High above the great barrier dome, suspended in the cold vastness of the night sky, Alister hovered in stillness.
Moonlight bathed him, silver and pale, yet it could not outshine the radiant glow of his golden eyes. They burned like twin suns in the darkness.
He sighed.
He had seen everything.
He had heard everything.
Every word Yu'Keto had spoken. Every tremor in Aiko's voice. Every doubt, every fear, every fragile hope.
Slowly, Alister closed his eyes.
For a brief moment, the sky seemed darker without their glow.
He turned, robes and hair drifting weightlessly, until he faced the moon hanging vast and distant in the heavens.
When his eyes opened again, the golden radiance had dimmed, softening into something almost human.
"He truly wishes to save them…" Alister murmured to the empty sky. "…doesn't he?"
The words carried no mockery. No anger.
Only quiet understanding.
A faint smile touched his lips, fragile and painfully bittersweet.
