"She had to," Lyra explained. "Her settlement is still recovering from The Reaper's attack. She has paperwork, reconstruction oversight, her own people who need her leadership. But she didn't want to go. I practically had to talk to her for an hour before sha had agreed to rest and also to take care of her own territory, that they needed her more at this moment."

A slight smile crossed Lyra's face. "She made me promise—twice—that we'd contact her the moment you woke up. And she left you a message crystal. It's on the table. Something about wanting to talk to you privately about... what you went through."

Satou nodded slowly, processing this. Seraphine would understand, he realized. She'd faced her own traumas, built walls to protect herself from vulnerability. She'd probably have insights that Lyra and Jessica, for all their love and support, couldn't provide.

"And there's more," Lyra continued, her voice becoming more businesslike—her way of handling difficult topics. "Seraphine and Loki are working together to track down Merc Assault's current location. Loki has intelligence networks across the demon realm, and Seraphine has connections in places most demon lords don't. Between them, they think they can locate where he's hiding within a day or two. Seraphine said to tell you they'd have information by today—or tomorrow at the latest."

Satou's expression hardened instantly at the mention of Merc Assault. The cold fury that had briefly subsided came rushing back, settling in his chest like ice.

"Good," he said quietly, and the tone of his voice made Lyra's eyes widen slightly. It wasn't the voice of the compassionate leader she knew. It was something colder. More dangerous. "The moment we know where he is, I'm going after him. No waiting. No planning. Just—"

"We'll discuss that when the time comes," Lyra interrupted firmly, squeezing him tighter. "Right now, you need to heal. To process. To remember that you're more than just anger and revenge."

Before Satou could respond, a sleepy voice interrupted their conversation.

"Lyra... Satou... I love both of you..."

Both of them turned immediately to look at Jessica, who was still clearly asleep despite speaking. Her face was peaceful, a small smile playing at her lips, completely oblivious to the heavy conversation happening literally right next to her.

The tension broke. Satou couldn't help but smile—a real smile this time, warm and genuine—as he looked at Jessica's sleeping face. Lyra made a sound that was half laugh, half exasperated affection.

"She's been doing that all night," Lyra whispered, her own smile appearing. "Every hour or so, she says something adorable in her sleep. Earlier she told us we needed to eat more vegetables. Before that, she was sleep-lecturing someone about proper wound care technique."

"That's very her," Satou agreed quietly, his expression softening as he watched Jessica. She looked so peaceful, so content, so beautifully alive that it hurt to look at her after seeing her nightmare counterpart die so many times.

Lyra noticed the shift in his expression and squeezed his hand. "She's alive, Satou. I'm alive. We're both here, both real, both staying with you. The nightmares can't touch us."

"I know," Satou replied, but his voice carried an edge of determination. "And I'm going to make sure they never can. That Merc Assault or anyone like him never gets the chance to threaten either of you again."

Lyra heard the steel in his voice and felt a flicker of concern. This was the change she'd been worried about—the hardening that trauma could cause in even the gentlest souls. But she also understood it. Satou had been violated on a fundamental level. His compassion, his protective instincts, his love—all of it had been weaponized against him. Of course he'd emerge changed.

The question was: how much? And in what direction?

"Still want to go to the training grounds?" Lyra asked softly.

"Yes," Satou confirmed. "I need to move. Need to do something. Sitting still just lets the memories resurface."

"Then I'm coming with you," Lyra Said

"You don't have to—"

"I'm coming with you," Lyra repeated, her tone brooking no argument. "You don't get to deal with this alone, remember? That was the rule we just established. Besides, I want to see what abilities you gained from that nightmare realm. Purely for tactical assessment purposes, of course."

Satou recognized when Lyra had made up her mind. There was no arguing with her when she used that particular tone. "Alright. But we should leave a note for Jessica so she doesn't panic when she wakes up."

"Already planned on it," Lyra replied, moving carefully to avoid waking the sleeping healer. "And I'm sending a guard to watch the room. Just in case."

"You think someone might attack while we're gone?"

"I think," Lyra said carefully, "that we just discovered someone high up wants you dead badly enough to hire a legendary assassin. Until we know who and why, we're not taking any chances. Extra guards. Constant vigilance. No more assuming we're safe just because we're home."

Satou nodded slowly, appreciating her tactical thinking even as it reminded him of the threat still hanging over them. "You're right. We need to increase security across the settlement. If Merc Assault's employer decides to try again with a different method..."

"Exactly," Lyra agreed.

They moved quietly around the room, Satou changing into training clothes while Lyra scribbled a quick note for Jessica. Before they left, both of them paused by the bed one more time, looking at the peacefully sleeping Jessica.

Jessica had rolled into the warm spot Satou had vacated, hugging his pillow like a lifeline, still smiling in her sleep.

"She really does love us," Satou said quietly, something like wonder in his voice.

"More than anything," Lyra confirmed. "And you love us. That's not a weakness, Satou, no matter what Merc Assault tried to make you believe. That's your strength. Your reason for fighting. Your anchor to sanity when everything else gets dark."

Satou looked at Lyra, seeing the determination in her golden eyes, the absolute conviction in her expression. "When did you get so wise?"

"I've always been this wise," Lyra replied with a slight smile. "You just don't usually listen. Now come on. Let's go see what new terrifying powers you've accumulated, and I'll pretend I'm not worried about you becoming too powerful to remain emotionally balanced."

"That's a very specific concern."

"I'm a very specific person," Lyra replied. "Now move. The training grounds await, and I want to be back before Jessica wakes up and panics about both of us being gone."

They left the room together, Lyra's hand finding Satou's naturally as they walked through the quiet settlement. Dawn was still an hour away, the world caught in that peculiar stillness that comes just before morning.

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