AKI could only look on, her heart breaking, as Elias maintained that fragile, fleeting smile. Every word he said saddened her. She wished she’d had more power to help him when he lost control, then he wouldn’t be suffering so much from what he had done.
And Elias had finally opened up to me, too…
It had taken time, but she succeeded in gradually exposing his true smile. Then the events in the Ancient Ruins resulted in him shutting back down again.
Maybe he was trying to protect himself from being crushed under the anxiety and guilt by putting a wall up. He was so traumatized, he saw no other way out.
Elias seemed to see the anguish on her face because he reached out and took her hand. “…You, more than anyone else, I want to keep out of danger. If you are safer away from me, then I…want to stay apart.”
“Are you…” she trailed off. The implication in his words stabbed at her heart. She didn’t want to know the answer to her question. She hoped she was making the wrong assumption. Still, she felt the need to ask. “…Are you…breaking up with me?” she finished through clenched teeth, her voice tight.
Just putting the question into words was painful.
…Elias’s face is blurry. I can’t see him.
His eyes wavered when he saw her crying. He lowered his gaze and silently nodded. “…I guess…I am. Let’s stop being in a romantic relationship. We aren’t breaking up so much as going back to how things were before. Back to being the Hero and the Hero’s Right-hand.”
Going back to how things were in the beginning? That’s the same as losing him for good. He’s completely rejecting me.
“I don’t want that, Elias! I…” Tears rolled down her cheeks as the words lodged in her throat. There was so much she wanted to say, it was becoming a jumble.
I don’t want to make things harder on him, but I can’t stop crying!
Elias watched her reaction with sad eyes and gave her hand a light squeeze.
“…Aki, I thought I would never be able to love anyone but fell head over heels in love with you. And you even told me you loved me back… It made me wonder if miracles like this can really happen to someone like me. You taught me what happiness is. Thanks to you, I was glad to be alive for the first time.”
Weeping, Aki turned a silent ear to listen to Elias’s faltering feelings.
Elias closed his eyes in self-reflection. “I was stupidly happy. You meant more to me than my title as Hero, than this very world…” A self-derisive smile flitted across his face. “But I know now that I shouldn’t have fallen in love with you. That’s probably why I incurred the Goddess’s wrath.”
He cupped Aki’s tear-streaked cheek with his hand and wiped away the endless drops that marked her sorrow.
“…I love you, I really do. That’s why I want you to be safe. Safe from the Goddesses, the Dark Lord, this world, and the Hero.” Elias made sure to emphasize that last part and weakly shook his head to stop her from saying anything in return.
It was the gesture of a man who had already given up hope.
“So let’s end things between us.”
Elias’s words fell like an anvil into the depths of her heart. He was breaking up with her and not giving her a chance to stop it.
Aki couldn’t shake her head or argue the point with him, she only stared at him, stunned, the tears trailing down her cheeks.
I can’t reach him anymore… He won’t direct that soft smile reserved for his girlfriend toward me again. Even if I try to connect with him, his heart won’t let me in…
“Elias…I…”
The saddest expression flicked across his face as he brushed the tears off her cheeks. Encouraged by his touch, she lifted her face. She saw the sorrow on his beautiful face up close.
By not knowing what to do, I’m going to end up isolating him again…
“…I love you, Aki. You mean the world to me.”
Aki closed her eyes to his bittersweet, heartbreaking confession. His lips brushed against hers for less than a second, but it was enough to double her misery. Their lips parted, and Aki gripped his shirt and leaned her head against his chest in her last attempt at resistance.
She didn’t even say anything, and he still shook his head. It was almost as if he was wordlessly repeating “So let’s end things between us.”
Aki stood up and bolted from the room without looking back at Elias as if that would help her escape her feelings. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to accept it.
She slammed the door shut behind her and stood in a stupor in the middle of the hallway, leaning her back against the door for support.
I-It’s over… I lost him…
As soon as that reality dawned on her, she slid down to the floor, the shock causing her heart to feel as if it had been carved out and stepped on.
Her chest hurt, her heart bled, and she wept in a loud voice in the middle of the hallway.