CHAPTER 13: FAMILIAR SORROW

Her last words echoed in my bones.

"Why were you at the Abyss?"

It cut deeper than the blade.

"To give up."

She waited.

"I lost everything. Family. Home. My past. It vanished. I thought… what's left?"

I swallowed.

"I destroy what I touch. I'm cursed."

Her hand struck the dashboard.

"Shut up."

She wasn't angry.

She was broken.

And for some reason, she hated seeing me reflect that same fracture.

"You think you're the only one?" Her voice cracked. "The only one who's blamed themselves?"

Her eyes—glassy, trembling.

"I did that. I lived it. I lost more because I couldn't forgive myself."

I didn't want to cry.

But I did.

"…Thank you, Rose."

She didn't reply.

But as the car swam in the scent of roses—

I slept.

---

I woke in quiet.

A coat draped over my shoulders.

Warm.

Rose stood among flowers. Alone in a field of bloom.

"Sleep well?" she asked, voice soft.

I nodded.

"Where's the Academy?"

She hesitated.

"I can't come with you. But I can send you."

She pressed a rose into my hand.

"It was nice meeting you, Night."

Then the world blinked out.

And when my breath returned—

I was standing before towering gates.

The Academy.