Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 129: VOL 2 : Reuniting.

Though marveling at her newfound strength, Clara set all her thoughts aside and focused on running hastily to the kitchen with the intention of grabbing a knife to defend herself in case something happened on the street. But the moment she entered the kitchen, she found her two siblings sitting at the table, quietly eating a delicious soup while conversing in low voices.

"SOFÍA, MARTÍN!!!" Clara exclaimed loudly and almost frantically, greatly startling her siblings, who turned to look at her simultaneously, exclaiming in a similar tone.

""CLARA!!!""

Upon reuniting, the siblings jumped from their seats, filled with emotion, and rushed toward each other, embracing tightly, trying to convey all their feelings in that hug. Tears of happiness streamed down their faces, fearful that this might be a dream that could end at any moment.

"What happened in the mine? How did Martín get out? Did anything happen to you on the street, Sofía?" While hugging her siblings through tears, Clara quickly asked, then began checking her siblings all over for any wounds.

"Leave that for later. Better tell us how you are, Clara. Do you feel well? Are you better? Does anything hurt?" Sofía set aside Clara's questions and instead asked her own, looking both excited and apprehensive, an expression very similar to Martín's, who spoke with persistent fear.

"Yes, Clara, we'll explain everything later. Better tell us how you are. When we arrived, you were on the floor, looking terrible. I was really panicking until the lady treated you."

"Lady? What lady?" Clara asked, confused by the strange mention, to which Sofía shook her head and replied with anticipation.

"We'll explain later. Better tell us how you feel."

"Alright, I want you to explain everything to me from beginning to end." Seeing her siblings' expressions, Clara couldn't help but speak in a serious tone, though her expression inevitably softened and filled with indescribable joy. Tears of happiness welled up in her eyes as she continued speaking.

"And I really feel wonderful. Never in my life have I felt this good. I feel so light and full of energy that I can't even believe it myself. I even had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming..."

Filled with happiness, Sofía and Martín hugged Clara again, squeezing her tightly—something they had never been able to do before due to her weak body. At the same time, their hearts filled with infinite gratitude for that group of people who seemed to be from another world. Meeting them was truly a stroke of luck like no other.

"That's a relief..." Sofía commented, tears welling up as she held Clara. At that moment, Martín added joyfully while hugging his sisters, trying to hide his tears.

"We really owe a lot to the Boss and the Lady..."

"It's truly a miracle. I never thought it would be possible..." Clara murmured softly, but soon after, she separated from her siblings and asked in a serious tone, though filled with curiosity.

"Now I want you to explain everything to me. What happened in the mine? How did you manage to get out? Who is this 'Boss' and the 'Lady' Martín mentioned?"

With huge smiles on their faces, Sofía and Martín led Clara to the table and took their time to explain everything that had happened, from beginning to end. They did their best to describe who their new Boss was, where they were from, and what they had done for them, all while expressing their happiness for the new life that awaited them.

...

"So that young man was from the Arcane Order... We really were lucky..."

After hearing the whole story, Clara couldn't help but comment, filled with shock. But she quickly composed herself and turned to look at Sofía with a hint of reproach in her expression. At that moment, she scolded her, somewhat angrily and with a touch of fear in her tone.

"But even though things turned out well, you took too big a risk, Sofía. What would you have done if the young man had been an heir to some famous house?"

"Well... actually, at first, I went to ask for his help thinking he was an heir..."

Feeling immensely guilty, Sofía averted her gaze and began speaking with some discomfort and embarrassment, causing her voice to sound almost like a murmur. Still, her siblings heard her perfectly, which made their eyes widen in horror.

"SOFÍA!!! What were you thinking doing that?!!"

Clara shouted indignantly, while Martín crossed his arms beside his sister and looked at his older sister with reproach, supporting the scolding. After all, he was the youngest and had already learned the hard way that it was best not to speak up during his older sisters' arguments, or else he'd suffer a beating.

"Hey!! It was a desperate situation! I had no other choice!!! Martín was trapped, no one wanted to help me, I didn't have the money to pay a mage, I was cornered!! Besides, if I hadn't done it, who knows what would have happened to you!!" Sofía shouted back, going on the defensive, ready to start a drawn-out fight with her sister. But what she got in return was a tight hug from Clara, who spoke with tears in her eyes.

"I know, I know you had to do it. I know you had no other choice at the time. But that doesn't make it any less crazy. Haven't you thought about what could have happened to you if he had been an heir? Even if you managed to save Martín and me by doing it, do you think we'd be happy with that? We could never be. We could never live knowing you sacrificed yourself for us..."

Hearing Clara's words, Martín couldn't agree more. He stood up to hug his sisters, hiding his face in their heads, while Sofía couldn't help but burst into tears, filled with fear and pain, as she explained in a hoarse voice.

"I thought about it, I thought about it a lot. When I went to see him, I was terrified of what might happen. But I still had to take the risk. Martín's life was at stake, and I knew your life would also be in danger if something happened to him. I couldn't accept that. It was either do it or lose both of you, my only family, forever..."

As she recalled the events of that night, Sofía couldn't help but tremble in her siblings' embrace. It had truly taken everything she had to do what she did, and even though luckily, everything turned out well, the thought of the consequences still terrified her. But even with all that, she was sure she would do it again. Her family was the most precious thing she had, and she would sacrifice whatever was necessary for their well-being.

...

The group of siblings cried and apologized to each other all night, reminiscing about their moments with their parents, their words, and their teachings, until the first rays of sunlight began to filter through the battered wooden windows. At that moment, they all laughed heartily as they got up to prepare a rich breakfast for everyone.

"Alright, no more tears. Remember, in a couple of days, they'll come to pick us up, so we need to pack and have everything ready for when they arrive." Sofía commented enthusiastically, her face streaked with tears and her eyes red with terrible dark circles. Then she remembered something and turned to look at Clara, asking with a smile.

"Clara, if you're feeling well, could you help me prepare some desserts? While I was searching for the Boss in the city, I ended up promising desserts to a lot of people, and I have to pay up. I can't go back on my word."

Hearing her sister's words, Clara looked at her small, delicate hands and clenched them into fists, feeling the new strength and comfort her body radiated. This brought a beautiful smile to her tear-streaked face, and she spoke enthusiastically.

"What do you think if, in these days we have before they pick us up, we make a huge batch of desserts and give them to everyone who helped us as a farewell? I feel like I could cook for 10 days straight without getting tired."

"Hehehe, take it easy. You just recovered, but it sounds like a great idea." Sofía commented with a smile full of happiness as she looked at her sister with warm eyes. Then she turned to look at Martín and asked cheerfully.

"What do you think, Martín?"

"If it doesn't endanger Clara's health, I think it's fine. I'll help too, though first I want to go to Kevin's house. I don't know if he managed to get out of the mine..." Martín commented with a somewhat worried tone, which led Sofía to reply with a smile.

"Don't worry, he's fine. He was the one who told me where you were. We can stop by his house later."

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"You two go take a bath and make yourselves presentable. I'll prepare breakfast, and then I'll go with you to thank Martín's friend." Clara said with a huge smile, prompting her siblings to nod. At that moment, Sofía turned to look at Martín and casually commented.

"Go take a bath first, Martín. I'll help Clara a bit, and when you're done, I'll go, and you can finish making breakfast with her."

"Alright." Martín responded cheerfully, then walked to his room with a firm step, filled with infinite expectations for his future and that of his sisters.

...

...

...

On the upper deck of Sigrún's impressive ship, Erik was enjoying a sumptuous breakfast prepared by Seraphina, who stood beside him wearing a beautiful blue dress with a more casual design than what she usually wore. Though, it still had a strong inspiration from a Victorian maid's outfit, complete with a white apron at the front and a small fabric headband.

"It was delicious as always. Thank you, Seraphina."

After finishing breakfast, Erik thanked Seraphina as usual, stretching lazily—a gesture that the wolves, who were by his side, adorably imitated in their puppy forms after devouring enormous amounts of meat.

"It's my pleasure to serve you, young master."

Seraphina spoke in a calm tone, bowing respectfully to Erik, then collected the plates from the table. What appeared to be tendrils of darkness emerged from her shadow, wrapping around the plates and making them disappear as if they had never existed in the first place.

"Aren't you going to talk to them, Erik?"

Meanwhile, Ignis, who was sitting across from Erik alongside Ebonique, asked with a hint of doubt in her voice, glancing toward two women of celestial beauty. One with brown hair and golden eyes, the other with blonde hair and blue eyes, who were timidly peeking in Erik's direction, terribly hidden behind one of the ship's towers.

"Not at all. They're being punished for making decisions about my collaborators without consulting me, so I won't speak to them for the rest of the day." Erik replied calmly, not even bothering to turn and look at his masters, who poked their heads out from behind the tower with pitiful expressions. Ignis couldn't help but reply with a complex tone.

"But you're on vacation..."

"That's precisely why I reduced it to just one day. So today, I'll be relaxing alone while working on my projects." Erik said seriously, but his gaze quickly sharpened as he looked directly into Ignis's eyes and added.

"And don't try to speak for them, or I'll punish you too."

"..."

Ignis sighed in defeat and fell silent, while the two goddesses in the corner wore sad and disappointed expressions, then began slowly walking toward the interior of the ship with slow, defeated steps.

***

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