Azure Echoes.

Chapter 30: The Ashes of Victory

Xiu watched from the cover of the trees as the fortress crumbled, fire roaring into the night sky in waves of heat and smoke. Her heart pounded with a relentless hope, her eyes searching desperately through the flames and collapsing walls. This was it—the final stand against the Black Veil, the end of everything they had feared and fought against. She had completed her part, carrying out Lian's plan to its final, devastating climax. But one question clawed at her mind, eclipsing all else: 'Did they survive?'

The flames began to settle, and an unsettling silence fell over the ruins. A strange sense of relief and foreboding filled her as she took a shaky breath, forcing herself forward, stepping through the scorched earth and twisted remains of what had once been the Black Veil's stronghold. The shadows of the fortress flickered out in the embers, leaving only the bare remnants of its power—destroyed and reduced to ashes. The victory was hers to claim, yet celebration felt hollow as she moved, ignoring her exhaustion and the ache in her limbs. There was only one thing she wanted to find amidst the desolation.

For what felt like hours, Xiu moved cautiously through the ruins, her eyes scanning the darkened spaces and her heart sinking as the devastation deepened. The destruction was nearly total, each stone cracked and burned, twisted pieces of the fortress barely recognizable. She called out once, her voice breaking in the eerie silence. There was no response. She clenched her fists, willing herself to continue, even as despair edged in.

Then, as she neared the center of the ruin, something strange caught her eye—a faint shimmer in the darkness, like a wall of dense, shadowed glass. She stopped, unable to comprehend the sight: a pitch-black barrier suspended within the ruin, unmoving and opaque, as if hiding something from the rest of the world.

Xiu took a hesitant step forward, her instincts sharpening, curiosity mingling with the dread that now clouded her thoughts. Slowly, the darkness began to change, morphing and dissolving in the air. The deep, forbidding black melted away into a soft blue hue, its glow illuminating the twisted metal and burned stone around it, casting an ethereal light over the ruin.

And there, as the barrier vanished, she saw them.

Lian knelt in the center of the dissipating glow, his arms wrapped tightly around Zeng's form, shielding him as though he could protect him from every flame, every danger that had threatened to tear them apart. Both were motionless, the faint rise and fall of their chests almost invisible, but they were there—alive. Relief surged within her, bringing tears to her eyes as she dropped to her knees beside them.

"Lian... Zeng..." she whispered, voice thick with emotion as she reached out, her fingers brushing against Lian's shoulder.

Lian's eyes slowly flickered open, unfocused and weary. His gaze settled on her face, and a faint, tired smile formed on his lips. "Xiu...?"

Xiu nodded, her hand trembling as she gripped his arm, her words failing as a flood of relief coursed through her. "You're... alive. Both of you. You did it, Lian." She glanced at Zeng, her eyes softening as she saw his peaceful expression. "He's still here, too."

Lian tightened his hold on Zeng, exhaustion lining every part of his face. "We made it..." he whispered, his voice barely audible. Then, his eyes grew heavy once more, and he slumped, letting the embrace take over as he and Zeng slipped back into unconsciousness.

Xiu's hands hovered over them, her relief shifting to a fierce protectiveness. Whatever it took, she would guard them, nurse them back to health, until they could both stand on their own once more. The night was theirs, and victory—despite everything—was finally complete.