Chapter Text
There lived a strange ghost at the Ramshackle Dorm at Night Raven College.
But the inhabitants, except for a select few like the dorm leader, didn’t know your true identity.
You’re the friendly, and yet at times, odd ghost who has always been there watching over them.
They don’t know you’re the founder of the dorm and its protector.
That is, until someone tries to mess with your home or students, does the land itself quake, and the house seems to move.
How were any of them to know? That you were once a student who came from another world?
That, even in death, you could not return to your world.
No matter, you still had matters to attend to here.
“Still roaming these grounds, dear?”
“What can I say? I’m rather fond of the home that I worked so hard on.”
You tilted your head towards your visitor, “You look stunning as ever.”
Lilia Vanrouge had changed. His hair came down to his shoulders now, his eyes crinkled with crow's feet, his mouth had laugh lines, and yet those magenta eyes of his shined as lively as ever.
“And you, my dear, look as beautiful as the day we lost you.”
You both laughed.
It is when the first rays of dawn color the sky does he speak, “Don’t you miss them?”
You lay your head on his shoulder, “Of course I do, but I can wait a little longer.”
He entwines his hand with yours, “We don’t deserve you.”
“We’ll agree to disagree.”
You were scaring off another visitor during Halloween when the familiar green lights encapsulated the area.
“Malleus!”
“Hello, Beastie.”
The King of Briar Valley has aged majestically.
Gray hair peppers his usual midnight locks, wrinkles under his eyes that make him more regal, shoulders broadened, and with time, his horns healed.
“Retirement boring you?”
“You jest. I merely wanted to visit a friend.”
He offers you his hand, “Come, tell me your adventures and I will tell you mine.”
Though the centuries have passed, you two have kept having your nightly walks.
Not as frequent as back when you were alive and with his travels keeping him busy, but you both made do.
“Child of Man, it won’t be long now.”
You smile, “Yes, it’ll be soon.”
He traces your hands, remembering the warmth they used to emit, “Time sped by.”
You smile mischievously, “In the blink of an eye?”
He chuckles before lightly flickering at your forehead.
“Soon, I’ll be joining the others.”
“Yes. They’ve been patiently waiting.”
“You’ll join us?”
“Soon.”
He leans his forehead against yours, “Good, I would rather not be bereft of your company.”
Your last visitor, centuries later, came in the form of Ortho Shroud.
He was taller but otherwise looked the same.
“You sure you don’t want to stay longer?”
“I’m sure.”
He sat with you in the living room of Ramshackle.
The students are on break for the winter.
“I thought for sure you would wait another few centuries.”
“I got bored.”
“Bored?!”
“Nothing is fun anymore. Don’t get me wrong, the Shroud family are amazing, but none of the games hits the same anymore.”
You raised an eyebrow, “Really now?”
He shrugged a bit sheepishly, “And…I miss my brothers and parents.”
“Ah, there’s the truth.”
Ortho looked out the window, “Besides, you waited long enough.”
“I don’t mind waiting.”
He shook his head, “No, I’m ready. I think we made them wait long enough.”
“I hope you enjoyed your peace. We’ll never hear the end of it for taking so long.”
He smirked, “They’ll wish we stayed away longer.”
It was on the cusp of the new year when the Founder of the Ramshackle Dorm and the first Technomantic Humanoid disappeared.
Ending an era and leading to another anew.
If you listen closely to the winds during this time, you could hear the laughter of a reunion long in the making.