"I was killed."
Medas froze at the words. His chest tightened as if the weight of the entire world had been dropped on him. He stared at Hiraya, his trembling hands clutching the arms of his chair.
"Who? Who killed you?" Medas's voice cracked, his usually composed demeanor breaking apart. "After all these years, I thought you did that to yourself. I blamed myself every single day. I thought I failed to protect you, Hiraya. I—I couldn't understand why I didn't wake up. How could I not have known?"
Hiraya gave a small, sad smile. "My memory of him isn't vivid anymore, but his voice... It didn't sound like he really wanted to do it to me." Hiraya's eyes glistened with the weight of his tale, but his voice stayed calm, as though recounting something distant.
