The silence after Zane left was heavier than the fight.
Not because nothing remained, but because too much did.
Xin walked first.
He did not look back at the basin, the ruined land, the sky still bruised with scars that would never fully heal. He walked because stopping meant thinking, and thinking meant remembering Selena's face as she faded.
Rion followed a few steps behind.
His footsteps sounded different now. Lighter. More grounded. Like the echo inside him had finally shut up.
They reached the broken road where the jeep had died hours ago. Smoke still curled from the wreck. Metal was twisted beyond recognition.
Xin kicked a loose bolt out of the way. "So," he said, voice flat, "we're walking the rest."
Rion nodded. "Yes."
Another stretch of silence.
Then Xin spoke again. "Do you feel… empty."
Rion considered it. "I feel quiet."
"That sounds worse."
Rion almost smiled.
They walked for hours.
Through cracked highways. Through abandoned rest stops. Through places that still smelled like people but had none left. Xin scavenged water from a collapsed store. Rion found an old map that still showed Droplin marked as a minor district.
"It's still here," Xin said, tapping the map. "At least on paper."
"Paper lies slowly," Rion replied.
As night fell, they made a small fire inside a broken service tunnel. Xin sat with his back against the wall, staring at the flames. His body ached now that adrenaline was gone. Bruises surfaced everywhere. His missing finger throbbed.
Rion watched him quietly.
"You are damaged," Rion said.
Xin snorted. "Yeah. That's one way to say it."
"You should rest."
Xin shook his head. "Every time I close my eyes, I see her vanish."
Rion did not answer immediately.
"She chose," he said finally. "That matters."
Xin's jaw tightened. "Does it."
Rion met his gaze. "Yes. Because she chose you to survive."
Xin looked away.
Morning came gray and cold.
Droplin appeared just before noon.
The city looked smaller than Xin remembered. Narrow buildings stacked close together. Rusted railings. Faded signs hanging crooked above tight streets. The place looked like it was trying to disappear and succeeding.
Xin stopped at the edge of the district.
"This is it," he said.
Rion scanned rooftops and alleys. "No visible patrols."
"Dive never liked this place," Xin replied. "Too messy. Too many ways out."
They entered on foot.
People watched from behind curtains. Some recognized Xin. Some pretended not to. A few nodded quietly. No cheers. No questions.
Xin led Rion through twisting streets until they reached an old building with peeling paint and a cracked stairwell.
He stopped at the door.
"This was ours," he said.
Rion waited.
Xin pushed it open.
The room inside was small. Bare. Dust-covered. A broken table. A mattress folded against the wall. The window still cracked in the same place.
Xin walked straight to the corner near the floorboards and pried one loose with a knife.
Inside was a metal box.
He opened it slowly.
Cash. Old currency. Some gold scraps. A small data chip. And a folded note.
Xin unfolded the paper with shaking hands.
For emergencies. Don't argue. Love, Kaila.
Xin sat down hard on the floor.
Rion stayed near the door, giving him space.
After a long moment, Xin wiped his face with his sleeve and stood.
"She always planned ahead," he said quietly. "Even for this."
They spent the rest of the day gathering supplies. Food. Medicine. Old gear Xin had hidden long ago. Rion repaired a radio with parts scavenged from nearby ruins.
As night settled over Droplin, Xin stood at the window, looking out at the city lights flickering weakly.
"So what now," he asked.
Rion joined him. "Now we survive quietly. We let the world move."
Xin nodded. "And when it doesn't."
Rion's eyes hardened slightly. "Then we move again."
Far away, unseen, Dive systems recalculated.
Zane drifted through space with a smile that had not faded.
And the world continued, unaware that it had just lost a guardian and gained something worse.