Jolene lay on the cold asphalt, her blood mixing with the grime beneath her. Every breath felt like shards of glass cutting through her lungs. The world around her was a blur—lights flickering, distant sounds muffled. Pain buzzed in her head, sharp and insistent, but she forced herself to stay awake. She had to stay awake. Takeshi's lifeless body lay only a few feet away, his face pale, eyes shut as if sleeping. The sight of him hit her harder than any wound Kazane had inflicted.
Footsteps echoed slowly. Each deliberate step announced Kazane's presence as she walked back toward Jolene. Her shadow stretched long under the dim streetlights, a specter that loomed over everything Jolene had left. Kazane crouched down beside her, the ghost of a smile playing at her lips. There was a strange calmness in her expression, as if victory was an inevitability she had known all along.
"You look surprised," Kazane said softly, her voice too smooth, too composed for the violence she had just unleashed. "What? Did you think love would save you? That if you fought hard enough, you'd somehow rewrite the rules of the world?"
Jolene coughed, tasting iron on her tongue, and managed a weak, bitter laugh. "Screw... you."
Kazane smirked, brushing a strand of hair out of Jolene's battered face with disturbing gentleness. "You always were feisty. I liked that about you. Shame it didn't save you."
Jolene tried to push herself up, her arms trembling beneath her weight, but they gave out, and she collapsed again with a grunt. She clenched her teeth, rage burning hot beneath the helplessness. "You... killed him. You didn't have to do that."
Kazane tilted her head slightly, as if considering the accusation. "Maybe not. But Takeshi was always a loose thread. And you know what happens to loose threads. They unravel everything."
Jolene's glare was fierce despite her broken state. "He wasn't a thread. He was—" Her voice caught in her throat, and she had to swallow hard to finish. "He was better than you'll ever be."
Kazane's smile was thin, humorless. "Better? Please. He was predictable, just like Yuto. You all are. That's the real tragedy, isn't it? No matter how hard you fight, you always lose. Always."
Jolene's chest tightened with fury. "You don't know anything about Yuto."
Kazane's expression shifted, her eyes darkening with something dangerous. "Oh, but I do. Better than anyone. Better than you ever did." She leaned in close, her breath warm against Jolene's ear. "Because I am Yuto."
Jolene's eyes widened, disbelief cutting through her exhaustion. "No... No. You're not him. You're lying."
Kazane pulled back, her expression cold and unreadable. "Believe what you want. Yuto didn't die. He just... evolved." She spread her arms, as if presenting herself. "This is what he always was. You just never wanted to see it."
Jolene's mind reeled. Could it be true? Had Yuto—her Yuto—been buried beneath this monster all along? She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms to ground herself, to fight the tide of despair threatening to swallow her whole. "Yuto... He wouldn't do this. He fought for us. For hope."
Kazane's laugh was sharp and bitter. "Hope? That's adorable. Hope is what got him killed in the first place. I'm what came out of the ashes. I am the part of him that survived when everything else burned away."
Jolene's voice shook with anger. "No. That's not survival. That's just... giving up."
Kazane's eyes narrowed. "Call it what you want. But I'm still here. And Takeshi isn't."
The mention of Takeshi's name stabbed through Jolene's heart, reigniting the fire in her chest. She tried to rise again, ignoring the screaming protests of her broken body. "You think... this is over? You think killing him... makes you invincible?"
Kazane stood, looking down at Jolene with a mix of amusement and contempt. "It makes me free. No attachments, no weaknesses. That's the difference between us, Jolene. You cling to things that make you weak. And that's why you'll always lose."
Jolene forced herself onto her hands and knees, her vision swimming, her breath ragged. "You don't know the first thing... about strength."
Kazane's voice was laced with mock pity. "And here I thought you'd figured it out by now. Strength isn't about fighting for others. It's about knowing when to let go."
Jolene lifted her head, her gaze burning with defiance. "No. Strength is fighting... even when you have everything to lose. Especially then."
For a moment, Kazane's smug expression wavered. There was something in Jolene's words that struck deeper than she intended—something that brushed against a nerve Kazane wasn't prepared to confront. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by cold indifference.
"You really are a fool," Kazane muttered, shaking her head. "But I'll give you credit. You've lasted longer than most." She stepped closer, her boot hovering over Jolene's fingers, then pressed down hard.
Jolene cried out in pain, the bones in her hand cracking under the pressure. Kazane leaned down, her voice a low whisper. "This is where it ends. You'll bleed out here, alone. Just like Takeshi."
Jolene's vision blurred with tears, but she refused to let them fall. She glared up at Kazane, every ounce of defiance she had left burning in her gaze. "You think... I'm afraid to die?"
Kazane's smile returned, dark and knowing. "No. But you're afraid to live. That's why you've already lost."
With that, Kazane turned on her heel, her steps light and measured, as if she hadn't just torn Jolene's world apart. The night swallowed her figure as she walked away, her silhouette vanishing into the shadows.
Jolene collapsed, the strength draining from her limbs, leaving her gasping on the cold pavement. The world around her felt distant, surreal. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was dying. And yet, as her vision dimmed and her breath grew shallower, a single, stubborn thought clung to her consciousness.
This wasn't over.
It couldn't be over.
Not like this.
Jolene's fingers twitched, blood slicking her palms as she dragged herself toward Takeshi's body. Every movement was agony, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop.
Her hand finally reached him, trembling as she touched his cold skin. "I'm... sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I couldn't... save you."
Takeshi didn't answer. He never would.
But the fight wasn't over. Not yet. As long as she drew breath, there was still a chance. A chance to make this right. A chance to bring Kazane down, no matter what it cost.
Jolene gritted her teeth, pain radiating through every fiber of her being. She would survive this. She had to. For Takeshi. For Yuto. For every person who still had something to fight for.
The stars above flickered faintly, cold and distant. Jolene closed her eyes, her body trembling, her mind slipping into darkness. But even as consciousness faded, one thought burned bright within her.
This isn't the end.
Not yet.