End

Everything froze.

Even the echoes of clashing steel fell silent. The eerie sight of the desolate city became something far worse.

The scene cemented itself in his mind, every minute detail burned into memory. Ren's mind raced.

"This... this is not real." He tried to convince himself.

Fifty feet ahead lay a sight he never wanted to see. He wanted to believe it was a dream, his mind tricking him. But no. This was happening.

The glimmering blade, gripped tightly by Kai just moments ago, now pierced another man's heart, stained crimson. A deep gash covered his body.

And the sword the man was just holding... was now buried in Kai's neck.

Then, time resumed.

Both Kai and Gabe stared in awe at each other, memorizing the sight of their killer. Dark red gushed from Kai's neck, flowing down his body. At the same time, Gabe fell to his knees, clutching the blade that had impaled him, blood soaking his once-white shirt. Then, he went limp.

"K-Kai..." Ren couldn't say anything else.

His throat tightened, making it hard to breathe. His jaw hung loose, hands trembling at his sides.

Kai stood still for a moment, struggling to turn his head toward Ren—then coughed up a torrent of blood. He swayed, then fell on his back. His blood rushed to fill the cracks in the ground.

Every moment Ren had ever shared with Kai flashed through his mind. "So this is it," tears welled in his eyes, "this is the end for us."

Ren gritted his teeth, watching Kai's blood begin to pool. Then he ran.

"Kai! Kai! KAAAI!"

In an instant, Ren was kneeling over him. He stared into his best friend's eyes. With each passing second, they turned a little glossier. His life was fading.

Kai watched as the boy he had spent years protecting knelt over him. Tears fell from both their eyes. This was it. No man could survive a wound like this.

Kai tried to speak, but his vocal cords were no more. Only blood trickled from his mouth.

Yet Ren knew exactly what he was trying to say. He watched Kai's lips form the words. More tears flowed. No pain had ever struck him as hard as this.

The words he could make out were, "...protect...Kael..."

Kai saw the understanding in Ren's eyes. He gave one last smile—an apology in its own right.

His eyes turned glassy. His struggling breath ceased. His lips curled back to neutral.

Kai was gone.

Ren stared at the sight, capturing every sense that came his way. He watched it all.

Ren's mouth opened like he was trying to scream, but no sound came. Dread flowed through his body. 

The once black road was now crimson. Two bodies lay next to each other. One was a man Ren once trusted just hours ago. And the other...the other was Kai. The best friend and the protector of Ren over these last two years.

One lay still, a sword buried in his chest, his shirt soaked in blood, erasing all trace of its original color.

Another had a blade lodged in his neck, skewered at a grotesque angle.

Ren felt like he was going to shatter. He wanted to. Ren grew weaker every that past. Until eventually something did shatter. Ren felt something in his chest break. A horrid feeling escaped it, surrounding his body. No thoughts came to his mind.

He couldn't even take in what was happening.

But if he could, he would know that he was being bestowed a gift.