25 Chapter 25: Treasured Memories.

"I got a great bargain in the market today… I'll make a delicious meal for everyone… the scent might even wake Ava up…" Muttered Lyra with a faint smile as she entered the house carrying a shopping bag.

Upon entering, she noticed Ruby at the end of the corridor, leaning against the wall with a smile. 

"Welcome back, Lyra." Said Ruby.

"Haha, thank you. Why are you just standing outside of the room, though?" Lyra asked as she shut the door behind her.

"I don't want to ruin the moment… she finally woke up." 

The moment she heard those words, the shopping bag dropped to the floor. Lyra quickly ran past Ruby straight towards the room and into it.

Inside she found Julius stood by the entrance and Ava sat on top of the bed. 

"Lyra?" 

"You're ba-"

Ava was interrupted as Lyra jumped from straight at her, pinning her against the bed as she embraced her tightly. 

Tears streamed down Lyra's face as she tightened her grasp over 

"Ava…!" Lyra cried as the hug grew tighter and tighter. "I'm sorry…! Because of me you…! You almost died…!" 

Ava was surprised by Lyra's sudden move, her stomach which had been pierced through still hurt a little so it was hard for her to maintain a straight face.

Nevertheless, she braced through the pain and stroke Ava's head while smiling. 

"You don't have to apologise, it's okay… everything ended up fine, see?" 

"But… still…" 

The edges of Julius's lips couldn't help but break out into a smile as he watched Lyra cry in Ava's arms. He had been worried he wouldn't be able to see the sight of the two of them together again.

'Nightmare… night after night you tortured me. You're a shitty ability, a curse. But even still, I'm glad I have you. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to save them… so keep torturing me as much as you'd like…'

'As long as I have them… I'll be able to bear it all.'

Julius averted his eyes and found Ruby stood just outside the room, leaned against the wall. Her eyes were gazing off into the distance, seemingly thinking about something. 

When she turned her head to check on him, the two made eye contact. At that moment, Ruby smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

'Honestly… this girl…'

-

-

-

"Okay, looks like we're all caught up. I'm sure I don't need to introduce Ruby, right?" Julius asked as he looked around.

The four of them were all inside Ava and Lyra's room. Ava and Lyra were sat together, hugging one another on the bed while Julius and Ruby leaned against the walls. 

The room was just as plain as Julius's, there was nowhere else to sit. 

"Yeah, she's a Vampire Princess right?" Ava asked.

Julius glanced at Ruby and narrowed his eyes. 

"You realise you don't have to tell everyone your identity right? Some people could take it badly." 

"I'm aware of that." Ruby responded with a smile. 

'No, I don't think you got the point.'

"Haa…" Julius sighed. "Alright, let's get to the point. I've gathered us all here for two reasons." 

Julius suddenly left the room and returned shortly after, carrying a few relics in his hands. He placed the Relics in the centre of the room, in between them.

He then went back to his spot and raised his index finger.

"The first reason, we'll have to decide how to split the relics."

He then raised the finger after that.

"And the second reason, we'll have to decide what we're all going to do after this."

"Um, Julius we don't mind if you're the one to decide." Said Lyra. 

Both Ava and Ruby nodded. 

"I'm still curious about your thoughts. Now focus, I'm about to explain what each relic can do…" Julius continued. 

-

The explanation went rather quick, Julius summarised to them everything that the appraiser told him regarding all the relics. Their unique effects and their values. 

Currently, the [Cursed Blade: Yugen.] was the most valuable relic. After that came the [Hood Of Disguise.] then the runic leather gloves, [Gloves Of Misery.] and lastly the chestplate, [Chestplate Of Intervention.]

Julius had made sure to confirm all of their names with the system, surprising even the appraiser who didn't have the facilities to check. Julius wasn't sure what facilities could possibly check an ancient relics background but he didn't question it.

"It's four of us, and four of them so we'll split it equally. Are there any questions?" Julius asked

"Julius, I don't think I should be receiving a relic, all I did was get saved." Ava declared.

"Same with me, I didn't do much. During the last battle, all I did was watch while you and Ruby fought the Undead Knight. Even when you lost control of yourself, it was Ruby who stopped you." Lyra added.

"Ah, if that's the case, I didn't do anything noteworthy either. As much as I'd love to receive a relic, Julius was the one to kill the boss on his own, I think he should have full rights to-"

Ruby was interrupted by Julius who clapped his hands.

"Can we not do this? This was a team effort, don't downplay what you all did."

"But-"

This time Lyra was interrupted as Julius continued.

"Stop being stubborn and listen… I'll start with Lyra. You got me to the city of ruins safely, thanks to you we were able to make it to the Labyrinth portal. I couldn't properly control my ability back then, if it weren't for you I would've never made it in time to save Ava or met Ruby." 

Julius gazed straight at her. 

"If you downplay yourself again, I'll get angry."

After hearing his words, Lyra quickly turned her head. Once again her cheeks had reddened.

"Next up, Ava. You sacrifice yourself for Lyra, and you beat the first boss allowing us to make it into the snowfield safely. If not for you, Lyra might not have been here by now. You saved her. Is her life worth so little to the point you won't accept something like this?" Julius asked as he gazed at her.

Ava averted her eyes and frowned.

"Of course not, you know that's not what I meant." 

"Exactly, then lastly Ruby." 

Ruby's ears twitched.

She watched as Julius walked over to her and slammed his hand against the wall beside her. Towering over her short, 153 cm figure. 

"Hm~! Pinning me against the wall in front of the others? Quite bold, aren't you?" Ruby asked, giving him a mischievous smile as she too blushed.

"Stop joking around, I'm not even going to go over everything that you've done, it's too long. Just shut up and take the relic." Julius muttered before walking back to his spot.

Julius was dead set on splitting the relics equally, he made sure to keep a serious expression so that they wouldn't be able to convince them otherwise.

The result however was all their attention fixed to him. The three of them silently gazed at him.

"Ah… sorry was that too harsh…?" 

"No, not at all. We were just admiring how much you've changed." Said Lyra as she hid her blush.

"You were never this assertive before and always looked down at yourself… You've grown." Said Ava as she smiled at him. 

"Yeah, you were kind of cool." Ruby added with a smile, not even bothering to hide her reddened cheeks. 

"You really think so…?" Julius asked as he happily scratched the back of his head. "But alright then let's get to choosing the relics…" 

"Ah- before that, there's something I wanted to clarify. You said that you wouldn't have met me unless you went into that building with Lyra but actually, I was following you so you would have met me regardless." Ruby declared happily. 

"Eh?" They all responded simultaneously.