The suffocating sense of danger that had pressed against their chests just moments ago slowly faded, leaving behind a silence that weighed even heavier.

Yet Riven and Melly’s bodies still refused to move. Riven’s breath came heavy, ragged after the tension that had just gripped him. At last, he loosened the tight embrace with which he had shielded his sister.

Melly immediately crouched, her small frame leaning close to the woman lying on the ground. The woman’s breath was faint, as if her life were a candle’s wick about to gutter out. Tangled strands of hair clung to her pale face, streaked with smears of blood—whether her own or another’s, it was impossible to tell.

‘Who… is this woman, really?’ Riven wondered, his brow furrowing. ‘Why is she here? Her appearance… so ruined. That’s blood, isn’t it? Don’t tell me she’s being hunted… Damn it. Could she be connected to the chaos in the city earlier?!’

Riven clenched his teeth. The night had stretched on far too long. ‘Why does trouble keep finding me? I’ve had enough. I haven’t even had a proper rest. All I want is to get far away, find someplace safe, and sleep. Damn it. Just how cursed am I tonight?’

He drew in a long breath, then let it out in a heavy sigh. A firm decision settled in his mind. He would not take on another burden, one that could drag them both into the abyss.

“Melly, let’s go now.” His voice was flat, tired, but resolute. “This place isn’t safe anymore. We have to leave.”

Melly turned sharply, her wide eyes shimmering with worry. “But… what about her, Riven?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Riven’s jaw tightened.

“We leave her,” he said coldly.

Melly swallowed hard, her shoulders trembling faintly. “Then… what about this woman?” she whispered again, as if hoping for a different answer.

“We’re leaving her,” Riven repeated, quick and harsh. His tone left no space for negotiation. “She isn’t our problem. We don’t know who she is, or why she’s here. You felt it yourself, she’s dangerous. And it looks like she’s being hunted by someone just as dangerous. If we get involved, we’ll become their targets too. Our safety comes first, Melly. Do you understand?”

Melly stared at her brother, tears brimming in her eyes. “How can you say something so horrible?”

The words struck Riven’s chest like a blow. He flinched but masked it quickly with anger. “Horrible?!” His voice rose, sharp and bitter. “You call me horrible, Melly?! Everything I’ve done is to protect us!”

“But does it have to be this way?!” Melly shot back, her tone breaking into a desperate cry. “If protecting us means letting someone else die, then what does that make you?!”

“Yes!” Riven barked, without hesitation. His head throbbed from exhaustion, and in that moment, his control over his emotions slipped.

Melly froze, her chest tightening. That single word cut into her heart like a blade. But beyond the pain, anger boiled. She couldn’t believe her kind brother had turned into someone like this.

“So if it’s for our survival… you’d kill others too?!” she demanded, her voice broken but burning with fury and disappointment.

“Yes!” Riven roared again, louder this time, as though trying to drown out the flicker of doubt inside him. But the instant the word left his lips, regret slammed into him. But too late.

Silence devoured them.

And then—

SLAP!

The sound cracked through the night, not only striking Riven’s cheek but his very heart. His head snapped to the side from the force. Heat burned across his skin, but the ache inside his chest was far worse.

Melly stood before him, her small hand still raised. Her shoulders trembled violently, and finally her tears spilled over. Her lips quivered, and her words broke apart.

“Brother… you’re not like this…” Her voice shattered, raw with hurt. “How could you become someone like this? You’re not the kind of person who would abandon someone to die…”

Riven froze.

His eyes widened as he stared at his sister. For the first time that night, he was truly silent. Not from fear, not from hesitation, but because that slap hadn’t just stopped him. It had struck his heart.

Melly’s wet gaze met his, her voice trembling through the stillness of the night.

“You’ve started changing since you kept going to that horrible place…” she whispered, but each word cut deep. “This was my first time there tonight, but I know… anyone would lose their mind if they stayed in a place like that too long. Every time you came back with weapons scavenged from the dead… you changed.”

Riven remained silent. His eyes were hollow, his mind tangled, his tongue bound.

“Back then, you could still smile… you could still laugh… still joke with me,” Melly’s voice broke with sobs, her body trembling. “But now… now you’re a stranger. You’ve become cold… frightening…”

Her words pierced Riven’s chest like blades, one after another. He wanted to deny it. To say everything he’d done was for her, for them to survive. But each excuse that formed in his mind collapsed, sounding like lies before he could even speak them.

“I don’t even know who my brother is anymore,” Melly wept, her fists clenched, her shoulders shaking. “I don’t need gold! I don’t need fresh meat! I’d rather eat stale bread every day and work at the market… than sit at home every night in fear, waiting for you to come back!”

Riven lowered his head. His gaze fell on Melly’s tear-streaked face. That face… the innocent face he had sworn to protect with his whole life, now stained by fear. Fear born from him.

“I’m always afraid every night,” Melly continued, her voice ragged, yet forcing its way out, as though years of silence erupted all at once. “Afraid the door will never open again. Afraid every footstep outside isn’t yours. I… I’m always terrified of losing you…”

Riven’s throat went dry. Bitterness coated his tongue. His hands shook before he realized it. His head pounded as his mind replayed what he had done tonight—six people… six lives ended by his hands in a single night.

When… did I become like this?

When did I decide to stop caring?

All at once, it all came crashing down.

Melly’s sobs grew louder, breaking apart the silence of the night, careless of beasts or men who might hear. “Stop scavenging weapons, Brother… please… I’m begging you…”

Her words struck harder than any slap. Riven felt his chest crack open, his breath faltering, his body close to collapsing.

And just as he wavered under the crushing weight of guilt, Melly’s small frame lunged forward, throwing her arms tightly around his waist.

Riven gasped.

That embrace… was warm. Too warm for someone like him.

His hands hovered in the air, trembling, afraid to return it. Afraid to touch his sister, as though his hands would taint her with the blood and sins caked upon him.

But Melly didn’t care.

She held him tight, refusing to let go, as though if she released him, the world itself would rip him away from her.

“Brother… promise me… promise me…” she whispered, her words broken between sobs.

Riven closed his eyes. Heat welled behind them, his vision trembling. For the first time that night, he felt utterly fragile.

“I promise…” he whispered, hoarse and shaking. “Tonight… tonight is the last day I scavenge weapons. I promise, Melly… I’ve wanted to stop for so long… I’m tired…”

And this time, his words weren’t a lie.

This time, he meant them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep