Chapter 285: She’s Back

The room was too quiet.

Too quiet for the chaos that had ruled it just minutes ago. The kind of quiet that sat heavy, not peaceful—just breathless, like the air itself was afraid to move. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Lysander’s hands were still on Sophia’s chest when he felt it. There was a subtle change.

Her ribcage rose on its own. It was slow and shaky at first, but it became stable. She was breathing. He watched as she took one breath, then another.

Lysander stilled completely, as though moving too quickly would somehow undo it. His fingers trembled when he lifted them from her sternum.

"...Orion," he said, his voice rough.

But Orion didn’t hear him. He was focused on Sophia, but not in the way that would make him notice that she was better. He didn’t even register the fact that he wasn’t feeling the pain in his chest anymore, like something was clawing his heart out.

He didn’t notice that Noctis was no longer in pain, because at this point he had had enough and all he wanted was for her to just open her eyes and call him an oaf or something. He wanted to hear her speak clearly, even if it was to insult him.

Sophia’s lashes fluttered and her eyes registered the light in the room. She took a second to adjust, then turned to the man still holding her hand like it was a treasure he didn’t want to part with.

Her lips parted slowly as she croaked out the words to him, something that would likely reassure him. That would calm him down from the get-go.

"Who wants your annoying ass to follow them into the afterlife?" she asked him.

The moment the words rolled out of her mouth, the room stalled.

Lysander released a deep, broken breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, one that sounded almost like a choked laugh as his hand came up to drag across his face.

Orion didn’t move.

He just stared at her.

Like she had materialized out of smoke.

"Shorty..." he whispered.

His body finally gave in after what felt like an eternity.

He sagged back into the chair beside her, fingers still gripping her hand like a lifeline, his head tipping back as his eyes closed for just one second. Just one.

Relief crashed into him so violently his entire chest ached.

He leaned forward again before she could even attempt to move, before his brain could catch up with the fact that she needed space and didn’t need to be suffocated by him.

And he pulled her into him.

His arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her to his chest as if the slightest distance might steal her again.

Sophia let out a weak breath against him.

Then... she hugged him back.

Her arms felt weak, but she wrapped them around him. She buried her face into his chest, breathing him in like she was terrified his scent might vanish if she didn’t memorize it again.

"I missed you," he murmured into her hair, his voice low and raw. "Don’t ever... don’t ever scare me like that again."

She gave a faint, watery laugh against him.

"You know... it wasn’t exactly something I scheduled," she mumbled. "I couldn’t even control it."

"Doesn’t matter," he said. "Don’t do it again."

She pulled back just enough to look at him.

Her eyes were glassy, and he looked tired, but he also looked relieved.

"I’ll try to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again, even if it was beyond my power," she told him.

"Only a part of it was beyond your power and control... you forgot that part," Orion added with a smirk. "I remember telling you to change out of your clo—"

Orion wasn’t able to complete his sentence before the door burst open and Marta and Madam Tyler rushed in.

Orion had no idea Marta had really gone to call Madam Tyler. He had been so caught up with Sophia that he wasn’t even paying attention to his surroundings.

Marta paused, as did Madam Tyler.

Their eyes locked onto Sophia, who waved at them shyly.

"Hi."

Marta didn’t think.

She simply dropped.

Her knees hit the floor hard as her hands lifted, shaking.

"...Thank the Goddess," she whispered, choked, over and over. "Thank the Goddess... thank the Goddess..."

Madam Tyler didn’t move.

She just stared.

A quiet smile—warm, heavy with knowing—curved her lips.

"Welcome back, child," she said gently.

Sophia gave her a small, tired nod.

"...Thank you."

Orion helped her sit up, moving carefully as if she might shatter. Lysander stepped forward immediately, supporting her other side.

Her muscles trembled the moment she shifted.

"Easy..." Lysander murmured. "One step at a time."

She swallowed.

Her vision swam for a second—but steadied.

She looked around the room and took in how things were out of place, but she didn’t say anything.

She turned to Lysander instead.

"Is Brynhild alright?" she asked softly.

Lysander blinked at her in shock. He had not been expecting that at all.

"...You just came back from the edge of death," he said, then let out a dry chuckle. "And you’re asking about Brynhild?"

She shrugged weakly.

"Brynhild and the baby are both fine. Brynhild has been asking after you too, and she’s eager to meet you."

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

"I’m eager to meet her too and see the baby."

Lysander shook his head in disbelief but nodded anyway.

"Thank you for what you did for Brynhild," Lysander told her.

Sophia smiled. "She’s my sister."

Marta and Lysander made sure to do some routine checks to make sure she was okay.

They checked her pupils.

Her pulse.

Her breathing.

Her skin.

"She’s still burning," Marta noted, pressing a cool cloth to Sophia’s forehead. "But the fever has broken. It isn’t violent anymore."

"And her shaking has stopped," Lysander added, checking her wrists.

He gently lifted the blanket, inspecting the raw scratches and injuries covering her arms. His jaw tightened.

He didn’t comment.

Just worked.

He cleaned the wounds carefully. Applied herbs. Wrapped fresh bandages.

Sophia hissed softly once or twice but didn’t pull away.

She had scrapes on her head too.

When they were done, they helped her rest back against the pillows, propping her upright instead of laying her flat.

The room settled again.

This time the quiet wasn’t suffocating.

It was calm.

Orion took a seat beside her bed on the chair.

He gave her a long look, then spoke softly.

"What did you see?"

Sophia turned towards the window, her gaze settling on the beautifully soft, falling but steady snow.

The world outside was wrapped in white. She watched it for a moment with soft eyes.

"I missed this," she whispered.

Orion followed her gaze.

"The snow?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Where I was... there was no snow. Snow didn’t fall there," she told him, then she turned to him. "I’m sure you already know, but I’m recovering my memories... I think. But they are in fragments."

Orion nodded.

"It’s just..." her eyes locked onto his, taking in the beautiful colours in them. "I may have had amnesia even before you found me, Orion. This isn’t the first time I’ve lost my memories."