The world stopped.
Rain froze mid-air. Each drop hung in place, suspended like glass beads scattered across the sky. The wind died. The sound disappeared. Even the distant echoes of destruction—the collapsing buildings, the screams, the chaos—were gone.
Everything had been silenced.
Kai stood at the center of it all. Alone.
His chest rose and fell unevenly, each breath heavier than the last.
"…what… is this…?"
His voice sounded wrong. Distant. Like it didn't belong in this frozen world.
Moments ago—he had been holding her.
Lina.
Her warmth. Her voice. Her final smile.
Gone.
"…no…"
His legs trembled, but he didn't fall. Not yet.
Because something else was happening.
Something inside him.
A pressure. A force. Growing.
His head throbbed violently as if something was trying to break out from within.
"…make it stop…"
He clutched his head, fingers digging into his hair. His breathing became sharp, uneven.
"…please…"
But it didn't stop.
It only got worse.
The air around him began to distort. Not like before. Not like the cracks.
This was different.
The world wasn't breaking.
It was bending.
Toward him.
"…what is this…?"
A faint glow flickered around his body. Soft at first. Barely visible.
Then stronger.
The frozen rain trembled.
One drop moved.
Then another.
Not falling.
Drifting.
Toward him.
Kai's eyes widened.
"…it's… coming to me…?"
The droplets gathered slowly, circling him like fragments drawn by an invisible force.
Then faster.
More.
Everything began to move.
Dust. Debris. Shards of glass.
All of it—pulled toward him.
"…no… stop…!"
The pressure in his chest exploded.
And suddenly—
He felt it.
Not just his own thoughts.
Not just his own pain.
But something else.
Memories.
Not his.
Lina's.
Her laughter.
The way she teased him under the streetlight.
The way she smiled when he tried too hard.
The way she said his name—
"Kai."
His eyes snapped open.
"…Lina?"
He turned sharply.
And there—for just a moment—
He saw her.
Standing a few steps away.
Faint. Transparent. Like a reflection in broken glass.
But it was her.
Same eyes. Same expression. Same warmth.
"…Kai…"
His breath caught in his throat.
"…you're here…"
He took a step forward. Slow. Careful.
"…Lina… I—"
He reached out.
But the moment his fingers got close—
She flickered.
"…wait—!"
And vanished.
Just like that.
Gone.
Kai froze. His hand still stretched forward. Grasping nothing.
"…don't…"
His voice broke.
"…don't go…"
But there was no answer.
Only silence.
The energy around him faded slowly.
The rain began to fall again.
The world resumed.
Sound returned. Chaos returned. Reality returned.
But something had changed.
Kai stood there. Empty.
"…what… was that…?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
He looked around.
The destruction remained. The broken street. The ruined buildings.
But Lina—
She wasn't there.
Not anymore.
Not even a body.
"…she's… gone…"
The words felt unreal.
Wrong.
His legs finally gave out.
He collapsed to his knees.
Hands trembling. Eyes unfocused.
"…Lina…"
The name slipped out quietly.
Like a prayer.
Or a memory already fading.
The wind picked up. Cold. Empty.
And for the first time—
The world didn't reset.
No light. No rewind. No second chance.
Just silence.
Kai lowered his head.
And whispered—
"…I couldn't save you…"
Far away—
Deep within the broken air—
Something shifted.
Watching.
Waiting.