Xavier remains beside Arias on the dust-choked floor, one hand clamped over his wound. Beneath them, violet light lies dormant in the sealed cracks.
Arias lays his hand over Xavier’s and releases a quiet thread of healing. Warm gold gathers between his fingers, drawing the injury closed without disturbing the stones.
For one breath, the light catches Arias’s face. One blue eye darkens almost to black, revealing a guarded tenderness that his formal composure cannot conceal.
Xavier
You are being gentle with me. I had thought you possessed every kind of power except that one.
Xavier does not pull away. His hand slowly relaxes beneath Arias’s, and genuine warmth softens his strained features as the last ache leaves him.
Xavier
Do not mistake my surprise for displeasure. I am glad to see this side of you, Arias.
Xavier
The seal resonated with the bond forming between us. It recognized protection, not hatred. Tell me, what will you do with that knowledge?
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what danger the bond poses to Arias and Xavier
Director's notewhole tale
I ask Xavier what danger this bond poses to us.
Arias
What danger does this bond pose to us?
Xavier’s crimson gaze lowers to their joined hands. Beneath the dust, the violet cracks brighten in a slow pulse, answering the question as though the seal itself listens.
Xavier
A bond such as this is not merely affection, Arias. It is a thread between powers that were meant to remain opposed.
The warmth between their palms deepens. A faint mark, shaped like two interlocking crescents, appears in the dust beneath them before fading into the stone.
Xavier
If either of us is wounded, the other may feel it. If one of us loses control, the bond could carry that darkness across the divide.
Xavier
And if the buried thing has recognized us, it may try to use that connection as a key.
Xavier
Yet danger is not the same as doom. We can master this bond, if neither of us lies about what we are becoming.
Quest Complete
Learn what danger the bond poses to Arias and Xavier