The door creaked open.
A young servant stumbled in, eyes wide.
Servant (voice cracking):
"...Lord Ren-is he...?"
He stepped aside, revealing Ren, slumped in the arms of Horny the Minotaur, supported by Iver and Josh. Ren's head lolled forward, eyes open but lifeless, face pale as ash.
Josh's jaw clenched. Iver breathed shallowly-both men's inner storms painted on their faces.
They carried Ren through the shattered remains of the grand ballroom. Every footstep seemed too loud.
Inside the makeshift infirmary, the group was clustered:
Rica, standing rigid in the center, eyes red-rimmed.
Kristie, crouched beside Snarl, trembling.
Marian, Scruffler by her side, voice tight.
Elly, clutching Koirin close.
Cedy and Rej, hurt but standing, swords drawn, covering.
Lily, bow lowered but ready, Glint's antlers dim.
Kael and Naeva, exhausted but alert.
Ella, beside Flarecakes, body shaking but silent.
They froze.
Time slowed.
Rica swallowed, her voice barely a whisper:
Rica:
"-Ren?"
Iver set Ren down gently. Josh's hands shook.
Ren didn't move. Didn't react.
Josh (voice low, panicked):
"He's... alive. Just... not... awake."
No one spoke.
Rica stepped forward, voice trembling but firm:
Rica:
"We need healers. Now."
Elly's eyes flicked behind Rica-toward the door, where a pair of healers hurried in, carrying supplies. They rushed to Ren's side, checking pulse, wounds.
Iver stared at Ren's face, jaw clenched.
Iver:
"He's... conscious, but in shock. Something happened."
Josh wrapped his arms around Ren's legs, shoulders quivering.
Josh:
"I need to go after Jonax. I can-I have to-"
Rica's eyes flashed.
Rica:
"Not alone. We'll-"
Josh cut Rica off, voice raw and cracking:
Josh (snapping):
"Alone is faster! I've lost enough already-I won't wait around while someone else dies!"
Iver took one slow, deliberate step forward. His voice came out low-cold as steel drawn across bone:
Iver:
"You're being reckless. Again. Still think you're the hero?"
Josh:
"At least I plan to do something."
Iver (sharp):
"One girl isn't worth throwing away the rest of us."
Josh turned sharply, eyes burning.
Josh:
"Isn't this exactly how you ended up alone? How you lost the Grimoire? Maybe if you weren't too busy hesitating-"
Iver's face darkened instantly. His jaw clenched, hands curling into fists.
Iver (quietly):
"Don't."
Josh stepped into his space, eyes locked and unforgiving.
Josh:
"Don't what? Don't say what everyone's thinking? That you froze up and let her walk away with the damn Key?"
The air went still.
Even Queen stopped pacing behind Rica. Even Glint lowered his antlers.
Iver's voice came back, ragged with suppressed fury:
Iver:
"You think you know what happened? You think charging in alone makes you some savior?"
He stepped closer.
Iver:
"You're not a hero, Josh. You're a coward hiding behind action because you can't stomach sitting still with guilt."
Josh's breath hitched-then he shoved Iver, hard.
Josh:
"Say that again. I dare you."
Iver didn't stumble.
He caught Josh's arm mid-shove and wrenched it down, eyes glaring.
Iver:
"You're making the same mistake. Just like before. When your impulsive everyone will get caught up by your stupidity!"
Josh lunged forward-grief, anger, guilt, everything boiling over.
Josh (screaming):
"SHUT UP!"
Iver met him head-on-and the brawl exploded.
They clashed. Punches thrown. The hallway erupted.
Snarl growled angrily, caught between them.
Kristie lunged to pull Josh. Marian yanked Iver.
Kristie (crying):
"Stop it!"
Rej stepped between them, blades crossing but unraised.
Rej:
"Put each other down!"
Rica, voice shaking, tried to intervene.
Rica:
"Enough! You're tearing this apart-right now!"
But Iver and Josh-tangled, sweat and blood-only pulled harder.
The roar of metal on stone echoed.
Cedy dropped a healing poultice.
Elly sobbed openly.
Lily, bow in hand, watched horror in her eyes, Glint at her side.
Kael, too late, intervened.
He grabbed both arms.
Kael:
"Stop. NOW."
They fell silent, chests heaving.
Rica took a shaky step between them.
Rica (voice breaking):
"Jonax is gone. Now Ren is now lifeless. We-We are falling apart."
Her face contorted with pain.
Rica:
"I... I don't know what to do."
Crackling breathed collapsed.
In the chaotic silence, a small voice echoed:
Seri (soft, trembling, sobbing):
"Everyone...please... STOP!..."
All heads turned.
In the doorway stood Seri, clutching her doll. Her eyes were huge, tear-stained, voice shaking.
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She took a step forward.
Seri:
"I'm scared."
Her words were fragile-cracked glass.
Harsh breaths fell silent. The room stretched.
Rica sagged, tears spilled uncontrollably.
Rica (softly):
"Oh, Seri..."
Kael gently steered Josh and Iver apart, letting them both stand but not fight.
Josh slumped to the floor, head in hands.
Iver stood still, raw pain etched in his stance.
Everyone silently gathered around Seri, who now looked brave enough to cradle both of their hearts.
Kristie (gentle):
"It's okay..."
Marian knelt beside Seri, pulling Scruffler close.
Marian:
"We'll protect you."
Elly whispered into Koirin's ear.
Cedy fixed Seri's hair.
Lily sat beside the girl, Glint's antlers glowing softly.
Lily (quiet):
"You are safe."
Flarecakes strode close to Ella, looming gentle as a guardian.
Ella (hugging Seri):
"We are right here."
Rica looked up-at the broken, exhausted fighters, at Ren on the cot, at the shattered hopes around her.
Rica's voice quivered, half hope, half command:
Rica:
"Listen... we have to regroup. Heal Ren. Find Jonax. Stop the Shepherd. We must. For her. For all of us. Seri..."
She knelt, forced a gentle tone.
Rica:
"Promise me you'll be strong. Because we're going to be strong. Right?"
Seri's lip quivered. A small nod.
Seri (whispered):
"I will."
Silence returned-heavy and raw.
Josh finally looked up-red-rimmed, voice broken.
Josh:
"Ren could die too."
Iver:
"And Jonax is already at the hands of the enemy. We can't stop now."
Rica:
"Then we stay together. We're the only family we've got now."
She looked at each face-eyes blazing with grief and determination.
Rica:
"Tomorrow... we fight once more."
Everything hurt. Everything was broken.
But here-now-they found a sliver of purpose.
A moment of unity.
Because without it?
They truly would be lost.
...
Somewhere in the Castle...
The echoes of the fight between Josh and Iver had faded, leaving behind only the restless murmur of the others trying to gather what pieces they could. Rica was somewhere else, Elly tending to Ren, Marian pacing with worry, and even Cedy had gone quiet.
Iver stood alone in the hallway, leaning against the stone wall. His knuckles were red and split. His gaze stared into nothing. The dim sconces cast half-shadows on his face, outlining a man who looked more like a statue of who he used to be.
Then-light footsteps.
Kristie.
She stopped a few feet away, arms crossed, the same smirk that used to hold bite now dull and hesitant.
Kristie (half-mumbling):
"You look like shit."
Iver didn't move. Didn't flinch.
Kristie (awkwardly):
"...Though I guess punching Josh in the face was cathartic."
Still no answer.
She hesitated. Then walked closer, slow, like approaching a wounded animal.
Kristie:
"I'm not great at the whole... serious emotional support thing. You know me-I'm more 'mock you until you feel better or punch me.'"
Still no reply. Iver's eyes remained on the floor, sunken and far away.
Kristie (lower):
"...But I saw your face. Back there. After Lyra."
That name alone made his shoulders tense.
Kristie leaned on the wall beside him, looking up at the cracked ceiling.
Kristie (quietly, joking):
"I thought she was just your type-gorgeous, dangerous, emotionally unavailable. I get it."
Iver gave the faintest huff of breath through his nose.
A half-laugh. Half-broken.
Kristie:
"Guess I was just jealous 'cause you picked a walking betrayal over this delightful mess of a girl right here."
She waved at herself with mock flourish.
Then her voice softened.
Kristie:
"But... I know you didn't pick her over me."
That made Iver finally glance at her.
Kristie:
"I mean-duh. I'm great. But still. You were just... trying to be seen. Like all of us."
Iver looked away again.
Iver (finally):
"I let her in."
Kristie:
"Yeah. And she stabbed you in the ribs with a poetic monologue and a stolen book."
She nudged his arm gently.
Kristie:
"You're not dumb for hoping, Iver. Just... human."
The silence settled again.
Then-Kristie stepped in front of him.
Tried to reach his eyes.
Kristie (softer):
"Hey."
She poked his chest.
Kristie:
"You still with us?"
He blinked slowly. Nodded.
Barely.
Kristie:
"Cool. 'Cause we kinda still need the guy who breaks up fights and out-logics ancient spells."
She hesitated-then, awkwardly, very awkwardly, raised her arms like she was about to hug him.
Kristie (grumbling):
"I swear to the stars if you tell anyone about this-"
Iver moved first.
He leaned forward and let his forehead rest gently on her shoulder. He didn't hug her. Just... leaned. Heavy. Exhausted.
Kristie froze.
Then sighed.
Then finally, wrapped her arms around him.
Loose. Hesitant. But steady.
Kristie (whispering):
"You're not alone, Iver."
His breath trembled against her.
And for that one moment-
He believed her.
...
The fire had long faded.
Smoke hung like a veil, faint embers still cracking the edges of shattered bookshelves and broken sigil glass. What remained of the war room was a grave of silence.
Ren sat slumped at the base of a pillar, unmoving, eyes open but vacant.
Breathing.
Alive.
But somewhere far away.
Elly knelt beside him. Quiet. Her hand glowed faintly with a healing rune-not to mend wounds, but just to feel like she was doing something. Anything.
Ren hadn't spoken since they brought him back.
No one knew what happened in that room with the Shepherd. But something inside him had been torn open.
And it hadn't closed.
She brushed away dust from his cheek, her hand pausing near his temple.
Elly (softly):
"Remember the time... you saved me at the park?"
Her voice cracked on the word saved.
Elly:
"Some creepy guys wouldn't leave me alone... and you didn't even say a word."
She laughed once, bitterly.
Elly:
"You just walked up, stood beside me like a wall. They ran like scared puppies."
Ren didn't react. But a tiny flicker twitched in his fingers. Barely.
She stared at him.
Elly:
"I told myself it didn't mean anything. That you were just being you. But that night? You didn't just protect me."
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
Elly:
"You gave me someone I could feel safe around. Even without saying a thing."
Her eyes welled up.
Elly (quieter):
"You didn't have to come for me."
Still, no answer. No movement.
But the silence shifted. Slightly.
Elly (softly):
"I know."
She smiled sadly, pulling her cloak tighter.
Elly:
"...But you did."
She sat down beside him, pulling her knees to her chest.
Elly:
"Then why are you like this?"
Her voice cracked.
Elly:
"You're kind... but cold. You show up... but push me back. You gave me your jacket, your umbrella... but you didn't even ask me why I was crying."
No movement.
But something... in his breathing shifted. A twitch. Subtle.
Elly:
"Because you already knew, right? You always knew."
A tear slipped down her cheek, catching the flicker of a torch above.
Elly (sharper):
"Then say it. Just say it outright so I don't have to keep guessing what version of you I'm talking to."
Nothing.
Elly (more desperate):
"Which one are you, Ren? The one who doesn't care-
Or the one who still does?"
And finally...
A blink.
Slow. Heavy.
Elly:
"...Because I'm scared of both."
She buried her face into her knees.
Elly (trembling):
"You act like everything's fine. Like none of it mattered. But then you do things that make me think it still does. So tell me... was I just a fleeting warmth you outgrew?"
Silence.
Then-a whisper. Fragile. Dry.
Ren (barely audible):
"You were the one who kept running away."
Elly looked up, startled.
Ren hadn't moved, but his lips had.
His eyes now shimmered-not with life-but with memory.
Ren:
"You confessed. Then disappeared. You kept me in limbo. And now you ask why I don't burn like before?"
Her breath caught.
Elly (snaps):
"Because I didn't know what to do! I liked you so much it terrified me. And when you didn't chase after me-
I thought it meant I didn't matter enough!"
Ren's fingers curled slightly against the stone.
Ren (quiet, but sharp):
"No. It meant I respected your silence."
A pause. Heavy.
Ren:
"That I wasn't going to drag you into something you kept trying to run from."
She broke then-leaning forward, striking his chest with both hands.
Not to hurt. Just to feel.
Elly (voice cracking):
"Then why do you still feel like home?"
Her fists trembled against him.
Ren looked at her-really looked at her-for the first time in hours.
Not the battlefield.
Not the Shepherd's lies.
Just her.
Ren (softly):
"Maybe because you never left it completely."
He raised one hand-slow, shaking-and caught her wrist.
Ren:
"You just stopped knocking."
Elly's breath hitched.
And then, for once, she couldn't keep it in anymore.
Elly (pleading):
"...Then let me in. Just this once."
Silence.
A beat.
Two.
Then Ren exhaled-one long, fractured breath.
He moved.
Leaned forward.
Pulled her into him.
Not tightly. Not perfectly.
Just enough.
One arm around her shoulders.
One moment of warmth he wasn't sure he could offer again.
Ren held her.
Not tightly.
Just enough to remember the warmth.
She clung to his cloak, breaths shallow, like she was afraid he might vanish again.
Then-his voice, barely above a whisper.
Ren:
"...I saw her again."
Elly stirred.
She didn't speak-only listened. Something told her not to interrupt.
Ren (quietly):
"Leah."
The name hung in the air like a ghost.
A name Elly had only heard in whispers. A name the others dared not mention.
Ren:
"The Shepherd... he showed me a world where she lived. Where I got to love her. Where I finally made her smile the way I always wanted."
He exhaled-sharp, broken.
Ren:
"I held her hand. Took her on dates. Got to be everything I wasn't before..."
His voice cracked slightly.
Ren:
"But no matter what I did... she always died."
Elly's eyes widened, but her hands only held him tighter.
Ren:
"Again. And again. I tried everything. I tried so hard-and she still..."
(He couldn't finish it.)
Silence stretched between them. Heavy. Unforgiving.
Ren (hoarse):
"And when I finally broke... I woke up in that room. With him. Laughing. Telling me I couldn't save anyone."
His eyes darkened, but not with anger-just emptiness.
Ren:
"I believed him."
Elly slowly reached up, brushing hair from his forehead. Her eyes shimmered.
Elly (gently):
"You don't have to carry it alone."
Ren didn't meet her gaze. Instead, he looked toward the flickering ruin of what used to be a window. The night sky beyond it felt hollow.
Ren (quietly):
"You want to know why I kept pushing you away? Why I was kind but distant?"
Elly:
"I figured it was just... me."
Ren (shaking his head):
"No. It was me."
A pause.
Ren:
"I didn't want to let anyone close again. Not after losing her. Not after losing everyone. I kept thinking... what if you're next? What if you disappear too? What if the moment I reach out..."
He clenched his jaw.
Ren:
"...I watch you die."
The words hit Elly like thunder. But she didn't let go.
Instead, she leaned in.
Elly:
"I was already disappearing, Ren. Every time you looked away."
Her voice trembled now. But her tone was steady.
Elly:
"I didn't need you to be perfect. I just needed you to stay. Even if you're scared. Even if you're broken. You still showed up-and that's more than most ever do."
Ren looked at her finally.
Really looked.
Her eyes were puffy. Red. Her lips trembled but smiled through the pain. And despite the hurt he'd given her-she was still here.
He almost flinched at that.
Ren (softly):
"You're brave."
Elly:
"I'm stubborn."
Ren (cracking a small smile):
"That too."
Another silence-but this one gentler. Like rain after a storm.
Then Ren did something he hadn't done in a long time.
He leaned forward.
And rested his forehead against hers.
Ren:
"I'm scared, Elly."
Elly (whispering):
"I know."
Ren:
"...But I don't want to be alone anymore."
Elly:
"Then don't be."
She wrapped both arms around him fully now, no longer holding back.
And this time-he didn't pull away.
They’ll just emotionally implode all by themselves.
Yeah, she threw her heart straight at a guy who forgot how to feel.
Didn’t have that on my bingo card.
Josh is just... alone.
Guess Jonax’s absence finally echoed back.
Iver’s rage? Josh’s grief? Rica’s collapse? Seri’s plea? Or Elly’s heartbreak?
Because at this point, I’m just handing out trauma medals.
– Rein Silvers ??
Who got the valid crashout this chapter?
