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Reyna lay on her back, stretched across the center of her bed, the dim light of a bedside lamp painting the room in soft amber shadows. Her eyes were locked on the object resting in her palm, it was small, silver and dulled slightly from years of wear. She turned it over slowly, the metal was cool against her fingers, but the weight of it burned, dragging her down into the ache she had long carried. Her sharp features softened by something rare: vulnerability. The faint hum of the airconditioned above filled the silence, steady and hollow. She turned it again, mush slower this time, as if each spin could rewind time, could bring back what was lost.
Her grip loosened and for a moment, her vision blurred as a memory surfaced, tugging her back into another time. Her lashes lowered, and the silence of her room gave way to the echo of laughter, music, and the glow of lanterns long extinguished.
The streets of her hometown in Mexico glowed with life. Bright banners swayed overhead, painted in every shade of the rainbow, Lanterns hung from balconies, casting flickers of gold and red across the cobblestone paths. The air was thick with the scent of roasted corn, fresh tortillas, and sweet churros, while music spilled through the streets like liquid joy. Trumpets blared, drums pounded, and guitars strummed melodies that seemed older than the town itself.
Reyna had brought Sage with her, wanting the healer to see a part of herself that she rarely revealed. And Sage... calm, graceful Sage, fit into it as if she had always belonged.
Reyna remembered weaving through the crowd with Sage’s hand in hers. For once, she wasn’t Reyna the ruthless murderer, Reyna the predator, Reyna the survivor. She was simply Zyanya, dancing barefoot on cobblestones among strangers, laughing until her chest hurt, her heart unguarded.
Sage’s hair caught the glow of the streetlights, her smile as soft as the moon. When she stumbled over the rhythm of the dance, Reyna pulled her closer, steadying her. Reyna’s hand never left hers, guiding, holding, protecting. There had been no walls between them that night, only warmth, closeness, and a belonging Reyna had never dared to dream she could feel.
Later, when the crowd thinned and the music softened into the distance, they sat together on the steps of an old church. Paper decorations fluttered in the warm breeze above them. Sage leaned against her shoulder, her breath warm in the night air. Reyna tore open two tamales, offering one to Sage, watching with a small, rare smile as Sage tried her first bite.
“Good?” Reyna had asked, eyes flickering with something vulnerable, something she rarely allowed.
Sage nodded with a laugh, brushing a smear of masa from her lip. “Perfect. Just like this night.”
They had shared food, stories, and silence in equal measure. Reyna felt her chest ache, a sensation equal parts joy and fear. when Sage tilted her face up, her eyes carrying a softness Reyna thought would undo her completely, she leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Sage’s forehead, lingering there longer than she meant to. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Te amo, Ling-ying” her voice trembled a bit. “More than you could ever know.”
Sage’s answering smile had been quiet, glowing, unshakable. In that moment, Reyna believed the world had finally given her something worth keeping.
The memory dissolved like smoke, leaving Reyna alone once more in the silence of her room. She sat up slowly, the object clutched tighter now, her knuckles straining white. Her chest rose and fell with a controlled breath, though the bitterness in her eyes betrayed her composure.
Her gaze drifted toward the nightstand, where a framed photograph sat waiting. It was the two of them, Zyanya and Ling-ying, caught mid-laugh, arms wrapped loosely around each other. Sage’s smile shone brighter than the sun, Reyna’s own was subtle, but undeniably there.
Her throat constricted, and she released a sharp, bitter breath. The longing in her chest twisted until it hurt.
That sweetness... those moments... cruel in its perfection.
She reached out, fingertips brushing the frame. For a moment, her face softened, but then her expression hardened again, and she flip the frame down.
A sigh slipped from her lips...
“Goddammit...”
Everything was still. It was a thick and heavy stillness that makes you stay in your toes. Reyna moved through the narrow alleyways of haven, her heels silent against the dirt. She could hear neon's impatient sighs through the comms.
The mission had been clean so far, she eliminated two omega agents already so that leaves three more. Her senses remained sharp though, her instincts coiling tight like the predator she is, waiting to take her next victim.
She continued lurking...
"zyanya..."
Reyna turned immediately, vandal ready to shoot but nothing to shoot at. Her eyes flicked over her shoulder, scanning every corner. Nothing. No movement. No heartbeat.
She knew what she heard. That familiar voice, the warmth on how they call her name. She knew that voice all too well.
"Corazón...?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Silence answered her.
Her throat tightened before she clicked her tongue sharply and looked away, as if scolding herself for even reacting. “Tsk. Losing your edge, Reyna,” she muttered under her breath, forcing her body forward again.
Yet as she slipped back into her task, the echo of that voice lingered in her mind, wrapping around her like a ghost she couldn’t shake.
She could almost hear the calm steadiness of Sage’s tone... the way she used to call her name during missions, encouraging her to continue her hunt. The memory was sharp enough to sting.
Reyna exhaled slowly, regaining her composure, her expression hardening once more. There was no room for ghosts here. No time for grief. Only the hunt.
Still, as she moved deeper into the alley, her hand unconsciously brushed the spot over her chest, where a new silver chain hang with a single pendant.
I wish it was really you. Even if it was the omega version of you...
The night was quiet above the headquarters. The air smelled faintly of salt, the sea below carrying its scent up to the landing pad where Reyna sat. The wind tugged gently at her dark hair as she dangled her legs over the edge, the distant crash of waves echoing beneath her.
She turned her hand over, revealing the same silver item resting in her palm, it was worn, simple, yet precious. Her thumb brushed over the smooth band with aching tenderness. After a moment, she lifted it to her lips and pressed a kiss against the metal, her eyes half-lidded as memories began to surface.
It was late afternoon, the sun painting the sea gold. The beach below the headquarters was empty, quiet save for the rhythm of the waves and the soft laughter that carried over the breeze.
Reyna’s heeled boots were discarded somewhere behind her, and her feet sank into the wet sand. She’d never cared much for the sea since Lucia collapsed, not until Sage had dragged her down there with that soft insistence she could never resist.
Sage was smiling, her long hair catching the sunlight, the hem of her loose robe brushing the water. “Come on,” she called, holding out her hand.
Reyna had grumbled at first, rolling her eyes, but she took her hand anyway, because she always did. The moment their fingers intertwined, something in her chest eased.
They waded through the shallows, water splashing around their ankles. Sage laughed, a clear, warm sound that melted something deep in Reyna’s radianite heart. She turned her hand, pulling Sage closer, spinning her in a slow twirl.
The sight was burned into Reyna’s memory... Sage spinning in her arms, her laughter soft and genuine, her face glowing with a joy that felt endless.
“You’re staring,” Sage had teased when she stopped, slightly breathless.
“Of course I am,” Reyna replied, her voice softer than she meant it to be. “You look like you belong to the light itself.”
Sage had laughed again, cheeks faintly pink. “And you,” she said, stepping closer, “look like you could devour it.”
Reyna had smiled, small, sincere, a smile that reserved only for Sage and Lucia. Their foreheads met, and for a moment, the world went silent except for the waves and their hearts beating in sync.
She remembered the way Sage’s hand rested over her supposed-to-be heart, how Reyna had held it there, as if promising never to let it go.
A tear slipped down Reyna’s cheek before she realized it.
Her breath caught when she suddenly felt arms wrap around her from behind, gentle, warm, and familiar. The embrace was unmistakable. She could feel the press of Sage’s body against her back, her chin resting on her shoulder.
Reyna’s eyes fluttered shut. She reached up, fingers curling around the arms of her beloved, leaning into the sensation.
For a fleeting second, she let herself believe that Sage was still there, that time had not stolen her away. The sound of the waves blurred with the rush of her heartbeat.
But when she opened her eyes again, the landing pad was empty. The air was colder now.
Her hands dropped to her lap, clutching nothing but the memory of warmth. The silver item gleamed faintly in her palm, catching the last trace of twilight.
Reyna inhaled shakily, whispering into the night not loud enough for anyone to hear, but enough for the sea to carry it away.
“Mi amor... I still feel you.”
The waves answered, soft and distant.
Gunfire echoed through the ruins of an abandoned Alpha-Omega facility. Dust hung thick in the air, laced with the metallic scent of blood. The world around Reyna had narrowed into a tunnel, her focus precise, cold, inhuman.
She moved like a shadow through the smoke, her eyes glowing due to her empress mode. Each shot she fired was clean, merciless, and straight in-between the eyes. Her bullets pass through enemies like paper; every motion were efficient but empty.
There was no thrill in it anymore. No satisfaction. Just the rhythm of killing.
Her team spoke in her earpiece, distant, muffled, as though coming from a distant world. Neon’s voice crackled through now and then, calling out flanks, giving updates, her tone laced with concern. But Reyna didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
When the last Omega agent fell, she stood over the body for a long moment. The smell of gunpowder lingered. The silence after battle was deafening.
Her pulse didn’t quicken. Her expression didn’t change. She simply turned away, reloading her vandal.
It wasn’t duty that kept her moving. It wasn’t vengeance. It wasn’t even survival.
It was just nothing...
She wasn’t Reyna, the empress. She wasn’t Zyanya, the woman Sage once loved.
She just a corpse walking and shooting whoever gets in her way.
The agents regrouped at the base, the air heavy, metallic, and still buzzing from adrenaline. Neon stood by the door to the armory, her arms crossed, watching Reyna silently remove her gear.
There was blood on Reyna’s knuckles. Not hers. Her expression was as blank as ever.
Neon finally spoke, her voice sharp but trembling with frustration. "aren't you tired from acting like shit?"
Reyna just ignores her, frustrated, neon let out what she's been holding in. “She’s gone, Zyanya! Stop being like this already, it’s been a year and a half since she-”
“Don’t!” Reyna’s voice cracked like thunder. Her head snapped toward Neon, eyes blazing violet with fury and pain. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Neon stared, wide-eyed, her breath catching. For a second, she saw not the fierce woman who had trained her but someone hollow, someone barely holding herself together.
Reyna’s chest heaved, her fists trembling. “Don’t you dare say it like she’s gone forever,” she hissed, though the words faltered near the end, like a wound reopening.
Neon swallowed hard, tears threatening but unfallen. She stepped closer, voice softer now but unrelenting.
“You’re not the only one who grieved her...” she said quietly. “So please, Reyna... she wouldn’t like seeing you like this. Like some lifeless fool walking around, a dead corpse running straight to gunfire like your life doesn’t mean anything anymore.”
Her words hung in the air, sharp and trembling.
Reyna didn’t reply. She couldn’t. Her throat had closed, and her eyes burned.
Neon stared at her for a long second, then turned away, voice cracking as she added one last thing before leaving.
“She loved you, and that love’s still here.... In you. Don’t bury it with the pain.”
The door slid shut behind Neon, leaving Reyna alone in the cold silence.
For a long while, she didn’t move. Then her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, the weight of everything she’d buried crashing over her.
Her hands clutched her chest, over her heart where her necklace hung beneath her clothes. She pulled it out, gripping it tightly as the first sob tore through her.
“I’m sorry...” she whispered, voice shaking, breaking apart. “I’m so sorry, mi amor...”
But no one answered. Only the faint hum of the lights above, and the distant sound of waves crashing against the cliffs below, as if the sea itself was mourning with her.
The world was quiet.
The sky stretched pale and still, clouds drifting slow above. Reyna walked alone, the wind tugging faintly at her hair, carrying with it the faint scent of rain and flowers.
Her steps were unhurried and heavy as if each one took effort. She carried nothing but the small chain around her neck, fingers brushing the ring that hung from it.
When she reached the end of the stone path, she stopped and sank down slowly, the cold ground pressing through the fabric of her pants. For a long moment, she said nothing. Just sat there, staring straight ahead, her eyes unfocused and soft.
Her hand lifted to the chain again. She pulled it from her neck, the silver glinting faintly against her fingers. The ring swung gently in the breeze, catching the dull light.
Her voice came out low.
“Ling...” She exhaled shakily, a tremor running through her. “Corazón... mi amor...”
The words caught in her throat. Her eyes glistened.
“I... I don’t think I can live like this anymore,” she murmured. “I don’t think I can live without you any longer.”
She swallowed hard, her breath uneven. The silence around her was deafening. Even the wind seemed to still for a moment, listening.
Her fingers tightened around the ring until her knuckles went white.
“I’m sorry... I tried,” she whispered. "I really did. I tried to stay strong. I fought, I worked, I killed. I told myself it was for the team, for the mission. I tried to be the person you believed I could be... but everything feels so empty without you.”
She stayed like that, clinging to the last piece of the woman she loved.
The wind stirred again, brushing against her cheek like a familiar hand. Reyna closed her eyes, leaning into it, pretending for one last moment that it was real, that Sage was there, smiling that same soft smile that could quiet her rage.
For the first time, Reyna wasn’t running, wasn’t hiding, wasn’t killing just to fill the silence.
She was grieving... fully, painfully, honestly.
A tear slipped down her face. It landed on the ring in her palm, glittering for a heartbeat before vanishing.
Reyna kissed the ring gently, breathing against the metal. “Te amo,” she whispered, voice trembling. “Always.”
She set it down in front of her, carefully and tenderly, her hand lingering above it for a long moment before pulling away.
Before her stood a marble tombstone, carved with words...
Ling-Ying Wei
The Light That Never Faded