The silence returned to the warehouse. It was heavier than before. The air felt thick. Stale.
Edward stepped back into the light. He had not left. He had only tested the boundary. He looked at Dante. His expression was calm. Resigned.
"At least it is finished," Edward said. His voice was flat. Devoid of hope. "Sophie is dead."
The words hung in the air. A final verdict. The crew shifted. Kisuke cursed under his breath. Lisa stopped typing.
Dante did not move. He stood in the center of the light. His shadow stretched toward Edward.
"No," Dante said.
Edward blinked. Once. "What."
"She is not dead."
Edward's face went still. The resignation vanished. Confusion took its place.
"The files," Edward said. "The medical report. The death certificate."
"Forged."
"By who."
"By me."
Dante took a step forward. The sound of his boot on concrete was loud.
"I was the assassin," Dante said.
The crew froze. Even Isaac stopped breathing. Edward stared at him. His eyes widened. The green irises seemed to dull in the dim light.
"You," Edward whispered.
"Yes."
"You were hired to kill her."
"I was."
"And you refused."
"I protected her."
Edward shook his head. Slowly. Disbelieving.
"You lied to the client. You lied to the organization. You lied to me."
"I lied to everyone."
Dante stopped walking. He was five meters away now.
"She is alive," Dante said. "She is safe. And she knows everything."
Edward's mouth opened. He closed it. He looked around the warehouse. As if expecting Sophie to step out from behind a container.
"She is not here," Edward said.
"No."
"Why tell me."
"Because you need to know."
Edward's hands clenched into fists. His knuckles turned white.
"Do you know what you have done," Edward asked.
"Yes."
"You ruined everything."
"I saved her."
Edward laughed. It was not a happy sound. It was not angry. It was broken. He laughed until he coughed. He bent over slightly. His hands on his knees. The sound echoed off the metal walls. It was hollow.
The crew watched. They did not move. They did not understand. Dante understood.
Edward straightened up. He wiped his mouth. His eyes were wet.
"All of it," Edward said. "Everything I built. Every move I made." He gestured to the space around them. "It was all based on her death."
Edward looked at Dante. His eyes were clear now. Terrifyingly clear. "I wanted you to feel what I felt. Loss. Emptiness." Edward shook his head. "But you did not lose her. You chose to keep her."
He took a step back. "I was fighting a ghost."
(Kairo): "His psychological state is collapsing."
(Mūn): "No. It is resetting. He is recalculating."
(Dante): "Let him."
Edward walked toward the shadow of the container again. He moved slowly. Like an old man.
"You think this makes you better than me," Edward said.
"No."
"You think this makes you worthy of her."
"I know I am not."
Edward stopped. He looked over his shoulder. "That is the only honest thing you have said."
He turned fully into the darkness. "But it does not change the truth, Dante."
"What truth."
"That you are not free."
Edward's voice came from the shadows. Closer than before. "You protected her from me. But you cannot protect her from what you are."
Dante tightened his hands. "Edward. Come out."
"No. The game is over. This round."
A sound of metal scraping. A hidden door opening.
"You saved her life," Edward said. "But you cannot save her from the cost."
"What cost."
"The demons."
Dante went still.
(Kairo): "He knows too much."
(Mūn): "He knows about the memory loss."
(Dante): "How."
"Every time you use us," Edward's voice faded. "You lose a piece of yourself."
"You will forget her name eventually."
The voice vanished.
Dante rushed forward. He reached the shadow. Empty. A vent open high on the wall. Cold air drifted in. He had escaped.
Dante stood alone in the center of the warehouse. The crew gathered around him. No one spoke. Kisuke sheathed his knife. "He let us live."
"Yes," Dante said.
"Why."
"Because he realized the war changed."
Isaac stepped forward. He looked at Dante. "You were the assassin," Isaac said. "You need to tell us the rest later."
"Yes."
"But Dante."
Dante looked at him. "Edward was right about one thing." Dante turned toward the exit. The night air called to him. "The cost."
(Mūn): "He is afraid."
(Kairo): "He should be."
(Dante): "I am."
Dante walked out of the warehouse. The city lights of Heukseong blinked in the distance. Somewhere, Sophie was waiting. Somewhere, Edward was planning. And Dante was running out of time.
He touched his chest. Where the tattoos lay hidden under his shirt. The demons stirred. They were quiet. But they were hungry.
Dante got into his car. He did not start the engine immediately. He sat in the dark. He tried to remember his mother's face. He could not. He tried to remember the day he met Sophie. He could. But the colors were faded.
(Kairo): "It is happening."
(Dante): "I know."
(Mūn): "Will you tell her."
(Dante): "Not yet."
He started the engine. The headlights cut through the darkness. He drove toward Jōkan. Toward her. Toward the end.
Author Note: Special Message to My Amazing Readers,
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