The rain had not stopped for three days.
It fell like a shroud over the city, turning every streetlight into a halo and every shadow into something alive.
Aiden sat by the window of the sanctuary, watching droplets race down the glass. His reflection looked different now. His eyes glimmered faintly with gold whenever the light touched them, and sometimes he could hear whispers in the sound of the rain.
Behind him, Elias sharpened his blade in silence. Sparks danced briefly with each motion, fading as quickly as they appeared.
"Do you ever sleep?" Aiden asked quietly.
"Not well," Elias replied without looking up. "Sleep belongs to those who have peace."
"And you?"
Elias finally met his gaze. "I made peace impossible a long time ago."
Aiden smiled faintly. "Maybe we can find it again."
Elias's hand froze for a heartbeat, then he looked away. "Maybe."
That night, Aiden dreamed again.
He was standing in a vast field under an endless black sky.
No stars. No wind. Just the sound of someone crying.
He followed the voice until he saw a figure kneeling in the darkness. Its body shimmered like glass filled with stormlight. Every tear it shed turned into silver rain that fell upward, disappearing into the void.
"Who are you?" Aiden whispered.
The figure lifted its head. Its face was featureless, but its voice was soft and trembling.
"I am what remains when gods weep too long."
Aiden took a step back. "You're one of them?"
"I am their sorrow. The grief they cast away so they could call themselves divine."
The figure rose slowly, its form rippling like a reflection in disturbed water.
"Your heart carries the same light. The tear calls to me. I followed it here."
Aiden felt the air around him shift, heavy and cold. "What do you want from me?"
The being tilted its head. "To rest."
Then its voice darkened. "And if I cannot rest, then all shall grieve with me."
Aiden reached out, trying to touch it, but the moment his fingers brushed its surface, he felt pain. Memories flooded him again. Not just his, but thousands of others. Children crying, lovers parting, angels falling.
He saw skies burning, gods turning their faces away.
And then, beneath it all, a single image repeated again and again.
Elias, standing beneath the same storm, always reaching for him.
Aiden woke with a scream.
Elias was at his side instantly, his hand gripping Aiden's shoulder.
"Another vision?" he asked, voice low and steady.
Aiden nodded, shaking. "It wasn't a dream. Something was there. It said it followed the Tear. It's coming."
Elias's eyes hardened. "Then it already knows where to find us."
He rose and moved to the door, his movements calm but filled with purpose.
"We need to leave this place. The Tear's energy is drawing more than just angels now."
"But it said it wanted to rest," Aiden whispered. "It sounded... sad."
Elias paused. "Sadness is a weapon too, Aiden. The heavens forged many kinds of monsters."
"But what if it's not a monster?" Aiden asked. "What if it's like us?"
Elias turned to him. His gaze was sharp, but there was something almost gentle beneath it.
"Then I will still protect you from it. Even if it means protecting you from yourself."
Far above, the clouds thickened until lightning tore them open.
Something vast moved within the storm, its shadow stretching across the city.
Rain began to fall harder, colder, glowing faintly like liquid glass.
In the reflection of every raindrop, a face appeared for an instant, crying silently.
The sorrow of the gods had found a shape.
And it was coming for its Tear.