She did not move at first.
The silence felt thicker than before. Not just empty, but sacred, like the air itself held its breath.
Kazumi stayed on his knees, his arms wrapped around what was no longer living. He did not cry anymore. He simply existed in stillness, hollow, holding onto memory.
Then she approached.
Each step was soundless. She did not walk like a human. She advanced like something untouched by time, something that knew exactly where to stand and why.
She stopped in front of the body of Kazuma.
"It is time."
Her voice filled the temple, smooth and luminous. It was no longer distant. It was present, like light on polished stone.
Kazumi looked up slowly.
She raised her hand.
And the body lifted.
It rose gently from his arms, with no weight, as though the world had simply decided to let it go. Kazumi reached after it, but his arms moved weakly, without purpose.
The child floated in the heart of the temple. His face was peaceful. His limbs relaxed.
She extended her fingers again.
A circle of invisible power formed around the floating body.
Then came the flames.
Golden. Silent. Sacred.
They did not roar. They did not crackle. They bloomed.
And they began to consume.
There was no scream. No smoke. No pain.
Only dissolution.
Only light.
Kazumi could not look away.
He watched as the body of his brother was reduced to something brighter. Something smaller. Something untouched by flesh.
An azure light hovered where the boy had been.
"A soul," she said.
It pulsed gently in the air, weightless.
Then it began to change.
It shimmered.
It folded.
Wings appeared, delicate and blue, glowing faintly.
And the soul became a butterfly.
It floated in slow, graceful motion, drifting gently through the air. It circled once.
Then it landed.
On Kazumi's hand.
The touch was almost nothing.
But it struck his chest like a hammer.
And then he heard the voice.
It did not come from outside. It bloomed inside him.
"Big brother..."
Kazumi stopped breathing.
"I love you."
Tears returned without permission. His fingers curled.
"Don't be sad. Please."
His mouth trembled.
"I will never forget you. Not ever."
The butterfly stayed perfectly still.
"I'll find you again. I promise."
Kazumi wanted to speak. But his throat was closed. There were no words that could reach across this moment.
The butterfly lifted.
It rose slowly and flew toward her.
She extended her hand, and it landed on her finger. She looked at it quietly.
Then she closed her eyes.
And began to speak.
The words were not of this world. They did not belong to language. They slipped through the air like soundless currents of meaning, bending the light and the shape of space.
Around the temple, something awakened.
Golden energy coiled into motion.
It spun gently, in long spirals, humming with breathless stillness.
She opened her eyes again.
"He will live," she said. "In a different world. One without fear. One without sorrow."
Her voice was softer now.
"He will grow. He will smile. He will never know this night."
Kazumi stared in silence.
"But he will live."
She brought the butterfly close to her lips.
"This is what you wanted."
She exhaled.
The butterfly dissolved into mist, then vanished.
Kazumi looked at his empty hands.
And he knew.
Somewhere far from this place,his brother still existed.
****
The silence inside the temple no longer felt passive.It had weight now, like a still breath stretched too far, like time waiting to be broken.Kazumi stood there, unmoving. His body was covered in blood, his feet bare against the stone. His pulse had slowed, yet something within him was beginning to stir.
She watched him, not with expectation but with certainty.As if the outcome had already been decided.As if she had known all along that he would stand here like this, exactly as he was.
Then it came.
Not a whisper in his ear, not an external call, but something much deeper.It rose within his chest, shaped like memory, but heavier. A structure that had been waiting, buried inside him, perhaps since birth.The words arrived with neither pain nor command.
They simply were.
He spoke them.
"By the name I carry, forged through silence and held through loss."
His voice cracked slightly, but the words held.
"By the body that bears each scar, that has broken and risen, and will continue to rise."
The air around him changed. Subtle at first. Then sharper.
"By the source beneath my skin, the pulse of what I do not understand, but claim as my own."
A soft glow ignited in the center of his chest. It pulsed with a rhythm not quite human.
"By the life I have not chosen, but refused to abandon."
The temple remained still, but the floor beneath him began to shimmer. A quiet blue light outlined a shape, forming something circular, ancient, pulsing with slow breath.
"I am Kazumi."
He did not raise his voice.
"I swear this oath of my own will. No hand guides me. No fear drives me."
He exhaled through his nose. Calm. Controlled.
"My name shall bind me. My body shall serve. My source shall answer. My life shall be spent as hers."
The light in his chest swirled outward. It did not burn, but it moved like fire. It rose, hovered, and extended toward her as if called.
"I do not surrender. I transform."
The temple dimmed. The breath of the space changed. He remained in place, suspended a few inches above the stone, the circle beneath him alive with motion.
Then the light slowed.
The moment ended.
He stood still, heart thudding softly in his chest.
She moved toward him. No words yet. Only steps.
When she reached him, she lifted one hand and touched his cheek. Her fingers were cool. His skin still warm from blood and tears. She did not wipe it away.
"Your vow has weight."
Her voice was quiet. Clear.
"And I accept it."
She let her hand rest there for a moment.
"You arrived without certainty, but you spoke without doubt. You did not ask for power. You did not ask to be saved."
Her gold eyes locked into his.
"You stayed. That is enough."
She stepped closer, the space between them folding into stillness.
"You deserve to know the name of the one you serve."
There was no performance in her tone. No ceremony. Just decision.
"I am Nameris."
He breathed in, sharp and shallow.
Then her voice dropped slightly, lower, quiet enough that it touched only him.
"And now, Kazumi… you belong to me."
She leaned in, slowly. Her lips touched his.
No passion. No cruelty. No warmth.
Just an end.