Chapter 62 – The Promise Under the StarsThe Silence After the Storm
The kiss broke.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
Leonhardt and Aetheria stared at each other, their faces inches apart, their breaths uneven.
The air between them was charged, thick with unspoken words, raw emotions, and the weight of 800,000 years of separation.
Leonhardt's fiery red eyes burned with intensity, his hands still tangled in her silken hair.
Aetheria's violet gaze was filled with conflicted emotions, her fingers trembling as they rested against his chest.
The silence stretched.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them moved.
Until—
Aetheria let out a shaky breath.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper—
"…I hate you."
Leonhardt blinked.
Aetheria's lips trembled, her hands clenching into fists against his chest.
"I hate you for making me wait." Her voice was raw, filled with pain and longing. "For making me think I was alone in this world."
Leonhardt exhaled slowly.
Then, in a voice just as quiet—
"…I know."
Aetheria's eyes burned.
Her heart ached, twisted in a thousand emotions she couldn't name.
She wanted to scream at him.
To curse him for not finding her sooner.
To cry for all the years they had lost.
But more than anything—
She wanted to stay in his arms forever.
So instead of yelling—
She collapsed into his embrace again.
And he held her tightly.
His hands pressed against her back, his fingers gripping her as if she would disappear if he let go.
"…I thought I lost you forever," he murmured, his voice laced with quiet agony.
Aetheria buried her face in his shoulder, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck.
"So did I."
A Love That Defied the Gods
Minutes passed.
Or maybe hours.
Neither of them cared.
Leonhardt closed his eyes, inhaling her familiar scent, his heart finally at peace after centuries of torment.
Aetheria listened to the steady beat of his heart, her own finally calming for the first time in 800,000 years.
Then—
She pulled back slightly, her violet eyes searching his.
"…Leonhardt."
He met her gaze without hesitation.
"I need to know," she whispered. "How did you—"
Her voice wavered.
"How did you come back?"
Leonhardt's jaw tightened.
Aetheria wasn't the only one with questions.
How was she here?
How was she still alive?
Why had she been reborn as a demigod?
And why…
Why hadn't he found her sooner?
Leonhardt took a deep breath.
"…I don't know."
Aetheria frowned.
His grip on her waist tightened slightly, his eyes darkening as memories surfaced.
"I was sealed," he murmured. "For centuries, I drifted in nothingness. Time didn't exist. I didn't exist."
Aetheria's fingers tensed against his cloak.
Leonhardt's voice grew colder.
"Then, one day… I woke up."
Aetheria stiffened.
"The seal had broken," he continued. "And I was reborn."
His fiery gaze locked onto hers.
"I was no longer the King of Gods," he said. "I was human."
Aetheria's heart pounded violently.
Human.
The thought of him—a god—being reduced to a mere human made her blood boil.
Who had done this?
Which god had dared to—
"Aetheria."
Leonhardt's voice pulled her back.
She blinked, realizing that her hands had tightened around his cloak.
"…What about you?" he asked, his voice quiet but firm.
Aetheria hesitated.
Then, softly—
"I don't know either."
Leonhardt's eyes narrowed slightly.
She let out a breath, her gaze turning distant.
"I thought I was gone forever. I thought the gods had finally erased me from existence."
Her fingers curled into his sleeves.
"But instead… I was reborn."
Leonhardt stilled.
"I don't know why. I don't know how." Her voice was filled with frustration. "But this body… It belongs to the daughter of the Sun God, Ra."
Leonhardt's entire body went rigid.
Aetheria frowned at his reaction.
"…Leonhardt?"
His fingers twitched against her waist, his expression darkening with unreadable emotions.
Ra.
The Sun God.
Aetheria was his daughter?
Leonhardt clenched his jaw.
That was impossible.
The Demon Empress—his Aetheria—was not some child of the gods.
She had been their enemy.
She had been his queen.
Aetheria watched his reaction carefully.
"…You didn't know."
It wasn't a question.
Leonhardt's red eyes met hers, filled with quiet fury.
"No."
Aetheria's breath caught.
That meant—
He had never known her true identity.
Leonhardt stepped back slightly, running a hand through his dark hair.
For the first time since they reunited, he looked… lost.
Aetheria reached for him instinctively.
"Leonhardt—"
He caught her wrist gently, stopping her words.
Then, after a moment—
He let out a soft, bitter laugh.
"…I guess even after 800,000 years, we still have secrets."
Aetheria felt something twist painfully in her chest.
She didn't want secrets between them.
Not anymore.
Not after everything they had lost.
So she stepped closer.
And in a quiet, steady voice—
"I'm still me."
Leonhardt stared at her.
"I don't care whose daughter I am," she continued. "I don't care what this body was supposed to be."
Her violet eyes blazed with fierce determination.
"I am Aetheria Nyx Lunaris Solis," she declared. "And I am yours."
Leonhardt's breath caught.
Aetheria's gaze burned into him.
"No matter what name I bear, no matter what body I was born into…"
She reached up, her fingers grazing his cheek.
"…I will always belong to you."
Leonhardt exhaled sharply.
And in a voice filled with quiet conviction—
"…And I will always be yours."
Aetheria's heart pounded violently.
Leonhardt reached out, brushing a strand of silver hair from her face.
"I spent seven years searching for you," he murmured. "I would have spent another 800,000 if I had to."
Aetheria felt her eyes sting with emotion.
Leonhardt leaned in, his lips barely an inch from hers.
Then, in a whisper that sent shivers down her spine—
"…But now that I have you again, I'm never letting you go."
Aetheria's breath hitched.
And under the endless night sky, surrounded by nothing but the stars—
They made a silent promise.
A promise that no god, no fate, and no war could ever break.
They were together again.
And this time—
Nothing would take them away from each other.