A crash shattered the night
The door burst open
Panic erupted
Through the broken entrance stepped a man with light golden eyes
His dark glossy black hair caught the dim light
He had a black mole under his lower lip — on the left side
It was the same face Ash had drawn over and over in his hidden room
_ "Aeth"_
He moved without hesitation
Customers were overpowered
Dragged down
Disarmed
The place that once echoed with children's fear now echoed with theirs
"Take all the children ,boys womens away," Aeth ordered
Chaos swallowed the building
Children ran toward Z instinctively
Z gathered them and rushed outside
Cold night air brushed against their skin
It felt peaceful
Too peaceful
Z looked around
Yuri
Aeris
They weren't there
He ran back inside
"Yuri! Aeris!"
Inside the chaos, Yuri was trapped
The manager had grabbed him, trying to pull him away—
Aeth hold the hand of the manger
Without a word, Aeth struck him down
The manager collapsed
Yuri stumbled back and fell
Aeris pushed through the crowd, finally spotting Yuri
Aeris ran toward Yuri
Aeris offered his hand
Yuri took it
Aeth stood between them protecting them
"The victims are first priority," he commanded
"Search every room. Check for hidden spaces. Cross-check the name list. Make sure everyone got rescued."
"Yes, sir."
Aeth walked into one of the rooms
The child lay on the bed
With scars and blood
Still
His golden eyes flickered
His head lowered
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I was too late."
His gaze drifted to the other room—
To the one Z had walked out of
He remembered z coming out from it and with those empty eyes
He understood
Outside, the survivors were being moved into large vehicles
Aeris was suddenly pulled away in the crowd
Yuri tried to push through—
But the rescued victims blocked his view
He couldn't see him anymore
He didn't know that Aeris' father, who had left earlier that night, had returned quietly
He didn't know he was the one who took Aeris away
Yuri kept turning his head, searching
For Aeris
For Z
Yuri's breathing grew uneven
His eyes searched again
Then froze
Z wasn't among them rescued people
His vision blurred
"Brother Z…" he whispered
He couldn't whisper aeris name because he doesn't know his name
But his heart longed for him
Inside the ruined building, Aeth returned to retrieve the child's body
But the bed was empty
He walked back outside
"Every customers background checked?" he asked
"Yes, sir. All confirmed."
"They all are messed up people "
Aeth:
"Rescued all victims ????
Sir about that... a little boy and a 16 year old boy named z is missing
Aeth's expression hardened
Aeth:
Did you checked inside
"Yes sir "
Aeth
"Burn everything."
And search those two
"Yes, sir."
Flames earsed everything
That same cold night—
Unseen by anyone—
Z walked away
The child's body held tightly in his arms
He didn't look back
He kept walking
Further
Further
Until the noise faded into distance
In a dark alley, he finally slid down against a wall
He held the child closer
"Forgive me," he whispered
"I couldn't protect you."
His voice trembled
"I was too late."
For the first time that night—
He breathed
Cold air touched his face
But it didn't reach inside him
The sky above him was wide and open
_ But something inside him had closed forever_