For a long while, Talon stared at the pendant as tears kept trickling down his face. His eyes flashed with a myriad of emotions that he couldn't quite figure out himself.
The pendant in his hand was something that his mother wore around her neck. She had never taken it off no matter what so he knew how much she cherished it. The fact that she took it off and gave it to him was hard to bear.
The more he looked at it, the more nostalgia hit him. The memory of this picture being taken was still vivid in his head. He could hear the laughs of his parents as they held him in their arms. He could remember struggling to remain motionless for the cameraman to snap the pic so he ended up looking like he was throwing a tantrum.
Then, he slowly lifted the pendant and put it around his neck before letting it rest on his chest. He felt the cold metal brushing over his skin. Sitting there silently, he read through the letter again, making sure he memorized every single word said in it from start to finish.
Then, when he was done, he repeated the process again, and again, and again. The entire time, a stream of tears fell from his eyes and didn't stop. Even when he didn't cry loudly or have a visible breakdown, he was in the worst state he had ever been.
Time passed slowly and soon enough minutes turned into hours. Talon remained in the same position, reading that letter as the world grew darker around him. He didn't even bother to turn the lights on
Meanwhile, Acrypha watched her human with a gloomy look. She hated seeing him in such a state so much. Yet, she was powerless to change it. The great Acrypha, with all her strength and might, was unable to change anything. It messed with her head how useless she was at that moment.
'What can I do? I need to do something. If I leave him like this, he will only get worse.' She thought to herself.
It was clear that Talon was slowly getting depressed. His positive, lively aura was gone as if it was never there in the first place. His entire presence was gloomy and suffocating to be around even for her.
Wrecking her brain for any solution, Acrypha found no good ideas.
'Why can't I think of anything? He needs me and I don't know what I should do.' Clenching her teeth, she cursed inwardly.
For someone who had never been met with such a situation, Acrypha grew more and more frustrated the more she couldn't do anything.
Even more time passed and soon enough, it was already the middle of the night. The entire base was completely quiet as everyone went to sleep. Meanwhile, Talon was still awake staring at the letter silently.
Acrypha sat near him, watching over him silently. At some point, Talon's eyes moved away from the letter to the woman.
"Hey, Acrypha..." Wiping his wet face, he called her name.
The woman immediately looked up at him. "Are you ok? Do you want something to eat?" She asked worriedly.
"No..." He shook his head. "I just... wanted to thank you for staying here."
"... You don't need to thank me. I will always be here." She blinked as she replied with an obvious tone.
"... I..." Talon opened and closed his mouth like a fish unable to utter a single reply. Everything Acrypha said made sense.
Seeing that, the woman approached him and put her hands gently on his face. Her soft fingers caressed his cheeks gently as she stared deep into his eyes.
"It was never your fault, Talon. You have done everything within your ability to change things. Things didn't go as we wanted. But, that doesn't mean that you failed and I'm sure your mother would agree with me on that. She would be very proud of everything you've done so far as much as I'm proud of you."
As she spoke those words, Talon's eyes flickered with different lights. He was shocked and speechless, and he felt his heart resonating with her.
"You can cry, yell as much as you want. But, don't you ever say that you're going to give up." Then, Acrypha slowly rested her forehead against his.
"... I'm sorry, Acrypha... I... I was..."
"Shhh, it's fine." She opened her eyes as she stared deep into his. "I'm here... So, let it all out."
And just like that, as if her words were some kind of magical trigger, Talon felt the dam burst open. He couldn't even resist for a moment when that soft voice spoke to him.
Inside the dark room, two people held each other for a long while. Acrypha gently held Talon's head as she caressed him. She felt rather at ease knowing that Talon was finally letting everything he pent up out. It was still painful to hear him cry, but it didn't matter to her, as long as he could feel better.
Time passed before eventually, Talon succumbed to sleep. After exhausting himself mentally, he finally was able to drift off in Acrypha's embrace. For some reason, all of his pain was washed away the moment her warmth filled his senses.
Looking down at his face silently, Acrypha slowly ran her hand through his hair.
"I would never give up on you. Not when you're my last hope." She smiled warmly. "If I give up on you, I would lose my purpose. It would be the end of me."
Shaking her head, Acrypha sighed. Barely two months ago, she ended up in Talon's apartment. Everything was a coincidence that she never planned in the first place. She never would've expected that in the future, this same young man would become so important to her.
Not even for her own goals or the things she wanted to achieve. Living with him every day, she saw him laugh, cry, angry, frustrated, excited, and all kinds of other things. She learned about his strengths and weaknesses, his past and present, and even his future.
She had learned to enjoy his presence and soon enough, she started looking forward to when he would wake up in the morning. She enjoyed their pointless banter and weird jokes.
Even at his lowest point, she still wanted to be by his side. It didn't matter if he was crying his eyes out or laughing happily, she just wanted to be there to help him whenever he needed her.
That was Acrypha's purpose and something that she knew wouldn't change for a very long time. She was soul-bound to him.
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