When I was dressed, I turned to look for Dannie, experiencing a brief moment of panic at not immediately seeing a visible golden fortress. It wasn’t until I moved further into the clearing, following her energy, that I found her… surrounded by an army of shadow creatures? Snarling and braying, they formed a veritable barricade between us and the goddess, who was also hidden by a dark mass—

“Midnight!”

My call broke Midnight free from its position around the gold prison, and through our bond, I felt the repair of all those tattered ends. The cool mist washed over my skin, solidifying us strongly.

Mera.

I missed you, I said at the same time.

We both let out a low hum of contentment, relishing in the bond for a few precious moments. I didn’t remember, Midnight finally said, sparks flying across its dark misty form. I forgot our bond, and then I was part of the power of the library, unable to break free until you called me.

This was the issue that Shadow had wanted me to see. The issue I’d left in the wake of my death. When I’d pulled on my bonds in my dying moments, I’d dragged all the beings connected to those bonds into the realm. More specifically the outlier island.

Our bond was always stronger than yours to the library, I told Midnight. The library could not hold you, no matter how deep you were entrenched in its magic.

So very true, Midnight said, before it suddenly swelled up, sparking and shooting harder than ever. At first, I thought we were under attack, but then I saw Inky had moved closer, startling my mist. The pair swirled around each other, hesitant at first, and then… holy fuck me, I was going to cry.

They hugged.

A misty hug, with jiggling and sparking, and obvious signs they were happy to see each other again. Shadow let out a low chuckle, moving in to wipe my tears away. “Still my Mera,” he murmured. “Your rebirth is the greatest gift I’ve been given, and I would take any form of you in my life, but to know that you’re still your true self brings me a sense of relief.”

“You are still Mera,” Angel confirmed, pressing into my other side. “I feel the exact same pull toward you that I felt the very first day you collapsed into the dining room chair near me.”

A snort of laughter escaped me. “Sweeping is hard. I really hated sweeping.”

Shadow smiled, my torture clearly a fond memory for him. The bastard. “I couldn’t have made a better choice in breaking you.”

“You wish, asshole.”

At this point, our bickering was foreplay, but again, no time for that fun.

“How long will the cage hold her?” I asked, gesturing to Dannie.