Eve's breath catches as more cracks tear across Adam's torso, glowing brighter, pulsing violently like something inside him is trying to break out. Pieces of light drip from him like burning embers.
Eve:
"ADAM! STOP LET ME FIX IT, LET ME!"
Her hands glow immediately, angelic healing light wrapping around his arms, his shoulders but the cracks only spread faster beneath her palms.
Adam gently places his hand over hers, stopping her.
Adam: "…You can't."
Eve shakes her head frantically, tears dripping onto his chest and sizzling against the heat of the light.
Adam smiles.
A real smile.
Soft. Warm.
The kind he had as a child.
Adam:
"Eve… I love you."
Eve freezes—
like the world itself stopped moving.
Adam reaches up with both hands—despite the cracks widening—
and gently pulls her head toward his.
Their foreheads touch.
Light blooms between them.
And suddenly—
Eve sees everything.
A rush of memories slams into her:
—Adam sobbing alone in the ruins of their home
—Blood on his hands
—him whispering "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" into the darkness
—his knees giving out as he cradles their mother's body
—his screams shaking Paradise
—him begging for forgiveness even when no one was left to hear.
Eve collapses against him, overwhelmed, choking on her breath.
But more memories flood in—
Memories Eve has never seen.
Eve gasps.
Images of the future—
possible timelines—
thousands of branching outcomes—
All of them ending in her death.
All but one.
Adam's voice echoes inside her mind:
"I've always seen what's coming."
Another memory:
Adam, alone in a void, whispering—
"This is the only path where Eve survives."
Another crack splits across his chest—
a huge one—
light pours out like a star detonating.
Eve's eyes widen, tears streaming.
Eve: "You knew… all this time… and you never told me…?"
Adam:
"If I told you, you would've tried to change it."
He brushes her cheek with a thumb that is barely holding together, fractured and glowing.
Adam: "So I made a different wish."
Eve: "Adam, please—PLEASE—"
Adam: "…live."
His body shakes violently, fissures racing across him like breaking glass.
Adam:
"Live the life I ruined."
Light erupts from the cracks.
Eve screams his name—
And the glow engulfs them both.
Adam trembles, the cracks in his glowing body widening, light leaking out in painful bursts. His voice breaks as he reaches toward Eve—almost desperate, almost pleading.
Adam: "Eve… please… can you say those words… just once more?"
Eve's eyes widen. Her entire body freezes.
Her breath shakes.
Her lips tremble.
Eve: "I-I can't… If I did… you'll leave me forever!"
Adam's voice cracks—soft, begging, full of fear he never showed anyone else.
Adam:
"Eve! Please…"
Eve looks at him—her brother, glowing like he's about to burst into stardust—
the last person she should love
and the only person she can't lose.
Eve: "Saying it again… I can't!"
Adam places his forehead against hers, hands shaking as he holds her face.
Adam: "Let me believe that my life means something… and that I made the right choice."
Tears pour down her face as she grabs him and pulls him into the tightest hug she has ever given.
Eve:
"…Adam."
Her voice cracks.
Her heart shatters.
Then finally—
Eve (sobbing):
"I love you… big brother."
Adam exhales—a long, peaceful, relieved breath.
His arms wrap around her one last time.
Adam:
"Yes… thank you. Thank you so much…
for loving me."
The cracks reach his heart—white-hot.
Adam:
"…thank you… for being my reason for living."
And then—
his body shatters.
Like glass breaking into a thousand luminous fragments.
The light bursts outward, scattering glowing pieces of him into the air.
Eve's hands swipe at the floating shards—
frantic—desperate—pleading—
but every piece slips through her fingers.
They fade into sparks of white light before she can catch even one.
Eve:
"ADAM!!!"
Her scream collapses into choking sobs.
She falls to her knees, hands reaching out into empty air where he once stood—
where he vanished—
Her tears hit the ground with tiny glowing ripples, the last traces of Adam's light fading around her.
She reaches again.
And again.
And again.
But he's gone.
Then the truth hits her like a blade through the chest.
Eve:
"A-A… Adam…?"
Her voice is tiny—shaking—far too small for someone as powerful as her.
The last glowing shard of his light flickers out in front of her face.
And with that—
she breaks.
Eve falls forward onto her hands, fingers clawing at the ground where Adam had just been standing. Her nails scrape against stone, tearing skin, leaving bloody streaks as she digs desperately at nothing.
Eve:
"NO—NO! ADAM!! PLEASE!! COME BACK!!"
Her scream is raw.
It cracks.
It rips out of her soul.
She grabs at the air as if she could still catch him—
still pull him back—
still force the universe to reverse what just happened.
The others stare from afar—
Seraphina trembling,
Kai silent,
Alexander frozen,
Vincent bowing his head—
but no one dares to approach.
Because Eve… is collapsing.
Flames erupt from her body—blue, gold, black—all flickering violently with her grief. The ground beneath her begins to crack, spiderweb lines spreading out from her hands. The air warps from the pressure of her breaking heart.
Her touch alone could destroy worlds now.
Eve:
"WHY?! Why did you do this?! WHY?!"
She slams her fists into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
Each hit creates a shockwave large enough to shake the ruins around her.
Her tears fall onto the glowing patterns he left—
her sobs echoing through the hollow sky.
Eve:
"You told me… you told me we'd settle this… when it was over…"
"You LIAR!"
Her voice completely collapses into a hysterical cry.
She presses her forehead to the ground, shoulders shaking violently.
Eve: "Why did you leave me alone again…?"
"I wasn't ready… I wasn't ready…"
She curls into herself, arms hugging her own body as if she can keep herself from falling apart.
But she can't.
Her hair loses its glow.
Her wings flicker.
Her energy spirals out of control.
She can barely breathe.
Eve: "…Big brother...Don't go…"
She whispers it so softly it barely leaves her lips.
But it echoes like a prayer.
A prayer the universe refuses to answer.