The Invisible String Theory

Chapter 9 - Not Yet

(Red Wine - kxstutz & HAUNTED Isabel LaRosa)

I blinked hard. The world came into focus in pieces. The sky, jagged and cracked with fading streaks of gold and violet. Dust curling in the air like smoke. And him.

Loki.

His mask was gone. No sarcasm. No cleverness. Just ruin.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered hoarsely, voice rasped like it had been dragged through fire. "I saw you– gods, I saw you–"

"I.." I swallowed, unsure whether the sting in my throat was from pain or the sudden swell of emotion threatening to spill. "You didn't have to–"

"Yes, I did!" His voice surged and broke, the tether between us vibrating faintly, too faint, like a memory instead of something living. "Because I couldn't bear the thought that I would feel nothing."

I stared at him. At the way his hands still trembled despite the power crackling under his skin. He hadn't poured his magic into me. He'd simply held on. And somehow... that was enough.

"You said it wasn't your choice to make," he said, voice gentler now, like he was scared the words would push me away. "But neither was it mine to stand by while you burned."

I looked down at the relic in my hand, fingers curling protectively around it. "You didn't have a right to decide for me."

"I know."

Silence.

The Hollow's illusion still flickered faintly behind him, Its claws now trapped in looping shadows– ensnared by the magic Loki had cast in his panic. The chaos had quieted, but my body still remembered the pain. And his arms... they still hadn't let me go.

His thumb brushed over the back of my knuckles, tentative. "You asked me once what I felt. I was too much a coward to say it then. I thought if I told you– if I let it in– it would unravel me."

His voice dropped to something barely spoken. "But the truth is, you already did."

I stared at him, stunned by the quiet confession. There was no grandeur in it, no flourish. Just rawness. Just Loki.

"You don't get to keep saying things like that and expect it to fix what's been broken."

He flinched, but nodded. "I don't. But I will still say them anyway. Because if this is the last time I have you... I need you to know."

"We don't know what comes next," I whispered.

Before he could reply, the Hollow thrashed inside the illusion again– barely restrained, a shadowed storm pressing the seams of a crumbling veil.

I slowly ripped myself away from Loki's arms and finally got up. I needed to face this thing once and for all. After a couple strides forward, I found myself just outside its reach. My heart pounding, soul alight with a knowing that tightened my chest.

From behind, Loki took a step forward, almost against his will.
"You don't have to do this alone Miravyn," he said quietly, his voice still rough and tight.

I turned to him, eyes soft with sadness and strength all at once. "I know," I replied "But this way... it ends."

I walked toward him one last time, just close enough to reach for his hand.

He took it like it was the last thing keeping him whole.

I leaned up slightly, my forehead brushing his.
"If I go in– if something happens–"

"I'll wait." The words tore out of him before I could finish. "For as long as it takes."

I smiled, small and bittersweet. "Then I'll find my way back."