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The wind howled through the ruined capital.
Broken marble floated through the air like drifting stars while the fractured sky above flickered violet and black.
Yet somehow—
None of it felt as dangerous as the silence between them now.
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Rosy stood frozen.
Azrael was still too close.
Far too close.
---
Close enough that she could feel his warmth through the cold distortion surrounding her body.
Close enough that his gaze felt unavoidable.
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And that was the real problem.
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Because she was beginning to understand something terrifying:
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Power never made her lose control.
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He did.
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"…Stop doing that," she muttered quietly.
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Azrael tilted his head slightly.
"…Doing what?"
---
Her brows furrowed immediately.
"…Looking at me like you know things I don't."
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A faint smile touched his lips.
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"I do know things you don't."
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"…That wasn't supposed to sound attractive."
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He laughed softly again.
And Rosy instantly regretted speaking.
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Because she liked that sound.
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That was bad.
Very bad.
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She looked away immediately.
"…Annoying."
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Azrael watched her carefully for a moment.
Then quietly—
"…You're calmer."
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Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…So?"
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A pause.
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"The fractures stopped spreading."
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Rosy blinked once.
Then slowly looked upward.
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He was right.
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The shattered sky above had stabilized slightly. The floating debris around the capital moved slower now, no longer violently distorting reality every few seconds.
---
The shadow behind her still existed—
But weaker.
More distant.
---
Her expression shifted slightly.
"…Why?"
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Azrael answered too quickly.
"…Because you're emotionally anchored."
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Silence.
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Rosy stared at him blankly.
"…That sounds fake."
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"It's not."
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Her father finally stepped forward again from the ruins.
"…He's correct."
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Rosy immediately frowned.
"…I didn't ask you."
---
But the older man continued calmly.
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"Your emotional state directly affects your resonance."
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A pause.
---
"The calmer you are, the more stable reality becomes."
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Rosy crossed her arms slightly.
"…So what? I'm supposed to stay emotionally healthy to avoid destroying the world?"
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"…Essentially."
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Silence.
---
Then—
"…That sounds extremely inconvenient."
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Azrael actually laughed.
A real laugh.
---
And Rosy hated how warm it made the air feel.
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Her father, however, remained serious.
"…This isn't a joke."
---
Rosy's expression cooled slightly.
"…I know."
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A long silence followed.
---
Then quietly—
"…If my emotions affect reality…"
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Her gaze lifted slowly.
---
"…Then what happens if I completely lose control?"
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Neither man answered immediately.
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And that silence—
Terrified her.
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"…Azrael."
---
He looked at her quietly.
---
"…Tell me honestly."
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A pause.
---
"…What happened last time?"
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The wind slowed.
Even the floating debris seemed to still.
---
Because this answer mattered.
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Azrael exhaled slowly.
---
"…You want the truth?"
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Rosy's lips curved bitterly.
"…Everyone keeps lying to me. So yes."
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Silence stretched.
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Then—
"…You died."
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Her chest tightened instantly.
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But he kept going.
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"…And when you died…"
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His expression darkened slightly.
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"…The world almost died with you."
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Rosy froze.
"…What?"
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Her father answered this time.
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"The laws of existence are tied to your core."
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A pause.
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"When your heart stopped…"
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His gaze lifted toward the fractured sky.
---
"Reality began collapsing."
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Rosy's breathing slowed dangerously.
"…That's impossible."
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"…And yet it happened."
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Azrael's voice was quiet now.
---
"The oceans split."
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A pause.
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"The sky cracked."
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Another.
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"Entire kingdoms disappeared overnight."
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Rosy stared at him silently.
---
"…You're lying."
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But the words lacked certainty.
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Because deep inside—
She already knew he wasn't.
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Azrael stepped closer again.
"…I carried your body for three days."
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Her breath caught.
---
"…What?"
---
His eyes never left hers.
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"You wouldn't wake up."
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Silence.
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"…And the world kept breaking around us."
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Rosy suddenly couldn't breathe properly.
---
Fragments hit her again—
Rain.
Blood on Azrael's hands.
His voice begging her to wake up.
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The feeling of endless cold.
---
She staggered slightly.
---
Azrael caught her instantly.
"…Easy."
---
Her fingers grabbed his sleeve tightly without thinking.
---
And that small action—
Made his expression soften immediately.
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"…You stayed with me?" she whispered.
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A faint smile.
Tired.
Gentle.
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"I told you already."
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His thumb brushed lightly against her wrist.
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"I stayed."
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Something inside her chest hurt again.
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Not violently.
---
Quietly.
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Her father watched the interaction carefully.
Too carefully.
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"…Attachment like this is dangerous," he said.
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Rosy instantly frowned.
"…Why do you sound jealous?"
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Silence.
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Azrael choked on a laugh.
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For the first time—
Her father actually looked mildly offended.
"…I am not jealous."
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Rosy blinked slowly.
"…That sounded very jealous."
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Even Azrael looked amused now.
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"…This is new," he murmured.
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Her father ignored both of them completely.
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"…You're distracting her from the larger problem."
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Azrael's expression cooled again.
"…No."
---
A pause.
---
"I'm reminding her she's human."
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The older man's gaze sharpened.
"…That's exactly the problem."
---
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
---
Rosy felt it immediately.
---
The tension between them wasn't just disagreement.
---
It was ideology.
---
One believed she needed connection.
---
The other believed connection made her weak.
---
And somehow—
That realization hurt.
---
Rosy slowly pulled away from Azrael's hold.
---
"…Say it properly."
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Her father looked at her calmly.
---
"…You already know."
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"No."
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Her voice hardened.
---
"I want to hear you say it."
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Silence.
---
Then finally—
"…Emotions destabilize you."
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A pause.
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"Attachments make your power unpredictable."
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Rosy's eyes darkened slightly.
---
"…So your solution was to isolate me."
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"…Yes."
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The honesty almost made her laugh.
---
"…You really thought loneliness would save me?"
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For the first time—
Something flickered across his expression.
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Regret.
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Small.
But real.
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"…I thought it would protect the world."
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Rosy smiled faintly.
Brokenly.
---
"…And did anyone think about protecting me?"
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Silence answered again.
---
Azrael suddenly stepped beside her.
Close.
Steady.
---
"…I did."
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The words were simple.
Quiet.
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But they shattered something inside her far more effectively than any power could.
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Rosy looked at him slowly.
---
"…Why?"
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He met her gaze without hesitation.
---
"…Because someone should have."
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The fractured sky trembled softly above them.
---
But this time—
Not violently.
---
Almost gently.
---
Her heart skipped again.
Harder this time.
---
And she realized with horrifying clarity—
The world wasn't stabilizing because of calmness.
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It was stabilizing because of him.
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Because every time Azrael looked at her like she deserved to exist—
The monster inside her quieted.
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Which meant one terrifying thing:
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If she lost him—
There might be nothing left to stop her from becoming the end of everything.
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And judging by the way her father was watching them—
He had realized that too.
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End of Chapter 23