The streets of Dreadholm were alive — not loud, not wild — but humming. Like something sacred was unfolding, and every breath, every heartbeat, was trying not to break it.
Raphael stood beside Subaru, the weight of two full bags pulling at his shoulders. The stone beneath his feet was warm from the sun, the breeze gentle as it slipped between buildings of darkwood and rune-carved stone. At there front, the panther and orc elites remained bowed — still as statues, heads lowered — but it wasn't stiffness. It was reverence. Something deeper.
Raphael's ears twitched slightly. The faint shift of sandals scraping the stone. A breath caught. Then —
"Is that… really Lord Reaper?" someone murmured. A beastkin merchant — his voice unsteady, as if he didn't quite trust his eyes.
"He's back," gasped a young girl, a fox beastkin like Raphael, tail curled around her legs as her hands clutched her mouth in awe.
An orc let out a sudden, booming cheer. "Our lord has returned!"
Like a match to dry tinder, their voices ignited the square.
Cheers, cries, shouts of disbelief and joy swelled all around them.
Subaru sighed, lifting a hand to brush back his windswept hair. He smiled — not wide, not dramatic — but warm. Solid. The kind of smile that could anchor a storm.
"Yes," he said, his voice clear, carried more by memory than volume. "It is I — your one and only true lord."
The crowd laughed, cried. Some clutched their chests. Others fell to their knees or simply stood, stunned.
"It's good to see you all," Subaru continued, his tone softening. "Truly. You've grown strong, haven't you? My family."
He didn't raise his arms. He didn't need to. The crowd surged closer, not chaotic — but drawn, like iron filings to a lodestone.
Some people ran, vanishing around corners, calling out to others.
"He's here! Lord Reaper's home!"
"Tell the others! Tell everyone!"
Amid the noise, Subaru glanced to his side. The two elite guards — still bowing — hadn't moved a muscle.
He chuckled lightly. "Hey… you two. Come on now. That's enough of that. Help my grandson with those bags before he starts thinking I'm lazy."
The orc blinked up, eyes wide, almost startled. "Y-Yes, my lord!"
The panther rose more smoothly, silent as a shadow. Both moved toward Raphael with practiced ease.
Subaru nudged Raphael gently. "Let 'em take 'em. They're not just muscle — they're proud to serve."
Raphael handed the bags off slowly, his hand brushing the orc's hands for just a moment. The orc accepted the weight with care, like it was something precious.
"Thank you," Raphael said, his voice even — not cold, just… measuring.
The orc smiled faintly. "No thanks needed. We serve the house."
Subaru clapped his hands, not loud — just enough to pull focus. "Alright, alright — let's move. You two lead the way."
As they stepped into motion, the crowd parted around them, not out of fear — but respect. Excitement buzzed in the air like distant thunder. One of the elites stepped forward, eyes scanning the edge of the crowd, hands naturally shifting near his weapon.
Subaru raised a hand. "Relax," he said gently. "Let them be. This kind of joy… we don't get it often. Let them feel it."
The panther nodded, his amber eyes softening. "Understood, my lord."
As they moved through Dreadholm's winding streets, the questions came like scattered raindrops — light, hesitant, but persistent.
"Where's Lord Reaper been all this time?"
"Why did he leave?"
"Is he staying this time…?"
The voices weren't accusatory. They were curious. Hopeful. Some carried an edge of fear, as if they didn't want to be hurt by the answer.
Subaru walked with easy strides, hands loosely behind his back. He didn't rush, letting the moment unfold around him like petals opening to sun.
"Oh, just had to handle a bit of dominion business," he said casually, flashing a grin to no one in particular. "You know how it is. Paperwork. Danger. The usual."
There was laughter from the crowd — soft and relieved. It wasn't really an answer, but it felt like one. And for most, that was enough.
Raphael walked in silence beside him, ears subtly flicking as he caught every shift in breath, every muttered comment from the crowd. He didn't need sight to sense the waves of emotion rolling around them — cautious joy, awe, devotion.
Ahead, the orc and panther elites had already moved forward to make a path through the gathering. The orc's heavy steps were steady, grounded. The panther's presence more fluid, almost soundless.
Raphael turned his head slightly toward them, then spoke, low enough that it was just between him and the one nearest.
"You're doing a good job," he said. "Keeping them safe. Holding things together."
The orc turned, surprised for only a second, then smiled — not the wide, blustering kind, but something firm and proud.
"Thank you," he said. "We don't have much of a choice, do we? This is our home. And lord…" he nodded toward Subaru, "...reaper built it with his own hands. All we're doing is guarding the foundation."
Raphael nodded slowly. His voice, when it came again, was quieter. "Still. You've done more than just guard it."
The orc gave him a curious look, then offered a small nod of respect before turning back to his post.
A burst of giggles behind drew Raphael's attention. Subaru now had a small lizard beastkin girl perched on his shoulder, her iridescent green scales catching bits of sunlight as she waved excitedly to people in the crowd.
"Grandpa! Look at me! I'm taller than you now!"
Subaru gave her an exaggerated sigh. "Impossible. Unforgivable. Someone's been drinking too much sunlight."
The girl laughed even harder. "You got old while you were gone!"
That got a chorus of laughter from nearby onlookers, and Subaru played it up, staggering dramatically.
"You wound me, child!" he said. "I leave for a bit, and you all grow sassier."
Even in the pull of fatigue, Raphael found himself caught in it — the warmth, the familiarity. His lips tugged faintly upward, just a twitch. Not quite a smile… but something on the way there.
They rounded a bend, the last turn before the ridge that overlooked the northern quarter — and there it stood.
The Reaper's residence.
Not just a mansion — a presence. It rose from the earth like it belonged there, as though Dreadholm had grown around it. Darkwood frames curved like the branches of a wind-swept tree. The gates shimmered with silver inlays, etched runes pulsing faintly like the beat of a living thing. Stone lanterns flanked the path, their soft light drifting upward in wisps, like starlight in a jar.
Shoji-style crystal panels ran along the walls, etched with constellations and climbing vines, while cherry blossoms in the courtyard glowed faintly in soft purples and whites. Their petals drifted lazily on a breeze that hadn't existed until now.
A koi pond stretched beneath an arched bridge, the water clear and deep, the fish beneath like flashes of memory.
The gates opened on their own, no hand needed — humming softly, as though recognizing the return of a heartbeat.
Raphael stopped.
Not from awe. Not from hesitation.
From recognition.
There was a kind of music here, in the way everything breathed in harmony. Not a performance — a legacy. Subaru hadn't just built a home.
He'd built a truth.
The elite passed through first, steps precise and steady. Raphael remained for a moment longer, letting the air settle around him. Behind, the crowd still rippled with life.
Subaru gently lowered the lizard girl from his shoulder, patting her on the head.
"Well," he said, turning back to the gathered people. "It's good to see all your faces again — and a few new ones too, huh?"
He raised a hand, palm out.
"Tomorrow, we feast."
The cheer that followed was no longer hesitant — it was thunder. The kind that came from full hearts and shared history. Some of the crowd lingered, waving, smiling. Others peeled away, calling out the news to those who hadn't heard.
"Lord Reaper's home!"
"He's back! For real this time!"
Subaru stood a little straighter, watching them go, his smile touched with something gentler now. Less performance. More memory.
Raphael turned slightly toward Subaru, his voice soft — more observation than question.
"They really love you, Grandpa."
Subaru grinned, almost reflexively. "Of course they do. Look at this handsome face."
Raphael tilted his head, a flick of amusement ghosting through his expression.
"Right. That's definitely it."
"If you disagreed, I'd start questioning your sense of taste."
"You'd start lecturing me, wouldn't you?"
"Every damn day," Subaru said, chest puffed with mock pride. "Can't have my grandson walking around without refined standards."
Raphael exhaled — not quite a laugh, but close. There was something familiar in the rhythm between them, like walking down an old road neither had set foot on in a while.
They stepped through the open gates together, the runes along the arch glowing gently as the doors eased shut behind them with a low, resonant thud. The courtyard greeted them with stillness — not empty, but calm. The kind of silence that knew how to hold memory.
Cherry petals stirred in the breeze. The koi pond rippled, disturbed only by the soft splash of a turning fin.
The panther elite waited at the front steps, standing with a soldier's posture — formal, almost too much so, in contrast to the peace of the space.
Subaru raised his hand in greeting. "Oi, where's your partner?"
"He's inside, my lord," the panther replied, voice steady.
Subaru walked up and gave him a friendly clap on the back. "Drop the title, will you? It's Grandpa now. That's an order."
The panther hesitated. It wasn't discomfort — just habit, heavy and worn in.
"Yes, Lord Reaper."
Subaru sighed, not annoyed, just… accepting. "It'll take time."
From beside him, Raphael said nothing — but he felt the weight of that pause. It was in the way Subaru looked at the guard, in the small downturn of his eyes before he masked it again with a grin.
Without ceremony, Subaru stepped toward the front door and reached for the handle. His hand lingered for a second.
He opened it.
Inside, silence greeted them.
Not peace.
Stillness.
Too still.
Subaru stepped across the threshold first, his usual ease faltering.
"…What the hell happened here?"
Behind him, Raphael paused at the doorway. The panther elite dipped his head respectfully.
Raphael returned the gesture with a silent nod, then stepped through the threshold and, with a soft touch, closed the door behind them. The sound — gentle as it was — echoed.
He spoke quietly. "What do you mean?"
Subaru's voice sharpened. "You don't hear that?"
Raphael tilted his head. "I don't hear anythi—"
"Exactly!" Subaru barked, frustration leaking in. "Nothing. That's the problem. Where is everyone?"
He raised his voice. "Hello? Anybody home?!"
No answer.
Only the faint creak of something shifting above them.
Raphael's head turned upward on instinct.
A whisper of motion. A rustle.
Then—
Thump.
A blur dropped from the ceiling, landing in a bounce of skirts and fluttering ears. A rabbit beastkin girl in a black-and-white maid outfit crashed into Subaru's chest, hugging him with wild, squealing joy.
"Grandpa!" she cried. "You're really back!"
Subaru stumbled back a step but caught her easily, arms wrapping around her with unguarded affection. His voice cracked as he laughed, choked with something deeper.
"Oh, my Ruin… look at you. You've grown so much."
"I missed you!" she said, burying her face against his shoulder, her little tail flicking with excitement. "You were gone forever!"
Raphael stood still, taking it all in — her voice, her energy, the sudden warmth that bloomed through the cold air like sunlight.
Was she… hiding up there the whole time?
Subaru smiled into her hair. "I remember when I first saw you; you were such a brave crybaby."
"G-Grandpa, stop!" she squeaked, wriggling away with a red face.
Then she noticed Raphael.
Her posture straightened. Ears twitched.
Her nose gave a quick, involuntary twitch.
Then again.
And she froze.
Her eyes locked on him — not with fear, but with wariness. Like a creature sensing something familiar and wrong.
"…Who's the stranger?" she asked, voice quieter now. "He smells like…"
She took a half-step closer, then backed away suddenly, glancing over her shoulder. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Is Aunt Sora here?"
Subaru blinked. "No. She's not"
Ruin exhaled hard, shoulders slumping. "Phew. Good."
Her smile returned, a bit sheepish now. She stepped toward Raphael again, slower this time.
"I'm Ruin," she said, holding out her hand, hesitant but genuine. "Nice to meet you."
Raphael accepted it with a cautious grip. "Nice to meet you too… I guess."
Her hand was warm. Her gaze held his for a beat too long.
Subaru chuckled. "Look at you two — already bickering like siblings."
Ruin laughed, but there was a flicker of tension still behind her smile.
Raphael tilted his head, trying to place it — the way her ears moved, the twitch in her nose, the way her eyes flicked between him and the stairs.
She knew something.