The wind howled outside the broken dome of the eastern wall outpost, carrying with it the smell of blood and smoke. Night had fallen, but no one slept.
Aira sat on the stone ledge, legs tucked to her chest, hair matted with dried blood, a hollow look in her eyes. Below the ledge, the wounded lay groaning in makeshift tents, and behind her—Ezrah stood quietly, arms crossed, eyes scanning the stars as if searching for a world without monsters.
"Do you ever feel like…" she started, voice low, "…there's no one left to understand what it's like to be us?"
Ezrah looked at her then. The moonlight caught the edge of his scarred cheek. "Yeah. Every day."
Silence again, but this one wasn't heavy. It felt… mutual. Safe.
He walked closer and sat beside her. "You were different today," he said. "You didn't hesitate. Even when they surrounded us."
"I had to be," Aira whispered. "They would've killed you."
Ezrah turned fully toward her, his voice quiet. "You didn't have to. You chose to."
Aira's lip trembled. Her monster form had taken over for too long during the last fight. The bloodlust, the speed—she couldn't even remember the last scream she silenced.
"I don't know who I'm becoming," she said.
He touched her shoulder gently. "But I do. You're becoming someone who fights for others, not just herself."
She looked at him—really looked. In that moment, the boy who once barely spoke had become her anchor.
Their fingers brushed between them, a subtle touch that said more than any confession could.
"We might not survive the next attack," she said, eyes still on his hand. "But if I'm going to die… I'd rather it be beside you."
Ezrah exhaled like he'd been holding it in for days. "Then stay beside me until we live through this."
And she nodded, silently promising that even if the walls fell, her heart wouldn't.
From a distance, Shino watched them from the shadows, a soft smirk hidden under his hood.
"Looks like even monsters find light eventually," he murmured, before vanishing into the dark again