Asher arrived first at the site of the explosion, closely followed by the rest of the group. The dust had not yet settled. Uprooted trees and broken rocks littered the ground.
"Miria!" Asher shouted, frantically searching through the debris.
"Miria!!"
The others spread out, calling her name. It was Katrina who first spotted an inert arm under a pile of branches and earth.
"There! Quick!"
They cleared the debris with desperate urgency. Miria was there, unconscious. A long tree branch had pierced her side. The wood was driven deep, but had miraculously spared her heart. Blood stained her clothes.
Asher turned pale.
"No… no, no, no…"
They carefully pulled her out. Bryan and Eiden held the branch while Asher, hands trembling, removed it in one clean motion. Miria did not react. Asher immediately took her in his arms, holding her tightly against him.
"Miria… Miria, please… open your eyes…"
His voice broke. Tears streamed down his face.
"It's coming back to me… everything is coming back…"
He held the inert body of the woman he loved even tighter.
"I always wondered… why, in the past, I never wanted to give up on winning you over. Why I kept insisting again and again… even when you pushed me away. Now I know. It's because it has always been what I always wanted. I've been searching for you for centuries."
He smiled through his tears, his forehead pressed against hers.
"I know now. Our first meeting… it wasn't at high school, when I was still a simple sorcerer. It was in Ashenford. Because… I am the reincarnation of Leo."
A deathly silence fell. Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
Asher continued, his voice hoarse with emotion:
"After your death… I always wished to find you again in a next life. And when life finally gave us that chance… it had started so well. But I ruined everything by leaving. And now that we have a third chance… you're the one who wants to leave?"
He clutched Miria's body against his, desperate.
"Miria… we've lived through so much… we've faced so many obstacles… Isn't it time we got to enjoy each other?"
A silence. Then, very weakly, a voice was heard.
"Finally… it's about time."
Asher lifted his head at once. Miria's eyes were half-open. Weak… but alive.
A sob of relief escaped him. He kissed her with a fervor mixed with tears, placing kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. Around them, the group melted into tears of joy. Katrina brought a hand to her mouth. Klaus put an arm around her shoulders. Even Bryan had shining eyes.
Asher, his forehead still against Miria's, asked in a soft voice:
"Why… why didn't you tell me I was the reincarnation of Leo?"
Miria sketched a weak smile.
"You never remind someone who loves you… how much they love you."
Asher smiled in turn, his eyes still wet, before kissing her again and holding her with infinite tenderness.