The Epic of the Discarded Son-Chapter 46: Sitting Under The Moonlight

He sat there, curled up into a ball, only feeling more miserable as time passed. Even reaching for Rei’s diary felt like too much—let alone reading it. He just wanted to stay like this—feeling the ache in his chest, letting it sit there, heavy and stubborn, because some stupid part of him believed he deserved it.

And the worst part? He didn’t even argue with himself about it.

"What’s the point of coming up here if you’re not even going to bother looking at the moon?"

He lifted his head, eyes drifting to the side. Nora. "What are you doing here?" His tone came out soft—like the words had to fight their way out of his throat.

"Came to check up on you." She hopped into his nest—a place not meant for two. "C’mon, scooch over."

And he did. They sat there, slightly uncomfortable, shoulders pressed together in a space that barely fit one person. But it was nice. The kind of nice he didn’t feel like he’d earned today.

She laid her head on his shoulder and stayed like that for a little longer than expected. He didn’t move. Like if he did—even a little—she might pull away. And he didn’t want that. He liked it this way.

"You okay?" she said softly, her head still on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I’m fine."

The lie came out smooth, but lying to her always tasted wrong.

The whole situation made him feel awkward—especially since all he’d been doing today was distancing himself from her. Not only that, but he’d been so blinded by his own foolish emotions that not once had he stopped to think about how Nora was feeling.

And beyond the distance, there was something else. Something deeper. Like part of himself had been quietly replaced with someone he didn’t recognize. He was losing himself—piece by piece, so slowly he almost didn’t notice.

And only when he was near Nora did it stop. Like she was the only thing keeping whatever was left of him from slipping away entirely.

She lifted her head—and slammed it back into his shoulder.

"I know when you’re lying, idiot."

That felt like a stab to the chest. He took a few breaths, steadying himself before the words spilled out.

"I feel out of place here. I mean—Ana and Darius, they’re nice. I’ve met them before. Your dad’s been giving me the death stare all day, which I somehow missed during dinner." He paused. "But even with all that... I don’t feel like I belong. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a dead man hiding behind a fake mask, but everyone here feels like they fit together. Like puzzle pieces. And I’m just... the one from a different box."

He paused for a moment, his voice dropping quieter. "Especially when I see you—"

Before he could finish, she slammed her head into his shoulder again, harder this time. "How do you think I felt when you suddenly disappeared?"

"I’m sorry that my loving father decided to toss me into a well full of snakes."

She slammed her head into him again—even harder—and this time it actually stung. "That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have said goodbye." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Shiro laughed softly. "Fine. Next time I’m about to die, I’ll say goodbye first."

After that, everything went quiet—like the world had frozen in place. They just sat there, her head resting against his shoulder, the silence settling around them like something warm and fragile.

And finally, Nora spoke up again.

"I thought you were upset at me... after I threw the ring aside."

His eyes drifted down to the ring in his hand. A soft smile crept across his face.

Nora continued. "I waited for you. Day after day. But I couldn’t find you." Her voice thinned. "My father told me you were dead. And from that day... my mother changed. She stopped talking to my father. Called him a monster. I didn’t understand why."

Shiro did. But he let her continue.

"She would say things—about exposing the truth. About making things right." Nora paused. The kind of pause where someone is deciding how much weight they can carry out loud. "And then one day... she was gone too. I woke up that morning and my father was just—holding me. I’d never seen him like that. All he kept saying was ’it’s my fault.’" Her voice cracked at the edges but held together. "So I never questioned him about my mom."

She slammed her head into his shoulder again—but this time Shiro caught it. He pressed her head gently against his shoulder and held it there. She didn’t fight it.

"I waited for you by the lake," she whispered. "But you never showed up."

"It’s not exactly easy coming back from the dead," he said quietly. "The voice in my head made me train nonstop. I rescued an egg. Killed five people who wanted it. Then fought a terrifying knight. Met a weird old man who spoke in riddles—"

"Oh, stop with the excuses." She said it with a small laugh—close to half joke, half something she actually meant. "If you wanted to, you could have come back earlier."

"Fine. Next time I’ll just climb out of the grave faster."

"Good."

And the silence stretched on a little longer before she continued.

"After losing you... and my mom... my whole world turned upside down. Everything felt black and white. Like someone had drained the color out of it and forgot to put it back." A pause. "All I wanted was to just go through life without any goal or purpose. Just... exist."

She shifted slightly against his shoulder.

"While training at the camp, I met Luca." The name landed on Shiro’s chest like a brick. "And he reminded me of you."

’What. We are nothing alike.’

"Really?" he muttered. The word barely survived the trip past his teeth.

"Yeah. Gentle. Happy-go-lucky. No matter how hard things got, he’d come out on top with a smile on his face." She paused. "That willpower—that refusal to stay down—that’s what made me like him. A small, stupid childhood crush."

Shiro wanted to say something. Anything. But nothing came. The words were right there, sitting in his throat, and every single one of them chose violence—pressing down instead of coming out, physically choking him from the inside.

"But once he got the title of captain... his whole personality just shifted. Like someone flipped a switch and the person I liked wasn’t really there anymore." She went quiet for a beat. "But the crush was still there. Stupid thing wouldn’t die. So one day I decided I was going to take a leap of faith—"

She lifted her head slightly.

"—but then I ran into a fool. Some idiot who told me, ’he has a specific type.’"

"Sorry?" Shiro muttered, genuinely unsure if that was the right answer.

It wasn’t.

Her fist drove into his ribs. Pain shot through him like a lightning bolt. "That hurts—"

"Oh, you deserve it for avoiding me all day."

"I wasn’t avoiding you. I just didn’t want to get in the way."

"Quit being a baby. We were all talking and enjoying the trip before we have to defend the island against beasts." Her voice carried an edge—the kind that dared him to argue back, but he wasn’t that stupid.

Then her tone softened. Like a candle settling after a gust of wind.

"Crushes are stupid. They fade. Every single one." She went quiet for a moment. "But there’s always that one person who doesn’t fade. No matter how hard you try. And that person is—"

Nothing.

Shiro turned his head.

She was asleep. Just like that. Mid-sentence. Head tilted against him, breathing slow and steady, like the conversation had used up whatever she had left.

And all he could do was smile. Soft. Quiet. The kind of smile he didn’t let anyone see.

As much as he wanted to stay like this, the air had gotten colder and the wind had picked up—rougher now, pressing against them with teeth. It wasn’t kind enough to let her stay out here.

So he picked her up. Carefully. Like she was made of something that would break if he breathed wrong.

On his way down, he noticed no one was at the helm. The ship was drifting on its own, rocking lazily with the current.

’Is this safe?’

He pushed the thought aside.

He carried Nora below deck and found a bed—someone’s bed, he didn’t know whose and didn’t care. No one was there. He set her down gently, pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, and stepped back.

When he stepped out of the room, Richard was coming down the hallway toward him. Sweating. Breathing heavy. Eyes slightly too wide for someone just taking a walk below deck.

Shiro passed him without a word. One step. Two.

Then he stopped.

"So, Richard." His voice came out casual. Almost friendly. "How’s that shoulder feeling?"

Richard’s eyes went wide.

Shiro was already turning—smooth, fast. The dagger materialized in his hand before Richard could blink, and by the time his mouth opened to speak, the blade was buried in his chest.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​