“A-are you sure that these are for ?” asked Alia, her voice trembling slightly as emotion flickered in her eyes. Her gaze lingered on the two items he extended toward her.
“Yep. Gifts, by yours truly, ” he replied with a slight smile. “ I know how much you want to grow stronger, and having an aura and mana generator like mine will help you do that. As for the bow…”
He lifted the erald-colored weapon slightly, the polished wood gleaming faintly under the training room lights.
“Honestly didn’t plan on giving you a bow or anything of the sort, but when I was in the Kazramar World’s Great Dwarven Empire Main Vault and ca across this one… I couldn’t ignore it. It caught my eye, felt right. I thought, why not grab it too and hand it over to you? It wasn’t my original objective—getting the materials for the generators was the priority—but this felt like a worthwhile bonus, wouldn’t you say?”
A light of realization slowly dawned in her gaze. Her lips parted slightly, as if stunned by the obvious connection she hadn’t seen until now.
“This… When you said you were doing sothing with Kiara… you were actually going through all that just to get the materials for my gift?! ” Her voice was rising in disbelief and warmth. “ And later, when you locked yourself in the main bedroom… that was also for ??”
Mikael gave a small, wordless nod.
The impact was imdiate.
Alia didn’t even glance at the items again. Instead, she stepped forward in a single, fluid motion, eyes shimring with emotion. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, her forehead resting against his chest as though it were the one safe harbor in the chaos of her world.
He felt her body tremble—lightly at first, then more visibly—as she whispered, barely audible through the small hitch in her breath, “ I love you… truly… thank you—sob. ”
Her voice cracked at the end, raw but honest, and she clung to him with a rare vulnerability she seldom allowed herself to show.
There were no screams, no dramatic breakdown. Just the quiet release of weight she had carried far too long.
Ever since Dirarnia had fallen… ever since Nexoria’s forces had swept through her world like a storm, she had kept moving, kept pushing, fighting, planning. She hadn’t allowed herself to truly slow down, to feel—because feeling ant opening herself to the pain of all she’d lost.
But now… in this small mont, in this quiet room, surrounded by nothing but the beat of his heart and the steady comfort of his presence… sothing inside her softened.
The grief was still there—of course it was—but so was sothing new, sothing she hadn’t let herself feel since that world had crumbled behind her: peace.
Not the kind that cos from forgetting… but from choosing to live with the loss. To carry it, without letting it consu her.
She knew she still wanted vengeance. That desire hadn’t faded. Nexoria would pay for what it had done, for what it had taken from her. But that fire didn’t blind her anymore. It didn’t cloud what she still had—him, the girls, this second chance at strength and rebuilding even further that she ever believed possible.
After a long silence filled only by the gentle rise and fall of their breaths, she whispered again, more softly this ti, as though reaffirming sothing sacred within her:
“ I’m glad I t you… Mikael. ”
***
Mikael hadn’t anticipated Alia’s surprisingly intense reaction upon receiving the gifts. But not expecting sothing didn’t an he failed to respond to it. So, when a visibly shaken Alia collapsed into his arms and began to silently sob, he didn’t need an explanation to act. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a steady, comforting embrace as he gently caressed her back to soothe her.
Minutes passed in wordless stillness after Alia’s heartfelt declaration. Eventually, Mikael shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position. The way he was sitting was awkward and increasingly uncomfortable. But the mont he began to move, Alia clung tightly to him, refusing to let go or allow him the slightest movent.
She reinforced her grip with a soft, almost pleading voice: “Don’t move…”
Though her tone had quieted, subtle tremors still coursed through her body.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” he replied in a calm voice. “I just need to adjust a bit—let lie on my back, okay?”
Alia’s response ca as a faint hum of approval.
Slowly and carefully, Mikael shifted his weight, gradually lowering himself until he was lying flat on the dojo floor. Alia remained nestled against him, her head resting gently on his chest while her soft, silky black hair spilled across him like flowing ink.
They stayed like that for a while, wrapped in silence, until Alia slowly lifted her head. Her teary eyes t Mikael’s composed ones.
“Sorry… I don’t know what ca over ,” she murmured shyly, avoiding his gaze. Her cheeks were redder than a tomato, flushed with the overwhelming embarrassnt she felt.
She had broken down just from receiving a few gifts—gifts! And ended up sobbing like a child in Mikael’s arms. For soone like her, who was so accustod to maintaining a calm and composed deanor, it was mortifying beyond words.
Seeing that she was now in better spirits—her eyes free of tears, her body no longer trembling—Mikael gave her a faint, knowing smile.
“No need to apologize,” he said gently.
He paused just long enough for her to look at him before continuing in a completely straight tone, “…After all, thanks to you, I won’t need a shower today. You saved so ti, and for that, I’m truly grateful.”
His mock sincerity struck her like a surprise attack. It took her a few seconds to register what he’d said, but once she did, a light-hearted giggle escaped her lips.
That was all it took to break the last remnants of the heavy atmosphere. Following her laughter, the two of them began to exchange playful banter, bit by bit lifting the mood. The seriousness that had weighed on the mont slowly faded as their teasing and jokes continued.
Eventually, they left the training room together, returning to the apartnt with the air around them much lighter than it had been earlier.
There, the two of them spent so quiet, relaxing ti in the living room, simply watching a movie on the TV. Lyra sat on the other side of the room, curled up with a book in her hands. Though her eyes remained mostly fixed on the pages, she occasionally glanced up at the screen, catching fragnts of the film.
Later in the evening, Kiara joined them midway through the movie. And so, the four of them enjoyed the rest of the night in a calm and familiar atmosphere before eventually retiring to their respective bedrooms to sleep.
All except for Mikael.
Rather than heading to the master bedroom with Kiara as he usually did—a habit born from the practical decision of assigning that particular room to the two of them, due to the unfortunate lack of enough bedrooms for everyone—he made a different choice. Of course, this tragic shortage of space ca at the great “cost” to Kiara, who so “graciously” chose to sacrifice herself by sleeping beside her darling every night.
Even so, it wasn’t rare for another of the girls to join them in the master bedroom—or for Mikael to spend the night alone with one of them in their own room. And tonight was one of those tis. Quietly, he made his way to Alia’s room and spent the night with her.
But unlike most nights, what they shared couldn’t be described as just physical intimacy. No—this wasn’t sex. It wasn’t fueled by raw passion or desire. That night, they made love.
Their movents were unhurried, tender, and filled with wordless emotion. There was no urgency, no fire—only warmth, vulnerability, and a deep connection. It wasn’t a night of lust; it was a mont of hearts speaking without words, two souls intertwining through every gentle motion.
And so the night passed.
In the morning, Mikael and Alia woke up in each other’s arms, lingering in bed for a while, wrapped in one another’s warmth. They shared lazy cuddles and affectionate teasing before Alia, with a playful pout and mock severity, kicked him out—reminding him, not so subtly, that it was ti to focus on reaching Military Rank 3.
After all, as deeply touched as she was by the gifts he had given her—gifts that spoke to her heart in ways she couldn’t quite express—the looming issue of his dwindling lifespan still remained unresolved.
Mikael, fully aware that he had already fallen behind in the schedule, accepted her ejection without resistance.
As he walked down the hallway toward the front door, a small smile played on his lips. His thoughts were sharp and focused:
‘Now, I’ve got a couple of military missions to handle solo in order to reach Military Rank 3. And after that…?’
‘There’s still a mountain of things to take care of, but at the core, it all cos down to a single objective—growing stronger and pushing the boundaries of my potential. Reaching that goal will demand ti, effort, and a relentless focus on long-term gains. But first…’
‘First, I want to seek out a certain type of world—one where ntal cultivation is pushed to the forefront. A place where people are put through grueling ntal trials ant to refine the mind and will.’
‘I haven’t settled on the exact world yet, but I know what I’m looking for. Sowhere that challenges cognition, forces introspection, and forges clarity under pressure. The trial in this place should be hard but just in a way that If I succeed my mind would be dramatically enhanced. If I can succeed in such a place, the benefits will be trendous—especially in strengthening my comprehension, which in any cultivation-based system is a core attribute.’
‘And the best part? Whatever ntal growth I manage to achieve there won’t just fade. It’ll leave a lasting imprint—one that’ll translate into a genuine increase in ntal talent once I break through to the Spiritual Foundation Realm. That kind of gain could change everything moving forward.’
As that thought solidified in his mind, Mikael’s hand reached for the door handle. He paused for a brief mont, his expression composed yet filled with a quiet determination.
He didn’t delude himself—what awaited beyond this door wouldn’t be easy. True strength was never earned without sacrifice, and the road ahead would be slow, taxing, and filled with uncertainty.
But he was ready.
And more than that—he welcod the challenge.
End of Volu 3: Ashes to Ascent: Life in the Hub
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