Ugh… where am I?

Xelha's head pounded as she opened her eyes, shafts of dim light filtering into her vision. She sat up, despite her aching muscles, looking around. It looked like she was in a small cell…

Slowly, her memories of what had happened in the Lava Caves returned. The fifth End Magnus had been unsealed, and Kalas had betrayed them…

Kalas! An intense feeling of grief swelled in her heart. Despite the fact there was nothing she possibly could have done, she still felt like she should have taken action.

Maybe it was her love and affection for the blue-haired man making her think these thoughts, but she already missed him terribly. The one time they had kissed in Balancoire certainly wasn't helping matters.

She stood up, searching the room for anything of use. Checking under the mattress of her small and uncomfortable bed, she found a pleasant surprise: three basic Magnus. There was a Light Flare, Fire Burst and Wind Blow. A note was taped to the cards.

You're welcome. It won't happen again.
-Kalas

Xelha allowed a small smile to cross her lips. Thank you, Kalas. She looked at the cards she was holding, and took out the Fire Burst. She held the Magnus high above her head, shielding her eyes as it began to shine with an intense light. When the glow receded, a wave of heat washed over Xelha. She channeled her magic into the metal door of her cell, and then sealed the spell. "Fire Burst!"

The door began to melt away before her eyes, unable to withstand the raging inferno it now housed. Xelha smiled in triumph. That went exactly as planned.

Stepping over the melted mess that was now the door, she entered the corridor. Before she had a chance to do anything, a firm arm wrapped itself around her neck. Struggling to draw a breath against the pressure now on her windpipe, she tried to break her captor's grip.

"Relax," a far-too-familiar voice muttered in her ear, as darkness nibbled at the corners of her vision. "You'll be fine."

Xelha froze, the logical and emotional parts of her brain fighting an internal battle. This brief moment of weakness was what failed her; black ink spread across the entirety of the canvas that was her vision.

Xelha awoke with an even worse headache. Groaning, she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Oh, good. You're awake."

She turned her head as Kalas walked into her field of vision. His new white wings were fading from sight as he put them away, and he was gazing at her with blue-in-black eyes.

"Kalas, where are we?" she asked without thinking.

"Somewhere Melodia can't find us," he replied vaguely. "You're safe here, Xelha. Trust me."

Her emotions overrode her logical thinking and she embraced Kalas once he was close enough. "Why?" she whispered. "Why did you do it?"

Guilt shone in his sapphire eyes. "I felt really bad for betraying you all in Parnasse," he admitted. "I didn't feel like I could turn back at that point afterwards…"

"If you had just told us the truth, maybe none of this would have happened…" She wasn't mad, far from it.

"How would all of you be able to forgive me?" Kalas asked, his tone both sad and wondering.

"To forgive you, I'd first have to blame you," Xelha responded with a smile, "and I never blamed you."

"Xelha…" He buried his face in her shoulder. A thick silence descended, enveloping them both like a cloud of fog. After a while, Xelha noticed her shirt was slightly damp. Kalas was crying.

"It's alright," she soothed. "We'll get through this. We'll be okay."

He raised his tear-stained face. "Thank you," he whispered, giving a sad smile. "Have I ever told you you're beautiful?"

"Once." She placed a kiss gently on his forehead, an action that seemed to calm him down more than any of her previous attempts. "Back in Balancoire."

"Well, I'm going to say it again. You're beautiful." This time he was the one who kissed her, and it was on the lips. Xelha kissed back, placing her arms around Kalas' neck; his slipped around her waist.

When lack of oxygen forced them apart, they remained in each other's embrace, delighting in the fact they were together again.

"I love you, Xelha," Kalas murmured.

"I love you, Kalas." She repeated his words back to him.

"I'm sorry I-" She placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"We've been over this, Kalas," she told him patiently. "It's fine, so stop worrying yourself about it. Besides, you can always choose to go back."

"I can? How?" There was a sense of curiosity in his tone.

Xelha hesitated. "It will be more painful than you can even begin to imagine," she warned.

"If that is the price I must pay to atone for my sins, then so be it."

"Show me your wings," she sighed. Kalas obeyed, summoning his beautiful white wings. She grasped the membrane attaching the tainted wing to his right shoulder, and began to pull at it. Kalas began to scream out in wordless agony as the limb tore away from his flesh, and Xelha almost stopped then and there. However, she forced herself to continue, reminding herself that this was what he wanted.

"Just hang in there," she would murmur whenever he had to stop yelling to draw breath. "We're nearly there."

Tears of pain began to trickle down his skin as the wing was removed, and his nails dug into her flesh as he braced himself. However, after what seemed like an age for both of them, it finally pulled free. It crumbled into singular feathers in Xelha's hand, each of them vanishing as they hit the floor.

"Th-thank you," Kalas gasped. He gingerly ran his fingers over where the wing had been; the flesh had completely healed over already, leaving no traces of what had corrupted him.

"I would do anything for you, Kalas," Xelha replied quietly, embracing him again. "All you have to do is ask…"

"Is that so?" he asked with a smile. "Well, how about we blow this Popsicle stand and go rescue the others?"

Xelha laughed at his joke. "Sounds good to me. But first…" She kissed him again. Kalas didn't object, returning the kiss.

They broke apart after at least fifteen seconds. "Alright," she smiled. "Now we can go."

He laughed.