Sosuke opened his one good eye wide. The other, scarred and swollen shut, twitched faintly but wouldn't budge. "Rin…" His voice cracked slightly, uncertain and quiet.
Around them, the others wandered through the ravaged remains of the base. Their boots crunched over rubble and snapped debris underfoot. Dust clung to the air, drifting like ash.
"Looks like there weren't any prisoners here to begin with," Reid muttered. He peeled the lid off a nearby crate, revealing rows of unfamiliar weapons glinting under the flickering lights.
Arthur stepped up beside him and narrowed his eyes at the contents. "That's because we were the prisoners. They planned this from the start."
Reid picked up a sleek, black gun and turned it over in his hands. His fingers curled around the grip as he brushed the dust off the barrel. "This thing's got weight to it." He raised it and mimed pulling the trigger, making exaggerated gun noises. "Pew pew. Feels like something out of a comic."
"Put the damn thing down, you idiot!" Lyra barked, spinning on her heel. "You'll hurt someone. Matter of fact, I'll hurt you."
"Alright, alright, relax." Reid grinned as he gently placed the weapon back inside the crate.
"At least we didn't come here for nothing," Arthur said, crouching again to inspect the cache. "These weapons… they're advanced. Refined. We'll need an extraction team to pull all of this out."
He picked up a blade-like device and turned it in the light. Strange grooves along the hilt pulsed faintly. "Hard to believe they built this kind of tech before we did. Stuff like this levels the playing field. Even regular soldiers might stand a chance against us now."
Across the room, Clyde reached into another crate. "It's not just weapons either," he muttered, pulling out a vial filled with soft blue liquid that glowed faintly. "There's mana inside. You think these are injections?"
Arthur stood slowly. "If they've figured out how to infuse mana into the human body…" His voice grew grim. "Then their army might outmatch ours completely. Even if these are just prototypes, the fact they exist at all… the odds are turning against us."
Reid looked over, arms crossed. "So why hasn't anyone helped us? Why are we fighting this alone?"
Arthur didn't look away from the crate. "Because no one wants to get involved in a war this big. The world's watching Westoria, Astoria, and Virenia tear each other apart. Smaller nations won't risk stepping in. It's too costly. Too dangerous."
Lyra leaned against a half-collapsed support beam. "If we want to make a real move, we should focus on breaking the alliance between Virenia and Astoria. Their bond's thin. Built on hate for us, not trust."
She looked out toward the broken horizon.
"Astoria's falling apart. They've been in poverty since before the war started. Meanwhile, Virenia's loaded with resources. Astoria's clinging to them just to keep their people alive."
Clyde shut the lid of the crate with a sigh. "And Astoria's army? It's crawling with killers who should've rotted behind bars. People like that don't fight for honor."
"Hatred's a strong glue," Arthur said. "It holds even the weakest alliances together. Breaking it won't be easy."
His tone dropped lower.
"Not unless someone takes out Lance Sterling."
From the far side of the room, Ren's voice cut through the air. "We shouldn't be in this war at all." He sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. "Westoria started this when our economy collapsed. Nobody wanted to work. The country fell apart. War was the last resort."
"They say war helps the economy," Lyra said, gently plucking a flower from the dirt—one of the last remnants of Guinevere's technique. Its petals crumbled in her hand. "But what's an economy worth if we have to pay in lives?"
…
Rin stepped closer to Sosuke, her eyes drawn to the long scar etched across his right eye. Her hand hovered just above it. "Your eye… does that mean…"
"I can't use my star eyes," he said quietly. He reached up and held her hand, lowering it gently. "Not right now."
Her throat tightened. "What did they do to you?" she asked, voice trembling. "Where have you been all this time?"
"I've seen things I never want to see again," Sosuke whispered. "I've fought just to stay alive. Every day felt like the last. And now… I'm just tired. I want to rest."
He took both of her hands in his. His grip was firm, but not desperate. He looked straight into her eyes.
"That's why I need to ask you something."
Rin held his gaze. "What is it?"
"I want to run away. Together. You and me." His voice shook slightly, but he didn't look away. "We've given everything to this war. I've trained, bled, fought—done everything they asked of me since I was a kid. And for what? I've never actually lived. Not once."
He pulled her closer, just slightly, his forehead almost touching hers.
"But I want to now. With you. Because I think… I think I love you."
Rin froze.
Her lips parted, but no sound came. Her eyes darted down, then closed. Her fingers tensed in his.
"I… I can't do that," she whispered.
"Why not…?" Sosuke asked. His heart dropped like a stone in his chest, the silence between them suddenly heavy, suffocating. His voice was soft, almost fragile.
Rin took a shaky breath and stepped away from him, her arms folding tightly around herself as if she needed to hold her insides together. "There are too many reasons," she said. "I can't. You're not thinking straight, Sosuke. You just want to run from everything, give it all up. And… you don't even sound sure about how you feel." Her eyes searched his face. "What do you mean you think you love me?"
"I…" His throat clenched. A single tear slipped from the corner of his eye, carving a slow path down his dirt-streaked cheek. "But I do, Rin. I swear I do… Please." His voice cracked. "Don't walk away."
"You did this to yourself." Rin's tone wasn't cold, but it wasn't soft either—it trembled with pain, like a wound she'd kept hidden too long. "You disappeared. You never came back. You left us all in the dark."
Sosuke opened his mouth, but nothing came out at first. She continued before he could form the words.
"This isn't you, Sosuke. You're stronger than this. And I'm not going to let you give up so easily. Not when I know what you're capable of."
"You don't understand!" Sosuke shouted, the words bursting out of him. His hands trembled as he stared at his palms—scarred, bloodstained, shaking from emotion. "I've had enough! I keep trying, I give everything I have, and it's never enough!" His voice cracked again, raw and ragged. "I couldn't even save the last person I called family!"
His hands clenched into fists. "These hands have only failed… again and again. Stained with blood, soaked in regret. But you, Rin—" he looked up at her, eyes red and pleading, "you're the only light I have left in this world."
Rin didn't flinch, but her expression darkened. "You don't get to hide behind that guilt, Sosuke. You're asking me to abandon everything for your guilt.
His breath hitched. "Fine," he said, voice low now, his body sagging slightly. "You want the truth?" He laughed bitterly, a cold, broken sound. "I lied to myself. Every day. I told myself I was fighting for all of you, but really… I just wanted revenge. That's all I ever wanted. What do you want me to say, Rin? That I wasted the last two years of my life chasing something hollow?" He shook his head. "Because I did."
Rin's eyes glossed over with unshed tears, but she didn't let them fall. Her voice wavered as she spoke. "And what am I supposed to do with that, Sosuke? Are you expecting me to fix you? Patch you up and tell you it's going to be okay?" She paused. "I can't. Only you can do that."
He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat.
"You can't quit," Rin added, softer this time. "Not like this."
"I'm not giving up, I just…" Sosuke's voice trailed off, but he couldn't finish the sentence. Deep inside, he knew it was a lie. He was giving up. That's what this was. That's what he wanted. To leave everything behind and run.
Rin took a deep breath and held his gaze. "You need to find yourself again. Because this version of you—the one standing in front of me now? That's not who you are."
He reached out to her, desperation in his touch, but she stepped back, out of reach. The space between them felt colder now. Wider.
"I can't do this alone…" he said. His voice was smaller now, barely a whisper. "Don't leave me..."
Rin looked at him with something softer than anger, but harsher than sympathy. Her expression wasn't cruel—it was resolute. "You're not alone," she said. "You still have people. Our team—maybe you're not the closest with them, but they're there. They care. You just… never really let them in."
She turned away, her voice trailing behind her like a fading echo. "Figure it out, Sosuke. I hope you do."
Rin strode away, making her way toward the base's exit gate. In the distance, the rumble of heavy wagons grew louder as they approached.
Reid stepped closer to Sosuke and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You okay? You seem down."
For a moment, Sosuke stayed silent, weighing Rin's words. Finally, he admitted, "I'm not okay."
"Listen, if you want to talk, I'm here. I saw you with Rin—I know it must've been hard. She never said much about you, but it was obvious she missed you." Reid gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Let's just get you home too."
Sosuke exhaled. "Yeah, you're right."