The camp was silent.
Arielle's echo had faded back into memory,But the tension stayed.
Claire hadn't spoken since.Lilith hovered like a storm that hadn't struck yet.Zara cracked her knuckles every five seconds.Velda was scribbling runes that didn't need to be written.
And Lucius?
He was staring into the fire again.
Of course he was.
Then Zara stood.
And spoke.
Not loudly.
Just clearly.
"We need to ask the question no one wants to say."
Lucius looked up, slow.
Zara locked eyes with him.
"If she came back. For real.Not a ghost. Not an echo.If Arielle stood here, breathing, alive...Would we still matter?"
The words dropped like a blade across the fire.
Claire looked away.
Lilith stared at Lucius like the answer would decide if she burned the world or not.
Velda went still.
Lucius didn't answer.
Not yet.
So Zara walked forward.
"You love us," she said. "I believe that."
Pause.
"But do you love her more?"
Lucius stood.
And finally, finally spoke.
His voice wasn't angry.
It was raw.
"I loved her first."
Everyone flinched.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Lucius looked at each of them.
Claire's eyes filled.
Lilith looked like she'd forgotten how to breathe.
Zara didn't move—but her knuckles went white.
"I loved her first," Lucius repeated."But that doesn't mean I stopped loving what I found after she died."
He looked at Claire.
"At the girl who held me when I couldn't remember why I was breaking."
At Lilith.
"At the one who betrayed me because she didn't know how to ask me to stay."
At Zara.
"At the warrior who looked at the tyrant and said, 'I'll follow anyway.'"
At Velda.
"At the only one who's never asked for my heart… but guarded it better than anyone."
Lucius stepped back.
And let his voice finally crack.
"I don't know what'll happen if she comes back.But I know I'd rather lose a god than lose one of you."
[Bond Status Update – Emotional Equilibrium Stabilized]No collapse triggered.Flame of the First Bond now harmonizing with all four active soul links.New Passive Gained: Balanced Grief – Lucius can now draw strength equally from the girls' loyalty and Arielle's echo.
Lilith walked up first.
Placed her hand on his.
Soft.
Shaking.
"I needed to hear that," she whispered.
Zara didn't speak.She just sat beside him again, shoulder to shoulder.
Velda smirked. "You're lucky you're broken in a poetic way."
And Claire?
She wiped her eyes.Smiled.
And said—
"Then keep remembering her. Just don't forget me."
Lucius looked at them all.
And for the first time in a long time—
He didn't feel like a tyrant.
He felt home.