Alyssa stood at the edge of the Sunborn citadel, her eyes scanning the lands stretching out beneath the darkening sky. The city below bustled with survivors and warriors alike, each soul carrying their own burden, each face showing the strains of a brutal war. Thirty-nine years had passed since Raelen had vanished into his dimension, and though time moved differently for him, each day without him had felt endless for her.
In those years, Alyssa had transformed. Gone was the uncertain girl who’d watched her world burn; in her place stood a fierce warrior, a commander, and a legend. Her heritage as an Abysswalker had awakened with an intensity few could match. She wielded shadows like an extension of her own body, summoning dark voids that could conceal, protect, or consume. Her powers allowed her to blend seamlessly into darkness, moving unseen, with wisps of shadow flickering in her wake. The Abyss was her ally now, a power she had wrestled with and made her own.
In the beginning, she trained relentlessly out of a longing to make Raelen proud. She honed her skills for the day he would return and see her as the warrior he’d known she could become. But as years went by, she pushed herself not just out of devotion to him, but from a realization that, until he returned, it fell to her to protect all he had built.
---
The Sunborn citadel grew stronger under her guidance. Refugees from distant lands came to seek sanctuary, each one sharing whispers of horrors endured and armies lost. Alyssa’s mastery of shadow magic made her a formidable protector. She could create barriers of darkness, shields that concealed entire groups, and summon shadowed sentinels to patrol the perimeter unseen.
Her presence became a beacon for those seeking refuge, a figure both feared and revered. To her people, she became known as “The Night’s Haven,” a title that underscored her role as protector and the unique abilities she wielded. But as the years passed, Alyssa carried a private sorrow, a silent mourning for Raelen, the mentor who had given her purpose and had vanished without a word.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
---
Each day brought new challenges, and Alyssa was unyielding, committed to ensuring the Sunborn would stand against any threat. Her nights were spent training, her days leading the people and handling the responsibilities Raelen had once carried with ease. She could barely remember what it felt like to be anything other than this—a commander, a leader, and a guardian to so many.
But there were quiet moments when doubt crept in, late nights when she would find herself looking out over the citadel walls, wondering if she had done enough or if she had misunderstood Raelen’s wishes. Had she become too ruthless? Too consumed by power? These questions gnawed at her, yet she had learned to silence them, to focus only on her duty.
One evening, as Alyssa stood alone on the citadel’s watchtower, something shifted in the air. She felt a familiar, gentle pulse—a ripple of energy that brushed against her senses like a whisper. She froze, her heart beating fast, as memories surged within her.
Then, through the shimmering light at the edge of the city’s barrier, Raelen appeared.
---
The crowd gathered quickly, drawn by the powerful magic that heralded his return. Whispers spread like wildfire, and Alyssa felt her heart pounding as she looked at him. She felt so many things at once—relief, disbelief, pride, and a fierce ache she hadn’t realized had grown so deeply within her.
Raelen’s gaze met hers, his eyes warm yet profoundly wise. He saw everything, she knew, every change she had undergone, every struggle she had endured in his absence. She was on the verge of words when he closed the distance between them, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Alyssa,” he said softly, his voice carrying the warmth of a memory she thought she had lost. “Thank you. Thank you for protecting this place… for protecting our people.”
The weight of his acknowledgment, of his kindness, broke something within her. She felt the years of tension and loss and all the struggles she had shouldered alone begin to dissolve. Tears blurred her vision as she nodded, finally allowing herself to feel what she had denied for so long.
She felt Raelen pull her into a gentle embrace, one that held the care of a father who had seen his child grow in ways he could never have imagined. In that moment, she was no longer the unyielding protector or the formidable Abysswalker—she was simply Alyssa, Raelen’s student, reunited with the only family she had ever truly known.
As he held her, a quiet calm settled over the city, the Sunborn’s citadel filled with a sense of peace that had long been absent. For now, all was well.