Chapter 99: Whispers of the Past
The moonlight spilled across the chamber floor like silver water, casting long shadows across the stone and rune-inscribed walls. Inside, Valerie Tepes thrashed beneath silk sheets, her breath shallow, her hands clenching at unseen enemies.
"No… please… don't—" Her voice cracked in a whisper, swallowed by the wards lining her room.
It was her third nightmare in as many nights.
The Grail had been quiet since her rescue, but the trauma rooted deep within her mind still bled through.
The faces of her captors, the endless tests, the soul-numbing isolation—they refused to fade.
Healers had tried dream suppressants. Rias Gremory herself had offered soothing spells and soft words of comfort.
The servants moved gently, speaking in hushed voices and surrounding Valerie with calm… but she remained emotionally distant.
She would smile, but only with her mouth. She would speak, but only when necessary.
No one could reach her.
Except one.
Volundr stood at the doorway, watching the candlelight flicker. He said nothing for a long while, letting the silence breathe between them. When she stirred, sitting up with a shudder, he finally stepped inside.
"You're not alone anymore, Valerie," he said quietly.
She flinched, pulling the sheets around her shoulders. Her eyes searched him—wary, uncertain, defensive.
"I didn't call for anyone."
"You didn't need to," he replied, his voice even, calm.
"But I know what it's like to wake up and wonder if the cage is still real."
She froze.
Volundr walked to the window and leaned against the sill, arms crossed.
"The first time I triggered my aura… I couldn't control it. It nearly burned down part of the estate. Everyone thought it was a curse. Even my own blood."
Valerie looked at him, surprised. "What happened?"
"I was told to suppress it. To lock it away. But the more I did, the more it consumed me. Only when I embraced it did I begin to understand what I really was—and what I could become."
The silence between them changed. It no longer weighed heavy—it stretched, like something reaching across a void.
Valerie lowered her gaze.
"The Grail… it still whispers sometimes. Even now. It's not just the memories. It's… like something is watching from inside. Waiting."
Volundr nodded slowly. "Then we quiet it—together."
He stepped forward and knelt beside her bed, not reaching out, but close enough to offer the presence she needed. "The Sacred Gear isn't your prison, Valerie. But if it hinders your healing… we can seal it for now."
Her fingers trembled as she brushed her silver-blonde hair behind her ear. "Seal it?"
he continued.
"With your permission, we'll remove the Sacred Gear temporarily. You'll still be you. Just… without the weight of it. You'll have time to rebuild without fighting its shadow every night."
Valerie hesitated. Her entire life had been shaped—twisted—by the Grail fragment inside her. The thought of living without its voice, even temporarily, was terrifying… and liberating.
"…Alright," she whispered. "Seal it."
Volundr nodded once.
"It'll be done tonight. You'll sleep without chains for the first time."
Valerie looked up at him again, and for the first time since arriving, her eyes weren't clouded with fear. There was pain, yes—but there was also the faintest flicker of trust.
She reached out, barely brushing his sleeve. "Thank you… Volundr."
His voice was soft.
"No thanks needed. Just rest."
As he left the room, Volundr knew this was only the beginning. The real healing would take time, and the road ahead would not be easy.
But a part of Valerie had returned tonight—and in time, she would rise.
Not as a pawn.
But as a Bishop.