The City of Ionia

She was in my arms.

Dead weight.

Not a single sound, face, or reaction.

Her chest didn’t rise or sink.

I leaned into her chest.

Nothing. Not even the slightest of thuds.

Not even the tiniest knock. It was empty.

Her heartbeat was no more. Her breath was no more. Her eyes didn’t open.

Her blue eyes.

The last time I saw those beautiful blue eyes was before she left. She promised she would accompany me to the City of Ionia. I wasn’t happy or upset, just surprised. I mean, I thought she would stay under Ruby’s wing forever.

But no.

She was willing to come with me regardless of the risk. Harley didn’t want to leave my side, and in truth, I didn’t want to leave hers.

So, ya, I guess one could say I was happy. Maybe even excited.

I mean, going to the City of Ionia with someone I knew. Someone who saved me and took care of me. Someone who surpassed the title of a ‘friend.’

We became something much more.

We became inseparable like the intertwined roots buried in the soil.

I couldn’t wait to go to Ionia, especially with Harley. It would’ve been perfect.

But when I arrived at enemy territory and saw the scene.

It's the scene I wish I never saw.

On the pole was a silver-haired girl with a knee-length, white skirt. Only one person would wear such a thing.

I didn’t want to believe it. I prayed that my eyes were lying. I begged that it was a doppelganger.

It wasn’t. Seven hundred people can look and dress exactly like her, and I would easily find the real one.

I knew her better than anyone else.

After all, we’ve been inseparable for years.

When I saw her face with a knife poking out of her neck, something inside me snapped. Something violent boiled up from within, like when Diego spilled the truth.

This, however, was worse.

I met the parasite in the foggy swamp in my head, something that didn’t occur for a while. In fact, I hadn’t seen that foggy swamp since it first introduced itself. Though our interaction was brief and one-sided, it would stick with me forever.

“Your body is mine. Your mind is mine. Your life is mine.”

After that, the next thing I remembered was holding onto Harley’s corpse. I didn’t know what happened to the bandit group.

Why was the ground filled with warm blood? Why were there missing limbs and ripped clothing? Why was Harley like this?

Why was Harley not breathing?

The surrounding environment was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was cradling the girl in my arms.

The girl who saved me from that SCAR agent.

The girl who convinced me to join the Bariac Cult.

The girl who gave me another life.

The girl who showered me with emotions I forgot existed.

The girl who I wanted to accompany me to Ionia.

That same girl rested in my arms with dry lips that I so carefully stroked.

A water droplet fell onto her cheek. Strange. How did the rain get inside?

Another one fell. And then another. Another. Another. Another.

They kept falling.

Oh, was I stupid? It wasn’t raining. Those were something else.

Tears. Tears followed by more tears. My tears. I couldn’t believe I was crying this much.

On top of my tears, spit and saliva fumbled out of my mouth. I totally lost it. I couldn’t control myself. I swung back and forth like an unbalanced rocking chair.

I flicked my head up and down, yelling. I didn’t know what, but sounds flew out of my mouth.

I yelled so loud my throat throbbed. I hugged her tight and did not want to let go. How could I? She was everything to me.

I already lost Raphtalia.

I couldn’t lose Harley.

Not her. Please…don’t make me go through this again.

“Everywhere you go, death follows. That fate is inevitable.”

I heard the parasite loud and clear. Instead of replying, I folded those words and threw them where they would never open.

How could I reply? What would I even say?

My focus was all on Harley.

Her stale mouth, gently closed eyes, limp hair that was once well-kept, and soft touch.

It was the last time she was in my life, the last time I would ever see her.

Our last interaction was filled with promises and dreams. Those dreams and promises were flushed down the drain.

Gone—never to be fulfilled. Knowing that was worse than hell itself. Existing at this moment was worse than hell itself.

I pulled her even closer. My mouth glazed the side of her cheek. A knife pierced through the other side of her neck. It’ll be futile to take it out.

In the silent, red room with death surrounding me, I whispered my final words.

They weren’t directed to her.

If there was a God in this world, then my words were for Him.

“Why does it always have to end like this?”