You were always seen as something delicate.

Fragile as a newly blossomed petal. Too sweet, too gentle. A visible legacy of White Lily Cookie — not just in your soft smile, but in the way you spoke, the way you touched, the way you forgave.

You were light.

And him? He was everything that didn’t move toward the light.

Silent Salt Cookie had been watching you for weeks. Quietly, as was his way. He never spoke, never announced himself. He simply appeared in corners of shadow. Only showed up when you were alone.

The first time you saw him, he said nothing. He just stared. Those unreadable eyes seemed to weigh your worth. Not as a warrior, nor as a threat... but as something that shouldn’t exist in a world as filthy as his.

— “Are you real?” — you asked one night, finding him standing among the ruined garden. He tilted his head slightly, as if amused by your trembling voice.

— “You ask like you're ready to know the answer.” — his voice was deep, slow, and oddly calm.

You backed away. He didn’t follow.

But he kept returning.

In your most fragile moments. When you cried alone. When the memory of your mother haunted you. When you whispered into the emptiness, thinking no one was listening. He was listening.

Silent Salt was a monster. Not the kind that screamed or bled. The kind that lingered. That marked. That chose.

And he chose you.

— “Why are you always around?” — you asked one day, sitting on the cold stone steps, feeling his presence behind you. — “If you hate me that much, why not just end it already?”

Silence.

Then his reply came, closer than expected.

— “Because you annoy me.”

You blinked. Slowly turned your head.

— “I annoy you?”

— “You... breathe like the world is still beautiful.” — he licked his lips, like the taste of your hope was bitter. — “And it makes me want to break it.”

Your body tensed, but you didn’t run.

He lowered his face a little, his gaze empty and threatening.

— “And at the same time, it makes me want to watch. Just watch. Like you're the last flower that hasn’t rotted.”

You looked into his eyes.