---
The rebel camp was quiet.
Too quiet.
Riven stood outside the armory, arms crossed, eyes on the main tent.
She didn't try to stop her.
She knew no one could.
---
Lyra walked through the camp like a ghost made flesh.
Some turned to look — the ones who recognized her. But her expression warned them off.
She wasn't here for them.
She was here for him.
---
Kael stood by the cliff's edge beyond the outer wall, facing the dawn.
He didn't turn when her footsteps approached.
Didn't breathe when she stopped behind him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then—
> "Kael."
His name sounded different on her lips now.
Like it belonged there.
---
He finally turned.
Face calm.
Eyes unreadable.
But there was tension in his jaw. Pain in his silence.
She studied him.
Not the shadow-soldier. Not the ghost lurking in corners.
But the boy she once saved.
---
"I remember now," she said.
Kael didn't answer.
"I remember the cold. The chains. Your eyes."
Still no response.
Only the wind between them.
---
"You looked at me like I was a god," she said softly. "But I wasn't. I was just a girl playing hero in her father's armor."
Kael's gaze finally dropped.
"I looked at you like you were my only chance," he said.
"Were you disappointed?"
"Yes."
Her breath caught.
"But not because of you."
---
He turned away.
"The man I became… He wasn't worthy of the name you gave me."
She stepped closer.
"You left the Empire."
"I fled the corpse of it."
"You joined them."
"I hid among them."
"You let me die."
He flinched.
Hard.
---
"I didn't know it was you," he whispered.
"And if I did… I would've traded places with you."
---
Silence again.
Then, Lyra's voice, low and sharp.
"Riven told me what you are. What you were."
"She shouldn't have."
"She was right to."
---
She moved in front of him now, forcing him to meet her eyes.
"I need to know the truth. Not from them. Not from your system. From you."
Kael looked at her.
For the first time, he looked young again.
Lost.
Afraid.
But he didn't run.
---
He took a breath.
"I was Aserion's blade. His spy. His shadow."
"I killed for him. Lied for him. Betrayed everyone."
"I was supposed to kill you too."
Her heart stopped.
"But I didn't," he added. "Because when I saw you again…"
His voice cracked.
> "I remembered the cold."
"And the way you looked at me."
"Like I could be more."
---
Lyra closed her eyes.
A war raged inside her.
She wanted to slap him. Scream. Cry.
But she didn't.
Instead, she said:
> "You once swore you'd protect me."
> "Then do it."
> "Not from the Empire. Not from Aserion. From yourself."
---
Kael blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't care what your system tells you. I don't care what you were."
She stepped closer.
Her hand hovered over his chest—but didn't touch.
"I need someone who remembers the real me."
"And I think… deep down… you're still him."
---
A faint shimmer lit up in Kael's interface.
---
[Shadow System Notice]
> Anchor Bond Progress: 70%
Emotional Link Strengthened
Passive Ability Unlocked: Unbreakable Resolve (Lv. 1)
You now resist all Mind-Altering Effects when within 10 meters of Lyra.
---
Kael let out a slow, shaky breath.
"Even if I protect you... what then?"
Lyra looked toward the horizon.
Eyes burning with clarity.
> "Then we burn the Empire together."
---