CHAPTER 26: IT IS FINALLY OVER
John's eyes fluttered open to darkness. The air was heavy, suffocating, and the pounding storm was gone—no rain, no mud, no roar of thunder. Instead, cold stone pressed against his back, the silence broken only by the faint drip of water echoing through the dorms of the Covenant.
John rubbed his sore muscles and let a weak smile tug at his lips, but it was bearable—nothing like the sharp agony of battle wounds. He raised a trembling hand to his face, rubbing at his eyes. His voice rasped, hoarse and uncertain.
"What… happened?"
The words stirred movement in the shadows. A figure rose quickly from the ground, footsteps urgent as they closed the distance. Nico's voice cut through, tight with relief.
"John?"
John blinked until Nico's outline sharpened in the dim light. A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah… It's me."
Nico rushed forward, hand outstretched. John grunted as he was pulled upright, his legs unsteady beneath him. Before he could catch his breath, Nico wrapped him in a fierce embrace.
"I thought we lost you," Nico whispered, his voice breaking.
John let out a weak chuckle, patting Nico's shoulder with what little strength he had. "Alive," he murmured, the word carrying both exhaustion and gratitude. "Me too."
Their moment was cut short by a sharp voice from across the room.
"Alright, enough, cut it out, love birds."
Nico stiffened, annoyance flashing in his eyes as he turned toward Amara.
"Oh? Is that jealousy I hear?"
Amara's brows furrowed, her wolf ears twitching with irritation.
"You are so irritating."
Nico's grin widened, deliberately irritating.
"That's a little too forward, don't you think?"
John smiled faintly, watching them bicker. For a moment, it felt almost normal—the same rhythm of arguments and sharp remarks that had carried them through countless trials. The sound of their voices filled the room, drawing the attention of the others.
One by one, faces turned, realizing John was awake.
Among them, Liora stepped forward. Her golden hair shimmered faintly in the dim light, her black eyes calm and unreadable. She moved with quiet grace, her presence commanding without effort. John was about to greet her casually when she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.
The sudden embrace froze the room. Even Nico's grin faltered, and Amara's ears twitched in disbelief. Liora, who rarely showed anything beyond cold detachment, now held him with a strange, deliberate gentleness.
John's surprise melted into a faint smile. He returned the hug, his voice low but warm.
"…Wow. I didn't expect that at all."
Liora pulled back slowly, her expression unreadable, though her eyes lingered on him longer than usual. After a pause, she said quietly,
"I'm glad you're still here."
The others exchanged glances—some shocked, some curious. Nico raised his brows dramatically, breaking the silence.
"Well, well. Didn't think the ice queen had it in her."
Amara snorted, stepping forward. Without warning, she gave John a quick, firm hug.
"Since this is apparently a thing now… might as well."
John chuckled, shaking his head. "Guess I'll take it."
Nico didn't miss the moment. "And you were calling us love birds just seconds ago."
Amara just snorted and turned away, deliberately ignoring Nico as if he wasn't worth the effort. Her tail flicked once, sharp with irritation.
Malric shifted against the wall, adjusting the bandage on his shoulder. His brows furrowed as he muttered,
"Yeah… not happening."
Elowen smiled softly as she approached next. "It does look kind of nice, though." She leaned down, wrapping him in a gentle embrace before stepping back with a faint smile.
Thalia groaned from her bunk, arms crossed tight. "Ugh. Watching this is actually making me sick."
Nico leaned toward her with a grin. "Come on, Thalia. Stop being shy. One hug won't kill you."
Thalia shot him a glare sharp enough to silence him, though the faint twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed she wasn't entirely immune to the warmth spreading through the room.
John raised his hands in surrender, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Fair enough."
John's gaze drifted across the room, landing on Thomas, who was resting his head against the wall. He tilted his head.
"Well… hello to you."
Thomas stirred, blinking groggily before his eyes widened. "John? You're awake?"
John gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. Honestly thought you were ignoring me."
Thomas pushed himself upright, shaking off the haze of sleep. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and wrapped John in a firm hug. A laugh slipped out of him, rough but genuine.
"Glad you woke me up."
John returned the embrace with a faint smile, the weight of exhaustion easing just a little more.
His gaze then went to Nyara, who was staring blankly as always. He offered a gentle smile.
"Happy to see you're well, Nyara."
She turned her head slowly, then drifted toward him with her usual eerie grace. Without a word, she gave him a brief, almost weightless hug before returning to her corner, her eyes already lost in some distant place.
The twins were sprawled side by side, eyes closed, their breathing uneven. John tilted his head toward them.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who got beaten to the point of passing out."
Nico's playfulness faded, his voice quieter. "You can say that again."
John's smile dimmed. "What happened after the ambush?"
Thalia let out an exhausted sigh, her tone edged with bitterness. "I don't know about Nico and the twins, but for the rest of us… It was hell, to say the least."
Elowen's soft voice cut through, faint but steady. "We all survived, that is all that matters. No need to dwell on the details."
John turned his head toward Nico, his expression expectant.
Nico glanced left, then right, as if searching for an escape. "What?"
John just stared at him, unimpressed. "Well? Your side of the story?"
Nico closed his eyes, letting out a long breath. "Let me think… nothing much. Honestly, I'd rather leave it there."
John tilted his head, wanting to press further, but the look on Nico's face stopped him. He sighed softly and nodded. "Alright."
The silence was interrupted as Thomas yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Now, I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm going to catch up on all the rest I missed."
Nico waved his hand dismissively. "Hold on—are you eighty? We're still young. This is nothing, right guys?"
He looked around, only to see everyone avoiding his eyes—even John. The one who finally answered was Thomas, mid-yawn.
"Good for you, but… I think the rest of us need the sleep."
Nico grumbled under his breath, earning a quiet chuckle from John. Shaking his head, John's gaze swept the room again—until it landed on someone sitting alone in the far corner. He moved closer, squinting through the dim light, and his eyes widened when he realized who it was.
"Sylas?"
Sylas turned his head slowly, raising a brow. The vines curled faintly around his arms as the rest of the group also turned toward him, the silence thickening as his presence drew their attention.
The dim lantern light stretched John's shadow long as he stopped in front of Sylas. Sylas looked up slowly, posture still rigid, eyes sharp—like he'd been waiting for this moment.
John met his gaze and offered a faint, tired smile. "Looks like you made it through."
Sylas's jaw tightened. "That's it?"
John blinked. "That's… what?"
Sylas leaned forward, voice low. "We fought. I killed someone. I walked away when the group needed me. Ring any bells?"
The smile slipped from John's face. He exhaled and rubbed a hand across his jaw. "Yeah. I remember."
They held the silence for a beat, the rest of the room listening. John spoke evenly.
"I don't like what you did, and I won't pretend otherwise."
He glanced away for a moment. "But I get why you did it. And like it or not, it kept things from getting worse."
He glanced at the others—faces turned, quiet, awake. "You're all my friends, not subordinates. You make your own choices."
John turned his gaze back to Sylas, his voice steady.
"But if you keep acting on your own without telling us… how are we supposed to trust each other?"
Sylas let out a slow breath, head tilting back against the wall. "…Fine."
He looked away, eyes narrowing slightly. "At the end of the day, I'm trying to survive. That's it."
A beat passed before he added, quieter but edged, "And whether you like it or not, that includes you too."
His gaze flicked back to John, sharp again. "You're all too trusting sometimes. Naive."
John's jaw tightened, but he didn't look away. "Maybe. But that trust is the only reason we've made it this far. It's not weakness—it's what keeps us standing together when everything else tries to tear us apart."
Sylas studied him for a long moment; tension coiled in his shoulders. Finally, he muttered, "… so cheesy."
Nico was the first to chuckle, breaking the tension.
John leaned in with a whisper, his smile returning. "ya, ya… edgelord."
The room had just begun to settle into a fragile quiet when the door creaked open.
A tall figure stepped inside—their supervisor, cloak still dusted from the night air. His eyes swept across the group, sharp but not unkind.
"You're all needed at the great hall," he said, voice carrying authority that cut through the lingering tension. The group exchanged glances, the weight of exhaustion pressing down again. Even Nico's grin faltered.
The supervisor turned to leave, his boots echoing against the stone floor. But at the threshold, he paused. His gaze lingered on them for a moment longer than usual.
"…Good job," he said simply.
Then he was gone, the door closing behind him. For a moment, no one spoke. The supervisor's words lingered like an echo.
Nico broke the silence first, blinking. "…The fuck?"
Amara raised a brow, arms crossed. "Did he actually say good job? Didn't think it was even in his vocabulary."
Elowen gave a small laugh under her breath. "Maybe we're dreaming. Someone pinch me."
Thomas groaned, stretching. "If this is a dream, it's the weirdest one I've had in weeks."
John exhaled, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "So many surprises today. Guess that's our cue."
The group exchanged glances—half amused, half wary—as they rose to their feet. Their footsteps carried them toward the hall, the murmur of voices inside already fading into silence as the heavy wood creaked open.