The families of those who had perished in the massacre…
I sat up slowly, unable to understand what I should do. My mind was drowning in thousands of questions ..a littlewhere do I always go after fainting? What does all of this even mean? And that man… who exactly was he? How did he know my name? And when he said Vaelith was that truly his name?
But in that storm of thought, when my gaze fell toward the open ambulance door, I forgot every question.
One by one, the bodies were carried out by paramedics and police. The cries of grieving parents and loved ones filled the air, so heavy with pain that it crushed the chest. The scene was unbearable. Some faces were mutilated beyond recognition, covered in blood. Children clung to their mothers, shielding their eyes and screaming as they ran away.
And then
I saw her.
Naya.
Her body lay lifeless, her eyes torn. Her mother and father clung to her, drowning in a grief no words could ever reach. Her mother's cries pierced the air, while her father stood frozen, staring at his daughter as though the entire world had slipped away from him. His face was empty, hollow, like a man whose soul had been taken.
Beside them lay another
Ira her body lying next to her mother's. Both gone, as if they had fallen into a deep eternal sleep. And near them stood her father, silent, his gaze void. Looking at him, it felt as if he was begging silently take me with you… why did you leave me behind?
Tears slipped down my face before I could stop them. I lowered my head, ashamed to look anymore. This happened because of me. If so why was I spared? Why didn't they kill me too? The thought broke me, and I fell into sobs.
I stood and slowly stepped down from the ambulance.
Every gaze turned toward me.
Mothers who had lost children, fathers who had lost families, survivors who had lost everything they all stared. Anger, suspicion, confusion, grief it all burned in their eyes. Why me? Why was I still standing when everyone else was gone?
Suddenly Naya's mother rushed toward me, gripping my shoulders violently. Her voice shattered through tears:
"Why? Why are you alive?! Why not my daughter? Why is my child dead, and you stand here unscathed?!"
Her screams cut through me like knives until Naya's father pulled her back, holding her trembling body. His voice cracked, yet he remained composed, whispering, Calm down, dear… she couldn't have stopped it… what could she have done?
Even in his endless grief, he still thought of her, his wife, his family. And then he turned to me. His eyes, broken yet kind, held mine. He handed me some money and said softly,
"We've lost our world. You've lost yours too. Go home now, child. Rest. Live. Don't lose yourself like we have."
I froze. Even after losing his precious daughter, this man still thought of me. A heart that kind did it truly exist?
I took the money with trembling hands. Around me, the others slowly began to accept his words, murmuring among themselves. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps she was spared by chance. They looked at me with a mix of pity and distance.
But I knew the truth.
I knew this happened because of me.
I walked away, thoughts crashing through my mind why did this happen? Who was that shadow? Who was Vaelith?
As I crossed the road, the blinding roar of a truck thundered toward me. My heart froze there was no time to move.
Lyanna stood frozen, her mind still drowning in grief, when the blinding headlights of a truck tore through the road.
It came rushing toward her, merciless and unstoppable
and in that single heartbeat, she thought it was the end.
But before the impact could claim her, something slammed into her side
a force so hot, so raw, it felt almost like molten fire.
She was dragged out of death's grasp, thrown onto the rough ground, breathless and alive.
When she lifted her gaze, she saw him.
A tall man. His hair long and disheveled, his entire body cloaked in black, his clothes ancient, worn, but carrying an aura of something far older than time., as if pulled from another time. His messy hair framed a face too sharp, too hollow. Everything about him screamed of shadows.
For a brief instant, Lyanna felt it.
That unsettling instinct.
The same instinct that had drawn her strangely close to Vaelith… yet this man was the opposite.
Where Vaelith carried an unspoken warmth, this man radiated nothing but dread.
Her soul urged her to run.
Every part of her screamed that the farther she stayed from him, the safer she would be.
And then their eyes met.
Light brown pierced with a faint, reddish glow.
They weren't the eyes of a savior.
They were the eyes of someone who wanted her dead.
Not by fate. Not by chance.
But by his own hands.
Still trembling, Lyanna forced her voice to steady.
"Thank you… for saving me. I'm Lyanna."
She extended her hand, offering a fragile smile.
But the man didn't move. He only stared—
before turning away, as if her words meant nothing.
He took a few steps, his heavy boots echoing on the road.
Then, suddenly, he stopped.
Without turning back, his voice cut through the night.
"Don't thank me."
A low, mocking chuckle escaped him.
"If you really want to repay me… buy me food. Consider it a treat for saving your life."
And finally, he did look at her
his mouth curling into a smile that was more terrifying than kind.
"Your name… Lyanna, isn't it?"
Lyanna nodded cautiously.
The man's lips curved wider, his voice laced with something sinister.
"a radiant name. Remember mine well…
. Mine is… Zaryth."
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