The night stretched out like an infinite shroud, the empty road winding beneath a sky too dark even for stars. Only the murmur of the wind, mixed with the echo of recent gunfire, broke the silence. The air was filled with a bone-chilling cold, as if nature itself had paused to witness the outcome of events.
Inside the car, the engine roared as Aisha sped down the road. Her gaze was fixed ahead, but her mind was a whirlwind of emotions. Skiller, sitting beside her, held a blood bag, drinking with an indifference that contrasted with the palpable tension in the air.
"How did you know I was here?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Elbanius told me," Aisha replied, not taking her eyes off the road. Her tone was distant, but her eyes shimmered with a mix of worry and guilt.
The car finally stopped in a secluded spot, far from the light that irritated Skiller's skin. As they stepped out, the sound of the wind whistling through the branches accompanied their every move. Skiller grabbed a blanket from the back seat and threw it over Aisha's shoulders.
"Don't go freezing to death," he muttered sarcastically, though his hands hinted at something close to care.
But the brief moment of calm was quickly shattered. From the shadows, Rasen stumbled forward, his face haggard, a trembling gun in his hands.
"You!" he screamed, his voice torn by hatred and despair. "I can't forgive you, Aisha. You took everything from me!"
Aisha stepped out of the car, her heart tightening at the sight of him. Rasen's words were like daggers.
"Rasen… I never meant to..." she tried to reply, but her voice cracked under the weight of guilt.
The gun in Rasen's hands trembled. His eyes were filled with tears, but also with a simmering rage on the verge of eruption.
"Don't come any closer!" he growled, pointing the weapon straight at her. "You took Clear from me... you took everything."
Before he could pull the trigger, a figure darted out of the shadows. Evans rushed in, shoving Rasen hard enough to throw off his aim.
"You missed, Rasen! I won't," Evans said, eyes brimming with a mixture of determination and terror.
Chaos erupted. Skiller, moving with deadly speed, lunged at Rasen, striking him with superhuman force that hurled him against a nearby wall.
"Did you really think you could do something with that toy?" he mocked, crushing Rasen's weapon with a single squeeze of his hand.
Rasen tried to stand, but Skiller was on him in an instant, his cruel gaze locked on his prey.
"Did you really think you could stop me?" Skiller asked with a mocking smile.
"Leave him alone, Skiller! This has nothing to do with you!" Rasen shouted, his voice torn by pain and helplessness.
"Oh, little Rasen… this has everything to do with me." Skiller tilted his head as if considering his next move. Then, with a sudden motion, he lifted Evans by the neck, letting the boy dangle in the air as he struggled to breathe.
"Let him go!" Rasen screamed, lunging at Skiller, only to be easily knocked back to the ground, his weakened body crumpling once more.
The emotional clash
"Look at you, Rasen," Skiller murmured, crouching to face him. "Always so weak, always losing. Clear, Aisha... what else needs to be taken from you before you realize you can't protect anything?"
Rasen clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
"Shut up," he whispered, his voice trembling with both rage and pain.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Skiller continued, wearing a cruel smile. "But let me tell you something: Aisha didn't kill Clear. It was your doubt, your inability to act, that destroyed her."
Rasen screamed, hurling himself at Skiller once again, but Skiller caught him easily, gripping his wrist.
"Hate isn't enough to beat me, boy," Skiller said, letting him go with disgust.
From the ground, Evans managed to whisper with a faint voice:
"Rasen… don't give him the satisfaction."
Evans's words seemed to break something inside Rasen. He stood there, motionless, as tears streamed down his face. Skiller, satisfied with the chaos he had wrought, returned to the car.
"Let's go, Aisha," he ordered, starting the engine as they disappeared into the darkness.
The echo of loneliness
Rasen remained alone in the shadows, surrounded by rubble and his own despair. The wind blew stronger, lifting leaves and dust, as if trying to erase every trace of what had happened.
His thoughts drifted back to Clear, to the days when the stars were their refuge.
"As long as you're looking at them, nothing bad can happen," she used to say, her smile brighter than the night sky.
Now, all of it was a distant memory, an image that only deepened his pain. He closed his eyes, clenching his fists until blood oozed from the wounds.
"I loved you more than I could bear," he whispered to the air, voice broken. "And that's why I hate you."
From the rubble, Evans watched him, struggling to sit up. With effort, he spoke:
"Not everything is someone else's fault, Rasen. You have your share in all this too."
The words hit Rasen like a hammer, but he didn't reply. In his mind, Skiller's last words echoed again and again: "Weakness will always make you fail."
The sky began to turn a pale gray, as if dawn were hesitant to arrive.
Rasen remained there, kneeling among the remains of a night that had broken him, while Evans, barely sitting up, looked at him silently.
"What now?" Rasen asked, without looking up.
Evans breathed heavily, but his voice was firm:
"Now... you choose. Either you remain mired in hatred, or you fight for what little remains of you."
A dry sigh, he looked to his sides, and swallowed. "There's no time, you're bleeding too much, Evans...Hold on."
A crow cawed in the distance.
The day was about to begin, and with it, a new decision.