After weeks of quiet, Kael came back to school for the first time. His face was pale. He walked slowly, as if every step took effort.
Renz ran up to him. "Bro, what's wrong? You look sick."
Kael put on a small smile that did not reach his eyes. "The doctor said… I don't have much time left."
The words hit Renz like a blow. "No. There has to be a way—"
Kael cut him off gently. "I've already heard it all. I'm tired, Renz. This is my story."
But Kael did not tell Renz everything. The sickness was real, but Kael also had a plan in his mind. He had decided to use that truth as the reason he would leave everyone behind. He wanted to go away so Lyra would feel what losing him meant, and so no one could drag him back into being weak for love.
That night, Kael walked alone to the rooftop. The moon shined above. He looked down at the city that had once given him power and pain. He touched the small stone Renz kept and then let it fall into his palm.
"This is the last time," he whispered to himself. "After this… they will think I'm gone."
He did not feel proud or wrong. He only felt the cold focus of a man who had decided the next move. He would die in their eyes. He would leave. And in the dark, he would be ready to watch—from far away.