They didn't tell anyone.
Not friends.Not coworkers.Not even distant acquaintances.
This was not secrecy born of fear—but of respect.
The power they carried did not need witnesses.
Liora reduced her workload slightly. Aren took on more flexible consulting projects. Financially, they were comfortable. Emotionally, they were steady.
Charizard grew gentler still.
Their flames warmed the apartment without scorching, instinctively regulating temperature and mood.
The Suicune's presence became almost constant now, no longer fading in and out.
The household felt… protected.
Not guarded.
Held.
Chapter 37 – Thoughts of Legacy
One evening, Aren found himself staring at the handheld device longer than usual.
Not using it.
Remembering it.
His parents had carried strength openly—and died for it.
He and Liora carried strength quietly.
That difference mattered.
He closed the device and set it aside.
Legacy, he decided, was not about power passed down.
It was about choice preserved.
Chapter 38 – The Calm Before Nothing
Nothing happened.
Days passed. Weeks folded gently into one another.
No crises.No tests.No turning points.
And that, Aren realized, was the point.
Life did not need to escalate to be meaningful.
Sometimes, stability itself was victory.
Chapter 39 – Shared Silence
They spent one evening simply sitting together on the balcony.
No conversation.No devices.No planning.
Charizard rested below them. The Suicune lay side by side, ribbons drifting softly in the night air.
Liora squeezed Aren's hand.
"This is enough," she said.
He squeezed back.
"Yes," he agreed. "It really is."
Chapter 40 – Forward, Quietly
The future did not announce itself.
It waited.
Inside a peaceful city.Inside a hidden household.Inside a world that did not know how close it was to something extraordinary—and did not need to.
Aren looked out at the skyline and smiled.
They would move forward.
Quietly.Carefully.Together.