---
Rain poured from the heavens like punishment.
Thunder echoed over the graveyard, rolling between the cracked stones and broken names.
The air reeked — a wet, pungent mix of fresh soil, dead flowers, and something bitter beneath it all.
Kael knelt in front of the grave, coat soaked, unmoving.
In his hands, a small bouquet: white lilies.
Fragile. Colorless. Quiet.
He placed them gently at the foot of the headstone.
He didn't look at the name.
He didn't need to.
They all knew who it belonged to.
He stood slowly, as if even gravity wasn't in a rush anymore.
"Let's go," Kael said, flat.
Raegal nodded behind him.
The three of them turned and left the grave behind.
But the weight of it walked with them.
---
Back at the safehouse, silence was the only thing that greeted them.
Lights off. Curtains still drawn.
No humming machines, no clinking of plates. No Nila's voice.
They stepped inside like ghosts returning to a place they didn't belong anymore.
Nobody said a word.
They sat. Stared. Existed.
Eventually, Kael stood and walked upstairs.
His steps made no sound.
He entered his room, lay down fully clothed, and stared at the ceiling.
He didn't blink.
---
Later that evening.
Knock. Knock.
"Kael… it's time for dinner," Alex called from behind the door.
Nothing.
Downstairs, Alex sat on the couch, eyes on the untouched table.
"He's barely eating," he muttered.
Raegal didn't look up.
"…I see."
"Where's Nila?" Alex asked.
"Out grabbing groceries."
"Oh. Okay…"
---
Midnight.
Alex stood outside Kael's room again.
Something inside him snapped.
He pushed the door open without knocking.
Kael was still lying there.
Same clothes. Same expression.
Not asleep. Not awake.
Just… hollow.
Alex stormed over, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him upright.
"I've had enough of your bullshit," he snapped.
"I SAVED your goddamn life."
"And you don't even talk to me. Hell you don't even look at me!"
Kael's eyes slowly moved to meet his.
They were dead.
Not angry. Not scared. Not human.
Just… gone.
Alex faltered.
Kael finally spoke.
"I didn't ask you to save me."
His voice was soft. Dry. Like something scraped from the bottom of a grave.
"You could've just let me die."
"You wanted to kill me a few months ago. Why not then?"
"Why stop there?"
His voice cracked.
"Why…"
And then — he broke.
"Why did you kill her?"
The room went still.
Even the thunder outside stopped mattering.
Alex's grip loosened.
He backed away, stunned.
Kael kept speaking, but his voice was quieter now. Like a child trying to explain the shape of pain.
You're thinking how I got attached to someone so quickly..."
"But I really thought… I really thought I had a family."
"A sister… a father…"
"But it all broke so fast."
His voice faded.
"I'm a failure. I know."
Alex looked at him — the ghost of the boy he once fought, once hated, once almost killed.
Now broken.
Now completely alone.
"…I'm sorry," Alex whispered.
He turned and walked out, closing the door gently behind him.
---
Outside.
The rain had dulled to a drizzle.
Alex sat on a bench by the fence, palms over his face, chest barely moving.
"I could've done something else…"
"I could've…"
"I shouldn't have killed her…"
"I'm… I'm sorry, Kael…"
He didn't know if he was talking to Kael anymore.
Or to himself.
Or to the girl buried in the rain.