Kaiden sat on a wooden bench in the hospital garden, where the hedges walled off the noise of the city. Afternoon sunlight spilled over the pale flowers, casting a warm glow on the gravel path. The air was quiet here, just the hum of distant voices and the faint creak of a stretcher rolling across the concrete.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring at the old keypad phone in his hand. His thoughts were still trapped in yesterday's chaos, in the old man's cryptic words, in the heaviness of being alone again.
"Kaiden?"
The voice was soft, careful—but it pulled him straight out of his thoughts.
He looked up. A nurse was wheeling a stretcher toward him, and on it sat the girl from yesterday. Her leg was wrapped in thick bandages, propped carefully on pillows, but her eyes lit up when she saw him. Even with exhaustion painted across her face, she smiled like she had been looking for him all afternoon.
The nurse stopped near the bench. With a quiet grunt, Sylvie shifted, moving from the stretcher until she carefully lowered herself beside him. Her leg stretched stiffly out, but she seemed relieved just to be sitting there.
"Hey," she said, brushing back a strand of hair that had fallen over her cheek. "Guess I find you."
Kaiden blinked, caught off guard. "…Hey."
For a beat, silence filled the garden—broken only by the rustling leaves. Then Sylvie tilted her head, studying him with a curious smile.
"I'm Sylvie," she said softly. "I wanted to see you. To thank you. If it wasn't for you… I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now."
Kaiden shook his head quickly. "Don't thank me. I didn't do anything. Yuki and Leonardo were the ones who saved us."
Sylvie's brows pinched slightly, her smile fading. "That's not true. You were the first one who moved. Everyone else froze, but you didn't. You didn't even hesitate—you ran straight toward danger."
He dropped his gaze to the gravel, voice low. "I wasn't thinking. I just… reacted."
"That's exactly why it matters," she said, leaning closer, her tone gentle but insistent. Then, almost teasing, she added, "Besides… not everyone would risk their life for a stranger. Makes me wonder—" she smirked faintly, "are you always this reckless, or did I just get lucky?"
Kaiden glanced at her, startled. She was grinning now, trying to lighten the mood, but there was something else in her eyes—a spark that lingered on him a moment too long.
He looked away quickly, ears warming. "I… I don't know."
Sylvie chuckled under her breath, then winced slightly at the pull in her leg. "Well… either way, you're kind of my hero now. Guess I owe you one." She nudged him lightly with her shoulder, playful despite the bandages.
Kaiden didn't reply, but the corner of his mouth twitched, almost a smile.
For the first time in a long while, the weight pressing on his chest felt a little lighter.
---
She let out a breath, her gaze drifting upward as though her mind was pulling her back to the chaos. "But you know, Yesterday… it wasn't the first time I faced something like that. But it was the worst."
Her voice slowed, carrying the weight of memory.
"I was just in a boutique, checking bags. Nothing serious, just a normal day. Then I heard it—screams. People running. The kind of sound that tells you something terrible has broken loose."
Kaiden's eyes flicked toward her, listening.
"I rushed outside. The streets were chaos—people pushing, crying, tripping over each other just to get away. My first instinct was to reach for my weapon, but…" She gave a rueful laugh. "I forgot I was shopping. I didn't have anything on me."
Her hands clenched faintly on her lap. "Still, I couldn't just stand there. So I did what I could. A boy got separated from his parents in the stampede—he fell, almost got trampled. I pulled him up. A group of people were about to be crushed against a wall when the crowd surged—I shoved them clear. I used everything I learned from my master these past six months. Speed. Reflexes. Flow."
She paused, glancing at Kaiden. "I'm just a trainee. Still clumsy. Still learning. But in that moment, none of it mattered. People needed help."
Kaiden said nothing, but his chest tightened as he imagined it—the panic, the running, the sound of teeth and claws behind you.
Sylvie's tone darkened. "Then I saw it. A monster… right there in the middle of the street. It had locked onto a little girl, maybe seven years old. She froze. Didn't scream. Just stared. And when it lunged for her—"
Her fingers dug into her stretcher's frame, knuckles white.
"I ran."
Sylvie's voice sharpened as the memory pulled her deeper.
"The Flow kicked in. My body moved faster than my fear. I pushed off the ground, grabbed the girl, and yanked her out of the way. Its claws slammed into the pavement where she'd been standing."
Kaiden felt his skin prickle, his mind painting the scene with terrifying clarity.
"The thing turned on me. Its eyes… they glowed. Its skin was dark, cracked like burnt stone. I had nothing—no blade, no weapon. Just speed. So I dodged. Left, right, forward. Every time it swiped, I slipped past, dragging the girl behind me. But my lungs burned, my legs screamed. I couldn't keep it up forever."
Her breath hitched. "It roared, loud enough to shake my bones. Then it lunged, both arms out. I twisted, shoved the girl clear, and threw myself sideways. Its claws ripped through the wall of a building instead of my chest. The building crumbled, bricks raining down. Dust blinded me. I coughed, my eyes stinging, but I held the girl close. I couldn't let go."
Kaiden leaned forward, his hands gripping his knees.
"I thought… maybe I could lead it away. So I ran, weaving through alleys, forcing it to follow me instead of the girl. And it worked—for a while. But then… the wall of a collapsed house gave way. I didn't see it coming. The iron rod from the wreckage—" She glanced at her bandaged leg. "—went straight through my thigh."
Kaiden's breath caught.
"I didn't even feel it at first. I was so tired. I thought I had finally bought us time, thought we were safe. Then the pain hit, and I couldn't move. That's when I knew… I couldn't protect her anymore."
Her voice softened. "But then you showed up. And somehow… I'm still here."
---
The garden was quiet again, save for the faint rustle of leaves.
Kaiden stared at Sylvie, his chest tight. He didn't know what to say. He didn't feel like a savior. He felt like someone who barely survived himself. But hearing her story, seeing the fire in her eyes despite the pain, stirred something he couldn't name.
Sylvie studied him, her gaze sharp despite the softness in her smile. "You look lost, Kaiden. Like the weight of the world's sitting on your shoulders."
He gave a hollow laugh. "That obvious?"
"Very," she said gently. "But let me tell you something." She straightened, ignoring the twinge of pain in her leg. "When everything falls apart—when you think you've got nothing left—you still have a choice. You can stay down. Or you can move forward. One step, no matter how small."
Her words slid into Kaiden's mind like light breaking through storm clouds.
"Yesterday, you acted without thinking. You saved me, even if you don't believe it. That kind of instinct… it means something. And if you want my advice?" She leaned closer. "Don't waste it. Don't let your pain decide your life. Use it. Turn it into something bigger."
Kaiden swallowed hard. Her voice seemed to echo inside him, deeper than sound. He thought of the old man's offer. Of the Flow Corps. Of the university that wasn't like any other. Of his father—his last family, the ghost he had chased his whole life.
Is that… my path? The thought flickered in his chest, faint but undeniable.
He wasn't sure yet. He wasn't ready. But for the first time in years, Kaiden felt a spark.
A reason to stand.