Seraphina Valez-Han died quietly.
There were no sirens. No dramatic last words.
Only the cold pavement beneath her cheek… and the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.
"…why?"
Her voice came out soft. Almost amused?
Above her, shadows shifted. Familiar faces. People she once trusted. Someone she once called a friend.
Jealousy.
That was all it took.
"You had everything," one of them whispered. "It's not fair."
Seraphina blinked slowly.
Everything?
Her body trembled weakly, but not from fear. Not from anger.
Just… confusion.
She had spent her entire life enduring.
Smiling through the whispers. Ignoring the bruises. Protecting her little brother with hands she refused to use for violence.
Because that's what her father said.
"No matter how strong you are, don't use it to hurt others."
So she didn't.
Even when it hurt.
Even when it broke her.
Even now… as her vision blurred and her heartbeat slowed.
"…ah."
A faint breath escaped her lips.
So this is how it ends.
Not on a podium. Not in victory.
But here.
Alone.
Unfair.
Her fingers twitched against the ground.
Eli.
A single name echoed in her fading mind.
Her little brother.
Who will protect him now?
For the first time—
her smile faltered.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
…then—
she opened her eyes.
The ceiling above her was familiar.
Too familiar.
Old paint. Small cracks. A place she thought she had already left behind.
Seraphina didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't react.
Slowly, she raised her hand.
No blood?
No wounds?
And... Young?
Unscarred.
Alive.
"…I see." Her voice was flat.
Empty.
Something was wrong.
She searched for it.
Panic. Relief. Anger.
Nothing came.
Only silence.
Only stillness.
Only—
absence.
Her gaze shifted to the mirror across the room.
A girl stared back at her.
Short hair. Pale strands mixed with black. Lifeless eyes.
Seventeen.
She remembered.
Everything.
The pain.
The endurance.
The death.
And Eli.
Seraphina stood up.
Calmly.
Quietly.
Like nothing had changed.
But something had.
Because this time—
she wasn't smiling.
"I won't endure it again."