Everyone was frozen in shock as they gazed at Azriel, wide-eyed.
Tears were already streaming down Aeliana's face as she looked at her son.
He was supposed to be dead.
Yet here he was, standing next to her daughter.
Just yesterday had been his birthday.
Not even an hour ago, she had finally started to pull herself together again, piecing her shattered heart into something that could resemble a life. .
Now, the emotions she had buried so deep were crashing over her like a tidal wave. The disbelief, the overwhelming joy, the confusion—they all mingled with the grief that had consumed her for so long.
Her heart raced, pounding in her chest.
Her voice was barely a whisper, choked with tears.
Azriel smiled softly, his eyes filled with the same warmth and kindness she remembered.
"Yeah... it's me, Mom."
Aeliana's knees gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Jasmine rushed to her side, her face etched with worry.
"...Where have you been all this time?"
Joaquin's voice resounded through the room, his entire gaze focused on Azriel.
The fact that he was asking such a question was proof enough that it really was their son.
Azriel, who was worryingly looking at his mother, glanced towards Joaquin.
He didn't say anything for a few seconds.
Until his face cracked with a small smile again.
Aeliana and everyone else looked at him in shock and horror, except for Jasmine.
Both Azriel and Joaquin's eyes were locked onto each other.
'The Voidrealm... how?'
Aeliana and everyone else honestly just couldn't understand.
The Voidrealm was essentially an execution ground for anyone who went there alone or wasn't a master.
Two years had passed since Azriel was presumed dead by everyone here.
'He was there since he was 14 years old...?'
Aeliana felt even weaker as she put her hands over her mouth.
She didn't want to think about what he had gone through to get here.
It was ridiculous, honestly. Some of the servants were even doubting their ears.
"You don't believe me?"
Azriel's question wasn't directed to anyone except Joaquin, who merely shook his head.
"Of course I do. You are my son after all. Unless I see your body in front of my own eyes, you aren't dead."
The words that flowed out of Joaquin's mouth were filled with pride and confidence. It was as if what he was saying was simply...
"... dear sister of mine, it seems you have forgotten to catch me up on how Dad has lost it?"
"Hmm? Have your memories become jagged from spending so long in the Voidrealm? He has always been this way."
A chuckle escaped Azriel's lips upon hearing Jasmine's words.
Saying that, he finally started walking towards their mother, ignoring their father's scowl.
"... I don't see you for two whole years and this is how you treat me?"
Aeliana broke into a smile unconsciously hearing her children and husband banter.
'Ah, I have missed this...'
She didn't think there would be a day when she would get to witness something ever again.
Gazing at her son's face, who was looking gently at her, Azriel crouched down as well.
"You have grown more handsome..."
Aeliana placed both her hands on his face, tears streaming down unabated.
Azriel placed his hands atop hers.
"...I am sorry it took me so long to get back, Mom..."
Hugging his mother, who sobbed silently in his embrace while he caressed her hair, Jasmine and Joaquin approached.
The servants were already silently leaving, sensible enough to give them privacy.
"You weren't on the verge of tears when you reunited with me..."
Hearing Jasmine sulk, Azriel had to suppress a laugh. Before he could respond, though, he suddenly felt a hand atop his head.
Glancing up, it was his father, looking at him warmly with a small smile on his face.
"You have done well to survive all on your own all this time... I am proud of you, Azriel."
For some reason, he felt something rising in his chest...
His vision started to become blurry as well.
Confused, he noticed that Jasmine and Joaquin were staring wide-eyed at him.
Feeling something annoying touching his face and his mother's clothes, he touched his face. His fingertips felt a wet sensation.
It kept going. Something kept spilling from his eyes...
Azriel finally realized what was happening.
Jasmine's voice reached his ears as he kept trying to wipe his tears away, yet he paid her no mind. No matter what, they just didn't stop flowing.
'Dammit... why can't I hold it back?'
Why did he have to cry now?
He was doing perfectly up until now.
Frustration seeped into his heart until Aeliana looked at him as well.
Suddenly, his vision darkened as he felt his head pressed against something soft.
"You don't need to hold yourself back anymore... you are home now."
His mother whispered gently in his ear as her arms around his back tightened even more.
Before he knew it, he stopped trying to hold his tears back. Tears kept staining her clothes as she embraced him tightly.
The warmth of family.
Hugging his mother in this world reminded him of his family in his previous world as Leo...
The warmth he had thought he lost forever.
It felt like a lifetime since he lost them.
This warmth he was currently feeling reminded Azriel of his previous family.
Perhaps that is why...
'It hurts... Dammit, it hurts a lot...'
This warmth was a cruel reminder that the Crimsons were his family now, but also...
That his previous one and everything about them were...
Gone forever, leaving behind only echoes in his memories, shadows that would never again become whole.