Late in the afternoon, the pale sunlight filtered through the dusty glass window of a small bakery.
Kaien sat still, his fingers interlaced on the chipped wooden table. His gaze seemed to pierce through the entire city—beyond the crumbling buildings and the forgotten screams of the people.
Then suddenly, he looked up.
There was a fire in his eyes.
> "Our chance has come. This must be fate."
Cindra blinked, tilting her head slightly:
> "Fate...? What do you mean, Kaien?"
Kaien leaned back in his chair, exhaling as if letting go of a weight he'd carried for years.
> "Five years ago, I saw a man standing in the middle of gunfire and explosions.
He didn't run. He didn't flinch. He just stood there—shielding those behind him with his own body."
He looked straight into Cindra's eyes.
> "From that moment on… I knew he was the kind of man I wanted to follow."
Cindra's eyes widened, as if realization had dawned.
> "You're talking about... Kyros?"
Kaien nodded, without hesitation:
> "Yes. And if Kyre truly is his son... then he must be carrying on that same ideal."
He stood up, his chair scraping against the concrete floor with a low screech.
> "It's time we made our decision. Let's leave this place, Cindra."
Cindra froze:
> "Leave...? But... where would we go? And what about Aigris? Shouldn't we at least tell him?"
Kaien shook his head, his eyes now full of resolve:
> "No. We leave in silence.
We're going to join the rebel forces on the outskirts."
Cindra's breath caught.
> "The rebels...? Are you really willing to go against the government?"
> "Yes. We can't keep living like this."
Kaien turned toward the window, the dying light of the sunset casting a long shadow behind him through the dusty glass.
> "For a scrap of food, I let your hands be stained with blood.
I'm sorry, Cindra."
He looked back, a faint smile on his lips — painful, yet warm.
> "But don't worry. We leave tomorrow.
We still have one day left off. Aigris won't suspect a thing."
Cindra stayed quiet for a long while. Inside her, a storm churned—fear, worry, doubt... but above all, a strange sense of relief.
She finally smiled and flicked her finger lightly on Kaien's forehead.
> "Alright then... You win, as always."
Kaien blinked in surprise, then chuckled.
They didn't need to say anything more. Between them, words had become unnecessary.
All it took was a glance, a nod.
Their bond — whatever it truly was — had long run deeper than blood.
---
That night, Kaien didn't sleep.
He stood on the balcony of the third floor of their old apartment block, eyes fixed on the distant horizon where the city lights faded into dust and haze.
The wind carried the scent of rust, ash, and the moisture of a storm that hadn't arrived yet.
Inside him, a flame was reigniting — not one of revenge or ambition,
but the fire of belief — in something greater, something human.
Tomorrow, he would walk away.
Away from the murders, the orders, the shadow of Aigris.
Toward another fire — stronger, truer, more alive.
> "Wait for me... Kyre."
Kaien whispered into the night.
---