Kael was still there.Sitting beside the bed.Back straight, hands resting on his knees.
Lyana didn't move.Not even her eyelids.Only the steady rhythm of her breathing proved she was still there... somewhere.
Since the ritual, he hadn't moved.Thana said nothing. She gave him time.But she felt that time like a fracture.She didn't know how much was left before the great upheavals would begin.And the thought that Kael wasn't ready...That he might leave like this, vulnerable, without understanding...Gnawed at her more than she wanted to admit.
She stood back, watching his back, his still shoulders.She could almost feel what he was feeling:That inner fracture.That sense of failure mixed with loneliness.
But she didn't dare break the silence.
Kael didn't really blame Thana.But he couldn't bring himself to speak to her either.He feared that everything would collapse if he opened his mouth.That his voice would betray what he had been trying to bury for hours:The feeling that a void had just formed inside his chest.
He stayed there, watching his sister's calm breathing.But even that breathing seemed too distant, too peaceful for him.
"I'm not ready," he murmured, speaking to no one.
Thana lowered her eyes.She heard him.But said nothing.Not yet.
A few hours later, she approached slowly.Eyes closed, she held a hand suspended over Lyana.A dark pulse radiated gently from her palm.Then she exhaled.
"The process is complete."
Kael slowly turned his head toward her.
"The Magia has been fully extracted from her body.She is stable."
Silence.Then she added:
"It's time to crystallize her."
Kael frowned.
"...What?"
"That's not what you think," she said immediately, anticipating his reaction.
He took a deep breath.Remembering the words he had shouted during the ritual.Not yet.Not this time.
"Explain," he said, his voice low but steady.
Thana took a step closer.
"Do you remember the black skeleton, in the Temple? The one trapped in that black matter, like obsidian?"
He nodded.
"That was me. And it was a prison.But also... a stasis.Time inside is suspended.I can do the same for her. You..."
"A... stasis?"
"Yes.It will preserve her body.Prevent any form of aging or decay.She will remain frozen, untouchable, until you find what you need.And I will stay connected to her."
Kael lowered his eyes toward his sister.His fingers trembled slightly.
He realized.How many times had he taken out his fear, anger, guilt... on Thana?As if she were the cause of everything.As if lashing out at her kept him from seeing the truth.
He wasn't angry at her.He was angry at himself.
"I used you as an outlet," he murmured.
Thana didn't answer.She knelt gently to his level.
"You needed to be.And I was here.That was fine with me."
"But it's unfair.You do everything to help, and I..."
He gritted his teeth.
"The only person I can't forgive is myself."
Silence fell.Then Kael slowly stood.
"Do it.Seal her."
Thana nodded in response and moved toward the bed.
She stretched out her hands over Lyana's body.Fine black lines appeared in the air, as if reality itself was cracking microscopically around her.
A circle slowly formed beneath the bed,Composed of shifting symbols woven from dark light.
Kael watched silently, fascinated by the slow ceremonial ritual.
Thana recited nothing.She infused.
She infused herself into the structure,As if weaving a cocoon from her own Magia.
Lyana's body was slowly enveloped in a translucent veil.At first fluid, it gradually solidified.Gleaming.Almost mineral.
A crystalline coffin with obsidian reflections.Without flaw.Perfect.
When the last symbol ceased moving,Everything stopped.
No sound.No movement.
The world seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
Thana slowly stepped back.
"It's done," she whispered.
Kael didn't reply immediately.He approached, placing a hand against the dark surface.
He could have sworn he felt warmth behind it.A pulse.A heartbeat.
"Is she safe?" he asked, his eyes still veiled.
"As long as I'm here... yes."
He closed his eyes.Just for a moment.To keep this image in his mind.
Then he turned away.
Thana watched him for a moment, then pinched her nose lightly, looking puzzled.
"You should go wash up."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously? Now?"
"Yes. Now.You stink of sweat, dried blood, and broken sleep.It's almost a miracle I haven't locked you in an exorcism circle yet."
Silence settled.Then, surprisingly, Kael gave a weak smile.
"All right. I'm going."
He climbed the stairs slowly,His steps heavy on the wooden stairs.
Once in the bathroom,He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall for a moment.
He stayed there, staring at the floor,Before straightening up with a slow, almost mechanical movement.
He turned on the water.Hot.Very hot.Too hot, even.
But he didn't lower the temperature.
He stepped into the shower.Let the water run down his back,His face,His clenched arms.
He stood there,Motionless,Under the burning stream,As if hoping the physical pain would wash away something else.
The weight in his chest.The emptiness in his stomach.Lyana's scream still echoing in his ears.
He closed his eyes.Let his head fall forward.Water streaming over his soaked hair,Over his tense neck.
He breathed slowly.Deeply.Inhale.Exhale.Again.
Then he stepped out.Towel-dried without much thought,Grabbed clean clothes,And caught his reflection in the fogged mirror.
He stopped.
The face he saw didn't belong to him.It was him, yes.But extinguished.Worn out.
His gaze looked older.His jaw was clenched.His skin was tight.
He looked like someone returning from a war he hadn't chosen.
He approached.Slowly.
"You're not allowed to falter," he murmured to his reflection.
He placed a hand against the mirror.Felt the cold beneath his fingers.
"She's counting on you."
He stayed like that for a while,Hand pressed against the glass,Eyes locked with what he had become.
Dead.