After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

He opened his eyes to see very familiar green eyes. They were not smiling though. Rather, they were red with held-back tears.

His arm moved to touch her, his heart hurting seeing her like this.

"...wife…" he said, heartbroken, and his voice came out raspy and tired.

Althea's head whipped up, her eyes widening at the sound of his voice.

Emerald eyes fixed on him. When she confirmed she wasn't seeing this, she finally burst into tears. "Husband!! Wuuuu—"

Althea, who had been struggling to hold on to her composure, completely let go. She embraced him tightly, and he comforted her the best he could despite his still body.

He lifted his eyes to see that there were quite a few others there. There was Ansel, Oslo, Hoffen, and a few others.

"How do you feel?" Hoffen asked, stepping forward. There was a light of inquiry in his eyes though, and it almost overcame the relief and concern.

Althea didn't know her master was entering mad scientist mode again, she just wanted to know what in the world was going on!

"Is everything alright? What happened? Everyone has been so worried!" she sobbed.

"I… I'm not quite sure," was all he could say. It wasn't a lie.

He tried to recall that he had dreamed about but they were all quite vague. The only ones he remembered were the ones with Althea as a baby.

His eyes flickered as he looked at the woman embracing him in desperation. His sinewy arms held on to her back with similar desperation and he hadn't even noticed.

Although the memory was vague, one thing was clear: They had an even deeper history than he thought.

For many years after that, he was not aware of what the word bethrothed truly meant. He couldn't even pinpoint exactly when his feelings for her turned romantic.

It did change at some point, after growing together for so many years. However, the change felt organic and sequential, and it felt like it was bound to happen.

He just knew he cared for Althea and would do anything for her. It had always been a part of him to be with her, whether physically or in spirit.

He took a deep breath and hugged her tighter.

Regardless of their history, what mattered now was that they were—and always would be—together. He didn't care about anything else.

….

Now that the precious Elder was okay, everyone heaved a deep breath of relief.

After a series of tests in the hospital, they determined that Garan's stats were all normal. Even that weird streak on his head had disappeared.

Althea thanked everyone for their concern and asked them to adjourn. They left the couple so they could get back to the villa to rest, some heading out to work while the others also going to their respective homes to rest.

There were a lot of things to clean up post-war, and although these things had been in process, they'd definitely be expedited if some of the key personnel—who had been too worried for Garan to work—were there.

By then, the makeshift clinic had already been dismantled and the bunker area was once again left alone. She held her husband's arms as they opened the bunkers.

As they walked to the doors though, Garan couldn't help but look at the destruction around. Out of all the parks, this one was obliterated, and most of it was because of his ability.

He wondered if he could always control it. If he couldn't, would it cause more damage to what his wife had built? She personally handled the parks and their arrangements, and when she talked about it, she'd be so excited.

As a husband, he felt ashamed.

Beside him, Althea felt him tense up, and she turned to him in concern. "Do you feel ill?"

He shook his head.

This naturally wasn't a comforting answer to Althea, who was still on the edge after everything that happened. "What's wrong? Do feel any discomfort? Should I call Sheila?" she asked, rubbing his chest in concern.

His veined hands grabbed her soft ones. "I wasn't able to protect what you built."

Althea blinked at this, taking a moment to absorb his words. She was surprised that he was even having these thoughts.

She sighed in the end, sending him an understanding smile. "Alterra is what we built, along with thousands of others.

"Most importantly, it is the family that we built that is most important to me," she said. "Last time I checked, they're both quite okay."

He sighed, but his face showed a gentle smile.

"So aren't you going to tell me what you've been keeping?" she asked out-of-nowhere.

Garan's eyebrows rose as he looked at her, and this earned him a squeeze on his chiseled chin. "I've known you for as long as I can remember. How can I not know?"

He chuckled and grabbed her naughty hand, kissing her palm. "I'll… tell you later when I gather myself."

That was enough for Althea, and they finally entered the bunkers.

As soon as they descended the stairs, they could hear children crying, they recognized their own children's voices and their steps hurried. When they got down to the lowest level, they saw them being calmed down by Harold and Yana, respectively.

"WaaaaaAAAAAaaa!!!"

"WUUUUUUUU—!! wwwwwuuuuuu"

"MAAAMAAAA! DAAADAAAA!! WWwuuuuuuuu!!"

"Waaaahhhh!!!"

It was so pitiful. Their faces were red from all the crying, full of tears and snot. They yelled at the top of their lungs and it was a heartbreaking sight.

"Oh no, my babies…"

Her voice immediately made the babies stop crying, and they immediately shifted to see. The adults holding them hurriedly adjusted so they didn't fall, walking to meet Althea midway.

The babies, on the other hand, immediately tried to get out of old people's holds, and the two had no choice but to put them down.

The two babies immediately ran towards their parents, their little legs moving as quickly as possible, with snot and tears running down their faces.

"Mwamwaaaa! Daaadaaaa!"

"Waaaa!"

The two of them smiled and knelt down to catch their kids. "Wuuu…" they sobbed, rubbing their wet faces on their chests.

Althea and Garan's hearts softened to puddle and also in heartbreak, carrying the children. "Aww… babies…"

The two's sobs calmed a bit at the sight of them, but they were still crying, and the two patiently attempted to lull them.

The two babies climbed up from their parents to hug their necks with those little chubby arms, and the couple just carried them home, heading straight to their bedroom to bathe and finally call it a night.

They took a family bath, since the couple also needed to do so. They tried to cheer the babies up with their cute duckie toys, though their energies were still a little low.

Even after bathing, the two kids refused to let them go, so they had no choice but to take them to bed with them, and it was only then that they finally calmed completely.

Soon, they heard their children's light, rhythmic breathing. Eventually, they relaxed as if all was well again.

And hugging their soft babies like this…, the couple thought the same.