The "hotel" wasn't a hotel.
It was a palatial estate perched high on a cliff that gazed down upon the vast sprawl of Asmaphaeri City, in Amaniya Kingdom and the shining crown of Anqerise's coastal power.
Where most royal venues boasted grand entrances or tall towers, this mansion took a different approach. Its design was carved directly into the cliff side. It fused the sharp-cut aesthetics of modern architecture with divine elemental masonry.
When Vastarael and Adelasta stepped through the gold-trimmed outer gate, even Adelasta gasped.
"She didn't book a hotel," Vastarael muttered.
"She hired a mansion," Adelasta whispered. "On a damn cliff."
They stood in silence because only Narisva Starisnova would throw a 'casual reunion' on top of the sky and dress it like an event for the divine elite.
"She is still the original survivor of Starisnova, after all," Adelasta added. "She doesn't have Richinaria wealth, but… she has arrogance money."
Eldrigan, standing behind them, rolled his eyes.
"I'm gonna go find Peroncerea before you two start kissing in front of a fountain or something."
He turned, muttering curses under his breath about starry siblings and rich kids with no limits, walking off toward the mansion's south wing. As the couple stepped deeper into the estate, the y felt a change.
The wind smelled faintly of space dust, if it could be called that, and roses, probably intentional. The mansion pulsed with Narisva's presence. The Divine Celestial had curated every detail and reflective surface.
"Oh you're here. How come you're early—"
Narisva Starisnova froze while she saw who was on front of her. She looked like a woman with a bowl of sliced fruit walking barefoot through one of the side lounges, her long starry hair swaying behind her like gravity didn't apply.
Only that her hair wasn't normal anymore.
It shimmered with stars. Literal, tiny galaxies, slowly drifted within her strands. Her starry eyes were gone. Now, her irises were black voids.
She was 168 centimeters. She wore a simple loose white T-shirt and navy shorts, looking like she had just woken up from a nap. She rounded the corner casually and froze. The bowl fell from her hands, shattering against the floor. Fruit skittered across the floor. Her arms began to shake.
And all the teasing, the arrogance, the endless energy that was Narisva Starisnova vanished.
Vastarael blinked.
".Narisva?"
She took a step forward, trembling.
"You… you're not—"
"I'm back," Vastarael said gently, that faint smile spreading on his lips. "Even though it took me a while—"
He didn't finish.
She hugged him so hard the air exploded out of the room. A shockwave blasted through the entire mansion's front wing, shaking windows, rattling silverware and sending a few birds soaring into the sky. Her arms wrapped around his back so tightly he staggered a step.
Her eyes widened. There was no heartbeat.
"No heartbeat."
Vastarael nodded, holding her tightly, brushing her starry hair back with one hand.
"Yeah. Did I not tell you how that happened? Erna... no, Asenane took my heart and eyes to reconstruct her body. Remember?"
"It's you," she whispered. "It's really you. Not a copy. Not a Divine illusion. You're here. You're... you."
"I'm me. It's been a while."
She finally broke.
She collapsed into him fully, her knees giving way. Only his strength kept her upright. Her hands clawed at his back like she was afraid he would disappear again if she let go.
"I waited. I waited so long. I made jokes. I screamed at the sky. I kept glitching. Everyone told me to forget. I never forgot you, Vastarael. Not for a second."
"I know," he whispered, holding her tighter. "I felt it too. I swear to Spheraphase I have a reason to do what I did."
She finally looked up, her tears falling silently from those void-filled eyes. She didn't blink.
"Five years. You left me for five years."
"I didn't mean to. I wasn't… I'm sorry."
"You're not allowed to vanish again," she hissed, her voice breaking again. "If you disappear now, I'll erase every moon in the sky."
He chuckled. "Even the three moons?"
"Especially Spheraphase's three moons. I already destroyed one anyway."
She pushed him lightly, just enough to look into his eyes. Her gaze scanned every line of his face.
"You're still handsome."
"You're still dramatic."
"Shut up," she said, smiling through her tears.
Behind them, Adelasta stood still, watching. She didn't interrupt. She didn't roll her eyes. She just smiled. Her arms folded across her chest. Narisva finally noticed her and pulled back slightly.
"You knew," Narisva said, sniffling.
Adelasta tilted her head. "Obviously."
"You didn't tell me."
"Obviously."
"Why?!"
Adelasta shrugged. "I'm literally married to him."
Narisva stared at her. "You gatekept him."
"I did. And I'd do it again."
Narisva wiped her eyes with the hem of her shirt and scowled.
"I hate you."
Narisva's voice was barely a whisper, still hoarse from the storm of emotions that had torn through her. Her arms were still loosely wrapped around his waist, her forehead resting lightly against his collarbone.
"How are you alive, Vastarael?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he gently pulled back, just enough to look into her eyes again.
"I'll explain everything once everyone's here. It's not a story I want to repeat more than once."
She frowned, a little confused, but she didn't push further. She trusted him. She always had. But as he gazed deeper into her eyes, his expression shifted. His hand lingered against her cheek and he noticed it.
Her eyes, once voids of infinite black, devoid of warmth or reflection, were changing.
Slowly, stars began to return to her irises. Their soft light shimmered in her irises, painting her gaze in a new, gentle glow.
He blinked.
"Your eyes. They weren't like that before. They were…"
"Abyssal," Narisva said quietly. "They've been like that since you... died."
He looked like someone had just punched him in the chest.Her head tilted.
"Vastarael?"
He didn't answer. His mouth opened slightly then closed. His gaze dropped to the floor, then back to her. The pain in his face was subtle but deep. And then he hugged her again, harder and tighter.
"I'm sorry."
Narisva froze.
"I'm so, so sorry… for making you suffer. For disappearing. For leaving you broken and alone when you needed me. For not... that must have been unbearable. That's my fault."
The words slammed into her. Narisva felt a sob rip through her chest without warning, like it had been building for years and finally escaped. She buried her face into his fabric, her arms trembling around his back as she clung to him just as tightly.
"It wasn't so bad," she whispered with lies, because that's what she did.
"I was strong, you know? I… I glitched. A lot. I broke some walls. I insulted some kings. I threatened to collapse three moons once. And I may have almost rewritten my entire Fable in a rage spiral."
Her laugh was watery and cracked.
"But I'm okay now. You're here. That's what matters. I'm happy."
More tears spilled down her cheeks. He felt them, warm against his skin.
Vastarael's hands curled gently around her waist as he trembled slightly. He hadn't cried in years. Not even in isolation. Not even in the silence of forgotten worlds. Right now, he was close.
Because this was Narisva and he hadn't realized until now just how badly he'd broken her.
"I never meant to hurt you," he whispered.
"I know," she said, running her hand up and down his back. "But even if you didn't mean it… it still hurt. But it's okay."
"Why?"
She smiled into his shoulder.
"Because you're home, idiot."
He chuckled through the tightness in his chest.
"Vastarael?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
His entire body tensed for a moment. He slowly pulled back, staring at her in disbelief.
"Narisva, we didn't even spend that much time together back then."
"I know," she said. "But I love fast. You're still the same. You overthink everything you know. Is it too shocking for a woman to love you? I thought you were the most handsome man. Also, with your looks and personality, I doubt any woman would resist you."
He looked away, guilt still resting in his chest like a boulder.
"Maybe. But I shouldn't—"
"Stop," she said softly, reaching up to hold his face in both hands. He froze under her touch.
"You're still feeling guilty but Veneri, listen to me."
Her voice steadied.
"You saved me me when I was about to die. You saved me when I had no one who believed I could be anything more than a cursed prodigy. You taught me what it meant to want to be something greater, not for the world but for myself. And now you're back. You're alive. And I don't care how long it took. Let bygones be bygones."
He didn't answer. His eyes fluttered shut. Her hands stayed on his cheeks. Narisva realized that Vastarael was actually taller now.
"You're my greatest wish. And you came back. Honestly, I'm even wondering if I'm in a dream right now."
"This is real life."
"I know."