"Answer me."
Zeref's voice cracked through the air so sharply that even the workers nearby froze.
His red eyes were shaking.
Not with anger anymore.
Pain.
Raw, ugly pain that had been building inside him since the moment Kael disappeared.
I stared at him silently, my own chest heaving unevenly from everything we'd already thrown at each other.
But Zeref wasn't calming down.
Not this time.
He stepped closer again, tears already slipping down his face despite how hard he tried holding himself together.
"If it were me instead…" His voice trembled violently. "Would you rather it was me?"
My breath caught instantly.
"Zeref."
"Would you?"
The words came out louder this time.
Desperate.
Broken.
Everyone nearby looked horrified.
Keiji immediately moved forward. "Zeref, stop."
But he shook him off.
"No." His eyes never left mine. "I need to hear it."
"Don't do this," Keiji warned quietly.
But Zeref laughed bitterly.
Too far gone now.
"Maybe she already chose."
