"Some wounds don't bleed. They echo."
— Ayla Serin
Part I: Friction
Setting: Atlas – Training Chamber Delta
Characters: Ayla, Rin
The lights inside the training chamber pulse with calibrated intensity. Rin is a blur of motion—strike, slide, counter, flip. Each move calculated. Each breath measured.
He's not training.
He's isolating.
Ayla stands outside the chamber, arms crossed, watching him. The others are busy elsewhere — Kael in the command deck, Mira in diagnostics, Thorne passed out in the hangar.
She finally walks in.
Ayla (lightly):
"At this point, you're sparring with ghosts."
Rin doesn't respond. Another strike. Another flip. Sweat drips from his hair, streaking his white tunic.
Ayla:
"Rin."
Still nothing. She steps in front of his path.
Rin (quietly):
"Move."
Ayla:
"No. You're not the only one hurting."
The silence that follows isn't cold. It's thick. Suffocating.
Rin:
"You think this is about me hurting?"
Ayla (angrily):
"No, I know it is. You never let anyone in. Not once. And every time someone tries—every time I try—you shut down."
He finally looks at her.
Rin (flat):
"Because people close to me die. Or get erased. Or worse. You want that?"
Ayla:
"I'd rather be close and take that risk than pretend none of this matters!"
She's trembling now—not from fear. From everything unsaid.
Ayla (voice cracking):
"You always look like you're a million light-years away. But when you held my hand in the Cradle… you were right there. And I—"
"I didn't want to let go."
Rin looks at her like she's speaking a language he's forgotten. He opens his mouth. Closes it. Looks away.
Rin (softly):
"Ayla… I don't know how to give you what you want."
Ayla:
"I don't want anything from you. I just want you."
The pause between them stretches. Long. Uncomfortable. Honest.
Then she speaks again, quieter now.
Ayla:
"I'm not asking you to love me back. Not now. Maybe not ever. Just… let me stand beside you. Stop trying to protect me by pushing me away."
Rin doesn't speak. His hands are clenched at his sides.
Rin (barely audible):
"I'm scared. Of what happens if I don't push you away."
Ayla steps closer. Not touching him—just close enough for him to feel her warmth.
Ayla (gently):
"I'm scared too. But I'm still here."
Rin looks at her—really looks this time. He doesn't smile. But the smallest flicker of something flickers in his eyes.
Trust. Fragile. New.
Part II: Pulse
Setting: Observation Deck – Later that night
Characters: Rin, alone
He stands in front of the vast viewing window. Stars fracture and swirl beyond the hull — timelines spinning out like spiderwebs. One star dims, and another vanishes.
The cost of being him. Of surviving.
He raises his hand. A faint pulse of white energy coils around his palm. But this time, it doesn't feel empty.
Rin (to himself):
"She stayed."
His hand slowly closes into a fist.
Rin (quietly):
"Maybe… I can stay too."
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