Homecoming

Jere alighted outside Effie’s home, Ylfa unwinding her arms from around his neck as the sound of children’s laughter filtered out from within. The sun hung low, casting long, spiky shadows from the surrounding forest. In an hour the golden sky would give way to inky darkness.

Ylfa knocked. The door opened to reveal a very tired-looking Effie, her rabbit ears drooping. Concern rushed across Ylfa’s face.

“Effie! You look terrible!”

Effie groaned.
“Do I?”

“Yes! Did you sleep at all?”

She stretched, popped her back, and shrugged.
“Maybe a little… I can’t remember.”

Ylfa stared at her with pity.
“I’m sorry. We’ll take Eny back now-”

“Nah, she’s happy,” Effie cut in, “she’s having a lot of fun. Besides, she’s getting along with the other kids. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Ylfa nodded hesitantly.
“It is, but-”

“Then don’tcha worry about it. Auntie Effie has everything under control.”

As if summoned by her words, a loud smash sounded behind her, followed by high-pitched laughter. Effie didn’t flinch. Ylfa winced.

“Are you sure-?”

“Yep. You two go have fun or something…”
She closed the door with a tired thump.

Ylfa stood there for a moment, lightly stunned, then turned to Jere with a smile.
“Well, it was worth a try. Let’s go.”

She looped her arm through his, not giving him a chance to speak, and began walking. Her contented breaths reached his ears - a familiar sign she was about to talk.

“You know, darling,” she said, “I think we should look into a merging spell.”

He glanced down at her.
“Merging?”

She nodded.
“Mhm. It’s like… how do I describe it… it’s like putting our consciousnesses together in a voidlike space. It’s the closest two people can be without hurting themselves.”

He blinked in surprise.
“Even… even closer than…”

She nodded, immediately understanding what he meant.
“Yep. Very few people ever do it since it can take years, but seeing as we have forever together anyway, I thought it might be nice to try.”

He frowned slightly.
“What’s it like?”

She grinned.
“It can be whatever you want it to be. You control the void. Whatever you desire can be created.”

She winked.
“Maybe you can show me what your world was like.”

Possibilities flashed through his processes like fireflies.
“I’d like that.”

“Kids first, though,” she said. “But once they’ve grown up, I say we do it. It can be a sort of holiday.”

He nodded, filing the concept away along with its requirements.
“Then I’ll look forward to it.”

She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder as they strolled through the quiet village, still sleepy from the previous day’s festival.

“What do you think lies at the end of eternity, darling?”

He thought for a moment.
“I don’t know. What do you mean?”

“I mean, if we just go on existing… what will we find? Will the world end and leave us alone? Or will we go to an afterlife? Heaven? Or something else?”
She chuckled softly.
“I’m thinking too hard.”

He shook his head.
“No, I’ve been thinking about that too.”

He smiled, aware of how script-like the line sounded even as he said it.
“But no matter how it ends, as long as I’m with you, it’s all right.”

She snorted a soft laugh.
“You’re cute, darling. But that’s how I feel as well.”

She smiled up at him.
“Together even in death, eh? Until there’s no more hope.”

He slipped his arm free and wrapped it around her shoulders as the air grew chill.
“No. Even when there’s no hope. I’d be unable to live without you.”

She nodded, warmth returning to her expression.
“Me too. I love you, darling.”

“I love you too, honey,” he replied.

She grinned.
“Look at you, giving me a nickname all by yourself.”

He grinned back.
“Did I do well?”

She laughed and pressed closer to him.
“Very well, yes.”

He held her gently but securely as they continued their walk, heading out of the village and up the quiet valley toward their home.

The house was warm, still holding the day’s heat, but an odd stillness lingered in the air. Jere stepped inside and hummed under his breath.

“Feels a bit off,” he murmured.

Ylfa grinned as she shut the door behind them.

“That’s what kids will fix. And Eny isn’t here, so it’s missing that spark, y’know?”

Jere nodded and watched as she shrugged off her coat. The small hooded thing slid from her shoulders and fell to the floor as she stretched her arms above her head.

“Dinner?” she asked.

“Sure.” He tilted his head. “Are we cooking together?”

“As always,” she replied with a bright grin.

And so the evening unfolded just as naturally as breathing. They cooked side by side, the kitchen filling with warmth and familiar scents; they ate together, laughing softly; they cleaned up together, moving around each other with a comfort born of countless days spent in shared spaces.

Eventually they drifted to the lounge, sinking onto the couch. Ylfa wasted no time curling against him, folding her legs up and tucking herself into his side as though drawn to him by instinct alone. She let out a long, contented yawn.

“What a day.”

Jere nodded, humming an agreement. She angled a sly grin up at him.

“Tired at all?”

He shook his head, a little confused - he couldn’t get tired, after all - and was even more confused to see her suddenly hop to her feet.

“Okay, wait here. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

She darted away before he could ask anything. Jere sat alone, wondering what she could possibly be planning, and barely a minute passed before she returned. He turned, expecting her to be carrying something.

Instead, she walked in empty-handed… and completely naked.

His breath caught. Only her long hair offered her upper half even the slightest modesty - and that was fleeting at best. She didn’t give him time to react before climbing onto the couch and straddling his legs, her intentions unmistakable even without the desire shining in her eyes. She gave him a soft, almost shy smile.

Jere froze, stunned speechless. It irritated him - this was the fourth time he had seen her unclothed - yet the words refused to form. She didn't give him the chance anyway. She climbed smoothly onto the couch and swung a leg over him, settling onto his lap, her intentions unmistakable even without the way her eyes sparkled with desire and long-kept longing.

“I did promise you’d get to see more tonight,” she teased softly.

He stared at her, heart hammering, throat tight. He managed a nervous smile.

“As will I… but isn’t this too much?”

She tilted her head, studying him. “Do you not like it?”

He shook his head quickly. “No, I do like it. I just… didn’t think it was meant to be done this frequently.”

She laughed, gentle and unashamed. “There aren’t any rules. And can you really blame me? I’ve been waiting one hundred and seventy-six years.”

His smile softened, the tension easing from him. “I can’t. Don’t mind me, I won’t complain at all.”

Her smile deepened, warm and full of love, before she leaned in for a kiss, the night still young and ripe.

Jaka pushed open the church doors and stepped into the main hall - the same place where he had been first summoned. The King stood waiting for him, his dark-grey-robed advisor at his shoulder, and another figure lingering a little farther back: a slender woman draped in flowing white silks, unfamiliar to Jaka.

No one else occupied the wide chamber. The darkness of night pressed against the stained-glass windows, but it was nothing more than an inconvenience to Jaka’s enhanced eyes. The King cleared his throat, not bothering to ask whether the first mission had been completed.

“J-2. Your next mission is to find that blonde-haired girl again, capture her, and bring her back here - without alerting her parents. Can you do that?”

Jaka shook his head.
“That is impossible.”

Both the King and the advisor stiffened. An Angel, unmatched in strength by anything the world could offer, refusing such a simple order? Unless…

The King’s voice sharpened.
“Why is that?”

Jaka’s reply came flat and mechanical, as if he were reading directly from a report. His tone grated - much like J-1’s once had, the King thought with a flash of irritation.

“Whilst I can capture the child, avoiding alerting the parents is nigh impossible.”

The King frowned.
“Can you delay their alert by an hour or so?”

Jaka shook his head.
“No. Ten minutes at most.”

Concern swept across the advisor’s face.
“Why so little?”

“Two reasons.” Jaka’s eyes narrowed. “Firstly, the girl lives in a small, hidden village with a community so tight-knit that any disturbance will be noticed and reported within ten minutes. And secondly…”

He paused.

“The girl’s parents.”

The advisor’s irritation flared.
“Why are you withholding information? Why are the girl’s parents a problem for you? Kill them if necessary.”

Jaka shook his head again, unbothered by the advisor’s tone.
“That would be extremely difficult. The girl’s parents, though not biological, consist of an Izmeneniye Formy…”

The advisor’s breath hitched - he knew what was coming next even before Jaka finished.

“…and an Angel. Designation J-1.”

The King’s thoughts spun. So that was where J-1 had been hiding. The Angel who had not only won him the war but had also terrorised his own kingdom - whose existence had become a nightmare to erase or subjugate. Entire detachments of soldiers had vanished, later found massacred, most of them decapitated: the Angel’s unmistakable signature.

The King grit his teeth as the advisor leaned closer and murmured to him.

“That complicates things. If the child has been adopted by the Angel, our only hope is that either this new Angel can kill him… or that he can escape with the child before the other Angel can chase him.”

The King nodded once.
“What do you suggest?”

The advisor’s eyes narrowed.

“I say we do it.”