Leon lifted himself up out of the bath, steam rolling off his pasty skin. How long had it been since he had been clean? He honestly couldn't even remember. Turning his attention to the side, Leon saw some basic clothes laid out neatly on the counter. A basic white button-up shirt with a pair of dark brown slacks with suspenders.

Drying himself off, he put on the prepared clothes and swept his long black hair back behind his head before tying it into a neat ponytail behind his head. He straightened himself out and looked into the mirror, the clothes unsurprisingly fit a bit baggy but he at least now looked somewhat presentable.

Leon took a deep breath before heading back out of the bathroom and found the couple sitting at a table with a steaming pot set out in the middle. The warm smell emanating from the pot filled the room and Leon found himself frozen staring at the pot, salivating slightly as his eyes widened

"Haha!" chuckled Angus looking at Leon who was standing in a daze, "My wife's talents know no bounds as you can see."

Viola rolled her eyes, not falling for her husband's shameless flattery, he wasn't going to get off scot-free that easily.

"Come on Leon, I'm sure you're starving, and there's way more than I or Angus can finish here," said Viola, gesturing for Leon to come and take a seat at the table.

Leon sat down wordlessly as his eyes remained fixated on the pot as if it contained a priceless treasure rather than a basic hearty stew. Viola served three bowls, making sure to give a little extra to the boy who looked like he would pounce on the pot at any given moment at this point.

"Let's dig in then," Viola announced cheerily.

Leon picked up the small metallic spoon, his hands quivering slightly as he dipped it into the bowl and brought it back up to his lips before he drank the warm broth. When the liquid touched his tongue, he completely froze, causing Angus and Viola to flinch slightly as if something was wrong before Leon's eyes glistened and watered over and tears started trickling down his face.

Angus and Viola both let out a small sigh in unison before they both adopted the same happy grin across their expression, Viola even squeezed Angus' hand under the table a little.

Leon broke out of his reverie and continued to shovel spoonful after spoonful into his mouth, caring little for manners as tears continued to drop off his face and fall into the bowl as well. The dinner continued in silence as Angus and Viola watched on happily, even refilling Leon's bowl after he had finished his first and continued to eat with the same teary dazed face as he had at the first sip.

Finally, when his stomach had no capacity left, he sat back in his chair and looked at the couple with cheeks slightly red from embarrassment.

"Thank you..."

"It was our pleasure, you have no idea how nice it is to have... someone in the house besides just us again," said Viola with a half pained half happy voice to which Angus nodded in agreement.

"Listen," said Angus with a slightly more serious tone, "I know you have nowhere to stay at the moment, and both Viola and I would be worried sick if we let you leave by yourself, especially in your condition, so how about you stay here for a while?"

Leon looked at the couple in shock, despite their hospitality he never expected the couple to want him to stay around for a little while, but he felt guilty using what little the couple seemed to have.

"A-Are you sure?" asked Leon anxiously, "I don't want to overstay my welcome..."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Viola slightly offended, "We may not have much, but God would smite me if I threw a lost child out of my home after just a night of hospitality."

'To be honest, I don't think he'd mind much...' Leon thought darkly.

"Besides I'm sure Angus could do with a helping hand around here, especially as you're a strength ability user," Viola carried on, earning another quick nod from Angus.

Leon smiled and he had a weird feeling in his chest, he felt a bit warm and fuzzy, but it was nice so he didn't mind it at all.

"I guess I'll have to say thank you once again," Leon said, bowing his head with respect.

---

2 months later - Blade Estate

A boy and a girl were sitting on the lawn infront of the huge palatial home looking up at the sky with a pained but genuine smile on their faces. The girl had shoulder-length wavy ashen blonde hair and piercing emerald eyes, her once pasty skin regained some of its past rosy luster despite the child evidently still being on the frail side.

The similarly underweight boy had dark skin that soaked up the sunlight with short black braided hair falling down to his ears.

Over the past three months, after their escape from Herman Dest's lab, Aria and Ajax had been brought back to the Blade estate by Sylphia and Lance to undergo their recovery and rehab.

After finding out the boy named Ajax who had saved Aria's life had nowhere to go as his parents had been murdered, the parents immediately offered Ajax to join the Blade family without even asking about his ability or tier. To them, the fact he'd been there for his daughter was more than enough.

At first, Ajax was shocked and slightly hesitant to give up his family name but he had nowhere to go, and honestly didn't know what to do after the escape.

However, one thing was for certain, after losing Leon he'd be damned if he was going to lose Aria too so he eventually accepted the Blade's proposal and officially become Ajax Blade.

With the help of some of the best light-attuned healers in the country, the two children's recovery had been pretty swift considering the condition they were found in three months ago and both children could now walk without any support but would need some more time to regain a healthy weight.

Aria continued staring at the sky with a small smile, finding solace on the peaceful sunny day.

"I wish he could be here with us," Aria said without looking over.

"Me too Aria... Me too," Ajax replied also looking up at the sky with a sad smile.

"What do we do now? Leon was always the one with the answers..." said Aria.

Ajax closed his eyes and took a deep breath, reminiscing about his lost friend that he now realized had been his and Ari's rock for the three years they had been tortured. Despite going through the exact same thing he had been through, Leon had never faltered and always looked out for him and Ari without ever asking for anything in return.

"We prove to him that we were worth sacrificing his life for, so when we finally meet him again one day, we can walk by his side with our heads held high," said Ajax resolutely.

"I wish I could see him again soon, just to say thank you for everything, I never got the chance," Ari said quietly, her emerald eyes glistening over slightly.

"But not yet," replied Ajax.

"No... not yet," Ari confirmed.

The two turned their gazes away from the sky and looked at each other with a broad smile and Ajax held Ari's hand tightly in his.

"Dead but never broken," said Ajax.

"Dead but never broken," replied Ari with a grin.