Ink and paper : The fallen Hero.

**Eloise**

I didn't expect to feel so... conflicted.

When I agreed to follow Caius to Aeloria, it was supposed to be a solution—an attempt to right the wrongs I made in his story. I thought it was about understanding him, about fixing what I had broken in him. But now, as I pack my bags, my hands tremble. This isn't just about him anymore.

It's about me, too. About my world.

What if I could change everything? What if I could take the reins and rewrite it all? This world, the story I crafted—it was a reflection of my mind, my thoughts, my hopes. The characters weren't just names on pages. They were pieces of me, projections of the desires and fears I carried deep inside. But I'd never seen them in the way I was about to. I'd never experienced their world.

And Caius—he was my greatest creation. The one I needed to understand the most. I need to see the world through his eyes. I need to see what I could have done differently, to make his life better.To turn him into the man he deserves to be, not just the man I wanted him to be.

I glance at the clock on the wall. He's waiting for me, sitting on the edge of my couch, looking as out of place in this world as he does in my story. There's an intensity to him, a brooding presence that makes my heart flutter despite everything.

It's crazy, isn't it? How someone you created can make you feel so... alive?

I pull my suitcase shut and turn toward him. He's watching me, his eyes unreadable but curious.

"You're not going anywhere until you clean up," I say, my voice steady but light.

His brow furrows, confusion flashing across his face.

"You want me to clean up?" He looks down at his clothes, which are damp from the sudden surge of magic that brought him here.

"Yes," I reply with a small smile. "Go dry off. The bathroom is through that door."

He stands slowly, his eyes still unsure. "You want me to use this... room?" His accent thickens slightly, and I can hear the unfamiliarity in his voice. He's still trying to figure out this world, this place where nothing makes sense to him.

"Yes," I say, nodding with a grin. "It's a bathroom. You'll find everything you need in there. Towels, hairdryer, shower..."

I pause for a moment, then add, "I'll get you a cup of hot chocolate to make up for the shock."

Caius looks at me like I've just offered him an entirely new realm. He's so out of place here, and yet it's so him. The confused, yet deeply curious expression, as though he's never seen anything so strange and wonderful in his life.

I can't help but smile to myself. He's exactly how I created him—wary, sharp, calculating—but also... with a wonderment I didn't fully capture in the pages. There's something about seeing him react to something as simple as a hairdryer that brings me a strange, quiet happiness.

"Go on," I urge gently, "Before you catch a cold."

He hesitates only for a second before heading toward the bathroom. I hear the door shut softly behind him, and I let out a breath, suddenly feeling the weight of what's happening settle on my shoulders.

This is real.

I move to the kitchen, focusing on the task at hand. I prepare two mugs of hot chocolate, stirring them carefully. This moment—this small, intimate gesture of sharing something so simple with him—feels right. It feels like home in a way I didn't expect.

I think about his world. His story.

I want to change it. I want him to have the ending he deserves. Not a tragic one. Not one dictated by fate or revenge. But a life of meaning, where he's more than just a tool of destruction. A life where he's loved—not for his power, not for his vengeance, but for who he truly is.

I want that for him. And maybe, just maybe, I want to see if it's possible for me to change. To see if there's more to me than the woman who created him and now feels tied to him in ways I never expected.

A soft knock on the bathroom door pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Eloise?" Caius's voice is tentative, still unfamiliar with the mundane world he now finds himself in.

"Yeah, just a second," I call back, rushing to pour the hot chocolate into two mugs. I quickly grab a towel, folding it neatly before setting it aside for him.

I open the door, and there he is—standing in the hallway, a little damp but somehow... different. His hair is still dripping slightly, but his face is softened. The lines of tension in his shoulders have eased.

"I'm not sure I understand how this works," he says slowly, his eyes focused on the small hairdryer I've set out for him on the counter. "What is this?"

I grin, unable to contain the amusement bubbling up. "It's a hairdryer, Caius. You use it to dry your hair after you get out of the shower."

He picks it up cautiously, turning it over in his hands, still perplexed by the contraption. "It... blows air?"

I nod, laughing softly. "Yeah. It dries you off. You plug it in, turn it on, and it'll warm up."

For a moment, he just stands there, staring at the hairdryer like it's some kind of sorcery. And then, in a moment of pure curiosity, he plugs it in and turns it on. The loud hum fills the air, and he jumps back in surprise, his hand instinctively going to the hilt of his sword.

I laugh harder this time, unable to stop the joy that fills me at the sight of him so utterly bewildered by something so mundane.

"What is this magic?" he demands, his voice laced with both awe and confusion.

"No magic," I assure him, trying to contain my laughter. "It's just technology."

He stares at it, still skeptical, but slowly—so very slowly—he brings it closer to his hair. The look of wonder that spreads across his face as the warm air brushes against him is so pure, so unguarded, that for a moment, it feels like we've left Aeloria behind. This is just... us.

After a few moments, he's finished. He places the hairdryer back on the counter with a look of quiet triumph.

"That is... most impressive," he says, his voice filled with genuine admiration.

"I'm glad you liked it," I reply, offering him the hot chocolate mug. He takes it carefully, as though still unsure of the whole *comfort* concept.

I smile to myself as I grab a bowl of hot ramen and a few snacks. The simple things in life, like food and warmth, seem to mean so much more in his presence.

"This is for you too," I say, setting the bowl in front of him. "I don't know if you're familiar with ramen, but it's a kind of noodle soup. It's very popular here."

His gaze flickers between the bowl of ramen and the snacks, clearly taken aback. "You've... prepared this for me?"

I nod. "Yes. It's a small thing, but I thought you might enjoy it."

To my surprise, Caius picks up the chopsticks, his hand steady despite the earlier hesitation. He takes a tentative bite and then looks at me in wide-eyed surprise.

"It's... warm." His voice is almost reverent. "And... it tastes good?"

"I think you'll like it," I say, my smile softening.

This, this is the side of Caius I never expected to see—the wonder in his eyes as he discovers the little pleasures of this world. It's not just about rewriting his fate anymore. It's about this—about showing him the simplicity and the beauty of life that he never had the chance to experience.

Maybe, just maybe, I'm not the only one who needs to change.