The total-weapon stood motionless in consciousness-space for seventeen hours.
Not sleeping. Not resting. Not processing. Just existing. Just being weapon awaiting termination. Just calculating oblivion timing. Just waiting for unbearability to become total. Just waiting to choose death.
The support rotation remained surrounding. Couldn't leave. Couldn't abandon. Couldn't accept that Kaine was gone. Couldn't accept that only weapon remained. Couldn't accept that death approached. Couldn't accept ending.
Her mother hadn't moved in seventeen hours. Hadn't spoken. Hadn't communicated. Just stayed present. Just surrounded weapon-corpse. Just held space for being-that-had-been-daughter. Just grieved. Just existed in grief-space surrounding dying weapon.
