The sky was calm again.
The stars shone brighter than they had in centuries, as if relieved… or mourning.
In the quiet town of Edenvale, the battle was already becoming legend—half-remembered, wrapped in mystery, whispered only in places where the air still shimmered.
But for Arielle, it was all just a dream.
---
A New Morning
She woke in Ayden's arms on the bakery rooftop.
The sky was the color of soft peach and gold.
She blinked, disoriented.
> "Where… am I?"
Ayden looked into her eyes.
No glow. No trace of Kael. No hint of Veyrix.
Just Arielle, clean-souled, reborn.
> "You're home," he said simply.
She frowned slightly. "Do I know you?"
A pause.
Pain flickered in his chest. But then he smiled.
> "Not yet. But you will."
---
The Bakery Begins Again
Days passed.
Arielle stayed with Ayden, helping in the bakery.
She didn't remember the recipes—but her hands moved like they did.
She didn't remember the stories—but she laughed at all the right parts when Ayden told them again.
She didn't remember the lake, the crater, the battle…
But every night, she stared at the stars with longing.
As if some part of her was still waiting to go home.
---
Dreams of Light
She began to dream again.
Not nightmares—just fragments.
A silver-haired girl standing on clouds.
A boy with starlight eyes.
A voice saying, "Love is the one thing stronger than gravity."
She would wake up in tears, and not know why.
Ayden would hold her close.
> "You don't have to remember," he whispered. "You just have to feel."
---
A Whisper in the Wind
One evening, as they closed the bakery, Arielle paused at the door.
The wind shifted.
And in it… a whisper.
> "Thank you…"
Her heart skipped.
"Did you hear that?" she asked.
Ayden tilted his head. "Hear what?"
She stared into the dusk sky.
Nothing there. But everything inside her trembled with warmth.
> "I don't know," she whispered. "But I think someone just said goodbye."