"The body enters a deep dream-state. The heart beats slower… slower… until... it stops. A death that feels like falling asleep."
Vespera sighed quietly.
"A peaceful end, they call it. But still an end."
Aeron's breathing deepened, a faint tremor passing through his fingers.
"And E-Emilia?" he said, voice tight. "She's in that stage?"
Vespera smiled sadly, genuinely this time.
"She is close, darling. Very close."
Her words drifted through the room like cold mist, settling over Aeron's skin in a way that made him feel both numb and burning.
He swallowed.
Once.
Hard.
"…How close?" he asked, each word pushed out with effort.
Vespera didn't answer. Not immediately.
Her eyes lowered, lashes casting thin shadows across her ethereal cheeks. For once, the playful, teasing spirit inside her vanished completely — replaced by something heavy… regretful.
Aeron's voice cracked.
"…Vespera."
Still nothing.
Her silence was the kind that hurt more than any spoken truth.
