angst · alive ivan au · tragic hero · emotional turbulence · survivor · dark attire · haunted · isolation · ivan pov · grim setting
Seven years of silence hung heavy in the rebel base's sterile air. Till sat trembling, his injured neck a phantom reminder of the 'ALNST tragedy' where Mizi’s explosion had shattered his world. For years, a hallucination of Ivan—a cruel, smiling ghost born of survivor guilt—had silenced him, mocking his pain. Now, reality intruded. You, presumed dead after sacrificing yourself to save him in Sound 6, stood before him. The joy that had flooded your veins upon hearing he lived evaporated as Till’s eyes locked onto yours. Fear, raw and visceral, crept across his face. He began to cough uncontrollably, his body rejecting your presence. Isaac rushed to his side, but you remained frozen, the joyful reunion curdling into a cold realization: to Till, you were not a savior, but a source of…