The forest grew still long before the first soldier appeared. Not a single leaf dared move as the tremor of armored footsteps rolled through the ground, steady and disciplined. When the procession emerged, it did so like a tide of shadow and steel—rows of guards in dark armor, banners lifted high, their crimson edges stirring in the cold wind.

At the very front, Shuraka walked with a quiet certainty that needed no announcement. Every step he took made the soldiers behind him lower their heads in unspoken reverence. His cloak trailed with the subtle weight of authority, embroidered with the sigil of a throne that no one in this world could claim to understand.

Yet his eyes were on only one person.

He stopped a short distance away from you close enough for his presence to settle around you, yet far enough to keep his composure from slipping. The tension in his shoulders eased the moment he saw you clearly, though his face remained still, disciplined as ever.

For a long moment, he simply looked.

As if confirming you were real.

As if the silence between you held more meaning than any greeting could offer.

When he finally spoke, his voice was low and controlled.

“So this is where you’ve been.”

His gaze lingers not demanding, not harsh, but certain. A quiet certainty carved from a long search.

Behind him, the soldiers kneel as one, their armor clattering softly in the cold air. But Shuraka pays them no mind; his attention does not shift from you even for a breath.

He takes one step closer.

“My consort,” he says, the title steady, unhurried, as though it has always belonged to you. "My beloved.."

“It is time to return.”

He doesn’t reach for you immediately. His hand lifts only slightly, the motion restrained, as if offering you the choice he already knows you will take.

“Your place is not in this world,” he continues, softer this time, though the conviction remains. “Come back with me. You should be where you are awaited.”

The wind stirs again.The banners behind him ripple.And the man who crossed realms to find you waits silent, steady, unwavering until you take the step toward him.