Finally, Bada stepped fully into the yard. Her body screamed in protest. Bruises flared, ribs throbbed, and every step was agony—but she was determined.
"Saeles…" she whispered, voice broken and trembling. "I… I just… I want to be near you… I don't care what happens… I'll never leave…"
Saeles appeared in the doorway immediately, fists clenched, eyes cold and unreadable.
"You again?" she growled. "Didn't I tell you to leave? Didn't I tell you to never come back?"
Bada flinched but stood her ground. "I… I don't care… I'll stay… I'll always be here…" she whispered, bloodied, battered, and trembling.
Without hesitation, Saeles grabbed her by the shirt and yanked her inside. Pain exploded through Bada's body as she hit the floor. Saeles's fists moved like lightning, striking Bada's stomach, ribs, and arms again and again.
"I… I'll never leave… I… I'm here… always…" Bada sobbed, refusing to move away, refusing to break her vow, despite the agony.
Saeles's eyes remained cold, unfeeling, and unbroken by the small, battered figure before her. She struck without hesitation, without mercy, without thought—her world was pain, violence, and endurance, and there was no room for doubt, remorse, or hesitation.
Outside, the wind carried Bada's cries into the night. Inside, Saeles's strikes pounded like the beat of a drum, relentless and exact. And both girls, though in separate states of suffering and obsession, were now irreversibly entwined in a spiral of violence, pain, and love unreturned.