The life of Shadow Blade Kurt ended right then and there; the incredibly skilled, decrepit awakened had lived a life more dangerous than most and had come out on every occasion stronger and more deluded.
But with a simple pull of a trigger from an inexperienced sleeper, he was dead.
A normal bullet would be unable to kill him, and a mundane weapon might be able to damage and pierce his skin, but the skull of an awakened could not be broken easily. Dawn's [Memorised] Pistol attained the beyond mundane and became dormant.
So, the terror that had sought after her death met his ends; Dawn stood frozen, her chest heaving. Her wide eyes refused to blink. The shock was only just beginning to set in.
[You have slain Awakened Human: Kurt]
[You have received a memory!]
Jet arrived a moment later, the chill wind shrieking in her wake. Her figure blurred to a halt beside them, eyes scanning the street.
The group stood in silence, still watching the corpse. Kade, panting, dropped Kurt's limp body — then nudged it with his boot.
"Disturbance is dead, all clear," Jet whispered into her ear, peace.
Minutes later, first aid arrived. Medics rushed to treat Leo's wounds and check Kade's battered frame. Dawn said nothing. She sat alone on the seat of the APC, knees drawn in, fingers tight around the cold metal edge.
The image of Kurt's face, frozen in that final moment, the hole in his skull, and the way his blood pooled. It wouldn't leave her.
I shouldn't feel guilty. He was a monster. He was going to kill us. It's no different from slaying a nightmare creature.
But that logic felt… hollow.
A sharp sting bloomed across her forearm. She looked down — a shallow cut had appeared.
Then another. Her flaw had revealed itself. Her trauma engraved itself into her flesh.
Each scratch burnt deeper as her thoughts spiralled.
But she kept breathing. One steady inhale. One trembling exhale.
'I saved them, she reminded herself. I saved Kade's life. I did what had to be done.'
Slowly, the scratches stopped forming.
Her body still hurt. Her heart still raced. But she was back in control.
She had not done something evil; she had done what no one else could. And for once, she felt… useful.
Kade returned from the paramedics' harassment, their voices still echoing faintly in his ears. They'd asked him over and over if he felt any pain, any damage they should be aware of. All he could answer was "No", of course, since his mind was still overdriven to function despite his damaged shadow.
So right now, he couldn't feel much of anything. Right now, all he could do was wait until Jet had talked with the other officers and relayed the situation. She had gotten some idea of what had happened with Kade and Dawn but needed to clear some things up before she could take them to rest at the nearby station.
He used to chase distractions like that. Curiosity, trouble, noise — it was easier than thinking. Especially back when he thought he wouldn't live long enough to regret any of it.
But now… he had a future.
A life.
And maybe it was time to care about what actually mattered, so instead of wandering, he turned toward the APC.
Toward her.
'Dawn…'
He wasn't good at emotions. He knew that. Trying to soothe others was something he was truly inexperienced in, but even so.
He wanted to make sure she was okay.
Even after everything, after all the pain and hatred, even after wanting it for so long… it still felt horrible to end it with his own hand.
It had haunted him for a long time.
Life in the Outskirts had been brutal enough, but that first kill was different. It was personal. Real. And it left a scar that didn't heal with time, only dulled by survival.
He had struggled to move past it. And eventually, he did. But it came at a cost.
He didn't want Dawn to go through that. Not alone.
Letting her bear that weight, the same weight he once carried, felt wrong.
He didn't know exactly what words to say, but he wanted to try his best.
Arriving at the side door of the APC, Kade saw Dawn hunched forward, absentmindedly gazing into the starless night.
Her golden locks shifted gently in the breeze, catching what little light remained — a delicate contrast against the steel and ash around them. Dawn's legs dangled from the edge of the carrier, her posture quiet, distant, not managing to pick up Kade's presence.
He quietly walked forward and sat on the seat beside her. The faint creak of the leather cushioning brought Dawn back to reality, her hazel-green eyes turning to meet Kade's.
An awkward silence settled between them — the kind that begged to be filled, but neither knew how.
"..."
"..."
Kade struggled. The endless stream of words he usually had, the quips, the cocky remarks, the nonsense he could string together just to break the tension – it had all dried up.
So, he went with honesty.
"I'm glad you're okay. I was worried that if I failed to hold Kurt back, he'd hurt you," he said, scratching the side of his ragged hair, eyes flicking away from hers.
Dawn nodded. The memory of that moment still twisted in her chest — chaotic, raw — but something about his words softened it. His presence helped; she felt safer than she had ever in recent times.
"I'm fine," she said quietly. "It's just… a lot's happened. And it's hard to come to terms with all of it."
Her voice carried a gentler note than usual — stripped of control, of pride. The vulnerability made something in Kade shift. He wasn't used to seeing her like this, and the truth of it… unnerved him a little.
"Well, if you need anything, I'll be here," Kade offered before slightly chuckling. "After all, I think we're stuck together nomatter what after this whole ordeal."
Dawn took in the words, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "I guess."
A yawn slipped through before she could say more, her tired eyes barely able to stay open.
They met Kade's — hazel-green and heavy-lidded — just before her body began to slump. The exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she let herself drift, leaning gently into his side.
Feeling some of her weight resting against him, Kade sat there in quiet astonishment. He hadn't expected this — not at all — and now he couldn't move, stranded in place with her soft breaths brushing against his chest.
'...'
The whole ordeal reminded him of when they first met.
Back then, she'd fought to stay awake, to stay alert. Now, she welcomed the drowsiness, letting herself drift, free to dream in peace. That difference struck him.
Kade couldn't quite understand it. He'd never had someone who trusted him — not like this.
And yet here she was. He felt it, an overwhelming amount of trust radiating from her, more than he knew what to do with. It unsettled him… And yet it brought with it a fragile warmth, something he'd never really known before.
It was all so confusing. So, he chose not to think — not too much, anyway — and instead joined the Dawn of the Past in quietly watching the night sky.
'I'm really out of my depth on this one...'
He wasn't sure of much. But he did know one thing:
He would do everything in his power not to betray the trust she had given him.
------
Jet watched the two from a distance, an amused grin touching her lips. She had been concerned about the aftermath — the trauma that always followed events like this. She didn't want to see yet another Awakened broken by the violence that came with the life.
But Dawn's peaceful expression, resting against Kade, warmed her otherwise cold, still heart.
At the end of the day, humans learnt to face hardship with the help of others — and those two sleepers had already found an anchor in each other, something to hold onto amid the chaos.
Kurt had been a menace, a dangerous one. But despite everything that had happened, Jet was glad she hadn't needed to deliver the finishing blow herself. Better, perhaps, that someone else had done it. After all, it was better to get used to killing earlier than later.
She knew that best.
Finishing her duties at the scene, Jet and her driver quietly departed with the duo.
Their vehicle drifted away from the outskirts, slipping into the shadows of the true inner city — and toward the police station.