Chapter 12: The Morning After

Kael's POV

The light of dawn creeped through the cracks in the wooden walls, casting thin beams that reached the far corners of the church. I didn't move. I couldn't. My eyes just stared at the ceiling, where dust motes floated in the air, glimmering like something hopeful.

I couldn't remember the last time I had felt the warmth of a bed without the echoes of fire, blood, or death looming in the background. The night had been... still. Too still. The children had whispered, but their voices were muffled behind the thick walls, a world I couldn't fully enter, not anymore. I didn't belong there, not with them, not in this peaceful place.

I shifted slightly, the faint crackle of my arm's wrappings rustling as I moved. There was no need to look at it, but I felt the pulse of the runes beneath, subtle but insistent. It was almost like they were listening to the world, waiting for something to crack again.

'Just another day in a world that doesn't know me,' I thought bitterly.

The door opened quietly, and a figure stepped in, silhouetted by the light of morning.

"Sister Lily," I muttered without looking up.

"I see you're awake." Her voice was calm, gentle. Unafraid. "How are you feeling?"

I didn't answer immediately. Her presence, unlike the children's, felt... warmer. Not the warmth of comfort, but something like a beacon—a reminder that there was light in places that hadn't yet been consumed by darkness.

"I'm fine." My voice was hoarse, dry. Not even a proper answer.

She didn't seem perturbed by my silence. Her footsteps were light, measured. She sat at the edge of the bed, close, but not too close.

"Do you need anything?" she asked, and I could hear the care behind it, something unfamiliar to my ears.

I pulled my hood down lower, though it was already over my head, and turned my face to the side, away from her. "No."

Her voice softened, as if she could hear something in me that I couldn't express. "You're welcome here, Kael. This church is a place for those who have nowhere else to go."

"Doesn't matter," I muttered. "I don't belong here."

She didn't press further. There was nothing more to be said. Sister Lily understood silence as well as she understood kindness, and she gave me space. But even as I lay there, staring at the wall, I could feel her gaze on me, not pitying, but... understanding. I didn't like it.

I heard the faint sound of footsteps behind her—two distinct sets. Asta and Yuno, I thought.

"He's awake," Asta said, voice brimming with energy, just as I expected. He probably didn't even know how to be quiet.

"Be careful, Asta," Yuno muttered, his tone as cool and calculated as ever. "He's not like us."

Asta laughed, but it lacked any real joy. "I know. But look at him! He's huge, but so... mysterious. He's gotta have some crazy story. Right, Kael?"

I didn't answer, still lying there, barely blinking. They were... too curious. Too open. Their innocence, despite everything they'd been through, grated against my mind.

"You don't know anything about me," I finally rasped, turning my head just enough to see Asta leaning against the doorframe, grinning like an idiot.

He didn't seem to take offense. Instead, he stepped forward, and Yuno followed, though at a slower pace, always calculating, observing. I could almost feel the tension in Yuno, the wariness that came from knowing something was off, but not knowing what.

"I'm Asta!" he said, as if that was supposed to change everything. "I'm gonna be the Wizard King! So what's your deal, Kael? You got some crazy magic powers or somethin'?"

I closed my eyes for a second, fighting back the bitterness that threatened to rise. Magic? My magic was chaos. Destruction. It was the result of broken things that should never have been.

"Why do you care?" I muttered, turning my head back to the ceiling.

Asta paused, a look of confusion flashing across his face. "I dunno. You look like you've seen a lot. I mean, we all have... but you seem like you've seen more." He leaned against the wall, grinning despite everything.

I gritted my teeth. He was too damn optimistic. But I didn't want to deal with him right now. I didn't want to deal with any of them.

"We're just trying to help," Yuno said, his voice colder, sharper. "I'm not going to let you get in our way. But... I won't stop you from being here. Just don't make trouble."

I met his gaze for the first time. There was no judgment in his eyes, just cold calculation. He'd seen death before. I could tell.

I nodded curtly.

Asta tilted his head, still grinning. "Well, let me know if you wanna train. I'm pretty strong, you know? I can teach you!"

I didn't respond. I wasn't interested in training, not yet. Not with them. The world still felt too clean. Too empty. I wasn't ready to step into whatever life they were offering.

---

Sister Lily's POV

I watched them for a moment—Asta's cheerful persistence, Yuno's quiet observation—and then turned my gaze back to Kael. He was still lying on the bed, hood up, face half-hidden, and though he didn't say much, there was something in his posture that spoke volumes.

He was broken. Not physically—though the scars on his body told a tale of violence and hardship—but inside. His soul had been torn apart in ways I couldn't even begin to understand.

But despite the coldness that surrounded him, despite the barriers he erected between himself and everyone else, there was a small flicker of something within him. A spark, hidden behind walls of resentment and pain.

He wasn't ready to talk yet. I knew that much.

But that didn't mean I couldn't offer him something.

I stood up and looked over at Asta and Yuno. "We should leave him be for now," I said, my voice gentle but firm. "He'll come around, in his own time."

Yuno gave me a slight nod, but Asta was still grinning, oblivious to the deeper currents beneath Kael's exterior.

"We'll make sure he's okay, Sister!" Asta said with determination. "We're gonna be the best team ever, right?"

Yuno just sighed, but even he couldn't completely hide the faint trace of a smile.

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Kael's POV

I listened to the soft rustling of their footsteps as they left. But my mind was far away. The weight of the night before hung heavy, clinging to my every thought.

'Why did they care?'

I didn't have the answer.

But as I sat there, watching the faint light fill the room, I couldn't help but wonder if I could just slip back into the shadows. Disappear. Forget about this strange place, these strange people, and just keep walking until there was nothing left.

But then, somewhere deep in the back of my mind, something twisted, some small fragment of doubt.

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Thank you for reading the chapter....it's going to be chill for sometime, until unexpected breaks out, you may hate me for doing it, or many not.....but it's all for greater good of the fanfiction.....bare with me, and it won't disappoint you.