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The Edenian palace was a long-lost place of solace now since recovered.
Millenniums had passed since Raiden had last stepped foot here.
And yet the familiarity of it that had once lingered only in his memories was still prominent.
It felt as though nothing had changed, as though millenniums spent trapped, set in destruction, imprisoned within an orb, had done nothing to hamper Edenia's power and beauty.
It was quiet.
And the energy that flowed around him, filling in the corridors and halls of the palace reminded him of the Jinsei.
It reminded Raiden of the desperate comfort that he used to seek out whenever yet another Tournament came around. When he once more had to face the reality of Edenia's destruction, the reality of his own hands tied behind his back. The reality of his own cowardice at not fighting harder for Edenia, at not fighting more viciously against the Elder Gods and their faulted judgment.
The carved tiles underfoot reminded him that it was all in the past now.
It hadn't been there for very long, but lingering on the past would spoil the future and sour the present.
He had to remind himself of that.
And in doing so, Raiden reminded himself of the small, velvet ring box that was burning a hole in his pocket.
He found himself having to stop from touching it, from fidgeting with it- things that a mortal would do.
Raiden couldn't fault Sonya for turning it down.
But the message she had sent back with it was no more than a little too threatening.
Although the situation that Kenshi had described to him in regards to it was certainly something he would've liked to see, especially given the odd turn of events that had put the two into that position.
It was a rarity to catch Sonya Blade herself off-guard, let alone Takahashi Kenshi as well.
But to do both at the same time?
Raiden would've moved mountains just to catch a glimpse.
But Sonya had made a point with her rejection, regardless of how threatening she had made it.
He had held onto this ring for millenniums.
If Sindel had given it to him in the first place, the least he could do was give it back in the same manner.
Even if the thought of doing so made a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck.
The former Queen, now re-established, had changed plenty since the last time they had crossed paths.
Sindel had been through a lot, more so than any mortal should; although she was hardly considered a mortal these days. She was much stronger than she seemed, than she looked- and that was something she had always used to her advantage. Even in the dark of Edenia's downfall, there had been reports of the crushing blows she had dealt to Shao Kahn's forces.
There was the rumor that Shao Kahn's famed war helm was shattered under her power.
She had not gone quietly into the night as Outworld literature painted her to.
Sindel had witnessed the fall and rebirth of Edenia under her hand.
She had witnessed the rise and fall of the Outworld Kahn, also by her hand.
She had witnessed her own sense of death and resurrection, twice over now.
In all senses, she shouldn't so much as resemble the woman she once was.
And yet, she still somehow managed to.
She still retained the morals, the charisma that had made her loved by the Edenian people to begin with. Her heart was still in the right place, despite the tortures she had gone through, despite how her own family had been pitted against her- and she against them.
Against all odds, she had come out on top.
And Raiden had accepted that it was that strength, that perseverance that made him so hesitant to confront her himself.
To confront her with a piece of history she had more than likely already left behind her.
The little silver ring, like the one he carried with him, could make for a disaster encounter; a debilitating catalyst.
There could potentially be no reaction from her in regards to it.
But just the thought of a minute response was enough to force second thoughts into his head.
"Oh! Is that you, Raiden?"
He stilled at the voice that ran tremors down his spine before he turned at the call of his name, already knowing who it was. And knowing just how dangerous it was for her to be calling for him from down the corridor.
How the Edenian Queen had managed to step in from behind him was a bit of a question, unless she had just returned to the palace herself.
Contradicting what the guards out front had told him.
"I don't know why I questioned it, I certainly knew it was you," Sindel continued, taking steady strides towards him as she hastily brushed the wrinkles out of her uniform. Once again implying that she had stepped out beforehand, obviously completely unaware of his unannounced arrival. "You're a very easy man to recognize, even from behind."
"And here I thought I was sneaking in," Raiden replied.
"Not under my watch," she chuckled, reaching a hand out as she drew closer to him.
Fingers curled around his arm and he felt how Sindel pulled herself in against him.
"This is unexpected, Raiden. I only knew of General Blade's visit. What brings you here as well? Did something happen?"
"No, everything is fine," he assured. "General Blade will be here later- on time, as usual. Something came up on my end and, given my light schedule, there was no reason for me to procrastinate on it."
"Oh?"
There was a pique of curiosity in Sindel's tone, which was further by the subtle cock of her head.
And he figured if there was any better time, it was now.
"I wanted to speak with you about a personal matter," Raiden started, "- preferably somewhere private."
The curl on the corners of her lips hinted at the very potential misunderstanding of his motives that he was afraid of.
"Of course," Sindel replied, as she pulled away from him, only to keep her fingers tangled in his sleeve for a moment too long after. "Come, I know just the place."
Her fingers dropped from his sleeve but not before tugging him to follow her, which went without saying.
Raiden followed her down the rest of the corridor, and noted that she didn't take the adjoining hallway to their right. Instead, she continued further down, bypassing open archways and open lobbies that were half-filled with both men and women lounging about on the furniture. Given how massive the Edenian palace was, it wasn't uncommon to see portions of it that were open to the public, that were open to anyone and everyone who needed a quick place to catch their breath.
Edenia had always been a realm of an open community.
Something that, even now, had not changed.
Even those who had been forced to live in the violence of Outworld had now come home and readjusted to their old, peaceful ways of living.
Despite the years, Raiden could still recall the layout of the palace.
And it only took one more turn before he realized just where the woman was taking him.
"Your study?" Raiden questioned.
"Hm, so you remember?" Sindel mused, shooting him a small smile over her shoulder. "Kitana had some business that she needed attending to, so I let her make use of my throne room; it will ensure proper respect from the people that she's speaking to. I've been out for most of the day anyways, so if there is business to be done, it might as well be done there. Besides, you said you wanted somewhere private- and I'm the only one who comes down here most days."
As familiarity had lead him, Raiden watched as she moved to a wide door on their right and pushed it open.
And held it open for the both of them to walk through.
"It's less of a study and more of a... work in progress," Sindel continued. "I usually come here when I need to collect my thoughts, so I suppose nothing has really changed about it."
The room itself wasn't very large, especially compared to the rest of the palace.
Raiden had known the woman to come here when she needed time to focus, to sit and gather her ideas and thoughts.
He had a room just like it at the Jinsei Temple; a place he could retreat to without interruption- which was a lot to ask for these days.
True to her word, however, a portion of the room had been packed up and removed, leaving behind an empty space. There was little more than an old wooden desk, a leather-bound chair, and a few bookcases filled too tightly with books still standing in place now.
"I told Kitana that she could have this room if she ever needed a nursery," Sindel spoke, as she walked over to the desk and cleared it of the few books that were scattered across the top of it. Implying that she had been in here recently- and was perhaps looking for something in the archives. "It went over about as well as you think."
"Not very well then," Raiden remarked.
"Oh, she got very cross with me," she chuckled, before she turned back to him. "Now then, what was it that was so important that you had to come all the way out here to tell me?"
There was another bolt of hesitation before he willed himself to give it up.
He was already here, after all.
It would be a shameful waste if he didn't go through with it.
"I wanted to give you something," Raiden corrected, as he reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out the ring box. He kept it hidden from her sight at first, but he could see the way she cocked her head to try and get a better look at it. "You gave this to me a long time ago. You never told me if you wanted it back, but I think now is as good a time as any for it to be back in your possession."
He stepped closer to her before he held the velvet box out for her to take.
And Raiden watched the confused expression that made its way across her face first, watching as her eyes moved from his own, down to the small box and then back to his eyes. Sindel seemed to hesitate before she reached out and took the small box from his hand, gingerly picking it up and holding it in her grasp.
She didn't immediately open it.
Instead, she just looked it over, as though searching for something on it.
"I gave you this?" Sindel questioned, shooting him another look, before she carefully opened the small box.
And he watched firsthand as the shock of realization shot its way across her face.
The color draining from her skin just ever so slightly.
"Oh."
A soft whisper of recognition.
Sindel slowly traced a finger over the ring inside, as though having to convince herself that it was real, before she carefully pulled it free. Eyes were sharp; they were dedicated as she looked it over, counting and recognizing all of the little details, all of the little gems that adorned the silver band.
And all the more slowly, she slipped the ring onto her finger.
Where it fit exactly how it did millenniums before.
"You kept this?" she asked.
And the question was quiet, almost detached, as her attention remained on the ring still.
"Of course," Raiden nodded. "You asked me to keep it for you. And I ensured that I did."
She continued to toy with the ring, rolling it side-to-side on her finger, getting used to its weight, to its presence again, before she gently curled her hand into a fist- holding the ring in place now.
"I barely remember giving this to you," Sindel spoke. "I thought it was long gone, that it had gotten lost or taken."
"Which is precisely why you gave it to me."
She chuckled softly, presumably amused. "I remember when Jerrod gave this to me. He was so nervous, I think he would've thrown up if he wasn't so busy fumbling through his words. It was rather cute, actually. He was always so stoic and clear-spoken; it was hard to imagine something getting to him the way that I did."
"You have that effect on people," Raiden remarked.
Sindel nodded, before fingers moved to toy with the ring once more. "I should say thanks, Raiden. You've brought to me a piece of my own history that I had thought was gone forever. But-"
She seemed to hesitate with her own words, with what she was going to say; a motion that put him a little on edge now.
"- I can't wear this. Not anymore, not after all this time."
"Sindel-"
"It's okay," she assured. "I've made my peace. I have Edenia back, I have Kitana back; there is nothing else that I can bring back. And I can't move forward if I'm still stuck in the past. Jerrod will always be a part of me; I will always see him when I look at Kitana, when I look out into Edenia. He gave his life for Edenia and I gave mine to bring it back; that is my parting gift to him."
He couldn't blame her for not wanting to look back on things, for wanting to put everything behind her and have them stay there.
Regardless of everything that had happened, he knew this wasn't an easy choice for her to make.
Especially given that she continued to wear the ring, pressed tight into a fist.
He had held onto it to give her hope, to give her back something she thought she had lost.
When in actuality, he had given her the last thing she needed to bury her past behind her.
Setting the empty box aside, Raiden watched as Sindel pushed herself from the desk and moved to him, before he felt how she wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself in against him. The motion caught him by surprise as he felt her tuck her head into the curve of his neck and felt how she squeezed his body in her hold.
He moved a hand to her back, barely skimming it at first.
Before he gradually let himself put his arms around her, holding her in return.
And he couldn't help but think that it had been a long time since he had last held her.
Even when Sindel was staying in Earthrealm, healing at the temple after the Jinsei implosion, Raiden had been adamant about keeping his distance, about keeping her at arms length. She had needed her own time, her own space to heal- and she had more important things to worry about; she had more important people to worry about than him.
With his own need to focus on the other Revenant as well, it had seemed easy for them to keep their distance from one another.
And yet, Raiden always found himself going back to her.
And he always found her waiting for him.
This was hardly the time, nor place to linger on such memories though.
He couldn't allow himself to be blinded by his own greed.
Despite his own warning, however, Raiden waited for Sindel to pull away on her own first; he knew well that he wouldn't have the strength to do so. Not while he could feel the soft breath on his neck, the firm squeeze around his body, the weight against his chest. It felt like she needed him to be here- and he had disappointed far too many people already; he couldn't disappoint her as well.
Eventually, Sindel did pull away from him.
If only to press her head against the middle of his chest instead.
If only to move her hands to curl around his arms once more.
Raiden felt the tight pull of her fingers in the folds of his sleeves again, and felt the subtle tugging that followed; the subtle tugging that seemed to imply that she knew she needed to pull away from him, but couldn't, not yet at least.
There was an oddity to acknowledge in their shared sense of vulnerability.
In their shared desperation for comfort.
Against his better judgment, Raiden moved to take one of her hands into his own and pulled it away, before he brought it to his lips.
He felt the curling of her fingers against his palm and the subtle squeeze of her hand that followed after.
He felt the warm press of her lips against his own hand before she pulled it down from between them.
Before Sindel touched her lips against his own.
Soft and light on contact.
And for the moment, Raiden found himself still underneath her touch, underneath the warmth that she shared between them.
"You have given me the last piece of closure that I needed, Raiden," Sindel whispered, and each of her words touched at his lips as she spoke. "And for that, I cannot thank you enough."
He felt the press of one more light kiss on his lips before she pulled away.
Leaving him to linger with the heat left behind.
She held onto his hand for a few moments longer, keeping it firmly held between both of hers, before she finally released it.
"I'll put this away," Sindel started, as she stepped around him and headed for the door behind him.
Raiden turned to watch her, watching as she pulled the door open before she paused.
She lingered in the open doorway for a moment, before she turned back to him.
Before she greeted him with that same look of adoration as before.
"Perhaps, when this is where it needs to be, you and I could enjoy one another's company before General Blade arrives."
Sindel stepped away before Raiden had a chance to object to her suggestion.
Not that he was certain that he would.