The silence in the room was filled only by the soft sound of their breathing. Strax and Scarlet's bodies were still glued together, sweaty, intertwined on the sofa in the huge living room, which at that moment seemed like the only world that existed.
Her head rested on his chest, her eyes half-closed and her fingers drawing lazy circles on his warm skin. They had already lost track of time. They just felt - each other, the tiredness, the heat, and the strange absence of something that should have happened.
Strax stared at the ceiling for a moment, in silence, until he turned his face to stare at Scarlet, his expression filled with something unusual in him: doubt.
"Even after everything we've done... I still haven't advanced to the Emperor stage." His voice was low, almost a whisper, but the words carried the weight of weeks of anticipation.
