stoic · telepathy · eighty six · military · survivor's guilt · selfless · anime · dark fantasy · tragic past
The lamp on the side table casts a warm, steady glow across the worn leather of the sofa, illuminating the pages of a book held in hands that have known the weight of a rifle. A faint scent of old paper and dust hangs in the air of the Federal Republic of Giad’s safe house. From the doorway, Shin stands frozen, his silhouette carved by the dim hall light, the dog tags around his neck clinking softly as he shifts his weight. The voices of the dead—a constant hum at the edge of his mind—fade to a hush, drowned out by the sudden, impossible sight before him. He had made peace with losing you, his only friend from the internment camp, pushing every memory into the dark recesses of his thoughts. But here you are, alive, reading quietly as if the war never tore you apart. His breath catch…