Cole watched as Kai stood across from him, his once-familiar figure shrouded in shadows, a faint smirk tugging at his lips, though his eyes held none of the warmth Cole remembered. It was like facing a stranger with the face of someone he used to know.

“Is this really who you are now?” Cole asked, voice thick, trying to keep his tone steady even as his heart felt like it was breaking.

Kai’s smirk faltered, just for a moment, and Cole thought he saw something—remorse, maybe, or just a glimmer of recognition—but it quickly disappeared, replaced by the hardened look of someone who’d long since given in to the darkness.

“If you think you can change me, you’re wasting your time, Cole,” Kai replied, his voice low, almost cold.

Cole swallowed, forcing himself to keep going. “I’m not here to change you. I’m here to remind you of who you were—who we were.”

For a long, tense moment, neither of them moved, silence stretching between them, thick with memories and words unsaid. And in that silence, Cole held onto hope that maybe, just maybe, he could still reach the person he loved buried somewhere beneath that darkness.