The Soulreaver collapsed under Zekai's hands, its shadowy body tearing apart as the last of its twisted form faded into absolute nothingness.
The battle had concluded, but the fierce burning in his eyes and the crushing weight in his limbs refused to fade. His muscles still trembled under the violent strain of the authority, and his breathing remained shallow and ragged. Yet, none of that mattered anymore. There was something infinitely worse unfolding on the floor.
Zekai bent down, his bloodied fingers closing around the black stone cube discarded on the stone. It felt significantly heavier than before, as if the artifact itself now carried the terrible weight of every single tragedy that had just occurred within the hall. His hand tightened around the smooth edges by pure instinct.
"Mr!"
Aron's voice shook as it traveled through the cold air. Zekai turned toward the sound immediately.
Aron was lying against the debris. Despite the profound confusion swimming in his eyes, that same faint, tired smile he always carried rested gently on his pale face.
For a single, agonizing second, Zekai's mind went completely blank. Then, the realization of what had been broken hit his consciousness all at once.
"No… no…" Zekai sprinted across the distance, his voice losing its edge. "Aron...!"
The crimson prompt of the interface flickered to life over his vision, documenting the structural failure of the Aron's essence.
Zzzzsup!
[ CRITICAL STATE — SUBJECT: ARON ]
Vital Integrity: Collapsing Soul Presence: Unstable
Survival Probability: 12% Time Remaining: Indeterminate
Another window materialized directly over his vision, flashing a harsh crimson light.
[ SOUL DETACHMENT DETECTED ]
Progress: 41% → 63% → 78%
Reversal: Not Available
He rushed toward the Aron, but the black stone cube in his grip suddenly glowing began to crack violently. Before he could react to the fracture, the ambient air around him shifted.
The exact same sensation returned—the suffocating, terrifying drag from the moment reality had first fractured in Greyhaven. The ancient ruins around them began to split apart like brittle glass.
Zzzzsup!
[ REALITY INSTABILITY ]
Layer Integrity: Failing Environment: Collapsing
Cause: External Trigger
The entire layer shattered.
[ DIMENSIONAL SHIFT ]
Current Layer: Terminated Reconstruction: In Progress
"Aron!" Zekai roared, lunged forward through the warping space.
One step.
Two
Three steps.
His trembling fingers stretched out toward Aron's hand—and reality shattered first. Then the ruins of the throne hall disappeared. Then—everything collapsed into a void.
Aron's fading, heavy eyes drifted toward the total stranger rushing toward him through the tearing space. The man looked completely desperate. Far more desperate than someone should ever be for a stranger.
"…Why…?" Aron whispered weakly, his voice a fragile thread in the dark.
Zekai froze, his hand suspended in the air. Aron's gaze trembled, looking at the tears tracking through the dust on Zekai's face.
"I don't even know who you are..." The words came out incredibly soft, completely confused, and almost apologetic for his own lack of memory.
"…So why are you crying?"
Silence followed the question. The collapsing world offered no logical answer to the paradox.
"I don't know why..."
For a brief, final, Aron's expression softened into something inherently gentle.
"… But you must be a good person."
The dimensional fracture exploded violently across the remaining reality. The world shattered completely into darkness before either of them could utter another word.
Zekai totally dipped into despair. Every trace of expression died on his face.
"I'm sorry… Aron," Zekai whispered into the blackness.
That was all he could say. The words had barely left his lips before his voice broke entirely. Warm tears slipped down his face, cutting through the grime, before his conscious mind even noticed the grief.
Then, sound came back first. It was too loud. Too sharp. It was like the world had been abruptly muted and then suddenly remembered how to exist again.
Reality didn't return slowly; it snapped violently back into place like it had never left.
Then, the unsealed memories of the preceding loops flooded into Zekai's brain without a single filter to slow them down.
They didn't arrive in a structured, chronological line; they hit his consciousness all at once.
The image of the same convenience store where everything began flashed before his eyes.
That tired smile Aron always wore. The way he greeted everyone kindly, even people who barely looked at him.
Even those who treated him poorly. Even those who didn't deserve it.
At first, Zekai didn't understand him.
'Why do you keep smiling like that?' he had thought, watching from the aisles.
'Why do you keep offering sincerity in a world that only takes from you?'
It had actively annoyed him. Because Zekai knew exactly what people were really like. Kindness wasn't rewarded in this life; it was exploited.
Yet Aron kept doing it anyway. Day after day. And somehow… Zekai could feel it happening. Little by little, that boy's kindness was being worn away by the harsh world.
Not all at once. Slowly. Quietly. Like a flickering candle being eaten away by a bitter wind.
And for some reason… he had hated witnessing that erosion.
That was the real reason he had approached him that day. That stupid, ordinary little conversation over a casual drink outside the store. That advice he had thrown out without thinking. They were words meant for someone else, but somehow, they fit the lonely cashier perfectly.
It was funny, really. Zekai had given a piece of advice that his own cold heart had never actually followed.
But kind heart Aron had listened. Accepted kindly And the boy had changed because of it.
Little by little, day by day. The quiet, isolated cashier who looked as though he had already given up on his own future had started smiling for real.
He don't know why he accepted Zekai words but somehow. He had started talking more. He had started living.
And somehow… without ever consciously realizing the shift—Zekai had started paying attention. Far more than he ever should have.
At first, he tried to ignore the growing attachment. He told himself the Aron was just another familiar face in city, just another person passing through.
But slowly… Aron had stopped feeling like
"just someone."
His annoying kindness. His stupid sincerity.
The way he kept worrying about other people even when he was scared himself.
The way he always said "Mr. Zekai" like it actually meant something important.
Somewhere along the way—that distance disappeared.
Zekai had always lived quietly, keeping to himself. It had always been just him and Grandpa Marcus.
No emotional attachments. No expectations.
That was easier. It was safer.
But Aron…
Aron had slipped right into that empty space without ever asking for permission. He moved in like he had always belonged there.
Like some irritating younger brother who kept showing up no matter how many times you acted cold or pushed him away.
And somehow—
Zekai had never truly pushed him away.
Because deep down in the dark parts of his soul, his heart had already accepted him. Not as a mere cashier. Not as some random individual from a local convenience store.
But as family.
His chest tightened violently, a suffocating ache spreading through his lungs.
"Idiot…" Zekai's voice cracked in the silence.
"You were so scared."
"You should've run away. But you still came back for me."
That was the part he couldn't accept. Aron had changed little bit because of him. But somewhere along the line—Zekai had changed because of Aron, too. He just had never admitted it.
Not even to himself.
The world around him felt completely distant now. Muted. Unreal.
Because all his mind could see, vivid and mocking, was Aron. Smiling. Talking. That awkward, nervous laugh.
That ridiculous politeness. That stubborn, unyielding kindness.
All of it was gone.
Wiped out because of this cursed place. Gone because of him.
Zekai's breathing turned entirely uneven. For the very first time in a very long time—
Zekai found himself completely, utterly helpless against the dark.
✦ End of Chapter 24 — Brother ✦