---
Sekhmet's jaw tightened. He did not know if he could promise that. The world was cruel.
Null was cruel.
Purgatory swallowed people without permission.
But he could promise something else.
He nodded once.
"I will try," he said.
Lily smiled, satisfied enough.
Then she lay down, pulling her cloak over her shoulders, and this time she slept without stirring again.
Sekhmet remained by the fire.
Bat Bat crawled into his coat pocket, muttering sleepily.
"Kiss… weird."
Sekhmet stared at the pocket.
"Go to sleep," he muttered.
Bat Bat hummed.
"Mmm."
The guards held their perimeter.
The fire crackled low.
Crackle… Crackle…
And for the first time in years, Sekhmet allowed himself to close his eyes for a few minutes, not because the world was safe, but because something inside him felt… less alone.
A few moments later…
