite from the terrifying people they were on the battlefield.
The contrast felt almost unbelievable.
Especially for Rin.
Because just hours ago, he had watched Sera walk through a battlefield covered in blood while shooting enemies without hesitation.
And now she was looking at Azron like he was the most precious thing in the world.
Azron and Sera slowly shifted their attention back to each other as the noise around them faded into the background again.
The generals were still there.
Arelus was still watching.
But none of it seemed to matter anymore.
Sera's fingers remained tightly wrapped around Azron's hand, and even now she didn't let go. Her thumb moved slightly over his skin.
Azron's hand didn't leave hers either.
Even weakened, even still recovering from the pain in his body, he held on to her just as firmly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Sera looked at him again.
And Azron looked back.
A small, shy smile slowly formed on Sera's lips, as though she was still unsure how to express everything she was feeling now that there was no longer any need to hide it.
Azron's expression softened in return.
He gave her a faint smile as well—gentle, warm, and full of something he had carried alone for too long.
There was a brief silence between them, but it wasn't empty.
It was full.
Full of everything they had never said.
Everything they had almost lost.
Everything they were finally choosing to accept.
Sera's grip on his hand tightened slightly, and instead of pulling away or hiding, she simply stayed there beside him.
Azron did the same.
Neither of them let go.
Not even for a moment.
It was as if they had silently decided the same thing at the same time.
No more hiding.
No more running from what they felt.
No more pretending strength meant distance.
Whatever came next, they would face it together.
And in that quiet understanding, they simply stayed like that—hands still joined, eyes still locked, both of them smiling shyly as though the world outside the tent no longer had the power to pull them apart.