Part 18

A girl named Yuri came, but where was Hiroki? Where was MisuShi? No one knew. But Yuri arrived, and in that desperate, broken moment, she said she might be able to save Moki. Shaya, who usually kept her heart locked with strangers, almost begged her to try. She was terrified. The weight of it all was too much. Yuri looked frightened too, but Eucalyptus remembered what Hiroki had once said about her: she was like them, probably more normal than Hiroki or MisuShi. And so, because there was nothing left to do, Eucalyptus joined Shaya in pleading with Yuri to help.

She tried. She really did. But NaïKu wouldn’t let Moki go. He held him so tightly, so desperately, as if his embrace alone could pull Moki back from the brink. But his heart was gone. Yuri saw it the moment she looked at the wound, where the arrow had struck and torn through Moki’s body. His phantom-like tail, his halo—both gone. His soul had already slipped away. No matter how much she wished she could save him, Yuri’s hands were powerless here. She knelt beside NaïKu, her voice trembling as she whispered, "It's over."

NaïKu couldn’t stop crying. His face was buried against Moki's cold chest, and the way he sobbed, like a child lost in the dark, broke something deep inside everyone around him. Eucalyptus came closer, her heart shattering as she saw NaïKu like this. She felt guilt crash over her like a wave, drowning her thoughts, suffocating her words.

"I... I’m sorry, NaïKu. This is my fault," Eucalyptus choked, tears streaming down her face, her usual bright cheer dimmed into nothingness. "I never should’ve brought you to this island... If I hadn’t..."

NaïKu’s voice, raw with grief, cut her off. "Yes," he whispered, his words like knives. "Yes, it is your fault. Now leave me alone." His tone wasn’t harsh, but those words—coming from someone who had only ever been kind—tore through Eucalyptus like glass. She recoiled, stunned. NaïKu had never spoken to her like that, and hearing him say it was worse than any wound. Before she could even process it, Shaya placed a hand on her shoulder, a silent gesture, telling her to walk away.

So she did. She left NaïKu to grieve, to hold what was left of Moki’s lifeless body. And she found Zephyr, who didn’t need to see what had happened to understand the depth of the tragedy. He sat with her, silent and still. Words wouldn’t do justice to the sorrow that filled the air, to the heavy ache that sat in their chests. Eucalyptus felt sick, the metallic scent of blood clinging to everything, refusing to let her forget what she had done. She wanted to vomit, to scream, but all she could do was sit next to Zephyr, numb and hollow. They both knew it was her command that had led to Moki’s death.

Suddenly, Hiroki appeared. His presence was like a storm cloud darkening the space around them. Eucalyptus’s jaw tightened, rage sparking in her eyes. This was his fault. All of it.

"It was... interesting to watch," Hiroki said, his voice cold, detached. Eucalyptus stood up, her words cutting through the silence like a blade, "So what?"

Zephyr, even in his calm, couldn’t hide his shock at the sharpness in her voice. "Euca..." he whispered, trying to soothe her. But there was no soothing her now.

"I didn’t expect you to be the one to kill Moki," Hiroki continued, his words dripping with cruel amusement. "How ridiculous—"

He didn’t get to finish. Eucalyptus lunged at him, her hand wrapping around his throat, ready to squeeze the life from him. Tears of rage burned in her eyes, her whole body trembling with the intensity of it. She wanted to rip him apart, to make him feel every ounce of pain she was carrying. But she didn’t. Zephyr’s gentle touch on her arm stopped her. His sadness pulled her back from the edge of that dark place.

"Sorry," Hiroki sneered, chuckling under his breath as Eucalyptus let him go. "I saw what I wanted. I’ll keep my promise. You’re free to go. I’ll help when it’s necessary."

Eucalyptus clenched her fists, her body shaking with fury, but there was nothing left to say. Nothing she could do. She turned away from him and started walking back to the ship, not even looking to see if Zephyr followed. She sat in silence, staring out at the sea as the world blurred around her, waiting for Shaya and NaïKu to return with Moki.

It felt like hours before they came back. NaïKu said nothing. He was a ghost now, dead inside the moment Moki’s heart stopped. Eucalyptus could barely bring herself to look up when they boarded the ship, and when she did, her eyes avoided Moki’s body. NaïKu disappeared into one of the boat’s rooms, taking Moki with him, leaving the rest of them in a silence so thick it was suffocating. The boat started moving, carrying them away from that cursed island.

Finally, Shaya spoke, her voice quiet, worn. "Her name was Yuri. She was kidnapped by Hiroki and MisuShi years ago. I offered to help her return, but she said she couldn’t remember her past, so it wouldn’t matter."

Eucalyptus, staring at the floor, could feel the weight of those words, but she was too tired to care. "It doesn’t matter. We got what we came for. The Tear is ours," she said, her voice sharper than she intended. Shaya flinched at the coldness in her tone, but didn’t argue. She just nodded and looked away, curling in on herself.

The boat sailed on, but for those left alive, something had been lost forever, a piece of their hearts they could never get back.

Part 19