"Morvena…"
I whisper—
At the exact same time Felicia does.
The name leaves our lips, like a shared breath, like a prayer.
And in that single moment, I feel it.
The pain she hides behind all her laughter and blade-work.
The sorrow she tries to outrun.
The loss she pretends not to grieve.
It's there, beneath every smirk, behind every brutal swing of her sword.
Then, her voice cracks.
Just barely.
"But look…" she chokes, swallowing hard. Her hand rises, trembling just slightly, gesturing toward the world around us—
The broken towers.
The splintered walls.
The endless sea of blood and bone, of countless zombies and skeletons surrounding us…
"Look at this place!" she shouts loudly, then quiet down, choking with emotion. "In the end… I was still too weak."
A single tear falls down from her eyes.
The wind is cold.
The silence that follows is colder.
And for the first time, I see her—not just as a warrior, not as a cursed princess, not even as a teacher.
