The hospital smells like disinfectant and silence.
Jake lies on the bed, leg wrapped, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Machines hum softly around him.
Everyone stands nearby, scattered.
No one knows where to look.
Saphira breaks first.
"This is his fault," she snaps suddenly.
"If he hadn't smashed the phone, none of this would've happened."
The words hit hard.
Jake turns his head slightly, jaw tightening.
Lyrelle's head snaps toward Saphira.
"Frr? Saph?"
Her voice is low but sharp.
"Couldn't you at least have a little sympathy? He was scared, yk."
Saphira folds her arms defensively.
"So what? We were all scared."
Lyrelle shakes her head slowly, disappointment written all over her face.
"That doesn't mean he deserved this."
Kyra's eyes are red, her voice trembling but firm.
"Saph… everything isn't always about you."
The room goes quiet.
Saphira stiffens.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Kyra says, wiping her tears angrily,
"you don't get to act like your pain is the only one that matters."
Jason steps forward instinctively.
"Saph, maybe just…."
"Don't," she cuts in.
Prince exhales sharply, rubbing his temples.
Zyren looks away, shaking his head.
Ryan shifts uncomfortably, tension thick in his shoulders.
The group feels fractured now.
Cracks everywhere.
Thorian steps into the middle, voice steady but urgent.
"Enough."
Everyone looks at him.
"This is exactly what that game wants," he says.
"To turn us against each other."
He looks at Saphira.
"At Lyrelle."
"At Kyra.
"This is when we need each other more. Not less."
No one argues.
But no one agrees either.
Jake closes his eyes slowly.
And somewhere, unseen, the Shadow Game watches the group begin to break apart.