A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

After Ymir's revelation, silence fell on them for a moment.

Erik blinked in surprise and cocked his head, now looking at Ymir as if he was insane. "Old man… I'll do a lot of things for my own freedom and safety, but… cutting off the source of aetherium that my wife and her family need to live is…. not one of them."

But Ymir shook his head and smiled mysteriously. "I'd be disappointed if you did, little friend. No, that was never the plan, of course. Both Audumla and Nyxandra need aetherium as well, even if I'd be willing to sacrifice so many people…"

Seeing Erik's sceptical expression, Ymir chuckled deeply and added: "…which I'm not, obviously."

Yet, something in the giant's eyes suggested to Erik that this ancient being wasn't actually as far from doing such a thing as he himself perhaps thought. Regardless, Erik nodded slowly. "Alright, so… what was the plan, then?"

Ymir opened his mouth… but then blinked. Immediately afterwards, the vines around his body suddenly constricted, and Ymir groaned, his expression scowling. "Ugh, that's all the time we have for now, little friend."
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To Erik's surprise, the scene around them started fading away, and he quickly got to his feet. "Hold up! You—"

"There's no way, little friend," Ymir said, his voice sounding a little strained now as his body also started to fade. "It's starting another assault on… my mind, and… I need to prepare…."

By now, his voice was also fading, and Erik started cursing in his thoughts. This whole thing had left him with more questions than answers!

"Try not to… come so close to… dying again… alright…? Not sure when I… can do that again…" the giant chuckled. "And don't worry… we'll talk… again…."

"Wait! How long do—" Erik tried to ask, but then it was already over. The scene completely faded away, and Erik was left alone in a white void. But even that lasted no more than half a moment. Suddenly, the surroundings started to spin around him, and everything went black…

***

Immediately afterwards, at least to his perception, he awoke with a start. Immediately sitting up, he looked around to find himself… still on the battlefield. Contrary to his perception, it seemed only a short amount of time had passed in the outside world.

He found himself covered in blood and surrounded by the concerned expressions of his allies, yet… he felt fine. Just beyond their encirclement, a stream of Humanitas Sangh Arcanists continued fleeing the Enkarian's murderous onslaught.

Yet Erik and his allies ignored them. Instead, silence reigned as they all looked at Erik with various states of perplexity. Directly beside him, Emma and Elora kneeled, their hands stretched out towards them.

Dark green and white magic circles were still glowing brightly, but they suddenly turned them off and looked at their hands strangely.

"You… what the hell just happened?" Elora muttered, looking both shocked and relieved, before turning from her hands to look at Erik. "You were… I mean… I— I thought…"

Suddenly, a softly wailing sound interrupted her. "Waaah!" Emma cried, as she flew into Erik's bloody arms and sobbed there. Sighing, Erik wrapped his arms around her frail form and smiled softly.

He quickly realized he truly had been far too close to death. There was no way to know for certain if he'd have survived without Ymir's interference, but… he realized it was safe to assume he'd never gotten this close to the end.

Meanwhile, Elora blinked once, before looking at Erik sombrely. Then, without another word, she leaned over to join in the hug, her body trembling slightly.

At the same time, the people around them started to notice something had changed. Previously, they were looking outward, at the flood of Arcanists fleeing the battle to keep them at bay.

Yet, with Emma's wail and the numbers thinning, they felt comfortable enough to turn around. "You…" Astrid muttered, her confused eyes focused on the seemingly healthy Erik. "Are you alright…?" she asked, strangely. "You were looking pretty bad there for a moment."

She may not have the same kind of medical knowledge that Emma and Elora's magic allowed them to have, but she had the instincts of a warrior… and she knew it wasn't good before. She'd kept her mind focused on the task at hand: protecting the healers of their family, but… suffice to say, she was glad to have the distraction.

"The hell's it matter?!" Emily exclaimed, relief flooding her mind as she sank to her knees and joined the others in their hug, her body trembling wildly from stress.

"Thank fuck you're alright, Erik!" she exclaimed loudly, completely forgetting the way she usually addressed him. "Do you have any idea what I'd have done if something happened to you?! Well… neither do I, but it can't have been pretty!"

Previously, she'd only barely been able to keep her corruption at bay due to crippling anxiety about Erik's state. She'd refused to lose control again so shortly after being rescued and then stopped by her possibly dying husband, but… it'd been one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

Deciding she was right, Astrid quickly followed suit and joined them in their group embrace.

Erik felt a little strange, but he accepted them in his arms and tried to comfort them. To go from his revelational discussion with Ymir to a group hug in the middle of a battlefield, was… a little surreal. On the other hand, the idea that he should have died was also starting to sink in, and he felt compelled to gulp as he accepted his wives' feelings.

Meanwhile, Ankhur and Enkai also turned to look at the scene with equal parts confusion and relief. Even Enkai was surprised to feel that relief. "Hmpf, cocky little shit is actually growing on me…" he grumbled softly.

Yet, they quickly turned around again. This was clearly a family moment.

They stayed like that for several minutes, with four women locking their arms around their husband. Emma was the only one crying openly, but it was clear the others felt no less relieved than her.

In their middle, Erik sighed and closed his eyes. At that time, the question Ymir had posed him at the start of their meeting suddenly returned to him: what choice do you think your girls would prefer? Do you not think you're essentially taking the easy way out?