Fragments

xᴀᴠɪᴇʀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᯓ❅ ┆ 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴 ┆ : 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

ᯓ❅ ┆ 𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘴 ┆ : 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 & 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵

─────────────── ˗ˏˋ ❅｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽ ˎˊ˗ ────────────────

He wanted her, more than anyone, more than anything. Yet, in this timeline, she was forever out of reach. His eyes lit up when he first saw her, like a beacon of hope piercing through the shroud of his desolate world.

However, his joy was short-lived. His smile faltered as he saw her with someone else, entwined with another man, her laughter ringing out in the air—so unlike the solemn, quiet moments they had shared back in Philos. The sight was a cruel reminder of the unbridgeable chasm between their current realities and the bittersweet past he once knew.

He couldn’t explain the turmoil raging within him; it felt suffocating, more so than the transparent red collar fastened around his neck. His fists clenched involuntarily, knuckles whitening with the force of his suppressed emotion, but after a moment, he released it.

Despite the ache in his heart, he knew he had to protect her from the Wanderers who dared to approach. Resigning himself to the shadows, he accepted his role in the background rather than being the companion by her side he longed to be.

He settled atop the remnants of a once-sturdy structure, where the echoes of his recent confrontation with the Wanderers still lingered in the air. His gaze fell heavily upon the cracked ground below, and he leaned back, propping one leg up to rest his elbow upon his knee, seeking a moment's respite. With a weary sigh, he closed his eyes, hoping to steal a brief reprieve from the ceaseless turmoil of his thoughts.

Minutes passed in a blur until he felt a gentle hand shaking his shoulder, stirring him from his restless reverie. Slowly, he opened his eyes, his gaze meeting the one he had yearned for—the very reason he had dared to journey back through time.

"Hey, are you alright?" Her voice, like a soft melody, stirred memories of their time together in the future timeline, evoking a bittersweet ache within him. "You shouldn't be here. Wanderers have been spotted nearby; it's not safe."

Even in this timeline, her heart remained pure, instinctively caring for strangers.

His face betrayed no hint of the tumult raging within, his expression stoic as ever. Yet beneath that veneer of calm, a torrent of emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

He wanted to say something—no, he wanted to tell her everything. Yet, despite the countless words swirling in his mind, none escaped his lips. His mouth opened slightly as if to speak, but then closed as he wrestled with his thoughts. Finally, he managed a faint, almost vulnerable smile. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice barely more than a breath.

‘𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘳𝘦-𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.’

‘𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴.’

·❆　　　❆　❅　　　　•　　　　.　　　　　❆❆• 　·　.　　　❅

𝐴𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐼 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙.