The silence inside the ruined chamber lingered long after the magic had faded. Dust drifted through beams of green torchlight like motes caught in suspended time. The cracked enchantment circle still pulsed faintly beneath Kurai's bare feet, but she hadn't moved since her rebirth.
Helios leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, his sky-blue eyes fixed on her.
Kurai stood still. Eyes closed. Chest still.
She hadn't said a word since she said she'd need time to adjust and began to absorb the residual darkness still hovering around her body.
She didn't need to, as her body would normally adjust to her power with time, but this sped it up.
Her presence felt like a blade drawn and left resting against one's throat—not moving, but promising the inevitable.
Then, after what felt like an hour...
"We can leave now."
Her voice broke the silence without ceremony—calm, composed, eerily flat.
Helios nodded, wordless, and walked to where the young Aladdin lay slumped on the cold stone. He knelt beside the boy, checked his breath, then lifted him gently over his shoulder.
The scimitar lay nearby, dropped during the chaos.
Helios picked it up. It would serve as one of two souvenirs for the boy. A debt to repay for the help he gave.
Then, with a flick of his hand, he opened a dark corridor. The swirling black portal crackled like a living thing, pulsing with ancient energy. He stepped through with Aladdin's weight on his back and Kurai following silently behind.
The interior of the Cave of Wonders vanished behind them.
They emerged into the desert night with the tiger head Cave of Wonders nearby. The dunes glowed silver under the moonlight, stars scattered like broken glass across the sky. The air was cool now, still, and unnervingly quiet.
Helios took a deep breath.
Then opened another portal.
This one spat out a writhing, still-bound Jafar, who landed face-first in the sand with a muted grunt. Helios tossed him like refuse, the magical restraints of shadow still wrapped around his arms and legs like coiled chains.
He laid Aladdin gently beside him.
"Now... sleep."
He waved his hand, casting a sleep spell over them both. This kept Aladdin under while Jafar joined him in the state as their breaths slowed. Their bodies stilled.
Then came the memory hex.
Silver magic spiraled in the air, weaving together like dancing ink. The light condensed into Helios' hand, and Helios pressed it against both their foreheads.
Moments later, the glow vanished. Their memories of the past few days should be gone now.
No Cave of Wonders.
No lamp.
No Kurai.
No Alira.
No Helios.
"Forget everything," he whispered. "This tale belongs to another hero now. Wait for his arrival, and then the true epic begins."
He stood up, brushing sand from his cloak. And then, just as he turned—
A whisper of air.
He froze.
Kurai stood right behind him.
Her right hand was extended—fingers poised like claws—inches from his chest.
Close. So close, he could feel the chill radiating from her palm.
His breath caught before being released in a large exhale.
She hadn't made a sound.
Helios stared down at her hand, and the heartbeat in his chest felt deafening.
"Kurai, what are you doing?" he said slowly.
She blinked once.
"I wanted to test something," she replied, voice as calm as falling snow.
"Test...? Test what?"
"If I could kill you."
The words hit harder than a blade.
Helios didn't move, didn't breathe. His muscles were locked—coiled to spring, but knowing it wouldn't matter. He hadn't even sensed her move.
"And...? What… did you find?" he asked.
"My hand stopped," she said, lowering it slowly. "Something in me resists hurting you. I don't understand it, but... I felt it. I don't think I can harm you. Curious."
"And if you were wrong?"
"Then you'd be dead," she answered flatly. "But you're not. So I'm right. Is it so complicated?"
Helios exhaled, slowly. He rubbed the side of his neck, masking the tension in his jaw.
'So it worked.'
He had kept Hoder's heart inside his own since they'd left Olympus. For weeks. Maybe longer. Long enough for a bond to form.
And now, that bond was acting as a tether—a failsafe.
Kurai couldn't hurt him. Not easily. Not yet, at least.
But it wasn't perfect. The bond might weaken. Her nature might evolve. Or worse—she might find a loophole.
She stepped forward again, barefoot in the sand, leaving faint glowing impressions where her soles touched the earth. She stood taller now, a new presence. A girl, yes—but no longer human in any meaningful way.
Helios watched her quietly.
"What now?" she asked.
Her tone was almost innocent, like a student asking a tutor what lesson came next.
Helios shook his head.
"I'll take care of a few things here, then we'll leave. We'll go to Traverse Town next. We need supplies. Information. And to... reorganize. After that, we'll head back to Radiant Garden."
He didn't say "rest." Not with her around.
She nodded once. "Understood."
Helios took one last glance at the unconscious Aladdin and Jafar, their fates now rewound to the path intended for them.
Then, he raised his hand, and summoned two dark corridors. The two would take Aladdin and Jafar to their respective place, sending the boy back to the slums and Jafar to the palace.
Then he turned to look at Kurai, unsure of what to do with the girl. Their relationship was quite unique.
Not as allies.
Not as enemies.
Just as two beings—tethered together by memories and something far more dangerous.
A walking paradox, and the abyss it called friend.