Leon sat on the edge of the wooden bench inside the chapel, hands clasped together, elbows on his knees. Asia moved silently, lighting a few candles around the small sanctuary. The warm glow made the space feel... softer. Less like a place of worship, and more like a place of peace.
"Do you miss it?" Leon asked, his voice low.
Asia paused mid-step, looking over her shoulder.
"The church?"
He nodded.
She turned to face him, walking slowly back. "Sometimes. I miss the prayers. The quiet. The way people believed everything could be forgiven."
"And yet they cast you out."
She smiled sadly. "That wasn't God. That was people."
Leon scoffed lightly. "People are weak."
"They are," she admitted. "But not all weakness is evil."
There it was again—that gentle contradiction to his worldview. A girl who had suffered, yet hadn't allowed pain to warp her soul. Asia was light, and Leon was shadow—and yet, something about her presence didn't clash with his.
It fit.
Leon shifted slightly.
She deserved truth.
"I was... taken from my world," he began, voice clipped. "Thrown into a void between realities. I don't remember how long I floated there. Time didn't exist. I had no body, no voice, just... rage."
Asia didn't interrupt.
"The moment I arrived here, I was reborn with strength. More than I'd ever imagined. But it never felt like a blessing. It felt like a test."
His hands clenched unconsciously.
"And when I look at people wasting what they've been given... it burns me up inside."
He glanced at her. "I didn't ask to be a hero. I don't believe in saving people for praise. But I hate watching innocence get trampled."
Asia stepped forward, sitting beside him now.
"Maybe you weren't chosen to be a hero," she said. "Maybe you were chosen to be something better."
Her small hand brushed his again—soft, deliberate.
"You may not be the kindest person, Leon… but you care, even if you don't want to."
Leon stood up slowly. "Then I'll protect what matters. Not because I have to... but because I want to."
He turned to her, and for once, there was no coldness in his tone—just resolve.
"You're staying with me now, Asia. And I'll burn anyone who tries to take that peace from you."
Her eyes shimmered, and she smiled—genuine, warm.
"I'd like that."