"I won't be long, alright?" Kael said, pulling up his hood.
From the table, Sara looked at him with worried eyes, stirring sugar into her tea.
"Where are you going?"
"Just clearing my head. I need to think... just for a bit."
She hesitated, lowering her gaze.
"Okay. But come back soon, please."
Kael nodded. He kissed her on the head, grabbed his bag—sword wrapped inside—and stepped out into the afternoon light.
He never imagined that would be the last time he'd see Sara... with peace in her eyes.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Kael wandered without direction.
There was something pressing on his chest. Not a physical weight—but something deeper.
It was as if the air knew something he didn't.
He ended up on a hilltop.
From there, High Sky looked like a different city—distant. Calmer.
He sat on a rock, pulled out the book, and opened it.
8 out of 100.
No change. No clues. No help.
He slammed it shut and threw it to the ground.
"What the hell do you want from me?!"
Silence.
He no longer expected answers. But it still hurt.
Kael picked up the book again, defeated. He tucked it away.
And then... he felt it.
A chill.
No reason. No logic.
But he knew.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
He stood up and broke into a sprint.
No powers.
Just legs burning with urgency.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
It took him ten minutes to reach Sara's house.
But when he arrived, the world shattered.
The door was open.
Splintered.
The window—smashed.
His heart pounded so hard it hurt.
"Sara..."
He stepped inside.
Chaos.
The table overturned. Tea spilled. Two cups shattered on the floor.
And in the middle of the wreckage—a folded piece of paper, stabbed into the back of the couch with a knife.
Kael approached, trembling.
He unfolded the note with frozen hands.
> We know who you are.
We know what you did in San Boreal.
We don't care how. We care why we're here.
The girl is with us. Alive. For now.
No weapons. No running. No hiding.
If you want to see her again, come alone.
Underground parking, old shopping mall.
6:00 PM.
Kael dropped to his knees.
Time stopped.
His mind—blank.
Only one word echoed again and again inside his skull:
No.
"No, no, no..."
His fingers crushed the note.
His chest tightened. Breathing became agony.
"Sara..."
He slammed his fists on the floor. Over and over. Until his knuckles bled.
"WHY HER?! WHY HER?!"
He screamed until his voice cracked.
His vision blurred—tears, pain, helplessness.
Sara. The only person who didn't look at him with fear.
The only one who gave him hope when he wanted to disappear.
They took her.
Because of him.
"I should've been the target. Not her!"
He buried his face in his hands, shaking.
He had no one else.
He couldn't lose someone again.
Not again.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
He stayed there for almost an hour. On the floor. Broken.
Then he stood.
Eyes dry. Gaze hollow.
He walked to the bathroom. Washed the blood off. Looked in the mirror.
"You're not giving up," he told himself. "Not this time."
He went to the bedroom. Opened the closet. Stored the book.
Slipped the note into his pocket.
"I'm coming for you, Sara. I swear I'll bring you back. Even if it kills me."
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
5:59 PM.
The mall had been dead for years.
A concrete giant, forgotten by everyone... except those who knew where to bury secrets.
Kael descended into the underground parking lot.
Cold. Silent. Flickering lights.
At the far end—a black car.
And next to it... four armed men.
One wore a dark suit—on the phone.
Sara was on the ground, hands tied, tape over her mouth.
A bruise on her brow. Conscious. Terrified.
Kael's heart jumped to his throat.
"Let her go!"
They all turned instantly.
The man in the suit ended his call.
"You're right on time. That says a lot about you."
"She has nothing to do with this."
"She does. She's your weakness. And we need answers."
"What do you want?"
"Your body. Your abilities. How you do what you do. What you are.
No one runs like you. No one shatters walls like you.
No normal human levels a mansion with a sword."
Kael clenched his fists.
"I'm not your experiment."
"You don't get to decide that."
One of the soldiers raised his weapon.
Sara whimpered.
Kael stepped forward.
"Don't you dare pull that trigger."
"And what are you gonna do?" the suit smirked.
Kael didn't answer.
He crouched.
Took a deep breath.
And vanished.
The first guard flew through the air before he even blinked.
The second fired—but Kael was already behind him, striking his neck.
The third tried to run.
He didn't get far.
Kael slammed him into a pillar with enough force to crack the concrete.
The suited man pulled out a gun—
—but the sword was already at his throat.
"Let her go," Kael said coldly.
The man raised his hands.
"Easy… we're just following orders."
"Government?"
"Yeah… but we don't know what you are. Just that you're dangerous."
Kael disarmed him, shoved him down, and rushed to Sara.
"I'm here... I'm here..." he whispered, tearing the tape from her lips.
Sara was crying—but she clung to him with all her strength.
"I thought... you weren't coming…"
"I'd never let them take you because of me."
He helped her up.
"Can you walk?"
"Yes… I just want to leave."
Kael wrapped her in his jacket.
"Let's go."
And they left. Fast. Without looking back.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Back home, Kael did what he could to treat her.
Warm water. Cloths. Silence.
Sara sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket.
"I'm sorry," he said, voice breaking.
"It's not your fault," she whispered. "Just… promise me you'll never leave me alone again."
Kael knelt before her.
"I swear. No matter what happens."
She hugged him.
Tight.
And for the first time in a long time, he let himself cry.
Not out of fear—
But because she was still there.
And because he was ready to burn the whole damn world down before losing her again.