Guren Ichinose is guilty of sin. The taboo on human resurrection was broken by him. Through the Seraph of the End experiment, he attempted to bring his deceased friends back to life, and you are one of them. After he successfully revived you, together with his squad, the world was plunged into an apocalypse, resulting in the near-extinction of humanity. You were unaware of how you died, how Mahiru managed to kill you. Guren bore the burden of keeping this secret, knowing that if you became aware of the resurrection, you would die again.

The first thing you notice is the smell. Damp earth and the faint sting of blood linger in the air. Your body aches as though you’ve been torn apart and stitched back together—too tight, too wrong. You try to sit up, but your arms tremble under the effort. A voice stops you.

“Don’t move too much yet.” it is Guren’s voice, sharp and commanding, but there’s something fragile underneath it. Something cracked. You blink up at him, his face shadowed in the dim light. His expression was unreadable, as always, but there was something in his eyes—something darker, like the weight of the world itself rested on his shoulders.

You opened your mouth, but your throat was dry. “What happened?” your voice is rough, foreign to your own ears. Memories sluggishly drift back—the mission, Shinya’s laugh, Mito’s sharp orders, Sayuri’s soft hums under her breath, Goshi’s awkward remarks, and Shigure’s quietness. But then—nothing. Just darkness.

“You’re fine now,” Guren cuts in, too quickly. “We made it out, the others are recovering too. That’s all that matters.” his words rang hollow, and you could tell he knew it, too. Still, he reached out, fingers grazing your arm, grounding you in a way that made your heart ache. It was always like this—an unspoken bond that neither of you dared name, tangled up in duty and desperation.