Drip.
Drop.
Drip.
Drop.
That was all that remained of the storm.
[DING DONG]
A doorbell chimed, and after a few moments, the door clicked open.
"EL, JUST WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH—?!" The girl who opened the door, looking utterly livid, stopped mid-sentence the moment her eyes fell upon the young man before her.
Drip.
Drop.
Drenched from head to toe, the young man stood shivering in the doorway.
"Nelia," he whispered, pulling her into a tight embrace, his body trembling from the bitter cold.
"What happened?" She sighed before asking, but he remained silent. She returned his embrace, resting her head against his chest. "It's alright... just calm down," she murmured, though her words did nothing to ease the fear that continued to grow within him. Something was going to happen. That conversation he'd had—no matter how much his mind tried to convince him it was all his imagination—he knew deep down it wasn't. Something terrible was coming.
Please... not her too. He held her tighter, and she felt the desperation in his grip.
Something was wrong.
This wasn't his usual depression over failing to awaken, which she'd grown accustomed to handling. This time, it was something else entirely.
"Come on... let's go inside," she said.
.
.
.
.
On the couch, Kyle lay with his head in her lap, eyes closed. "You still haven't told me what happened," Nelia said once again, her fingers threading gently through his hair. Nelia was a young woman in her late teens with striking pink hair and deep blue eyes. She wore a casual shirt that barely concealed her well-endowed figure—an oversized shirt that most definitely belonged to the young man. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and thin gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose gave her a serious, studious appearance.
Kyle opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the chain around her neck—a necklace he'd given her the day she agreed to be his girlfriend. It was the only thing he had left from his previous life, the life that had been stolen from him the day he lost everything.
"I... went for the awakening test," he said, causing her to suddenly clench a handful of his hair and pull.
"Ahh," he groaned in pain.
"I've told you countless times not to go there. You know how you get after seeing the results," she scolded.
"Sorry..." was all he managed to say.
She sighed heavily. "What happened after that?"
"I met a guy."
Her hand never paused in its rhythm.
"He was saying some pretty weird stuff."
Still, she said nothing, just listened.
"We spoke a lot. I told him about myself. I even cried in front of him, it was stupid,"
Her expression turned worried.
"Then he said I should take care of you while I still can."
Her hand stopped. "What does that mean?"
Kyle sat up slowly and turned to face her. "He said I would lose you, too."
At this, she sighed and made him sit up.
"Look at me, El," she said, and he did.
"That was just some stranger rambling. Don't tell me you believe everything you hear out there. For all we know, he could be crazy," she said. At this, he managed a strained smile.
"I could tell he wasn't crazy. He wasn't rambling..."
"So you believe what he said?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
Kyle reached up and touched her cheek. "My whole life has been nothing but loss, Nelia. Everyone I've ever cared about gets taken away. You're the only good thing I have left." He sighed deeply. "Don't go anywhere tonight... please," he pleaded. She covered his hand with hers, the one resting on her cheek.
"That... won't be possible." At this, his expression fell.
"Why?"
"I received a summons an hour ago. S-rank guardians are being called in," she said, and he bit his lip.
"You can't go. Please, just this once, don't go." He grasped both her hands.
"You're making this difficult for me, El. I'm an S-rank guardian—I have to be present for the summons. There are predictions of a rift that might happen tonight. I have to be there." She squeezed his hands. "I promise, if you asked this of me any other day, I wouldn't go."
"No, no, no, no, no. It has to be today. I need you to promise me you won't go today. Please," he said desperately.
"El..."
"Nelia, I'm asking this one thing of you. If you do this, I swear I'll do anything you ask of me," he said.
"El... I love you... You know that..." she said softly.
"You don't need to tell me that. Just promise me," he pleaded.
"The rift could appear in this city, El. This city. Everyone I know and care about—my parents, my friends, even you—they're all here. I have to be there," she explained.
You won't see her again.
Those words echoed in his mind, and he released her hands, moving back to sit on the edge of the couch, his hands clasped together.
"El?" she said, noticing how his demeanor had shifted.
"I can't lose you, Nelia..."
"You're not losing me."
"You don't know that," he said simply.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Something was definitely going to happen.
"Come on, you're taking this too far. Nothing is going to happen to me," she said, attempting to touch him, but he simply raised his hand to stop her.
"El," she said, but he just sighed.
"Nelia... please... I'm begging you, please don't go. You can go every other night—not tonight. Please," he begged, but she only bit her lip.
"I... am sorry," she said.
"If you go... it's over between us." He looked at her coldly.
"What?" She was genuinely shocked.
He said nothing, just stared at her.
"You can't be serious... you're kidding... right?" she asked with a smile, as if it were a joke.
But he remained silent, and her smile faded.
"You can't be serious... You know I can't miss a summons, especially one this important. This is literally the only way we can keep living here—the only way I can keep affording anything," she said.
"I know... but I don't care. You matter to me more than any of this. I'll find another way," he said.
"El—"
"I'm serious, Nelia. If you leave, that's it. You won't see me again. Ever," he said.
"El, I can't believe this... You're willing to throw everything away because of something a stranger said?" she asked, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm trying to protect you! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU! PLEASE, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I CAN DO THAT! JUST TRUST ME!"
[RING!]
It was her phone.
She looked at the caller ID.
[GENERAL]
"Don't answer that, Lia," he said.
"El—"
"Please."
"EL!" she shouted, then stood up, removing her glasses and wiping her tears. "THE ONLY REASON I ever chose to awaken and become a guardian was because I wanted to protect you... because I love you... And that's what I'm going to do." She left.
He simply looked up at the ceiling.
"Fuck..."
It had still happened.
Just like in the past.
He could only watch.