Chapter 78 :The Silence of Broken Hearts
Short of breath, Yuki ran breathlessly, Salomé in his arms. His heart pounded against his chest, not from exertion... but from fear.
— Hold on... Salomé... You will live... I swear it.
His mana buzzed around him. Hands trembling, he tried one last time... a final hope.
He placed his fingers on her forehead and whispered an ancient incantation, forbidden even among the most powerful healers.
Atomic Restructuring.
A technique so rare, so dangerous, that it was classified among the forbidden arts. It touched the flesh... the mind... even the soul. It could reconstruct a being, atom by atom, memory by memory, even from the ashes of a broken body.
But here... nothing.
The red mana swirled, entered Salomé's battered body... then died out.
There was something... something deeper. Black. Cursed.
The wounds left by Lazareth and Shirōgane were different. They were not just physical. They were imbued with a curse. Something that even prevented the soul from regenerating.
As if... the very act of healing had become an insult to the universe.
Yuki's gaze froze, then lifted toward a building in the distance.
A hospital. A name that made the boundaries of the possible tremble.
The Kenzaka Hospital.
Where miracles had happened. Where even the dying had found life again thanks to legendary potions, distilled in secret for generations.
— Hold on, Salomé... We're almost there...
He arrived at the doors. He entered without thinking, bare-chested, covered in blood and soot.
A nurse stood up abruptly:
— Sir! It's not proper to enter a hospital bare-chested!
But Yuki exploded:
— Shut your mouth!!!
The entire hall stopped. All eyes turned to him. The beating of one heart, Salomé's, was muffled in the inner turmoil.
Another woman approached. Elegant, hair tightly tied back. A natural authority in her gaze.
— What is going on here?!
She saw Salomé, motionless in the stranger's arms. Her blood. Her face. Her silence.
Her heart broke.
— No... no, this must be a joke...
She ran, snatched Salomé from his arms.
— Who are you?! And what are you doing with my daughter in your arms?!
Yuki, stunned:
— Your... daughter?
— Yes! I am her mother... Amu.
She raised her eyes, voice trembling:
— What happened?
Yuki, eyes reddened, throat tight:
— She was attacked... I tried... I did everything... but... I couldn't protect her...
A procession of doctors arrived. A stretcher. Cries. Healing incantations. Drops of pure mana.
Then Salomé disappeared behind the swinging doors of the emergency room.
Hours passed.
Yuki sat. Amu too. Both side by side. Their silences as heavy as graves.
He told everything.
The eradication plan.
The ambush.
The screams.
Lazareth.
The red mana.
The shadow barrier.
And that curse that seemed to mock all their efforts.
Amu listened without interrupting. Face frozen. Hand clenched on her bag. At the end, she sighed:
— You are... the friend of my son, Sakolomé, isn't that right?
— Yes...
— I called him. He should arrive any moment now...
A doctor appeared, face grim, eyes avoiding theirs.
— Uh... Madam...?
Amu jumped up. Yuki too.
— Don't tell me you couldn't do anything... please...
The doctor, lips trembling, finally said:
— We tried... everything.
All the potions... all the incantations...
But I'm afraid that...
He took a deep breath.
— ...your daughter is dead.
Silence.
A silence more brutal than all the screams in the world.
Amu's eyes widened. She staggered. Her hand pressed against her mouth. Her heart screamed. But her throat was mute.
— No...
No... no, this is a joke... Tell me it's a joke!!!
And then she screamed. Loudly. Brutally. Like a wounded beast. A cry that made the hospital walls vibrate.
She threw herself against a wall. Her tears flowed endlessly.
— Not... not my daughter... Not Salomé...
Yuki stood there. Powerless. Fists clenched. Face covered in ashes and regrets.
Sakolomé arrived, running, followed by Bakuran, his expression grave.
— Mother!! Where is Salomé?!
He hadn't seen Yuki yet. Hadn't understood yet.
Then he saw Amu. In tears. Inconsolable.
Amu turned to them. In a broken, almost inaudible voice:
— Your sister is dead...
The sentence fell.
Like a guillotine.
The world stopped turning.
Sakolomé froze.
Bakuran lowered his head.
And in that hospital hall, colder than a tomb...
...pain had just written its most beautiful chapter.
In front of the hospital, in a silent corner, a small stone bench.
Sakolomé sat there, head bowed, eyes lost in the void.
Yuki, standing, finished his story. His voice faded into the heavy silence of the night.
Bakuran, also standing, listened without a word, face closed.
The sound of hurried footsteps rang out.
Sally appeared, out of breath.
Sally: I was looking for you everywhere... They told me you were here...
But she stopped, catching with a glance the icy atmosphere, this overwhelming silence.
She observed, fell silent.
Yuki (softly): There... you know the whole story...
Sakolomé didn't even raise his head.
His hands trembled. Slowly.
Sakolomé (in a faint voice): Yuki... We are friends... aren't we?
Yuki (weakly): Yes...
A short silence.
Then Sakolomé's voice broke, hoarse, cruel:
Sakolomé: Then why... why did Salomé die?
The silence became suffocating.
Sally looked away.
Bakuran clenched his fists.
Sakolomé (shouting, exploding): Why did my little sister die, Yuki?!!!
His cry echoed like a slap in the night.
Yuki stepped back. His lips trembled.
But he didn't answer.
Suddenly, Sakolomé stood up, like a volcano erupting, and without warning, he struck.
A sharp, violent punch that made Yuki stagger.
But he stayed standing.
Sakolomé (striking again): Yuki!! I thought we were friends!! So why did she die, huh?!! Why couldn't you protect her?!!
Blow after blow.
Yuki took it. Without fighting back.
As if he was atoning.
As if he had to suffer.
Sally (shouting): Sakolomé, stop!!
She tried to rush forward, but Bakuran held her firmly.
Sally: Let me go, Bakuran! I have to stop him!
Bakuran (in a deep voice): No... Look closely... Yuki isn't defending himself.
He accepts every blow.
He wants to take them.
If he turns against you in this state, he could... lose control.
Sally froze.
She looked again.
The scene was unbearable.
Sally (whispering): What... what a horrible sight...
Sakolomé, in tears, kept hitting.
Sakolomé: She's dead, Yuki!! She died while you were there, damn it!! You were theeeere!!!
One last blow, more violent, sent Yuki to the ground.
He collapsed. Blood at his mouth. Eyes moist.
Sakolomé (howling at the moon): Saloméééééé!!!
Then he fell to his knees, heart exposed, screaming, sobbing.
Sakolomé: She's dead... Yuki...
It destroys me...
Bakuran turned away, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Sally was crying too, hands trembling before her mouth.
Bakuran (whispering): Salomé... Why...?
Yuki, on the ground, tears mixing with blood, cried as well.
Yuki: I wasn't vigilant enough...
I blame myself so much, Sakolomé... If only I could... turn back time...
Sakolomé (devastated): It's too late, Yuki... She's dead... it's over...
We'll never see her again...
And under the pale hospital light, in this night without hope,
hearts wept in unison.
A chaos of pain.
Of tears.
Of muffled screams.
A world was collapsing.
An emptiness had been born.
And no one could fill it anymore.