Alexander reached her first.
He dropped to his knees so hard the ruined earth cracked beneath him, his shaking hands immediately catching Eve before her body could fully collapse against the ground. For a moment he couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. All he could do was stare.
Eve's body was beginning to break apart.
Tiny glowing fragments drifted slowly from her skin like dying embers carried away by the wind. Her fingertips were fading first, dissolving into soft light that vanished into the air before it could even touch the ground.
"No…" Alexander whispered weakly, panic immediately rising in his voice. "No no no… Eve… no…"
The others arrived moments later.
Seraphina covered her mouth as tears instantly poured from her eyes. Kai froze completely the moment he saw Eve's body crumbling apart. Don lowered his head silently, fists trembling so violently his knuckles bled. Vincent looked away entirely, unable to endure the sight. Even Victoria stood motionless nearby, her expression hollow.
No one spoke, no one knew what to say.
Eve smiled weakly at all of them despite the pain twisting across her face.
Her breathing was shallow now. and every word clearly hurt.
"I… don't have…" she whispered softly, her voice cracking apart, "…much time left."
Alexander immediately shook his head.
"No, stop talking like that. We'll fix this, we always fix this!"
Eve slowly lifted her fading hand toward his face, barely managing to touch him.
"There's… no fixing this."
More fragments drifted away from her body.
Her arms, her shoulders.
Tiny pieces of light scattering into the wind like the final remains of a dying star.
Tears slid down her face as she looked toward all of them.
"I was unable… to defeat… the despicable people… who tremble upon our world…"
Her voice trembled harder.
"So forgive me… for the audacity… of asking you all… this final favor…"
Eve's fading blue eyes slowly moved across each of them one by one.
"Alexander…"
His body shook violently as he gripped her hand tighter.
"Seraphina…"
She broke into quiet sobs immediately.
"Kai…"
Kai clenched his jaw so hard blood ran down his lip.
"Don…"
Don lowered his head further, unable to meet her eyes.
"Vincent…"
Vincent closed his eyes painfully.
"Dr. Jin…"
Jin removed his glasses with trembling hands as tears blurred his vision.
"Victoria…"
Victoria froze slightly, her expression quietly breaking apart.
Eve smiled weakly at all of them.
"…please…"
Her voice nearly disappeared.
"…protect this world…"
Silence followed and no one answered.
The wind blew softly through the ruined battlefield while glowing fragments continued drifting from Eve's body into the sky.
And inside her fading mind, Eve understood why.
A soft smile touched her lips.
I didn't get a response…
Her thoughts felt distant now.
That's fine.
Her vision darkened slowly around the edges as the warmth inside her body disappeared piece by piece.
Even if they didn't respond… I already know what their answer is.
Her eyes slowly closed.
I'm counting on you all.
More of her body shattered gently into light.
Then more, Until finally—
the girl who carried the hopes of everyone around her disappeared from Alexander's arms like falling starlight fading into the dawn.
And all that remained afterward…
was silence.
The wind continued blowing softly through the ruins, carrying away the final glowing fragments of Eve's body until even those disappeared into the darkening sky. The battlefield that had once screamed with explosions, divine power, and the collapse of reality itself now felt unbearably quiet.
Alexander remained on his knees long after she was gone.
His arms were still wrapped around empty space.
His hands trembled violently as though refusing to accept reality, fingers desperately clutching at nothing. His breathing had become uneven, broken, almost painful to listen to, but he didn't make a sound.
Seraphina was the first to break completely.
A sharp sob escaped her as she fell to her knees nearby, tears pouring endlessly down her face while her wings wrapped tightly around herself like she was trying to stop her own heart from falling apart.
"She…" her voice cracked violently. "She actually…"
The words refused to come out.
Kai stood motionless with his back turned to everyone, head lowered beneath the shattered sky.
Blood still dripped from his wounds, but he seemed completely numb to it now. His fists were clenched so tightly his hands had gone pale.
Don suddenly punched the ground beside him.
"DAMN IT!" he roared, his voice filled with helpless rage. "DAMN IT!!"
Vincent shut his eyes hard, one trembling hand covering his face while his shoulders shook silently.
Even Victoria said nothing.
The immortal demon who once mocked suffering itself stood frozen in place, staring at the empty spot where Eve had vanished. Her expression looked strangely hollow, almost frightened.
Dr. Jin slowly stepped forward first, his face pale beneath the smoke-filled sky.
"…The world survived because of her," he said quietly.
Alexander's shoulders trembled harder.
"But she didn't survive it."
Silence again.
Then Kai finally spoke without turning around.
"She knew."
Everyone looked toward him.
Kai slowly lifted his head toward the dark sky.
"She knew she was going to die before she fought him."
Seraphina's eyes widened painfully.
"No…"
Alexander clenched his fists against the dirt.
"She should've told us…"
"And what would we have done?" Kai asked softly. "Stopped her?"
No one answered, Deep down, every single one of them already knew the truth.
Eve would have walked toward that ending no matter what.
Not because she wanted death.
Because she chose everyone else first.
Victoria slowly stepped forward then, her heels echoing softly against the broken stone.
"…Pathetic," she muttered quietly, though her voice lacked any real cruelty now.
The others looked toward her.
"She had everything taken from her," Victoria continued, staring at the empty sky. "Family. Peace. Happiness. Even her own future…"
Her crimson eyes narrowed faintly.
"And somehow she still died believing this ugly thing we called life, deserved to live."
For the first time ever, Victoria smiled sadly.
"…What a ridiculous woman."
Far above them, the shattered clouds slowly began to part.
Moonlight finally broke through the darkness for the first time since the battle began.
The war was over.
God was dead and the universe still existed.
But the victory felt unbearably heavy.
Alexander slowly rose to his feet.
His eyes were red from grief but somewhere beneath the pain…
something else remained, Eve's will and final request.
Protect this world.
Alexander looked toward the horizon where the first signs of dawn were beginning to appear through the ruined sky.
Then quietly
almost like answering her at last
he whispered:
"…We will."