The penthouse quieted after Drake finally stumbled to his own room, wine-slick and muttering about riches. Kai and Matt remained, the chandelier light dimmed, food cooling on untouched plates. The Tower had gone still beneath them—at least, as still as Azura ever did.
Kai sat slouched on the velvet couch, fingers curled into the cloak draped across his shoulders. Velnix pulsed faintly, its ribs ghosting into sight before fading. He kept his good eye on Matt, who leaned against the window, city lights flickering across his profile. Shadows coiled lazily at his feet, fading in and out.
It struck Kai then—how the room itself seemed to resist holding Matt in it. Even now, even when he focused, a part of his mind kept forgetting Matt was there until his gaze landed on him again. The Burden pressed like a fog.
"Say…" Kai's voice was quieter than he expected, words scraping out. "Do you ever get lonely with your burden?"
Matt raised a brow, slow. "Lonely?"
Kai nodded, chewing at his lip. "I mean… even when you're next to me, it feels like I'm alone. Like my head keeps erasing you." He grimaced, staring at the table. "It's not that I want to forget. It just happens. And I wonder if you feel the same—like no one can really see you."
Matt pushed off the window, crossing the room with steady steps. He didn't sit right away—just stood there, studying Kai. His voice was low, thoughtful. "It's worse than lonely sometimes. Loneliness is knowing no one's around. My burden makes it so people are around, but they don't notice. They'll look at me and their mind slides away. Even people I care about. Even people I fight beside."
Kai frowned. "That's brutal."
Matt shrugged one shoulder. "It's useful. Deadly, even. But yeah. Some nights it feels like I don't exist. Like I'm just a shadow on the wall."
Kai's gaze rose. "And you carry that without flinching?"
Matt gave a humorless chuckle. "You learn not to expect anyone to remember you. Makes the moments they do count more. Like now."
Kai blinked, then let out a slow breath. "Still. Must feel like fighting a war you can't win."
Matt finally sat across from him, leaning forward on his knees. "We all fight wars we can't win. Yours is solitude. Mine is forgetability. Meredith has her truth, Daniel his lies. Forn doesn't speak. Burdens don't break us—they sculpt us."
Kai tilted his head. "Sculpt, huh? So what are you being carved into?"
Matt smirked faintly. "Someone who doesn't mind being forgotten, as long as the job gets done. Someone who can let others shine while I work in the dark." His eyes flicked to Kai. "What about you? What's yours carving you into?"
Kai looked down at his hands, the faint red glow flickering across his fingertips. He remembered the serpent dissolving under his touch, the cultists dropping one by one, Sovereign's cold voice ringing out. You have slain… You have received a Boon.
"Something terrifying," he admitted. "Even when I don't want to be."
Silence stretched. Then Matt snorted softly. "Well, terrifying or not, I'd rather have you next to me than anyone else down there. You kept me alive."
Kai's lips twitched. "You kept me alive too. More times than I can count." He leaned back, exhaling. "Heh. Yeah… let's get out of here. I'm not sure how we're getting home though."
Kai raised a brow. "Home? You should've left with your squad. They're probably waiting, stressed out of their minds. But to stay with me? That wasnt a smart play."
Matt shook his head immediately. "But then I would've left you. No way. Neo would never forgive me."
That made Kai pause. His voice came quiet. "Neo? Why does he care?"
Kai wondered, scratching at the back of his head awkwardly . "He just does. He's been on me since the beginning. You'd think he'd be glad if I vanished."
Matt leaned back, arms crossing. "No. He likes you a lot, Kai. More than you realize. He's been stressing ever since he failed to stop you that one time. He blames himself. Every step you take into hell, he carries as his failure."
Kai blinked, unsettled. "He blames himself? For me?"
Matt nodded once. "That's why he hasn't let go. He'll keep circling you, no matter how far you fall. It's what he does. See neo's a loner we adopted him but he was as antisocial as they come."
For a moment, the room felt too small. Kai stared at the floor, emotions twisting—frustration, warmth, fear. He didn't know which to lean into, so he pushed it all down the way he always did.
"Then let's not waste it," he said at last. "Let's get out of this Tower."
Matt reached into his coat, pulling out the thin Azura cards. He flipped his own across the table, the black surface glinting with faint red numbers. Kai dug his out too, setting it beside Matt's.
Both cards read the same: 50/350.
Kai smirked tiredly. "Barely scratching the surface."
Matt's eyes narrowed at the numbers. "And already it feels like we've lived ten lifetimes."
They sat together in silence, the Tower stretching endlessly below them, their cards glowing faintly like promises—or chains yet to be broken.