The tunnel was silent and colder than Vanita's blood as it seeped into Cassian's clothes and all over the floor. Cassian just sat there holding her, watching as the body started to turn blue from the cold exposure and reduction in body temperature.
His mind was a mix of grief and anger. He had not felt this kind of grief or guilt even when his grandfather died in front of him.
This was different.
He didn't know how, but stupidly enough, a voice in his head repeated a line his grandfather said to him: "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."
"Romans 14:8, right, grandfather…?" he chuckled dryly.
He fixed his arm under Vanita's body and lifted it up. It carried more weight than Cassian ever thought. He had expected deaths when he took on this goal and this purpose, but without knowing the real weight of a death, he had taken it lightly.
He carried the body near an entrance that led to a bigger section of the tunnels and placed her gently on the side. He was about to pull out his phone, but noticing the blood, he took out his napkin and wiped his hands clean.
The only person he felt the need to call was Nia, so he did so.
"Yes?" she answered on the other line.
"Nia, get me a car near the eastern tunnel system entrance and tell them to just leave it."
"Ok…?" she said curiously. "Is everything alr—"
But he hung up. Cassian huffed a sigh of frustration as he ran back to his bag. He came back in, wore his mask, and changed his clothes. He then piled the dirty clothes in a corner and burned them.
After that, he checked the time and waited in silence. When the vehicle arrived, he waited for the driver to leave before carefully placing Vanita's body inside. Then he drove back to the TEC base.
Once there, he immediately summoned Nia, Adien, and Venn to his office room. There was clear tension about to rise.
Nia glanced at Vanita's body and asked in a sharp tone, "What happened?"
Shade didn't answer her right away. His grip on the edge of his desk was tight enough to turn his knuckles white. The overhead light made Vanita's lifeless form look even paler than before.
Adien and Venn stood in tense silence.
"She's dead..." Shade's voice was steady.
He then turned his head to Nia, and for a brief moment, he felt guilty.
Nia's jaw tightened. "I can see that. I'm asking how."
Shade really didn't want to answer because he believed it to be his fault. A brief moment was spent explaining what happened.
"D-did she die fighting?" Venn asked with a horrified expression and a tear falling down his face. He knew that one day they would die. Die fighting for the cause but he did not expect it so soon. He was prepared but also broken.
"Yes, she died fighting till her last breath," Shade said, looking at the corpse. "Her murderer was..."
"Who?" Venn asked.
Shade sighed and said, "I can't tell you now, but I promise he will be a dead man sooner or later after I've used him enough."
Aiden became angry. That was Venn's sibling, and they deserved the right to know. He ran toward Shade and grabbed him by the collar. "Are you putting me in the dark just like that?!" Venn quickly ran to stop Aiden from making a terrible mistake.
"No," Shade answered with a numbness. "We are not good enough to take revenge on them yet. But I ask that you be patient with me, and I'll avenge her death."
"You—" Aiden was about to argue back until Venn finally separated the two. All Aiden could do now was move towards his sister and place a cloth over her face.
"Venn…" Nia spoke with a crack in her voice. She was quite sad for him and her sister, who had died so young.
Aiden grew angrier seeing their behavior and turned towards Shade and said, "You talk about using her killer before getting revenge, but do you even care?! She was one of us! She trusted you, and now she's dead!"
Shade didn't react to the outburst. He let Aiden's rage burn and let him grieve before finally speaking in a low and controlled voice. "You think I don't care?" He stepped forward. "I carried her body back myself; I made sure she didn't die alone… Grieving won't bring her back, and blind revenge won't help either."
Aiden clenched his jaw but said nothing.
Shade turned to Aiden, whose hands trembled. "I promise you all," he continued, "we'll get justice. But not when we're weak. Not when we're outnumbered. We need to get stronger first."
"Countless have died for the cause and countless had family." Venn talks through the tears that are now slipping down his face, "It doesn't matter why or how, as long as she dies fighting for the cause. For the Ethereal Covenant."
Venn talked through his inaudible sobs, "So many deaths… We'll need someone to take her place, won't we?"
"Yeah," Shade said as he looked at him, "That was your sister, and she wasn't expendable, so I'll let you decide who's right to take her place."
Venn did a tiny nod and said, "I know someone, but he left TEC because of Kingstone." He hesitated as he looked at Vanita and then back at Shade. "Maybe he will feel different about you."
It was sad to hear for Shade. After all that happened, Venn was willing to trust him and follow his lead even now.
"Fine, then if you believe he's good enough, then take Aiden and get him." Shade took a pause and continued with a little hesitation, "Of course, after the funeral. Also, Nia," he turns towards her, who was just standing there watching the three men talk, "Go to everyone and spread the word about her death and tell them to take the day off."
After a brief silence, Shade finally said, "Go…"
Everyone nodded, and without a word, they began their task.
Some time later.
As the funeral took place, Shade stood at a distance, hidden beneath the shadow of a ruined pillar overlooking the gathering. There was a lot of sorrow as TEC members surrounded Vanita's resting place.
Venn stood at the front with an unreadable expression. They all knew he was grieving based on his clenched fists.
Nia spoke softly across the silent crowd. "Vanita fought for us. She died for us. We honor her commitment to our cause and know that her death was not in vain."
Everyone stepped forward one by one and placed flowers on her grave.
Shade remained unseen, his presence unknown to all. He didn't need to stand among them—his grief was his own to bear.