One more time[edited]

Sera slid down to the cold, hard pavement, her legs finally giving out beneath her. The shock of the rough ground biting into her skin barely registered over the thunderous beat of her heart in her ears. Eyes closed, she forced herself to breathe, trying to calm her racing pulse, to find some sense of clarity amidst the chaos. The cool night breeze brushed against her face, a small comfort in the whirlwind of thoughts swirling through her mind.

I did it. I'm out. But now what?

Freedom, for now, but it felt hollow. She was free from the building, from the immediate threat of being caught, but where could she go? Home? Fuck, no. That place was probably already crawling with authorities, waiting to pin her down like a cornered animal. She had no options. No clear direction. No safety.

Her body slumped further against the pavement, exhaustion weighing her down like a lead blanket. Her head tilted back, and she stared up at the night sky. Trapped, she thought bitterly. The stars twinkled in the distance, indifferent to her plight. This world... this damn world, trapped by Talos.

Her eyes felt heavy. The fire that once burned in them, the spark of hope she used to have when she was with her family, had long since flickered out. Now they were dull, empty. She reached up, her arm extending toward the sky as if she could touch the stars, as if she could feel something—anything—but her fingers grasped only at the cold, empty air.

"I can't do this anymore," she whispered to herself. "What's the fucking point?" Her voice was hoarse, barely more than a murmur in the stillness of the night.

Everything hurt. Every sound was amplified in her head—footsteps, distant cars, the hum of the city's heartbeat. It all seemed too much, crashing down on her at once. The world felt like it was spinning out of control, and she was caught in the middle of it, utterly powerless.

As the camera zoomed in, drawing closer to her outstretched hand, then her face, it caught the sharp lines of fatigue etched into her skin. It paused on her eye—the one with the scar running just beneath it. The same scar that had been there for years, a constant reminder of battles fought, losses endured. A tear welled up in that eye, shimmering in the dim light before it slid down her cheek.

And then, in the quiet of the night, a single thought pierced through the chaos, unbidden. Zyra.

Her breath hitched. Zyra had always been the one to help her through everything, to cradle her when she got in trouble with her parents, to be the older sister she needed when the world got too heavy. She was gone now—disappeared a year before her parents' deaths—but for some reason, her memory clung to Sera's mind like a lifeline.

Another Tear, silent but steady, dripping onto the cold ground beneath her. She clenched her fists, frustration boiling up inside her chest. Why the fuck does it hurt so much?

Step. Step. Step.

The sound of footsteps broke through the haze of her thoughts. They were slow, deliberate, growing closer with every second. Sera didn't move. She didn't even flinch. There was no point. No one was coming to save her. No heartwarming scene with an umbrella shielding her from the cold wind, no comforting hand on her shoulder.

But then she heard it.

"Sera?"

The voice was soft, almost too soft to hear over the distant hum of the city. But it cut through the noise like a knife, sharp and unmistakable. She froze, her head snapping toward the sound, her body tense and still. For a moment, she didn't recognize the voice. Her mind was too clouded, too overwhelmed by the night's events to process it. But when her eyes met the figure standing before her, it all came crashing back.

Zyra.

Nineteen years. It had been nineteen fucking years since Zyra had disappeared, and yet here she was, standing in front of her like nothing had changed. The same face, the same expression—sharp, almost smug, like she always knew more than she let on. Even after all this time, she looked at Sera the same way, with that damnable knowing gaze.

Sera's body reacted before her brain could catch up. She stumbled forward, her legs shaky, barely able to support her weight. Her arms reached out, desperate, afraid that if she didn't move quickly enough, this moment would vanish like smoke. She was on the verge of collapse when Zyra closed the distance, pulling her into a tight, unyielding embrace.

The warmth of Zyra's arms was overwhelming. It broke something inside of her, something she had been holding together with sheer willpower for far too long. Sera let herself fall into the embrace, her body shaking as the weight of everything pressed down on her. The cold night, the blood on her hands, the deaths, the running—it all blurred into one messy, tangled knot of emotion, and she couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Sera..." Zyra's voice was firm, grounding. It was the only thing anchoring Sera to reality. "I'm here. I've got you."

Sera clutched at Zyra's coat, her fingers digging into the fabric as if she were afraid letting go would cause her world to crumble again. "Shit... FUCK!" Her voice cracked, the words spilling out in a rush. "WHY DID YOU COME NOW? WHY DID YOU FUCKING WAIT UNTIL NOW?" The frustration, the anger, the helplessness all poured out, raw and untamed.

"I'm here," Zyra repeated, her voice steady but filled with an emotion Sera hadn't heard in so long. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sera wanted to scream. She wanted to push Zyra away, to demand answers, to ask her why she had disappeared when she was needed the most. But all she could do was hold on tighter, her body trembling with the effort of keeping it all together.

"I thought I lost you," Zyra whispered, pulling back just enough to look Sera in the eyes. Her expression softened, the hard edges of her face giving way to something softer, something almost vulnerable. "It's been too long, Sera."

Sera couldn't take it anymore. She'd been holding it together for so long, refusing to break, refusing to let anyone see how deep the cracks ran. But now, with Zyra here, it was too much. The tears came, slow at first, then faster, until she couldn't stop them. They fell in silent streams, her body trembling with the force of it all.

Zyra didn't say anything. She just held her, her arms strong and steady, the only thing keeping Sera from falling apart completely.

And for the first time in years, Sera let herself be held.