The Pavilion was a grave.
Blood pooled in the cracks of the marble, staining Kael's once-pristine hall into a butcher's floor. Guards rushed in, sweeping aside debris, dragging survivors to safety. Healers bent over the wounded where they could, but there were too many corpses to hide.
Kael stood tall in the center of it all, his steel storm finally dispersing into silence. He turned—his eyes, still burning with residual fury, softened the instant they landed on Selene.
She didn't wait. Wheelchair forgotten, she pushed to her feet with Niamh's help and crossed the broken floor. The world could watch, could whisper, could scorn, but Selene went straight to her husband and threw her arms around him.
"You frightened me," she whispered, voice trembling against his bloodied chest. "Don't you ever do that to me again."
Kael, who had stared down death itself moments before, actually winced. His massive arms curled around her, pulling her close, dropping his forehead against hers. "Forgive me." he murmured, voice rough.
She cupped his face, ignoring the gore streaked across his cheek, and kissed him deeply in front of every noble still standing. The Pavilion, once filled with screams, now held only silence—and the sound of their love, unashamed and absolute.
From behind the frost barrier, Jade sighed loudly enough that Lio choked back a laugh.
"Adults," Jade muttered, silver eyes rolling. "Always making a show of it."
Lio ducked his head, a bashful smile tugging at his lips as he watched.
Niamh, however, smiled faintly, relief softening her aged features as she whispered a prayer of thanks to the goddess.
...
...
The cleanup stretched into the night. Nobles whispered as they slipped out under guard, their voices carrying tremors of fear, awe, and speculation. Every gaze flickered back toward the silver-haired boy who had stood calmly behind the barrier, untouched, unshaken, while even their strongest had fallen.
Rumors spread like wildfire by dawn.
The boy who the Governor shielded with his own life.
The child alchemist who saved Lady Selene.
The frost that never cracked, even under the abominations' fury.
By the end of the week, Nexus City breathed Jade's name with a mixture of reverence and dread.
The Alchemy Guild, broken and humiliated, lost their fangs. With Draven dead and most of their upper circle shredded during the chaos, they bowed to the Governor's authority, their whispers muted into obedience.
The Ash Rats, who had been stirring unrest in the slums, buried themselves deeper, swearing never again to cross the boy of frost.
And Selene—recovered, radiant, unyielding—made her own decree.
"Jade," she said sweetly, clasping his cheeks between her hands as if he were made of porcelain, "you and your family will live here, in the Governor's mansion. Permanently."
Jade froze, stiff as ice, as she rubbed her cheek against his like a cat claiming its favorite thing.
Niamh tried to protest, but Selene's gentle insistence, paired with Kael's unspoken agreement, melted her resistance. At last, the older woman sighed, reluctantly nodding.
Lio chuckled quietly at Jade's expression.
And Jade… Jade only stared at the ceiling in silent despair, his silver eyes flat. In his mind, the system's quests, the weight of destiny, and the looming tournaments of the stars all paled before this new torment.
'My bleak future has arrived', he thought grimly, trapped at the mercy of Selene's boundless affection.
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A few days later.
The mansion felt alive in a way it hadn't in years.
Servants moved briskly through the halls, polished chandeliers glowed warmer, and laughter spilled from the dining hall where the Governor's family gathered. For the first time since her illness, Lady Selene sat at the long table upright, her cheeks flushed with health, eyes bright as stars.
She was the loudest voice at the table, too.
"Jade," she hummed, reaching across the table to pinch his cheek despite his valiant effort to lean back. "You're eating too little again. Look at you—so small, so delicate! Do you want me to waste away from worry?"
Jade's fork froze midair. He gave her a calm, flat look. "…I've finished two full plates."
"Exactly!" Selene declared proudly, ignoring his tone as she leaned across to nuzzle his smooth cheek with hers. "See how good my boy is? You're growing up so well."
Lio nearly choked on his drink, coughing into his sleeve while Kael smothered a laugh behind his wine glass.
Jade simply sighed, long-suffering, and murmured to Niamh beside him, "This is what my life has become."
Niamh, elegant in a dress finer than anything she'd worn in her life, smiled wryly. "You should start getting used to it."
Across the table, Kael caught Jade's eye. He gave the boy the barest nod of acknowledgment—a silent respect between men who had survived the Pavilion together. Jade inclined his head politely in return, though Selene's cheek still pressed against his in smug possession.
Around them, servants whispered quietly. The atmosphere was bright, almost festive, but beneath it lay the undercurrent of change:
The Guild had gone silent, bowed under Kael's iron grip.
The nobles, once arrogant, now treated the Governor's household with reverence.
And at the center of it all was a silver-haired child who seemed untouched by fear.
As the laughter rose again and Selene fussed happily over Jade, he chewed his food slowly, expression calm. But his thoughts drifted elsewhere, silver eyes glimmering faintly under the lights.
This peace… it won't last. I need to become stronger. I can't stay sheltered forever.
He glanced at Selene, who was now rubbing her cheek against his again with a blissful sigh.
But for now… there's no escaping her.
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Author San here 😊😊
This chapter is sorta short because well, it's the last chapter of this arc so.....
Anyways thank you all for staying with me on the journey so far even though it's short 😌
Yeah second arc will be starting soon , I'm sorry for the slow pacing even though I promised a fast paced novel. I couldn't do it without missing plot points . Even with this , I'm sure there are still points I've missed.
Feel free to let me know, respectfully of course..
Y'all will be meeting our dearest ML soon ☺️☺️..
Have a nice day ...