Cilian reached for Ren’s face.

His hand was heavy against Ren’s cheek, his fingers leaving smears of dark red against Ren’s pale skin. The building groaned again, a deep, structural scream that signaled the floors below were finally giving way.

Dust and plaster rained down on them, coating their blood-stained clothes in a fine white powder.

"Ren Darling,"

"I said shut up!" Ren snapped, his voice cracking. "Save your strength."

He tried to hook his arms under Cilian’s armpits to drag him, but the effort sent a flare of agony through his own bandaged stomach. He gasped, collapsing back onto his knees next to the dying Alpha.

Cilian’s eyes were losing their focus, the gold-brown depths turning glassy. He fumbled with his right hand, reaching into his jacket pocket with a slow, clumsy motion. He pulled out a smaller, sleek black pistol and pressed it into Ren’s palm.

"There’s another gun in my pocket," Cilian wheezed, a thin line of blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. "You have to use it if you want to get out of here safely. You know... since you have to live, darling."

Ren stared at the silver weapon in his hand. It was heavy but empty. He looked from the gun back to Cilian’s face—to that persistent, maddening smile that refused to fade even as the man’s life leaked onto the floor.

The other gun in Cilian’s pocket was showing itself, but Ren could not bring himself to pick up the gun and run.

The smoke was thickening, swirling around them in heavy, suffocating ribbons. Ren’s heart was racing, a frantic drumming against his ribs that felt like it was trying to beat a path out of his chest.

He was terrified. The gun Cilian had pressed into his hand felt like lead, a cold reminder of a world that was currently collapsing into ash.

What if Cilian died? What would he do then? The silence of a life without the monster who had become his only mirror was a void Ren couldn’t fathom.

"Ren, babe, dear, darling..." Cilian called, his voice a ghost of its former strength.

He kept that fox-line grin on his lips even as blood rolled down his face and he could no longer see Ren’s face.

Even as blood spilled from his lips in a thin line. Even as he lay in the arms of his beloved, his body grew heavier by the second.

"Just... Stop talking," Ren hissed, his voice no louder than a whisper, choked by the smoke and the rising panic in his throat.

Cilian tried to laugh, but it came out short and faint, a wet sound that made Ren’s stomach turn.

"Ren, darling, I think..." He reached up, his instincts directing his hand to Ren’s cheek. He brushed it softly, smoothly, with a trembling touch that left a streak of dark red against Ren’s skin. "Today is a good day to die."

Ren’s grip on Cilian tightened, his fingers digging into the Alpha’s shoulders. He cried, but he made not a single sound, clenching his jaw so tightly it ached, desperate so Cilian wouldn’t know he was breaking.

"Shut up, Cilian."

The tears rolled down, hot and fast, and Cilian felt them against his palm. His heart broke, though he never let the smile fall. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Are you sad, Ren? Are you crying?" His voice was growing even weaker, his breath falling short. "Sorry, I cannot see your face, I just..."

"I said shut up," Ren barked at him, a flash of the old fire returning to his eyes. Cilian’s hand nearly fell, but Ren gripped it, keeping it pressed to his face as he bit his lip to keep from screaming.

This was what he had wanted. This was the ending he had prayed for every night for two years, but that was until he found out the truth. So, he couldn’t stop himself from grieving the man he had tried so hard to kill.

He hated Cilian. He hated him so damn much for the lies, for the blood, for the cages. But he also loved him. He loved him for burning the world for him. For making such a sacrifice to make himself hated.

But then why was he crying for him? Why could he not accept that the man was finally going to die?

"Ren," Cilian called, his breathing slowing down by the second. A loud, thundering explosion erupted nearby, sending a wave of heat and debris through the hallway.

But these two were stuck in their own world. They did not care about the chaos or the fire.

"Will you finally say it?" Cilian asked, his eyes glazed and fixed on a point somewhere above Ren’s head.

Ren looked at him through blurry, teary eyes. He knew what Cilian was asking for. It was the one and only thing he could do for him in this moment—the final surrender.

"I love you, you bastard. I love you so damn much."

"Heh," Cilian laughed, a soft, genuine sound, and then he smiled truly this time. "Thank you, Ren, and... Don’t cry anymore. You made me the..." he wheezed, his voice growing fainter. "Happiest Alpha in the universe. Thank you... my love."

The light left Cilian’s eyes as his head tilted back.

"You bastard, I’m not letting you off the hook just because you’re dead," Ren yelled, his body trembling as he gripped Cilian’s now lifeless body. The weight was unbearable, the silence of Cilian’s heart a deafening roar in Ren’s ears. "I’ll chase after you. I will definitely..."

He picked up the gun from Cilian’s pocket, the one Cilian asked him to take and protect himself with. And then, he pointed it at his head.

"You’re not escaping me that easily," he said, a crazy mask of pain and agony etched into his face. He bit his bottom lip, tasting his own blood, and looked at Cilian one last time.

Another explosion erupted around them, the ceiling finally beginning to give way.

"Wait for me. We’ll definitely be together... Even if it’s in death."

And with that, he pulled the trigger.

...

Ren Pierce and Cilian Vane.

These two destroyed each other before they could love each other properly.

The dreams...

The wishes...

The obsession...

The tragedy...

They left all of that behind in the ruins of the clinic. What was a world without the other, anyway? It was a meaningless life that Ren was not ready to live.

And thus, they both went to the one place they could finally be together... In death.

...

Meanwhile, somewhere else, very far from this chaos, a certain Omega jolted out of his sleep, grabbing his chest as he wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

The Alpha next to him, Harris, lifted his body.

"What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" He asked, and Kaelo turned to look at him, biting his lips.

Yes, he had a nightmare, but... he had no idea what it was. It just... tugged at his chest, and he knew something bad had happened.

He knew someone he knew had died.

He closed his eyes and sank into Harris’s cuddling arms until his heart beat stabilized before he muttered a little prayer.

"Rest in peace... friend."

THE END

But... The world did not exactly end in fire. It ended in a breath, and then it began again in a heartbeat.

​The morning sun was warm, filtering through the lush green leaves of the park trees. It was the kind of day that felt brand new—no shadows, no ghosts, no lingering scent of copper and smoke.

Ren adjusted the strap of his bag, feeling a strange lightness in his step. For the first time in his life, he didn’t feel like he was running away from something. He felt like he was walking toward a destination he hadn’t quite reached yet.

​He was crossing the plaza when the world seemed to tilt.

​A man was walking in the opposite direction, dressed in a simple, well-fitted black shirt. He moved with a grace that felt ancient and familiar.

As they brushed past each other, a jolt of pure electricity snapped between them. It wasn’t just a physical touch; it was a collision of souls.

​Ren stopped. His heart began to thud—that heavy, rhythmic beat he had felt in a thousand dreams he couldn’t remember.

​He turned.

​At the same moment, the man turned, too.

​They stood frozen in the middle of the sidewalk as the crowd flowed around them like a river around two stones. The man had eyes like honey and gold, sharp and knowing, yet filled with a sudden, overwhelming softness.

​He stepped closer, his gaze never leaving Ren’s face. He looked at Ren like a man seeing the sun for the first time after a lifetime in the dark.

​"I don’t know," the man said, his voice low and rich, vibrating in a way that made Ren’s skin tingle. "You tell me. Do I know you?"

​They both stood there for a long moment, the silence between them filled with a strange, magnetic warmth. It was a recognition that bypassed their minds and went straight to their blood.

They were meeting for the first time, yet it felt like they had loved, hated, and cried for centuries. The tragedy was gone, replaced by a pull that was impossible to resist.

​The man’s lips curved into a smile—not a fox’s grin, but something genuine and hopeful.

​"I know we’re just meeting," the man murmured, "but would you like to get coffee with me?"

​Ren’s breath hitched. A laugh bubbled up in his throat, light and clear, shaking off the last of the phantom weight on his shoulders. He looked at the man—really looked at him—and felt a peace he had never known.

​"I think you should’ve asked for my name first," Ren teased, his eyes bright.

​The man stepped even closer, the air between them humming with a familiar, possessive heat. He reached out as if to touch Ren’s cheek but stopped, his hand hovering with a newfound gentleness.

​"Don’t mind me," he said softly, his golden eyes locked on Ren’s. "I’m just trying to talk to you. I have a feeling if I let you walk away, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to find you again."

​Ren smiled, the last piece of the puzzle falling into place.

​"I’m Ren," he said.

​"Cilian," the man replied.

​The names felt right. They felt like a promise finally kept. They turned together, leaving the tragedies of a past life behind, and walked toward a coffee shop—ready, finally, to love each other properly.