The tall walls and pillars seemed to sing, a radiating bronze light that shone down.
A singular hall opened up wide to a circular room that spanned an almost 500 meter diameter. Valiant warriors with statues over a 100 meters tall lined the walls, all looking toward a four sided prism of stairs.
At the bottom of these marbled steps, etched with delicate rune patterns and reflecting the bronze lights that shone from all around, a group of bloodied figures lay gasping, barely holding onto their lives with whatever energy they had left.
Those from Valiant Heart would only be stunned by such an outcome.
Two years was simply far too long of a time. No one had ever expected for the Zone to remain open for so long. Realizing that so much time had passed without their geniuses returning, the elders had no choice but to open up the projection once again.
But, what they found was a long and grueling battle. So long, in fact, that they couldn't afford to keep it open continuously and could only check in once a month.
And yet, what they saw time and time again was something that left them numb with shock, and it all seemed to relate back to the only figure who wasn't collapsed on the ground. In fact, she was the only figure that had climbed the four sides stairs and was the only one who stood at the very top.
She was a beauty gorgeous beyond words. Her delicate features carried the valiance of a Valkyrie and the elegance of a Queen. Even while her face beaded with sweat and her long, flowing hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead, her image didn't seem marred in the slightest.
Several cuts and bruises dotted her body, her black, military uniform drenched in dried, flaking blood and still drizzling crimson.
And yet, she stood tall, the only one of her peers that had reached this step.
Down below, the likes of Raylion, Aphestus, and Sael couldn't even move an inch. It could even be said that the only reason they had reached the end of the hall to begin with was because of Aina leading the charge.
In the past two years, despite how murderous Aina was, it became very obvious, very quickly, that this trial wasn't one they could pass alone. As powerful as Aina had become, there had still been a limit to what she could do.
But in the end, none of it mattered. She stood here at the peak… And yet, her eyes felt somewhat vacant.
"… What are you moping about for?"
The sudden voice made Aina freeze.
On the outside, those who had still been following the events of the last two years were absolutely stunned. The appearance of this person, a person many had assumed to have died long ago, was the very last thing any of them had expected.
At that moment, Aina's head whipped back, only to find Leonel strolling out from the hall she had been forced to cut a bloody path through over the past two years.
A pair of massive white gold wings spread from his back. Yet, as though he was trying to look as cool as possible, his hands were in his pockets and a casual smile hung from his lips.
He wore a black tracksuit and a pair of sneakers. His hair was a bright white gold with a faint violet hue that seemed to radiate with its own light. Even his eyes had completely changed, carrying a pale purple light that bordered on a pinkish-grey.
At that moment, though, Aina could tell that Leonel wasn't just trying to be cool. The aura he exuded was so confident that it almost made her reach a point of intoxication.
As much as her mental coercion worked on Leonel, the opposite seemed to be so true that he became like a magnet she was being violently pulled toward.
Leonel took a single step forward and vanished. When Aina blinked and cleared her vision, he already stood before her, looking down into her eyes with the same care and affection she had been missing for so long.
Aina could feel that Leonel had changed. His eyes carried a charisma she couldn't ignore, even his smell was something she couldn't get enough of.
The emotions were so much that she couldn't handle them after a certain point.
At that moment, the valiant woman who had blazed the path of a warrior in these last two years broke down into tears, her trusted battle ax falling to the ground as she dove into Leonel's arms.
Her sobs seemed endless. Even though she tried to speak, she couldn't form the words. Every time she tried, it only made her cry harder.
No one knew but her what kind of emotions had been running through her mind all this time, what kind of turmoil had wrecked her heart.
As hard as Aina had cried that day she almost lost her virginity to Leonel in the Bathhouse the first time, this time she cried even harder.
Back then, Aina had only thought she might lose Leonel, causing her to try everything she could to hang onto him however na?ve that was. But, this time, she really thought she had lost him forever.
Two years. Two entire years.
Leonel smiled somewhat sadly, wrapping arms around her waist. If he could melt her into himself, he would do so. He was certain that she was the woman he wanted by his side for a lifetime.
Leonel raised his hand to Aina's cheek.
When she looked up at him, he could see her golden eyes red from crying, her little nose sniveling with snobs, and even her lip quivering as she tried to form the words she wanted to say.
"It's all fine now." Leonel smiled, wiping her falling tears with a thumb. "I'm here."
Leonel kissed her lightly. It was soft and slow, but it conveyed all his emotions in a single, simple action.