The silence in the air weighed heavily on Leo. He stared back at the crowd that had their eyes locked on him. Their faces were filled with shock as if they couldn’t believe a word he was saying.

Lily, Bazya’s daughter, had started to cry tears of joy. By the time her tears had hit the ground, the room burst with emotion. People broke into tears of shock and joy. Some started to cheer, as they were filled with excitement at the thought of seeing their loved ones again. The tension and fear had melted away.

There was a wave of relief that spread throughout the building in seconds. Leo felt himself become overwhelmed by the energy in the air. Some survivors had run up to him and gave him a hug. This was the first time that Leo had felt enveloped by so much love and joy.

While everyone enjoyed celebrating, they didn’t spend long in the mayor’s office. The group left behind most of their supplies as they began to storm to the entrance of Faelde city. Leo and Marem saw Mr. Carrog and Mark in the back of the group.

Mark ran into Marem’s arms once he saw her, “Is it true, are my mommy and dad back?!”

Marem chuckled at his excited outburst, “Let’s go to the gates and find them.”

The two of them hurried up ahead as she guided him. Leo decided not to follow as he stuck back with Mr. Carrog. The old man had a slow pace with his makeshift cane.

“So, you really did it,” he commented.

“Did what?” asked Leo.

“Your goal. When we first met, you said that your goal was to make the city safe.”

“Huh, I did. Hard to believe that was yesterday.”

“Some weeks are as if nothing changes, yet sometimes, everything changes in a single day.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You did a good job, son, you should be proud of yourself.”

Leo didn’t realize how much that sentence had impacted him until his vision began to blur. He wiped away the tears from his misty eyed face. His chest felt heavy as he continued the rest of the walk.

Hearing the cheers and cries of excitement up ahead snapped him out of his feelings. He looked up to see people running to their loved ones. Their reunions were filled with joy and confusion.

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Those who had to survive in Faelde city had aged years in a matter of weeks. They held on tightly to their loved ones, yet the reunion wasn’t as passionate on the other side. While they held their loved ones in response, those who were taken didn’t have the same experience.

It was one thing to know their struggles, but they couldn’t understand what the survivors had gone through. Leo wondered if the people left behind were still the people they once were. Was the Bazya he met, the one who fought monsters and threatened bandits, the same woman who ran a restaurant with her husband.

He saw Mark leap into the arms of a man and woman who were standing together. The man lifted him up while the woman talked with Marem. Mark had survived something that they might never understand. Before Leo and Marem had arrived, Mark only relied on occasional meetings with Philips to get through the nights of the city.

Cordylia took these people, but she made sure that those left behind would suffer just as much. Leo knew that the calamity could be doing this to more cities across Kalpania. Her existence was nothing but a plague upon this world.

Many of the people at the entrance began to flood into the city. Leo knew that there were many survivors left in the city, and he hoped that they could handle the sudden return of everybody.

Leo stayed behind as people headed to their homes and walked deeper into the city. This let him see the crowd thin out as more people reunited. He couldn’t help but notice those that called out but found no one.

He saw survivors unable to find the one they searched for in the crowd, and he noticed how many members of the crowd couldn’t find their missing person. The more people that reunited and headed inside, the more obvious it was for those left behind.

Even as more members of the crowd returned and survivors left their bunkers, it became apparent that some people were waiting for someone who wouldn’t appear. Leo knew that some people had to have died. The spike devil had brutalized most people without a care, and from the injuries he saw, it was clear that Cordylia hadn’t taken great care of their bodies.

He wanted to help, but he didn’t know how to. Despite everything, he couldn’t save everybody. Leo turned and walked into Faelde city. He couldn’t bear to watch the tragedy as people realized no one was coming.

He saw people stare and glance at him while he walked. Leo felt a bit uncomfortable when someone would point or whisper while he passed them. This was until he realized that they weren’t looking on in disgust. They stared with admiration.

Word began to spread quickly about him. They talked about the man who tore a trail through the forest with his bare hands. Rumors spread about his supposed glorious battle with the spike devil. Leo looked at the people and saw that he wasn’t another person to them. He was their hero.

Their whispers only increased as Marem approached him. He saw that she was once again accompanied by Philips and mayor Vanceroy. Leo could overhear the talks about him and Marem, the two saviors that made a safe haven. Their tales were only overshadowed by the stories about Philips.

Leo figured that it was only natural that the one who defended this city for two weeks got the most recognition. The tales of the man who single handedly kept the people fed and defended Faelde city spread around quickly.

The mayor grabbed Leo’s attention, “There you are, Leo. Please, follow me to my office. There is much to discuss.”