Hannah – POV
I woke up, but kept my eyes shut for a moment longer, letting myself float in the unfamiliar softness beneath me. The pillow under my cheek was far plusher than anything I owned, and for a blissful second, I wondered if everything that happened in the Skull Cavern had just been a bad dream.
But no.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuRqWQWk9s
The aches radiating through my muscles were too real. The memory of blood and stone, of terror and survival, came rushing back to me all at once, crashing like a wave.
I cracked my eyes open and blinked at the strange room around me — old, ancient, the walls lined with heavy drapes and crooked paintings. It didn't feel dangerous, though. Just...old.
I winced as I reached up to touch my face, fingertips brushing against a tender, jagged cut along my cheekbone.
At the foot of the bed, Sebastian sat watching me, his face tense — and then, when our eyes met, softening with obvious relief.
"I'm happy you woke up," he said, his voice flat in that typical Sebastian way, but the raw emotion behind it was impossible to miss.
I smiled weakly, my heart unclenching just a little.
"Where are we?" I rasped, my throat dry. I glanced around at the dusty tomes and strange artifacts. "A...library?"
Sebastian let out a breath of a laugh.
"The Wizard let us crash here. After he, you know... put your bones back together," he said, far too casually.
My eyes widened. "What?"
"Don't worry about it," he said quickly, reaching out to rest a steady hand on my leg. His touch grounded me. "You're completely healed now. And awake. You did it."
He smiled, the real kind, the one he rarely let anyone see. Relief poured out of him like he couldn't even help it.
I sagged back against the headboard, letting out a shaky breath.
"I'm so happy it's over."
Panic suddenly jolted through me. I sat up too fast. "Wait — my animals! What time is it? They're probably starving, cold—"
Sebastian stood immediately, gently pushing me back before I could hurt myself again.
"Relax. Abigail and Sam went over to your place this morning. Everything's handled. We can leave whenever you're ready to walk."
The tension in my chest loosened. I wasn't sure I'd ever been so grateful.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed — and instantly regretted it. A deep, bone-weary soreness settled over every inch of me. I hissed in pain, but forced myself to stand.
Sebastian was there in a heartbeat, wrapping an arm around me, supporting my weight without hesitation. His grip was firm, steady. Like he wasn't about to let me fall.
I limped forward, grimacing with every step, but it was better. Manageable. And compared to what I'd survived? A little pain was nothing.
"Oh, and — this is yours," Sebastian said, grinning slightly as he pulled something from behind him.
The Galaxy Sword.
The blade gleamed even in the dim light, a swirling purple aura almost humming in the air around it.
I reached for it carefully, my fingers closing around the hilt. The moment I touched it, a warmth shot up my arm — not painful, but powerful. Mine.
For once, there was no self-doubt, no guilt whispering in the back of my mind.
I had earned this.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCu5lYDmM1M
I deserved it.
Growth. The thought made me smile to myself.
Sebastian and I made our way out of the Wizard's Tower, slipping through the back exit to avoid drawing attention. The winter air hit me like a splash of cold water, sharp and clean.
Snow blanketed the world in white silence.
It still wasn't enough to distract me from the turmoil in my mind though.
As we crossed the snowy fields of my farm, I spotted something new: a massive stone building, the Slime Hutch, standing proudly near the edge of the woods.
It would be a while before I even thought about monsters again, but still — it was comforting to see the progress.
We approached my house — and then I saw him.
Sitting on my porch steps, hands shoved into his jacket pockets, shoulders hunched against the cold.
Alex.
Sebastian tensed beside me immediately.
"You're kidding," he muttered under his breath.
I tightened my grip on his arm for just a second — a silent It's okay — and we kept walking.
Alex stood up awkwardly when he saw me, his body vibrating with something between guilt and desperation. He looked awful — for him. No styled hair, dark circles under his eyes. He didn't lunge forward, though I could tell he wanted to.
I stopped a few paces away, torn between exhaustion and a desperate need for a hot shower.
"I just needed to see that you're alive," Alex said, voice rougher than I remembered.
I nodded stiffly, unsure what to say. Sebastian stayed glued to my side, his presence like a wall between me and whatever Alex thought he could still reach.
Alex's gaze flicked to the gash on my cheek, the ripped clothes, the bruises. His jaw clenched.
"Are you hurt?" he asked. Maybe rhetorical, considering how I looked.
"I'm better now," I said simply.
The silence between the three of us thickened, sharp and heavy.
Alex looked between us — Sebastian so solid beside me, his hand still lightly resting on my back — and I could see the realization dawn across Alex's face like a slow, bitter sunrise.
He wasn't the one I leaned into anymore.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXWzGGVy8N
He wasn't the one who held me steady when I staggered.
Sebastian was.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BYBESUqrP
And he always had been.
I care about Alex without a doubt, he was my first real friend in Stardew, but it's hard being his friend when I see how much I hurt him.
Alex swallowed hard, stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets. His face crumpled for half a second before he forced it smooth again.
"I'm glad you're okay," he said finally, voice so quiet I barely heard it. "That's all I needed to know. I'll see you two around."
I nodded again, no anger left in me for him — just a dull kind of sadness, a chapter long since closed, "Thank you Alex, I appreciate it."
Without another word, Alex turned and walked off into the snowy fields, his footprints the only mark he left behind.
Sebastian exhaled next to me, low and steady.
"I'm sorry." He said, feeling remorse for the mourning of my friendship with Alex, not for him, but for me.
I nodded, leaning my head briefly against his shoulder.
"Yeah," I said. "He'll be fine."
Sebastian wrapped an arm around me tighter, pulling me into his side, and together we stepped up onto the porch, ready to heal from everything, not just the Skull Cavern.
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