The location was empty when I arrived.
Too empty like I expected.
A stretch of abandoned space at the farthest edge of campus, long since forgotten. Rusted-out fences. Crumbling pavement. The place no one would hear me scream.
The note in my hand crumpled as I tightened my grip.
I was alone.
No backup. No Kaze.
Just me.
And then—
A voice.
"I thought you'd come running faster."
I turned sharply.
He was already there.
Not Kaze. Nihil
Leaning against the wall like he'd been waiting all night, watching me.
And I knew him.
I had seen him before.
The night I saved Kaze.
The man who had given me the vial.
My pulse stuttered. Nihil.
"You," I breathed.
Nihil tilted his head slightly, watching me with the kind of curiosity you'd give a puzzle missing half its pieces.
"Me."
The realization slammed into me hard.
He hadn't just been part of this. He had been there from the beginning.
"You— you gave me that vial." My voice was barely steady. "You helped me save him."
His lips curved into something that might've been a smile, but there was no warmth. No real amusement.
"Helped you?" Nihil echoed. "Is that what you think I did?"
A chill ran through me.
He pushed off the wall, stepping closer. Unhurried. At ease.
"Let me tell you something about Kaze, Sae."
Hearing my name from his mouth made my skin crawl.
I didn't move.
He stepped closer still, voice dropping into something softer. Darker.
"That vial didn't save him. It didn't bring him back."
The air felt heavier.
"It kept him here."
I swallowed, forcing my voice to stay even. "What does that even mean?"
His smile widened, slow and cruel.
"You still don't get it, do you?"
He leaned in slightly, like he was telling me a secret.
"Kaze was supposed to die that night. To finally be free "
Something twisted in my chest.
"No."
"Yes." Nihil's gaze flickered, sharp as a knife. "And you stopped it. You gave him just enough to keep him alive—just enough to make sure he'd suffer through it."
My breath caught.
He let the words sink in before continuing.
"Do you think he thanks you for that?" Nihil murmured. "Do you think, for even a second, that he wanted to wake up?"
My fingers curled into fists.
"Why should I believe anything you say?" I forced out.
Nihil exhaled lightly, amused.
"Because I know things about you too, Sae."
A pause.
Then, in a tone so casual it made my blood run cold—
"Like how you still dream about Vee."
The world around me tilted.
I didn't answer. Couldn't.
But he saw it.
He saw the way my body tensed, the way my breath caught.
And he knew.
"She was right there, wasn't she?" Nihil's voice was smooth, prying. Digging. "You saw her. You could've done something."
Stop.
"But you didn't."
My stomach lurched.
Stop.
"And now she's dead."
Please.
I clenched my teeth so hard it hurt.
He was circling me now, slow, deliberate, like a predator sizing up its prey.
"I know what keeps you awake at night." Nihil's voice was almost gentle now, his words sinking under my skin like needles. "I know the things you won't even say out loud. The things you don't let yourself think for too long, because if you do—"
I sucked in a sharp breath, willing my hands to stop shaking.
"Shut up."
"If you do—" Nihil leaned in, voice a whisper
"You'll realize I'm right."
I snapped.
I spun, shoving him back with both hands, voice breaking—
"SHUT UP!"
He barely stumbled.
He barely reacted.
Just smiled like he had already won.
"Good."
Then something cold pressed against my throat.
A blade.
My breath hitched.
I hadn't even seen him move.
His other hand wrapped around my wrist, firm, unshakable.
"It's funny, really," Nihil mused, tilting his head. "You came all this way, thinking you had a chance."
The blade pressed a little deeper, just enough to sting.
"But this?" Nihil murmured. "This was never about you winning."
I couldn't breathe.
"This was about me finishing what should have been done a long time ago."
The pressure increased.
A sharp sting.
And for the first time—
I truly felt like I was going to die.