Lucius slept.
And for once… he dreamed.
Not of war.
Not of flame.
Not of the gods who broke him.
But of her.
---
He stood in a sunlit meadow, unfamiliar and soft.
No ruins. No blood.
Just wind.
And then—
Arielle.
Alive.
Not a flicker.
Not a whisper.
Breathing. Smiling. Real.
"Hey," she said, like it was just another morning.
Lucius didn't speak.
He couldn't.
He walked toward her.
Touched her face.
Warm.
Solid.
And she didn't fade.
---
"Is this heaven?" he asked.
She laughed. "You'd hate heaven."
Lucius almost smiled.
Almost.
Arielle leaned into his touch.
"I missed you."
Lucius swallowed. "You're dead."
"Not here."
She looked up at him.
Silver eyes locking to his like she never left.
"Not yet."
---
Then her voice softened.
Changed.
"Lucius…"
He looked at her.
And the sun dimmed.
Just a little.
"If this was the only way to save them… would you let me die again?"
---
The dream fractured.
Suddenly, he was back—kneeling in the garden of fire.
Her body cradled in his arms.
And the girls—
Claire.
Lilith.
Zara.
Velda.
All behind him.
Waiting.
Watching.
He looked down.
Arielle stared back.
"I'm ready to go," she whispered.
---
Lucius screamed—
And woke.
---
His breath was ragged.
His skin drenched.
The fire beside him had long since died.
And across from him—
Claire.
Awake.
Watching.
"Another dream?" she whispered.
Lucius nodded.
Then looked at her.
Eyes still haunted.
"She asked if I'd let her die again."
Claire flinched.
"And would you?" she asked, barely breathing.
Lucius didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
---
> [System Alert: Echo Pressure Building – Emotional overload near critical threshold]
If Arielle returns fully, the soul chain between Lucius and the bonded may fracture.
Side Effect: The others may begin to remember lives they were never meant to have.
---
Across camp, Lilith stirred—tears in her sleep.
Zara mumbled a name she didn't recognize.
Velda's runes flickered. A symbol from an age long lost appeared across her skin.
---
Lucius stood.
He walked to the fire.
And whispered to it.
Not as Sovarion.
Not as Lucius.
Just as the man who loved someone once… and still hadn't forgiven himself for surviving.
---
"If you come back… I'll protect them this time. Even if it means losing you again."