"Hey, chica, you alive?" The deep, lively voice reached me slowly. "C'mon, know you're in there. Talk to me."
My stomach twisted. I vomited. Opened my eyes. Swollen. Painful. Blood stained everything. I was too weak to keep living. I wanted to cry, but there were no tears. Not even enough water left for that. "E-enough."
"No, chica, it's gotta take more than that." Denden sounded alert. "Hang in there. You can do it. Those fuckers were talking about how resistant you were. You denied them what they wanted." He spoke with an excitement that barely brushed the surface of my essence.
"G-glad you're alive." If I was going to die, at least I would have company. The thought felt pleasant.
"C'mon, muchacha. You're standing before Denden, el grandioso. Those mierdas think they can do anything to me? Already fucked in the head, chica. Can't fuck me up any more."
I struggled to lift my head, as though tons of stone were crushing me. Looked at him. I couldn't help it. I chuckled. Choked and coughed up blood.
His face was worse than before. Wounded. Swollen. Injuries covered every patch of skin. Blood soaked his torn trousers. Lips so inflamed. How could he still speak? But his eyes… Fierce. Unwavering. One thing was undeniable: his spirit was invincible.
"Yeah, chica… you're like that too. Know a soul like mine when I see one. We're the worst kind of people for them. People who face death are unbreakable. You get that, right? Death circles us, but memory anchors us. And when the body's already gone, love lifts us up."
"E-enough…"
"Stop talking mierda. C'mon, fight back! Think you can just die like this? Think I'll let you?" He smiled. "Hold on, chica. If you're gonna die, make it on your terms, not those mierdas'."
A strange way to encourage me. It wasn't enough. I was at my limit. I had blocked the information they sought, protecting my mind. It had cost me dearly. Used my last thread of life against Sinaptic-V. My last breath and sigh. I had done what I could. Reached my limit. Never even imagined it could stretch so far.
'Death circles us.' Denden's words echoed in my mind. Yes… it would free me. The silence was a void of potential. It glowed. Called to me.
The passage embraced me with the tenderness of an old friend. I accepted. Finally, I would join Maia. Wherever she was shining in the Corchesweave, we would find each other again, like stars. Hand in hand. She could tell me all her secrets. Open. Wild. Free. Just her and me, in our intimate, infinite paradise. Yes. The vision was so comforting.
"Hey, chica, what're you doing? Do—" Denden's voice dissolved.
My vision darkened. Before everything went black, I glimpsed a beam of light slipping through a crack in the wall. Soon, it would disappear too. I mean… it had disappeared. What was that?
Someone held me firmly. The weight pulling me down… vanished. I could float. A motion back and forth. Was the sky abducting me? I smiled at the thought. If I opened my eyes, would there be a white light carrying me to the cosmic plane? I gathered the tiny bit of strength I had left and opened them. But I saw an eclipse.
"Take this." The husky voice vibrated through me.
My mouth was opened. Something wet and refreshing slid down my throat.
"For you, I've got this…"
"Fuck, no creo! A Montecristo No. 13 Cuban cigar?" Denden smelled it. Utter happiness. He gave a slightly manic laugh. "Ah, that's what I'm talking about!"
A little energy returned. My head lolled to the side. I was moving farther and farther from a long corridor. A pool of blood spread at its far end. Above it, bodies upon bodies, beyond the reach of my vision. Nausea.
A strangely warm touch lifted my head again.
"Fucking needed this!" Denden was still buzzing in the background, but my attention had shifted.
The figure before me grew clearer. The square jaw. Firm lips. Fixed gaze. Familiar coldness. His eyes met mine. Those amber eyes, so familiar. The touch was real. Solid. But I should have been floating back into the cosmic tapestry. Yet there he was. Warm. Present.
Saymon.
Was he my delirium? I wrapped my arms around his neck. Clung to him with what strength remained. Buried my face in his chest. Cried. Cried with the tiny amount of water my body still held. Every restraint broke. All the fear, despair, and agony overflowed in tears.
"You're gonna be okay." His voice, a whisper meant only for me.
Saymon. His fearsome aura, yet his gaze held something… maybe I was delirious. Yes. Definitely delirious. It had to be nothing.
I rested against his shoulders. Cried again. Cried for the pain. Cried for the piece of me that was gone forever. Cried because, for a fleeting moment, I had looked at such familiar features and thought she was before me. Maia. My heart hurt. Hurt because it was him. Because I wanted so badly for it to be her. For a moment, I had believed I was dead and with Maia. Was living really so terrible? Why did I want to die so badly?
"Denden, go to this address. Meet Cron," Saymon ordered.
"All right, muchacho. Take good care of the chica. She almost turned back into a star." Denden's footsteps faded.
"And you and I…" Saymon looked at me. "We're gonna meet Kiara." His cold gaze pierced me.
Pain consumed me, yet the mention of Kiara warmed my heart. I clung to that small flame of life. With all my strength.