Chapter Text
The battlefield was a graveyard of shattered stone and broken steel. Smoke and ash clouded the air, turning the sky into a suffocating purple haze. The sound of distant battle had faded, leaving only the ragged breaths of a dying warrior in Noah’s arms.
Yejun.
Noah cradled him, his fingers trembling as they pressed against the blood-soaked armor. Yejun’s once-pristine silver plating was cracked, dirt and crimson staining the fabric beneath. His midnight-blue hair, which Noah used to brush through lazily on quiet mornings, was matted with sweat and blood.
"No—Noah," Yejun rasped, lips barely parting as he forced the name out. His voice was hoarse, weak, nothing like the sharp, confident tone Noah had grown so used to. "You… shouldn’t have come back."
Noah swallowed against the lump in his throat. His arms tightened around Yejun, as if sheer will could keep his soul tethered to this broken body. "You think I’d leave you behind?" His voice was a quiet storm of grief and desperation. "After everything?!"
Yejun chuckled weakly, but it turned into a pained cough. His gloved fingers twitched, reaching for Noah’s. "You always were… stubborn."
"Shut up," Noah snapped, his voice breaking as he pressed harder against the wound on Yejun’s side. The blood wouldn’t stop. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much pressure he applied—
"You have to hold on," Noah whispered, a plea wrapped in anguish. "We’re supposed to go see the ocean after this, remember?"
Yejun’s lips twitched, something like a smile ghosting over his face. "The endless blue…" His breath hitched. "You said we’d watch the waves until the world forgot us."
"And we still can," Noah insisted, gripping his hand tightly. "You just have to stay with me."
But Yejun’s fingers were growing cold.
His breathing was shallow, uneven.
"No, no, no—Yejun, look at me." Noah’s heart pounded against his ribs, panic clawing at his throat. "Don’t you dare close your eyes."
Yejun exhaled softly, eyes fluttering open just enough to meet Noah’s.
"You’re so dramatic," he murmured, voice barely a whisper. Then, softer, "Noah."
"Don’t say my name like that," Noah pleaded. "Don’t say it like it’s the last time."
Yejun’s lips parted, as if he wanted to say something else—one last thought, one last whisper—but the words never came.
His body stilled.
His hand slipped from Noah’s grasp.
The silence was deafening.
Noah pressed his forehead against Yejun’s, his shoulders trembling. A single tear slid down, landing on Yejun’s bloodied cheek. He stayed like that, holding him, rocking him slightly like it could somehow pull him back from the abyss.
"You promised me," Noah whispered.
But the stars had already gone out.
— end. 💙💜