The war room stood silent beneath dim violet lights.
A long obsidian table stretched across the chamber, its surface reflecting the figures gathered around it—captains and generals, each commanding their own platoons.
At the head sat Thorne.
William stood beside him.
Raito and Evelyne sat closer to the front, separated from the rest.
"Now that we're at war," William began, "we must prepare our outposts."
He gestured to the files laid out before them.
"Lord Thorne has proposed immediate changes." Pages flipped across the table.
A general frowned.
"Where did we even get this kind of—"
"Do you have something to say… General?" Thorne's voice cut through the room.
The man stiffened.
"No, my lord. I'm just… surprised by the new armor."
"We never knew we had this kind of power," another captain added.
"Which outposts will receive it?" Evelyne asked.
"All of them," William replied. "Including the new weapons… the laser systems."
Murmurs spread across the table—some impressed, others uneasy.
A few smiled.
Too widely.
"That will be all," Thorne said coldly.
Chairs scraped. The generals and captains stood, bowing as they filed out.
"Stay," Thorne added.
Raito and Evelyne remained seated.
William stepped forward.
"Raito. You'll be leading a platoon at one of the outer outposts."
Raito's hand slammed against the table.
"What?"
"If you encounter Haruka," William continued calmly, "you are to report directly to Lord Thorne. You are not to approach or engage him."
"That's bullshit!" Raito snapped, turning toward Thorne.
Thorne didn't move.
His face remained in shadow.
"But fath—"
Raito stopped himself.
The word died in his throat.
"…Yes, father."
The words came out forced. Bitter.
William turned slightly.
"As for Evelyne… you'll remain close. You are to act as Lord Thorne's personal guard."
A beat.
"But first, we have someone for you to interrogate."
Three heavy knocks echoed through the room.
William smiled faintly.
"Perfect timing."
"Who?" Evelyne asked.
"The girl you captured."
A pause.
"Kierah."
Raito scoffed.
"Shouldn't that bitch already be dead?"
He stepped forward slightly.
"Father, let me handle it. I'll get everything—Therma, the Neutrals, Haruka. I don't care what it takes—"
"Obey your orders, boy."
Thorne's voice was quiet.
But it shut everything down.
"You may leave," William said.
Evelyne opened the door.
Kierah stood on the other side, restrained, staring up at her.
"…Oh fuck," Kierah muttered under her breath.
"Take her to the holding cells," Evelyne ordered.
The guard nodded and led Kierah away.
Raito brushed past Evelyne, shoulder-checking her as he walked out.
"So that's it?" she called after him.
He stopped.
Didn't turn.
"You're willing to kill a kid just to stay on his good side?"
Silence.
Evelyne stepped forward.
"Does it not bother you? Wanting to kill your own brother?"
Still nothing.
"That man is a manipulator," she continued. "And you're too blind to see it."
"Then why are you here?"
Raito's voice cut in.
Evelyne frowned.
"What?"
He turned now, walking toward her.
"Why are you here?"
His voice sharpened.
"You question him. You question your loyalty. You even help the enemy."
He stopped right in front of her.
"And yet you stand here like you're any better than me."
Evelyne didn't hesitate.
"My loyalty lies with my dead brother."
A beat.
"What about yours, Raito?"
His jaw tightened.
"The only reason you follow Thorne…"
She stepped closer.
"…is because he's the closest thing you have to family."
A pause.
"…and the furthest from your real one."
Raito's fist shot up—
Stopping inches from her.
His hand trembled.
For a second…
It looked like he might actually hit her.
Then he stopped.
Lowered it slightly.
Scoffed.
"And yet…"
His voice dropped, colder than before.
"You raised your scythe at your own mother."
He turned and walked away.
Evelyne stood there, breathing hard.
"…She's not my—"
Her words broke.
Her fist slammed into the wall.
"…mother."
The holding room was cold.
Not just in temperature—but in feeling.
Concrete walls. A single light overhead. Chains bolted into the floor.
Kierah sat restrained to a metal chair, wrists bound tight, head hanging low. Dried blood clung to her lips.
The door creaked open.
Then—
SLAM.
Footsteps echoed, slow and deliberate, filling the hollow space.
Kierah let out a weak chuckle, leaning back as much as the restraints allowed.
"Well… if it isn't the princess of Aesthetic City."
Evelyne said nothing.
Her hands rested behind her back. Still. Controlled.
But her eye—darkening.
"Y'all are corny as fu—"
CRACK!
Evelyne's fist slammed into Kierah's jaw.
Blood sprayed across the concrete.
Kierah's head snapped to the side—then slowly turned back, one eye wide.
"Aren't you gonna ask me—"
SLAM!
Another punch. Harder.
The impact echoed. Blood dripped, steady now, pooling beneath the chair.
The metallic scent filled the room.
Silence.
Then—
"The mask."
Evelyne's voice cut through the air. Flat. Cold.
"What do you know about Haruka's?"
Kierah let out a shaky breath… then laughed.
"I don't think you were meant to ask about that."
She lifted her head slightly, meeting Evelyne's gaze.
"But I guess… you're not really here for answers, are you?"
Evelyne didn't respond.
She just stared.
Not like a soldier.
Like a predator.
Not hunting for food—
But for the kill.
"Your attitude," Evelyne said quietly, "your jokes… your defiance…"
A step closer.
"They come from anger. From sorrow. From self-pity."
Kierah smirked through the blood.
"Like your boyfriend?"
A pause.
Then—
"I'm nothing like that pathetic piece of shit."
She spat.
BAM!
CRACK!
Punch after punch.
Relentless.
Kierah's head snapped back, then forward, then dropped—blood streaming freely now.
She coughed.
Then laughed again. Weak. Broken.
"Wow…"
A breath.
"You're bad at this."
"Speak louder, child." Evelyne's voice sharpened.
Kierah forced her head up.
One eye barely open.
"I said…"
She spat blood straight into Evelyne's face.
"Fuck you."
Evelyne didn't flinch.
Her fist answered instead.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Until Kierah's body went slack against the restraints.
Silence returned.
Only the drip of blood remained.
Then—
"Is this what you want to do to him?"
Kierah's voice was barely there. Slurred. Fading.
Evelyne's fist stopped mid-air.
"It's like…" Kierah coughed, blood spilling down her chin,
"…you're interrogating him… not me."
A long pause.
Evelyne grabbed her chin, forcing her head up.
"I won't repeat myself."
Kierah's eyes sharpened—just for a second.
"You've never been loyal to anyone!"
Her voice cracked—but it carried.
"Not even to the one who saved you!"
Evelyne's grip tightened.
"Then why," she snapped, voice breaking,
"do you keep trying to burn everything?!"
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Too personal.
Kierah froze.
For the first time… she didn't smile.
"…Maybe," she whispered,
"…it's because fire is warm."
A breath.
"…and without it…"
Her voice trembled.
"…I'd freeze."
Silence.
Complete.
Evelyne let go.
Stepped back.
Blood dripped from her hands.
From her fingers.
From her past.
She stared at Kierah—
but wasn't seeing her anymore.
Without a word—
She turned.
And walked out.
The door shut behind her.
Kierah slumped forward, barely conscious.
"…what the hell… was that…"
Darkness took her.
The sky burned orange.
Obsidian's towers stretched long shadows across the courtyard, swallowing the last light of day. Smoke drifted lazily through the air, mixing with the distant clang of metal and murmurs of soldiers below.
Raito sat alone on the edge of a high platform.
One leg hanging. Axe resting beside him — cracked, faintly glowing between the fractures like something alive beneath the metal.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Just stared at the horizon.
"…Raito."
Her voice was quieter now.
Not the same edge. Not the same venom.
Evelyne stepped up beside him, her boots scraping lightly against the concrete. Her hands were still stained. Not all of it had washed off.
Raito didn't look at her.
"You're bleeding," he said flatly.
Evelyne glanced at her knuckles.
"Not mine."
Silence settled between them.
The wind picked up, brushing past them like something trying to listen.
After a moment, Evelyne sat down beside him.
Not too close.
Not too far.
"Do you ever feel it?" she asked.
Raito's brow twitched slightly.
"Feel what."
"That warmth," she said. "After you… let it out."
Raito let out a quiet breath. Not quite a laugh.
"No."
He finally turned his head slightly, eyes still distant.
"I don't."
Evelyne frowned.
"Then why do you keep doing it?"
A pause.
Longer this time.
"…Because I'm trying to find it."
That made her look at him.
Really look.
Raito leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"When I was a kid… they said something was wrong with me." His voice was calm, almost detached. "Said I didn't feel things the way I should."
Evelyne didn't interrupt.
"For me… everything was cold," he continued. "People. Words. Pain. None of it stuck."
His grip tightened slightly.
"But Haruka…"
A small shift in his voice.
"…he was different."
Evelyne's eyes softened.
"He was warm."
The word lingered.
"Anyone who tried to take that away from me…" Raito's jaw clenched. "I broke them."
The wind grew stronger.
"And then the Fracture happened."
His eyes darkened.
"And I finally felt something."
Evelyne's voice dropped.
"…when you killed them."
Raito nodded once.
"Yeah."
No pride.
No shame.
Just truth.
"The blood. The fear. The rush…" he exhaled slowly. "It was warm."
Silence.
"But when I lost him…" his voice lowered, almost to a whisper, "it all went cold again."
Evelyne swallowed.
"And then Thorne found you."
Raito nodded again.
"I don't care about his war," he said. "Or his rules. Or what he calls me."
For the first time, he turned fully to her.
"I care about what he gives me."
Evelyne already knew the answer.
"…warmth."
Raito held her gaze.
"Yeah."
Something in Evelyne cracked.
Just a little.
Tears built up in her eye before she could stop them.
Without thinking—
She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.
Tight.
Like she was holding onto something that might disappear.
Raito stiffened.
For a second.
Then… slowly… his arms lifted.
And rested around her.
Awkward.
Unfamiliar.
But real.
"I'm tired too," she whispered into his shoulder.
Raito didn't respond.
But he didn't let go either.
Their faces were close now.
Too close.
The air shifted.
The moment lingered—
Right on the edge of something more.
And then—
The same sun.
Different sky.
Golden light stretched across the broken remains of the mall rooftop.
Haruka stood alone at the edge, staring out over the trees beyond. The wind tugged lightly at his clothes, carrying the scent of smoke and earth.
Footsteps approached behind him.
"Still thinking about him?"
Rhea's voice.
Soft.
Tired.
Haruka didn't turn.
"…yeah."
She stepped beside him, leaning slightly on her crutch.
"Why?" she asked. "After everything he's done."
A pause.
Haruka's grip tightened at his side.
"Because he's still my brother."
Rhea frowned.
"He tried to kill you."
"He's trying to survive," Haruka corrected.
"That's not the same thing."
Haruka finally looked at her.
"When we were kids… I was the only one who could calm him down."
His voice softened.
"No one else understood him."
The wind picked up again.
"And you think you still can?"
"I don't know."
Honest.
Raw.
"But I have to try."
Rhea studied him for a moment.
Then sighed.
"You're stubborn."
Haruka almost smiled.
"Yeah."
Footsteps echoed from behind them.
"He gets that from you."
Shan.
Leaning on his cane.
Watching both of them.
"Training," Shan said simply, looking at Haruka.
Haruka nodded.
No hesitation.
Rhea stepped back slightly as Haruka moved past her.
But just before he left—
He stopped.
Turned back to the horizon.
The same setting sun.
Somewhere out there—
Raito was under that same sky.
Haruka's eyes hardened.
"Wait for me."
Then he turned—
And followed Shan into the shadows.