Chapter 434 The Unnamed Bond — In Silence, They Hold Each Other
Fitran walked away from the ruins of the altar in Valdenmeer.
His steps were steady, yet his mind roared like an uncontrollable storm, battling against the forced calmness. He revealed nothing on his face, but within his chest, a pressure grew—stemming not from an enemy, nor from magic, but from two figures who should be strangers, yet evoked a silence too profound to ignore.
At the top of the hill overlooking the town, Fitran came to a stop.
Amidst the gentle whisper of the wind, the shadows of Joanna and Rui flickered in his mind, like silhouettes in a dream he was reluctant to forget. The memories of their smiles were tightly bound in his soul, draining strength from his fingers and shaking the confidence he had built through battles. The whispers of nostalgia ambushed him, causing him to wonder if the decisions he had made all this time were right. He missed them—yet felt estranged, as if separated by an ocean of endless uncertainty, an anxiety that gnawed at his courage to move forward.
The wind carried the scent of dust from the statues she had destroyed, but also... a faint aroma: the smell of burnt lavender and the ether of wounds—scents she once recognized from the battlefield, now feeling like something from a home she had never visited, reminding her of buried memories.
"They are similar..."
Fitran felt the struggle between loyalty and desire. In every blink, she found a reflection of hope and fear—dictating her heart's urge to approach, yet also distancing her from potential betrayal. Within her soul, a question echoed: If those two figures were not merely memories, but also the cause of her feelings' awakening, was it worth opening her heart again? "But I don't know why I care."
Fitran, the warrior of will who had never succumbed to personal feelings, found herself... wanting to speak.
Not to seek the truth.
But to listen.
Joanna sat at the edge of the altar, her knees folded, head...