The hiccups of Saphy's cries were drowned out by Ester's thoughts.
Dead? No… that can't be.
The sentence didn't make sense. It… couldn't. Ezekiel, the boy who spoke his mind blindly, who had demonstrated such bravery and confidence… the same one dead? For some reason Ester couldn't accept it.
Saphy was screaming something, Kris held Ezekiel's hand, trying to hold back his emotions… or saying something, Ester couldn't tell. None of this felt real. She must've been dreaming. Yes! That was it, any moment now she would wake up back on the Golden Express, all of them still chatting as they headed back to the HoS.
Ezekiel didn't wake up. Neither did she.
"… How did this happen?"
Ester looked up at Kris, who knelt with his head bowed low, his voice barely a whisper. "What do I tell them..? I couldn't do anything…"
Kris had always seemed so calm and collected...seeing him like this, Ester's chest tightened. She turned toward the edge of the rooftop. The marketplace sprawled out below them, three stories down. Lin Hua looked tiny from this height, a small figure catching her breath in its emptiness. Maybe…
"LIN HUA!"
The scream tore out of her, cutting Saphy's cries short. Kris's body twitched, but he didn't look up, his face twisted as silent tears fell.
Saphy understood instantly. She scrambled to join Ester at the edge. They both began screaming, waving desperately, trying to get her attention.
"PLEASE!"
"LOOK UP!"
Lin Hua remained unaware, wiping her brow, staring at the sweat smeared across her hand. She was staggering, whatever she had just done took a serious toll on her. The glow in her eyes flickered, dimming.
She couldn't hear them.
"L-LIN HUA!" Saphy's voice cracked, raw and desperate. She leaned further over the edge. "PLEASE… LOOK THIS WAY-"
Ester grabbed her coat, pulling her back before it was too late. "Saphy...be careful!"
"Be CAREFUL?!" Saphy pulled free, tears streaming down her face. "Someone has DIED and you want me to be CAREFUL?!"
Saphy's eyes were full of anger, sadness and something else... as if she'd seen this before. Her words hung in the air between them, crushing and final. Dammit… Why'd he have to show off?
Ester looked over her shoulder at Kris. He hadn't moved, still kneeling beside Ezekiel with his head bowed, both hands clasping Ezekiel's arm as if saying a prayer.
"Kris…" Ester's voice shook. "M-maybe Lin Hua can-"
"Doesn't matter anymore." His voice was hollow, empty. "My best friend… is gone."
Saphy put her hands on her head, her mouth pursed as she let out silent sniffles, shoulders shaking. Ester, however, still couldn't accept this. Delusional or not, she didn't care.
"He's not." Ester insisted. "H-he can still be saved."
Kris turned his head slowly, strands of his long hair falling across his face. His eyes, sad and lifeless, met hers.
No, he can't.
In that moment, all of her delusions, the optimistic hope she'd clung to, began draining from her body. Reality's silence settled over her like a cloud.
Ezekiel Barak was dead.
Their grief was like a mist that wafted through the air, suffocating each and every one of them.
Then-
"...Did you guys enjoy the show?"
They all turned to see Lin Hua standing at the edge of the rooftop, panting. She had a smug smile on her weary face that evaporated completely the moment she saw their expressions.
Her smile faltered.
"...What's wrong?"
She scanned all of them, Saphy's tear-streaked face, Ester's wide eyes, Kris kneeling beside something on the ground. Her gaze followed his, landing on Ezekiel's still form.
Her face went pale.
"Ezekiel…" Ester stammered. Lin Hua looked at her with a panic in her eyes.
"He's...He's…" Saphy choked.
Lin Hua stood frozen for a heartbeat, staring. Then understanding crashed over her like a wave.
"Shit." Her voice was full of urgency. "Shit. Shit. Shit!"
She stumbled forward, nearly tripping in her exhaustion, and dropped to her knees beside him. She quickly placed an ear on his chest.
"How long?!" She shouted.
"A-about a minute ago?" Saphy squeaked. "...or was it two?"
"...We're not sure!" Ester blurted.
Lin Hua looked at her, her expression almost mad.
"SHIT!" She fumbled upright before hovering her hands over his chest, trembling. The confident aura she'd radiated earlier was completely gone, replaced by desperation. Panic.
"I'm so fucked."
She took a deep breath, steadying her hand as she closed her eyes. Her golden glow was dying.
"Please, Utahime…" she pleaded quietly, not looking up.
"...What are you doing?" Kris mumbled. "Don't you know he's dead?"
Lin Hua flinched. Ester's heart skipped a beat.
"Kris…" Saphy started.
"All that time, you could've prevented all this…" Kris slowly turned to look at her, his hollow eyes red. "...Why didn't you?"
As much as they wanted to interject...to tell Kris she did her best, there was undeniable truth in his words…If she had the power from the beginning, then why?…
Lin Hua was frozen. She bit her lip, closing her eyes again, trying to turn her focus back to Ezekiel's limp body, pressing a palm against his chest.
Then she took a slight gasp.
"Y-yes!" She exhaled, body shaking. "Thank you, Utahime…"
"What are you…" Before Ester could finish her sentence, a faint glow escaped Lin Hua's palms. It was weak. Barely a flicker.
"You brat." She hissed through gritted teeth. "You will not die today. I forbid it."
The glow brightened, encapsulating both Ezekiel and Lin Hua's body. Brighter than any of them could stand, they were forced to turn their heads away.
For five seconds, the glow lasted, until it faded gently, the warmth going with it.
They heard a gasp, followed by a cough. Immediately, they all turned back around.
His eyes flew open, unfocused and confused. He glanced around, the same wide eyed shock and open mouths were shared between Kris, Ester and Saphy. He looked down and saw Lin Hua's hand on his chest, mumbling something as he stroked her arm.
"Hmm…? I like this dream…"
Lin Hua retracted her hand so quickly it was as if she'd been burned, sweat dripping from her forehead. "Ugh...you-"
It was all he could manage before he passed out on the rooftop.
Silence stretched for long moments as they stared at the boy's unconscious body. His obnoxious snoring was the only sound...that and Lin Hua's heavy breathing. No one knew what to say. They all looked at her, the same question in their minds. A second star student being able to do something like that… Just who was she?
Kris looked at Ezekiel, his body shaking. "You saved him..."
He turned his attention back to her, tears welling in his eyes. He pressed his head against the cold rooftop.
"Thank you! Thank you!" He was shaking. "Truly...Thank you…."
She was silent, her breathing shaky, her eyes unfocused, the glow completely disappearing. She managed to look at all of them, an expression of regret and weariness fighting for dominance on her face.
"I'm...sorry I put you all in this situation..." she staggered.
Before they could even gather their thoughts, she ungracefully turned her gaze up at the sky, using what little strength she had left.
"You can handle the rest!" She bellowed. They didn't even get the chance to ask what she meant, her eyes rolled back and she slumped to the side. Ester and Saphy just barely managed to control her descent.
"Is she…?" Kris whispered.
Ester leaned close to her, trembling, but she heard it. Faint, but the sound of her shaky breath.
"...She's still breathing." Ester exhaled.
They all breathed a sigh of relief, leaving only exhaustion and the crushing weight of what had just happened.
"…Alright!" Saphy said finally, jumping to her feet. "So..what do we do now?"
Ester paused not just because of Saphy's unreal change of emotion, but what Lin Hua had said. "...What did she mean by-"
A massive shadow passed overhead.
They all looked up, startled.
A massive iron dragon circled above them, its iron wings catching the moonlight. And standing on its back, a silhouette called from the sky.
"She alive?!"
"She is!" Saphy called back before she could even think.
The dragon descended in a tight spiral, allowing the man to leap off before the creature even got close enough. He hit the rooftop with a solid thud, walking toward them, hands shoved in his pockets.
Up close, Ester could see him clearly, recognised him. He was older than them, maybe a third year. Short blue hair. An eyebrow piercing. HoS sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The hilt of a sword strapped to his side. An irritable scowl carved deep into his features.
Ester, Saphy, and Kris unconsciously took a step back.
The man stopped, scanning each of their faces. His scowl deepened. Then he let out a long, irritable sigh and scratched the back of his head.
"...I suppose I should ask if you're all okay."
They all nodded frantically. Who knows what would've happened if they said otherwise.
His gaze shifted to Lin Hua, lying unconscious on the rooftop, her face pale and drawn. A pained expression lingering.
"It's always the same with you..." He muttered under his breath.
He stood there for a moment, head tilted back, staring up at the sky as if considering something. Then he made a decision.
"Okay." He turned toward the dragon still hovering above them. "Kilisk!"
The dragon's massive head focused him.
"Take those two back to the Institute please. Oh." He looked at whatever Lin Hua had knocked out from the rooftop. "And take that thing with you."
The dragon let out a huff, clearly annoyed, but descended anyway with surprising grace. Its iron wings beat once, twice, producing a cool breeze that made Ester's hair flow around her face.
Kilisk extended its front claws and gently, gently, scooped up both Lin Hua and Ezekiel as if they weighed nothing. It dived down, also scooping the creature with the same swiftness before launching itself into the night. It disappeared into the darkness letting out a bone-rattling scream that made Saphy flinch hard.
The man turned back to face the three of them.
"Now for the rest of you…"
"Do you know a way we can get down?" Saphy asked, a little too eagerly.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Sure I do."
Before any of them could ask what he meant, he'd already moved. In one smooth motion, he scooped Kris up in both arms and started walking toward the edge of the rooftop.
"Huh...HUH?!" Kris's voice rose in panic, realisation hitting him too late.
The man simply stepped off the rooftop, Kris's cries trailing behind. A loud thud echoed from below. Saphy and Ester ran to the edge and found the man already scaling back up, appearing in almost no time.
His eyes locked on Ester, pointing straight at her. "You."
Ester shook her head, trying her best to take a step back, but he was faster, already sweeping her into his arms. He turned back toward the edge.
"Wait...WAIT!" She pleaded. "Isn't there another wa-AAYYY!?"
They both plummeted. Ester braced herself as hard as she could, eyes squeezed shut, holding onto him as tightly as she could. They landed with a THUMP and he exhaled slightly. He let her go and she wobbled a few paces, trying to get her bearings.
"Your...You're insane!" She glanced back and the man was already scaling towards the rooftop again. She could faintly see Saphy protesting as he approached her. He jumped down, Saphy's scream trailing behind.
Saphy's knees buckled as she landed, an awestruck expression on her face. So cool… Saphy was a weird case.
"I'm sure you all know where the station is?" the man said. They nodded. "Well we're going back."
"Wait..."Saphy asked. "Who are you?"
"Hah?" He stared at Saphy, then realised they didn't know who he was and he'd never told them his name. "Oh right...name's Elijah." He turned around and muttered something. "...You can call me Eli."
"...Huh?"
"N-Never mind! Come on, let's go."
His scowl returned. He shoved one hand in his pocket, the other scratching his hair as he walked toward the edge of the marketplace.
The three of them hurried to follow.
They walked in silence for a while, retracing their steps. Ester turned back as they arrived at the same hill they'd taken coming to the marketplace.
"What's going to happen now?" she said. "What was that thing?"
Eli pursed his lips as he kept his pace.
"We don't know." He finally said. "They've been appearing more recently around Chimera, spreading Synchrites thin."
"Like the one in Leria?" Kris spoke up. "Like a tall grey humanoid dog?"
Eli nodded. "Luckily, this one didn't do as much damage as that one. On that, we should thank Lin Hua."
Saphy's face lit up at the mention of her name. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Probably." Eli snorted. "...However, she will be in a lot of trouble."
"Trouble?" Ester glanced at him, a confused look etched on her face. "But she saved everyone.."
Eli scoffed as he kept moving.
"The Church...the HoS won't see it like that," he continued. "...Let's just hope she comes out with a probation."
They walked in silence as the night grew darker. Everything they had just witnessed, everything that had happened to them was now just a memory, a memory that had changed all five of them, for better or for worse.
They trudged towards the Cathedral.