It mattered little what haunted her these days, for it were always the same things. Regrets of days long gone. Regrets and hurts that had never bothered her in all these long, long years. A lie, perhaps. At one time they had threatened to destroy her, but she'd managed to restrain them, reign in those feelings and channel them into becoming her strength.

Yes, she'd thought she'd gotten over them.

And now, she realised.

She had never been.

Not when that spark had reflected in the depths of Palkia's Spacial Rend. Those familiar voices whispering in her ear, coaxing her to believe again. To believe that the dead could stand beside her once more. Ever since, Kyrenai had heard his voice resonating in her head more than once. And every time the fear of it being truth had grasped her heart, squeezing it ever so slightly. And every time it squeezed, she felt the grip get tighter and tighter.

Had she skipped a few nights of sleep?

Had she forgone meals at times, and neglected her duties to escape her own thoughts?

Shamefully she admitted; yes.

The assassin had allowed herself to spiral into something that she had to fix before it was too late. Yet when the reports came in of PENELOPE LIVY having died during one of her expeditions, and having risen from the dead just as quickly, Kyrenai's greatest fear became a reality. It became her hope.

A flicker of doubt still danced in her eyes as she took her first steps through the portal leading into the Borders. Something -her heart, her guts, or something beyond, who was to say- had lured her back to the Borders. To make sure. To see if the voice that had whispered in her ear back at Mt. Pyre had truly been him. Deep down she knew, however, that if she'd be granted a single more chance to be with him, she'd walk the Borders forever.

Kagetora Shinada

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