White light.
Silence.
The air no longer smelled of blood and fire, but... clean, gentle. Like a faint scent of antiseptic. No more screams of the gods. No cracked skies or burning earth.Only a soft sound—beep... beep... beep... pulsing slowly in his ears.
Teddy frowned. His body felt heavy. His eyes slowly opened, and the light from the white ceiling slapped his retinas. He winced. His vision was blurry at first but gradually cleared. A small room, with an IV drip, a heart monitor, and a tiny window at the far end.A hospital.
He slowly turned his head. His neck was stiff, but it could move. His body lay on the bed. His arms and legs were thin, far different from the body he knew in the world of Alythoria. No battle scars. No swords. No fire.
"Axcel?" he whispered faintly. No answer."Axcel, can you hear me?" Silence. Once more. "Axcel!!"Only the heartbeat monitor responded.
Footsteps.
Teddy slowly turned toward the door, which was gently opening. And then she entered.The woman he had only met in dreams for thousands of years. In longing. In the memories he held tightly through wars, bloodshed, and betrayal. Vanesa.
The face that never changed. Her long black hair flowed simply, wearing a worn-out sweater and a mask. She didn't realize Teddy had opened his eyes. Vanesa quietly entered, carrying a small cloth in her hand. She began tidying the small table beside the bed, adjusting the blanket, wiping away invisible dust.
His eyes widened. No... this isn't real... this must be a hallucination... a trick of the gods... Teddy panicked inside. He tried to speak, but his throat was too dry, his tongue too stiff. He could only direct a blank gaze at the woman—the figure who had only existed in his dreams and prayers for thousands of years.
And at that moment—from deep within his soul—a voice echoed."This is not an illusion, Teddy."Axcel's voice. Gentle, yet full of certainty."You're back. This is the real world. And... this is your original body. You're... on Earth."Several seconds of silence.
Then Vanesa froze mid-motion. Her hand, which had been wiping the table, hung in the air. She slowly turned toward Teddy, as if her heart sensed something invisible.Her eyes widened when she saw a pair of open eyes on the bed. Eyes she had longed to see for a full year of sorrow.
"Teddy...?" She trembled. Small steps brought her closer. Hesitant. Afraid. Hopeful.Then Vanesa covered her mouth with both hands, her body shaking violently. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. She sobbed, approaching with trembling steps."T-Teddy!!" she cried, hugging her husband's frail body.
She collapsed at the side of the bed, clutching Teddy's weak hand. She didn't care that his body was cold, didn't care that his lips couldn't yet speak—she gripped his hand tightly as if afraid he would disappear again.
"I... I knew you would wake up... I knew it...!" she sobbed. "We all waited for you... even though this world nearly fell apart... we believed you would come back..."Teddy couldn't say a word. But his eyes were wet. He cried.The cry of a man who had endured ten thousand years of battles, betrayals, and suffering—finally home.
Inside him, Axcel's voice echoed softly yet meaningfully:"Welcome home, partner."