Jack looked at me, for a brief moment, before leaving.
I watched as he slid out the window with Saber's head. He landed on the ground below.
I watched as he fled away through the streets.
And when he was gone, I turned back to Saber. Or what remained of her.
And I closed the windows, and I drew the curtains. A thick, obscuring fabric, heavy and milky-white.
"Saber?" I spoke her name, hoping for a reply. For a miracle. "Jack?"
No reply came.
"...Saber?" I asked once more. But I was all alone.
This couldn't possibly be the last of her. Not like this. Not this senselessly. There…there had to be some way around this…
I checked my bag for a Death Ward. Had I ever stashed one away? Surely, after all these adventures, I must've received a Death Ward medallion on some occasion?! I forced myself to remember, but no memories came to mind.
…What about Saber? Perhaps she had a Death Ward. She must've had one. She needed to. Perhaps, under her thick and sturdy armor, she had a Death Ward stashed away, one we had both forgotten about. I turned around to check on her person.
But I only caught the fading silhouette of her body, as it dissolved into motes of light. The motes danced about, slowly drifting away, vanishing.
"NO!" I cried, reaching out, clutching at the motes. "Stop! DON'T!"
The little glimmers slipped through my grasps, immaterial like shadows, distant and unreachable like stars. I screamed for her, begged her to stay. Saber. Saber. You can't leave now. Not after coming this far.
I saw, through tears, the motes of light fade away. All, but one last, miniscule spark.
It quivered in the air, and it drifted slowly, unsteadily towards me, and it stopped in front of my chest.
"...Are you there?" I asked, choking on my words amidst sobs I could no longer hold back.
It didn't answer. But I looked into the light, and I remembered.
I remembered when we demolished our first turret together. She hugged me so tight that her pauldrons dug into me.
When the stone giant, our first real enemy, cut her down. Her blue, lifeless lips as she fought to live.
When the crowds flooded to our little cabin in Bronze. How she tried so hard to be brave.
When she trained me and taught me how to survive.
The times we walked to work together, back at the Combat Institute. The times we walked during summer. The times we walked during winter. How she tried to catch the snowflakes in her mittens.
The times she came to save Hei and me, again and again in the arena. We could always count on her ganks and tactics.
The time she cried out in the shower, like a little child, because her soap exfoliated her skin too hard. Saber scared me for no reason, that asshole.
The times I huddled by her side in Gold, after I had lost Hei. When we thought no one else was out there for us anymore.
And for a short time, Saber and I had two pet rabbits. We had built a pen for them, inside the arena. For a few days, we had two rabbits.
The final mote of light, which stayed behind to keep me company, finally faded.
Goodbye, Saber.
This isn't right. If anyone deserved to make it out alive, it was you. You should've been the one to live on.
There's so much I wanted to say to you still. I'm sorry I couldn't.
I couldn't repay you for everything.
Goodbye, my dear, dear friend. My dearest Saber.
I sat down in the corner of the room, hugging my legs against my chest for warmth. Colorless white light seeped through the cracks in the heavy curtains. There was silence.
Please don't leave me.
Jack looked at me, for a brief moment, before leaving.
I watched as he slid out the window with Saber's head. He landed on the ground below.
I watched as he fled away through the streets.
And when he was gone, I turned back to Saber. Or what remained of her.
And I closed the windows, and I drew the curtains. A thick, obscuring fabric, heavy and milky-white.
"Saber?" I spoke her name, hoping for a reply. For a miracle. "Jack?"
No reply came.
"...Saber?" I asked once more. But I was all alone.
This couldn't possibly be the last of her. Not like this. Not this senselessly. There…there had to be some way around this…
I checked my bag for a Death Ward. Had I ever stashed one away? Surely, after all these adventures, I must've received a Death Ward medallion on some occasion?! I forced myself to remember, but no memories came to mind.
…What about Saber? Perhaps she had a Death Ward. She must've had one. She needed to. Perhaps, under her thick and sturdy armor, she had a Death Ward stashed away, one we had both forgotten about. I turned around to check on her person.
But I only caught the fading silhouette of her body, as it dissolved into motes of light. The motes danced about, slowly drifting away, vanishing.
"NO!" I cried, reaching out, clutching at the motes. "Stop! DON'T!"
The little glimmers slipped through my grasps, immaterial like shadows, distant and unreachable like stars. I screamed for her, begged her to stay. Saber. Saber. You can't leave now. Not after coming this far.
I saw, through tears, the motes of light fade away. All, but one last, miniscule spark.
It quivered in the air, and it drifted slowly, unsteadily towards me, and it stopped in front of my chest.
"...Are you there?" I asked, choking on my words amidst sobs I could no longer hold back.
It didn't answer. But I looked into the light, and I remembered.
I remembered when we demolished our first turret together. She hugged me so tight that her pauldrons dug into me.
When the stone giant, our first real enemy, cut her down. Her blue, lifeless lips as she fought to live.
When the crowds flooded to our little cabin in Bronze. How she tried so hard to be brave.
When she trained me and taught me how to survive.
The times we walked to work together, back at the Combat Institute. The times we walked during summer. The times we walked during winter. How she tried to catch the snowflakes in her mittens.
The times she came to save Hei and me, again and again in the arena. We could always count on her ganks and tactics.
The time she cried out in the shower, like a little child, because her soap exfoliated her skin too hard. Saber scared me for no reason, that asshole.
The times I huddled by her side in Gold, after I had lost Hei. When we thought no one else was out there for us anymore.
And for a short time, Saber and I had two pet rabbits. We had built a pen for them, inside the arena. For a few days, we had two rabbits.
The final mote of light, which stayed behind to keep me company, finally faded.
Goodbye, Saber.
This isn't right. If anyone deserved to make it out alive, it was you. You should've been the one to live on.
There's so much I wanted to say to you still. I'm sorry I couldn't.
I couldn't repay you for everything.
Goodbye, my dear, dear friend. My dearest Saber.
I sat down in the corner of the room, hugging my legs against my chest for warmth. Colorless white light seeped through the cracks in the heavy curtains. There was silence.
Please don't leave me.
