I Killed The Main Characters

Chapter 102: Burden [3]

The moonlight glinted off the glass of the pocket watch as he closed it gently, slipping it back into his pocket.

His gaze lingered on the night sky, the stars barely visible through the clouds.

He pressed his hand against the cold glass of the window, his heart heavy with the weight of time and loss.

"It's only a matter of time now, my love," Jacob murmured quietly, his breath fogging the window slightly as he spoke.

"Wait for me…"

He let the silence hang in the air for a moment, then turned away from the window, his expression once again calm, composed.

But inside, the storm of memories continued to rage, and the clock kept ticking.

***

Outside the Constellation Church, the sun had just begun to set, casting a warm glow over the stone steps leading up to the grand structure.

The church itself stood tall, its spire reaching towards the sky as if trying to touch the stars themselves.

Vines of ivy curled around the edges of the stone walls, and the stained-glass windows gleamed faintly in the fading light.

Inside, the atmosphere was quiet and reverent.

The air carried the faint scent of incense, and the gentle flickering of candlelight bathed the room in a soft, ethereal glow.

Three large stained-glass windows dominated the far wall, each one made of intricately shaped pieces of glass in a myriad of colors.

They came together to depict the three constellations that granted blessings—the Constellation of the Sword, the Constellation of Elements, and the Constellation of Technique.

At the altar, a figure knelt, head bowed.

Ariana Snow.

Her long blonde hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, and her pale blue eyes were fixed on the ground in solemn prayer.

Her voice was quiet but steady as she spoke, the ancient language of the old prayers falling softly from her lips.

"Almighty stars, grant me strength, I beseech thee."

Her hands were clasped tightly together in her lap, fingers woven in a silent plea.

"Shower thy blessings upon thy humble servant."

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she closed her eyes, her breath shallow as she prayed for guidance.

"Guide me, O celestial beings, for I am lost without thy light."

There was a stillness in the room, a silence that felt both comforting and oppressive. Ariana paused in her prayer, her thoughts drifting, unbidden, to him.

The boy with black hair and golden eyes.

His eyes always seemed to glow, bright and sharp, whenever he looked her way.

A small blush crept up her cheeks, and she pressed her palms against her face, trying to compose herself.

"Foolish," she whispered to herself, pushing her cheeks together as if the pressure could somehow shake away the thoughts.

But as quickly as the warmth spread across her face, it faded into something more serious, something that tugged at her heart.

She lifted her gaze to the stained-glass windows before her, the vibrant colors of the gods depicted in their celestial forms.

"Why doesn't he notice me?" she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

The question hung in the air, a painful thought that gnawed at her soul.

Was there something she was missing? Some formula, some secret she had yet to discover?

Her chest tightened as the frustration welled up inside of her. It wasn't supposed to feel this way.

She tried so hard. She prayed, she hoped, she waited.

But it was never enough.

Her mind flashed to the day she had seen him with Maya.

The way her heart had dropped, as if the ground had been pulled out from under her feet.

She could barely breathe.

Ariana clenched her fists, pressing them against her lap as if to steady herself, to force back the tears threatening to spill.

"Why does it hurt so much?" she asked herself, but no answer came.

She pushed her cheeks together again, a nervous habit she had picked up when she was younger, trying to stifle the emotion rising in her throat.

If Livia were here...

Her late friend's face appeared in her mind, kind and warm, always ready to scold her whenever she felt this way.

"Livia would hit me right now," Ariana muttered, shaking her head with a small, bitter smile.

"She'd tell me not to be sad. She'd tell me to do better."

But it was impossible.

It felt impossible to stop the sadness from creeping in.

Her thoughts circled back to him—the boy with golden eyes.

It wasn't just his eyes or the way he carried himself that had drawn her to him. No, it was more than that.

It was the way he listened, truly listened, when others spoke.

The way he stood tall in the face of danger, never backing down.

It was the quiet strength he held, the sense of responsibility that weighed on his shoulders yet never broke him.

Every time she saw him, it was like he was slipping further and further from her grasp.

Even if they weren't together, it felt like he was moving away, slowly but surely.

And it hurt.

Love, she thought, should be simpler. Shouldn't it?

But the more she thought about it, the more tangled the idea of love became in her mind.

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Was it this desperate yearning? This constant ache in her chest?

Or was it something darker? A desire to possess, to hold on to something—or someone—that might never be hers?

The thought terrified her.

Ariana's fingers trembled as she looked up again, her eyes fixated on the mural of the gods.

"I don't want to feel like this anymore," she whispered.

Her voice wavered, but there was a strength behind it, a resolve that hadn't been there before.

The gods remained silent, their celestial forms unmoved, yet their presence felt overwhelming in the small, sacred space.

Ariana swallowed hard, her lips trembling as she forced herself to ask the one thing she hadn't yet dared.

"Please," she whispered, "bring him my way."

It wasn't a demand, not a selfish plea, but a quiet, desperate prayer.

Tears welled in her eyes as she stared up at the constellations, her heart heavy with hope and fear.

She didn't know if they would answer her.

She didn't know if her words would be heard.

But in that moment, in the quiet loneliness of the church, all she could do was pray.