(Leo's isolated mansion, Amanda's POV)

Since the two had been apart for so long, their reunion began in a storm of longing, as they fell into a fiery embrace that left them breathless, their lips meeting again and again until thoughts dissolved, while their bodies melted together as though the long separation had only condensed their passion into something deeper, sharper, and far more consuming than before.

The faint scent of sweat and steel from Leo's training robes mingled with the sweet perfume that clung to Amanda's hair, as their shared warmth filled the silence of the chamber in a way no words ever could.

Only once they had re-affirmed their affection for one another, when the tremor of that first closeness began to fade into steady calm, did they move on to more important matters.

As Amanda was the first to speak, her breathing still uneven but her tone soft and composed as she said, "There's something I need to tell you. It's about Supreme Master Argo."

Leo's expression shifted at once, his warmth giving way to quiet attentiveness as his posture straightened.

"His health continues to worsen," Amanda continued gently, her voice carrying that faint undercurrent of sadness that could not be masked even by discipline.

"The healers say his lungs are failing him faster than they can repair.

Years of inhaling industrial fumes and ash has caught up to him, and he's been advised to step back from exerting exercise....

As a result, he has given up active blacksmithing entirely and only supervises now, not touching the forge at all."

Amanda informed as Leo's gaze lowered slightly, the light in his eyes

dimming with thought as he nodded once, slowly, a quiet sigh escaping him.

*Sigh*

"I see," he murmured at last.

"So the Cult's greatest forger has finally laid down his hammer after 400 years."

Amanda's lips curved into a faint, melancholic smile. "It feels strange, doesn't it?

The Cult's only Supreme Master, and the universe's greatest Blacksmith finally stepping back due to advancing age.

But such is the cruelty of time.

First we lost Elena and Jacob, and now we are seeing another legend in decline...."

She said as her voice choked up, her eyes tearing slightly.

"Well, I think retirement suits him well..... No one gave as much to the Cult as he did. So if in his advancing age he gets some rest, I think it's for the best.

It's unfortunate that he doesn't have any successor as worthy as him, but he still has a few decades to live.

Maybe he'll mentor one before he dies..."

Leo hoped, as Amanda nodded quietly in agreement, her fingers tracing idle patterns against the armrest of the throne as she allowed the conversation to drift away from sorrow.

"I'm sorry to bring up something so gloomy when I come to meet you once a month.... But enough of that...."

She said, as her tone lightened, the faint gleam of warmth returning to her eyes.

"Let's talk about something happier.

The boys have been growing so quickly you wouldn't believe it.

Caleb has started studying the history of the Cult at the academy, and

his teacher says he's already ahead of his class."

Leo looked up, an amused spark crossing his face. "That doesn't

surprise me," he said with quiet pride.

Amanda chuckled, leaning forward as her eyes softened. "He corrected his instructor last week during a lecture. She had missed the correct sequence of Dragon's and skipped Dragon Kevin before Dragon Noah and Caleb stood up in front of the whole class to tell her she was wrong. When she asked who taught him that, he said, 'My mum.""

For the first time in days, Leo laughed, the sound low and genuine. "He did?" he asked, his tone gentle but touched with pride. "That boy..."

Amanda smiled brightly at his reaction, the happiness in her voice unhidden as she continued. "And Mairon-he's turning three in just a few days. You should have seen what he did last week. He snuck into the elementary school's flower garden and started mixing flower petals that smelled good to him in the wash basin.

When they caught him, he said he was making a perfume for me because mine had run out."

Leo chuckled softly at that, his exhaustion seeming to fade for a moment. "The little one is sweet. He will protect you forever." he said

with a faint grin.

"Maybe he will," Amanda replied, her laughter quieting as she reached into her robe pocket and drew out two small photographs. "Look," she said softly, handing them to him. "Caleb and Mairon. Taken during this year's autumn festival."

Leo accepted them carefully, his thumb brushing against the glossy surface as he stared at the two little faces frozen mid-laughter, their innocent grins so alive it almost hurt to look at them.

Amanda watched him closely, the quiet tenderness in her gaze speaking volumes as she asked, "When will you come to see them, Leo? They miss you terribly. Caleb still asks about you every night before bed."

Leo's smile faded slowly, his gaze still fixed on the photographs as the silence grew long between them. When he finally spoke, his tone was low, tinged with the weariness that came from battles not fought with blades but within one's own heart.

"It's not that I don't want to see them, Amanda," he said. "But right now, I can't lose focus. I've found the reason behind my emotional instability, and I know now that the same anger that drives me forward is the one that makes my aura unstable. I can't separate the two yet. If I lose my anger, I lose my edge. If I lose my edge, I lose my focus. And if I lose my focus, I lose my will to keep training like this when there are easier, happier things waiting for me outside these

walls."

Amanda's expression softened, her hand tightening faintly on her lap.

He sighed, lowering his head slightly. "If I let myself rest even once, I'll start to enjoy it. And once I start enjoying it, I'll never be able to push this hard again. I'll start questioning everything. I'll start dreading the pain that I've made peace with."

His words hung heavy in the air, filled with quiet conviction yet shadowed by helplessness.

Then, in a gentler voice, he added, "Trust me, love, once I save Veyr...

I'll slow down. I'll put the daggers away and become a tutor to Caleb

and Mairon.

Be there for their formative years and shape their foundation as

warriors.

But until then, I need this. I need this imbalance. Because although imperfect, it's the only thing keeping me steady."

Amanda looked down, her lashes trembling faintly as she nodded in

understanding, the glimmer of tears in her eyes softening rather than breaking her composure. "It's okay, I understand," she whispered, her voice quiet but unwavering.

And for a moment, silence returned once more to the room, not heavy or hollow, but full of something deeper, as two hearts that knew one another too well, shared the same ache beneath the glow of the dim ceiling lights.