The forest had never been this quiet.
The scent of sakura still clung to the air, mixed with blood and ash. The rain had stopped, but the earth remained soaked with everything that had been lost.
Mai stood beside the trunk of the tree where Yamura had fallen. The grass beneath her feet was crimson. She didn't cry. Not because she didn't want to — but because something in her was beginning to calcify.
Tiffany placed a hand on her shoulder, her touch warm but trembling.
"He was the last one who believed in peace," she whispered.
Mai nodded. "And now peace is dead too."
Duncan sat a few feet away, legs crossed, eyes closed. He hadn't spoken since they arrived. He had known Yamura the least — and yet the loss weighed on him as if he had lost a father.
Michael stood a few steps from the fresh grave. He had carved Yamura's name into a flat stone, now resting at the head of the burial mound. He said nothing. Not a prayer. Not a farewell.
He simply left the scroll atop the grave.
Mai watched him. "You're not staying?"
Michael finally looked up. His eyes were hollow.
"I stayed too long already."
He walked past them all, down the muddy slope, vanishing into the mist.
Later that night – By the fire
Tiffany sat close to the flames, arms around her knees. Mai sat across from her, slowly cleaning blood off her gauntlets.
No one spoke for a while. The fire crackled gently.
Then Tiffany broke the silence.
"Do you think... we're next?"
Mai looked up. "To die?"
Tiffany nodded. "To fall. Like him."
Mai stared into the fire, the reflection dancing in her eyes. "I don't think we get to choose. But I won't fall without tearing everything down with me."
Tiffany gave a bitter laugh. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Mai tilted her head. "You afraid of me?"
Tiffany looked away. "I'm afraid of losing you."
Silence.
Mai set down her gauntlets, stood, and walked around the fire. She sat next to Tiffany, close enough to feel her breath.
"You already saved me once," Mai said. "You stopped me from killing Duncan. You gave me something else to think about."
Tiffany didn't move.
Mai brushed a strand of hair behind Tiffany's ear.
"And now," she whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Tiffany turned, slowly, her lips parted, eyes wide.
They leaned in. For a second, it felt like the world held its breath.
But Mai stopped. Her forehead rested against Tiffany's.
"Not yet," she murmured. "There's too much darkness still."
Tiffany closed her eyes. "I'll wait."
The next morning – Departure
The group prepared to leave the forest. Duncan carried supplies, his wound still bandaged. Tiffany adjusted her sunflower armor. Mai tied her gauntlets in silence.
Before they left, Mai returned to the grave alone.
She placed a single red petal from her aura on the stone.
"I don't know what you saw in me," she said. "But I hope it wasn't wrong."
She turned away — and didn't look back.
Eight Months Later – Northern Coastline
Wind howled along the cliffs. Waves crashed below, violent and endless.
A figure in red stood at the edge of the rocks.
Her hair is shorter now. Her eyes were colder.
Mai.
She stared into the sea as if it owed her answers. Behind her, cities burned. Not because she attacked, but because she didn't stop those who did.
Tiffany stood in the distance, speaking with locals. Duncan repaired a cart. Neither dared interrupt her anymore.
Something in Mai had changed.
She still fought. Still protected the weak. But her mercy had eroded. Her smiles were gone.
And then, in the sky, a faint glow.
Orange. Flickering. Strange.
Mai narrowed her eyes.
Something was calling.
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