/~Arielle~/
The gentle hum of the hovercraft filled the quiet, and outside the reinforced glass, streaks of light painted the gray sky like distant memories. We were finally out of the arena hellzone. Healing protocols were still running. The onboard systems were stable. And, for the first time in weeks, it felt like we could breathe.
I was checking Seraph's vitals for the fifth time, my fingers glowing faintly as I ran another low-level stabilization spell across his chest. His pulse was steady. Strong. A beautiful, stubborn rhythm.
And then....
His eyes fluttered open.
I gasped. "Seraph?"
His cybernetic eye flickered, adjusting to the light. "....Did we win?"
Yulian, who had been dozing in a coil of cables, sat up so fast he hit his head on a pipe. "By all that's holy! She lives!"
"I'm a guy," Seraph croaked.
Maxi burst into laughter. "You're lucky to be anything after what you pulled in at the tournament like that!!"
