Scene opens — A cold breeze flows across the rooftop of an abandoned high-rise building. The city below is in ruins, drowned in silence. Cracked billboards flicker. Fires burn in the distance. The sky is dark, storm clouds rolling in.
Aran and Liya stand together on the rooftop, overlooking the dead city. For a long moment, neither of them speaks.
Aran (softly):"...Sis. We finally meet again."
Liya glances at him, confused at first. Then she realizes what he means.
Aran (quietly):"But I never wanted you to see me like this… broken… hunted… infected."
Liya (gently):"It's okay. I didn't come to judge. I came because you're my family."
Aran clenches his fists slightly. He still doesn't face her.
Aran:"Why did you come for me? You should've stayed far away..."
Liya:"Because one day… you just disappeared. Like air. No texts. No calls. Nothing. I waited. I worried. And then… the virus came."
Liya lowers her head. Her voice cracks slightly.
Liya:"I searched for you while the world fell apart. I followed every signal, every rumor. And one day... I found Shaggy."
Aran nods faintly, eyes distant.
Liya (smiling a little):"Aran… where is your sister now? I never got to meet her. You always talked about her. I want to see her…"
Silence.
Aran doesn't answer. His body tenses. His eyes fix on the horizon, but he doesn't speak.
Liya's smile fades. Her expression softens. She knows.
Liya (whispering):"...Oh no."
Aran's eyes fill with tears — the first time he's broken in front of anyone.
Aran (barely audible):"...I couldn't save her."
He falls to his knees, shaking. The weight of the past crashing down.
Liya rushes forward, kneeling with him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
Liya (tearfully):"No… how could this happen…?"
FLASHBACK BEGINS
A bright room. A younger Aran sits at his desk, headset on, starting a video call. On the screen — Liya, smiling, her white hair shorter, no scars. Happy days.
Aran (excited):"Hey Liya!"
*Suddenly, his little sister walks into the room holding a book. She tilts her head at the screen.
Sister (grinning):"Ooooh~ Who's that? Your girlfriend?"
Aran (laughing):"No! She's just a friend— no— she's like a sister."
Liya (smiling):"Who's she?"
Aran:"This troublemaker? That's my real sister."
Liya and Aran's sister begin talking. Laughing. Teasing Aran. The screen freezes on a happy moment of all three smiling.
FLASHBACK ENDS
Back to present.
Aran is still crying, head in Liya's lap. The strong, silent warrior — finally shattered.
Liya strokes his hair softly, tears in her eyes too.
Liya (whispering):"...She would've been proud of you. I know she would."
Aran's voice trembles.
Aran:"I made a promise to protect her… and I failed. I lived. She didn't."
Liya:"Then live for her. Fight for her. And for the ones still alive."
Final scene:
The rooftop camera slowly pans away — Aran curled in Liya's lap, both surrounded by silence. The ruins of the world stretch endlessly before them.
In the sky, the storm begins to rumble — the world preparing for what's coming next.
TO BE CONTINUED...