— "And I love you, Selene… I love you more than my own life…"
The words tear out of me, raw, like the last truth I can ever speak. My tears stream without end, mixing with her warm blood, burning my skin. I hold her tight against my chest, as if my arms could bind her to this world.
— "Please, stay… you can't leave now! Do you remember? You told me we'd go together to your old home… you promised… and I promised I would always be the same. Don't take that promise from me, Selene…!"
I search her face, waiting for a whisper, a flicker, any sign she still hears me. But nothing comes. Her lips remain sealed, her chest rising weaker, slower, fading.
— "No… no, no, no! Don't do this to me! Selene, open your eyes! Look at me! I'm here! I'm right here beside you!"
My hands shake uncontrollably as I touch her face. I kiss her forehead, clutching her tighter, trying to stop the inevitable. But her body grows heavier, colder. I feel powerless, as if the whole world were breaking apart in my arms.
A scream tears from deep within my chest, raw and hollow, echoing through the ruins:
— "Why her?! Why not me?! Take my life, but give hers back!"
A crushing weight presses on my chest. Something inside me shatters, a wound that no one and nothing will ever close.
I hold Selene tighter, my knees digging into the torn earth soaked with her blood. I feel her warmth slipping away in my arms, each second a knife carving my heart. All that remains is her silence… a heavy, suffocating silence that devours my soul and leaves me hollow, as though the world itself collapsed with her.
Hiro bursts back in a mad rush, bringing the horses. Desperation blazes in his eyes, his voice trembling as he shouts at me:
— "Kaizen! Get up! We must hurry, we can still save her!"
His words ring empty, like echoes that cannot reach me. I rise slowly from Selene's body, and the world around me unravels. All I see, all I feel, is loss. My pain is an abyss, and in that abyss there is no reason, only chaos burning my mind.
I look at Hiro, at his horse, at his desperate hope. And I erupt.
— "Hurry?!" My voice is a broken roar, a storm of tears and fury. — "For what, Hiro?! I've lost EVERYTHING! I lost Selene trying to defend a city that isn't even mine! I gave EVERYTHING for this cursed kingdom, Ardyn, which I despise! And what have I gained?!"
I wrench my sword free, my hands trembling. In one sudden motion, blinded by rage, I raise it high and bring it down with all my strength. The blade rips through air, then flesh and bone. The horse's head falls to the ground in a torrent of blood.
Hiro is thrown aside, rolling through the rubble, his eyes wide, breath ragged. He lies motionless, paralyzed by shock, unable to grasp what I've done.
I stand over him, sword dripping blood, my gaze lost between madness and emptiness. Only one truth haunts my mind, tearing me apart:
— "I won the battle… but I lost everything. EVERYTHING!"
Another scream bursts from me, more agonizing than any wound, resounding over the ruins, over the blood, over Selene's silence.
Hiro struggles to his feet, still shaken, forcing himself to speak. His voice quivers but strives to sound firm:
— "The duty of the Imperials is to protect the kingdom, Kaizen! That has always been our purpose!"
His words strike me like a blade to an open wound. My ears ring with blood. I feel every fiber of me splitting apart.
I lock my gaze on him, red with tears and madness. I raise my sword and step toward him, teeth clenched.
— "The kingdom… the kingdom Selene died for?!" I howl. — "I hear your lies, Hiro, and all I want is to silence you! I lost EVERYTHING defending a place I HATE! And you dare tell me this is my purpose?!"
I advance, blade poised to strike. Hiro crawls backward, eyes wide, breath broken.
But then, from somewhere beyond the roar of silence and my madness, comes a voice.
— "KAIZEN!!!"
Hikaru's shout strikes like thunder. I freeze. The sword slips from my hand. Everything inside me locks.
My knees buckle. I collapse. My blade falls into the dust as I lift my empty eyes toward the sky, searching beyond the clouds, beyond this world that has taken everything. Tears stream endlessly.
— "Selene…" I whisper, lost. — "I've lost you… and now I have nothing left…"
My entire being crumbles, and the only sound left is my weeping, blended with a silent plea to someone who will never answer again.
Hikaru's steps are heavy, unsteady. I see him slowly approaching, his wounds still unhealed by Selene's spell leaving him nearly powerless. And yet, he comes.
When he reaches me, he falls to his knees. He lowers his forehead until it touches the torn earth.
— "Kaizen… I'm sorry." His voice breaks, trembling, each word tearing his heart. — "This is all my fault. If I hadn't ordered Hiro to go to your home… you wouldn't have been dragged into this misery. You… wouldn't have been condemned to watch your happiness destroyed for a kingdom you don't even love."
Tears run down his face. His words strike me like spears into an open wound. I stare at him, eyes burning with grief and madness.
Hikaru lifts his face to me, streaked with tears and anguish, but his gaze holds cold resolve.
— "If this will bring you peace… take my life. Kill me here, now. I should have died already… If you and Selene hadn't appeared, the demon would have ended me. Maybe that would have been better. Maybe her death should never have been the price, mine should."
He leans back, arms spread, his throat bare and vulnerable before my blade. He does not flinch, does not resist. He offers himself.
My hand instinctively reaches for my sword. The metal is cold, foreign yet familiar, a part of me. I lift it slowly, each movement as heavy as a mountain.
Behind me, Hiro watches in horror, his breath ragged, but he stays silent. He knows if he tried to stop me, I might cut him down too.
I fix my gaze on Hikaru. His eyes shimmer with tears, but they do not waver. His words echo in my head: "Take my life. It should have been me."
A scream rises inside me, silent, trapped. My arm trembles. The blade hovers, ready to fall. In my mind, I see Selene's face. Her smile. Her hand reaching for me. Then the spear piercing her chest.
— "Why…" the word tears from my clenched teeth. — "Why must it always be like this?!"
The sword crashes from my grip, striking the earth, lifeless. I fall to my knees before Hikaru. I raise my eyes to the sky.
— "Selene…" I whisper, tears pouring. "I've lost you… and now I have nothing… nothing…"
Hikaru's tears spill freely, his body trembling with guilt, fists clenched. Between us, no fight remains, no hatred, only a vast chasm of pain, guilt, and helplessness swallowing us both.
I gasp for breath, my tears burning my skin. I turn my head toward Hiro, who still stares at me, shaken, fearful, but lost.
— "Hiro…" my voice is faint, yet firm. — "Take Hikaru to the nearest village. He needs treatment, or he won't be able to fight again."
Hiro blinks, surprised my tone carries no hatred. He looks at Hikaru, trembling, torn between guilt and sorrow. He supports his shoulders, ready to lift him.
But then Hikaru raises his tear-stained gaze to me.
— "And you, Kaizen?… What will you do?"
Silence falls over me. I look again at Selene's still body, then at the cold sky that offers no answer.
I clench my fists and whisper, with a bitter smile and streaming tears:
— "I… I will return home."
Hikaru shakes his head, uncomprehending. — "Alone?"
I lower my gaze to Selene. I lean down, touch her cold hand, holding it gently, as if she were still alive.
— "No…" I whisper. "Never alone."
The weight of the world settles upon me, but in my words lies a resolve no pain or loss can break.
Hiro and Hikaru ride off toward the nearest village, both on the same horse. Hikaru leans heavily, his wounds and exhaustion dragging him near collapse, while Hiro holds him tightly, guiding the horse carefully at every step. I watch them for a few moments, then let them vanish down the road, knowing all I can do now is send them safely away.
I sheathe my sword, feeling hiscold familiar weight, and carefully lift Selene's body into my arms. Each step I take is burdened with pain and guilt. I turn toward the city of Drava, toward my home, carrying with me all that remains: her body, her memories, our last hope.
The road winds through villages. At first, people shrink from me. Some stop their work to stare, suspicion in their eyes. Their faces show shock, fear, curiosity. I don't stop, I don't answer their looks; no one can grasp the fire consuming me within.
At the edge of one village, a man steps from the crowd. He wears the uniform of some local enforcer, guardian of order. He blocks my path without hesitation.
— "What kind of man are you… to kill a woman and walk so easily through our village with her corpse in your arms?!" he shouts, drawing his sword, raising it threateningly.
I have no patience left. My fury boils, each word stabbing into my torn soul. In a flash, I strike him with a kick to the stomach. He crashes backward, gasping, unable to respond.
— "If you speak another word…" I snarl, my voice dark, threatening, thick with grief and rage, "I'll carry your head out of here too!"
I leave him sprawled there, helpless. I continue my path through the village with Selene in my arms. Villagers watch in fearful silence. Their faces mirror awe, fear, confusion. To them, I am a stranger, a madman carrying a corpse, but I ignore them. My thoughts belong to Selene, to her last words that echo still in my heart: "Don't give up… be Imperial… You are their light… and mine."
Every step draws me closer to my home, but also deeper into the void that cannot be filled. No glance or question can change that. All that remains is the road and her memory, carried in my arms and in my soul, in the heavy silence of a man who won a battle but lost all he loved.
After a long journey, Selene still in my arms, I enter Drava. The streets grow familiar with each step, each building and corner greeting me, yet everything feels strange.
The people watch me with shock and sorrow. Some cannot hold back their tears, weeping silently. They know of the demon's attack on Korin, and they've realized not everything went well. Every gaze on me is heavy with fear, they know me as cold, harsh, distant… Selene alone saw something else in me.
They keep their distance. But their tears, their whispers, their lost expressions strike harder than any blade. I see in their eyes fear, grief, and regret. And I realize I am not the only one who has lost everything. Selene had been their light, her kindness warming the city, and now they too feel her absence in ways I cannot mend.
Each step on Drava's streets weighs me down, as if the city itself presses on me. Selene's body feels heavier in my arms, but I cannot stop walking. Their eyes follow me, and I feel every tear, every sigh, every reflection of pain within them. I know they grieve for what we have all lost.
When I had taken only a few steps down the street where my home stood, a child slipped timidly from the crowd, approaching me. His wide eyes, filled with fear and curiosity, fixed on Selene in my arms.
— "Why… is she sleeping in your arms?" he asked in a trembling voice, not fully understanding.
In that moment, something inside me broke forever. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face, running through my hair, soaking her dust- and blood-stained clothes.
A man at a nearby stall rushed to the child, pulling him aside, then dropped to his knees, apologizing:
— "I'm sorry… he's just a child… he didn't mean…" His voice cracked with regret.
I sank to my knees before him, Selene clutched against my chest. I wept with every breath, every blink, my grief laid bare for all to see. For the first time, before them all, the world saw my weakness.
The people's gazes shifted. Their eyes welled with tears, their hearts softened, and fear turned to compassion. Some knelt beside me, others bowed their heads, whispering apologies, trying to ease my suffering. Around me, the city that had known me only as cold and distant now revealed its true face, their humanity.
In the circle of their empathetic stares, I touched Selene's cheek, still hearing her gentle voice echo in my mind:
— "Don't change, Kaizen… don't abandon what it means to be Imperial. Protect the people… you are their hope… and mine."
I held her closer, tears falling endlessly, and swore, in the silence of the streets, that I would honor those words. That I would carry her memory as a light, a call to keep protecting the people, even as my heart bled.
After some time, I rose slowly, Selene's body and the weight of responsibility heavier on my shoulders. My gaze swept over the gathered people, their tears, their sighs reflecting both our loss and what I must now protect.
At last, I reached my home. The familiar door loomed before me, but no one waited inside. No laughter, no warmth in her eyes. Only emptiness unbearable. Yet I looked forward, clutching Selene's body, feeling each heartbeat of hers within me, even in the silence.
My hand pressed to the handle, the weight of loss heavy in the moment. In a whisper, I promised her again I would not change, that I would carry her light as a beacon for those who need it, even if my path is now a lonely one.
And with a broken heart, but an unshaken will, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, prepared to carry forward everything Selene had been, for me, and for the people I will protect.