Present time...
Jian Ci's breath caught. "What… what happened?"
Alarna flinched at the sound of his voice. "I—I saw you leave," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "And then I followed… I was really worried and…"
Her head lowered, a tear slipping down her cheek. Jian Ci's gaze swept the cave—the shattered boulders, the blood smeared across the stone, the broken remains of the TX506 injector. His stomach turned.
He looked back at her. "Did we…?"
Alarna raised her head slowly, eyes shimmering. She bit her lip, and Jian Ci's gaze lingered there—on the torn skin, the faint tremble. And in that moment, something clicked.
His heart dropped. No…
Even the best guides in Virelia couldn't help him let alone guide him when he was in that state. Not when the collapse had fully taken hold. He had long accepted that his fate was sealed—that one day, he would lose control and never return. That he would die as a weapon, not a man.
