Even Death Grew Tired of Killing Me-Chapter 44 - 39

I arrived home with nothing in my hands.

That was the first thing that felt strange.

No bag slung over my shoulder. No suitcase scraping the pavement behind me. Just my keys in my pocket, my phone, and the familiar weight of my belt resting against my waist, hiding everything else that mattered inside a space that did not exist.

The house looked the same.

Too clean and quiet. The porch light still flickered slightly before stabilizing, just like it always had. The wind chime by the door tapped once, then again, its sound thin and almost polite.

I stood there longer than I needed to.

This place had not changed.

I had.

The door unlocked easily. Inside, the air smelled faintly of detergent and something else I could not place. Maybe old wood. Maybe memory. I closed the door behind me and leaned my forehead against it for a second, just long enough to let the stillness settle.

I did not cry.

I thought I might, but the feeling never reached that point. Instead, something tight pressed against my chest and stayed there, quiet and heavy.

I moved through the house slowly.

The couch. The table. The framed photos on the wall. My parents smiling in moments that now felt staged by time itself. I touched nothing. I just looked.

After a while, hunger caught up to me. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

I made something simple. Something that barely required thought. I ate standing by the counter, staring at the blank wall, listening to the hum of the refrigerator.

When I finished, I washed the plate immediately, dried it, and put it away.

That night, I slept.

Not well. But I slept.

——

The next morning, I dressed in normal clothes.

Jeans and plain white shirt. Shoes I had worn a thousand times. Nothing that hinted at gods, deaths, or other worlds. When I stepped outside, the sky was gray in that way that meant it might rain later or might not.

The government building was exactly where it had always been.

Sleek and clean. All glass and metal. It bore the quiet insignia of the Ultima System near the entrance, not flashy, not hidden either. This was not a place meant to intimidate. It was a place meant to function.

Inside, everything ran smoothly.

I gave my name. My identification. I mentioned the emergency summons.

There was no surprise.

The staff member checked the system, nodded once, and asked me to wait. I did not wait long.

I was escorted through a series of corridors into a quieter section of the building. The walls here were thicker. The lighting softer. The air felt insulated from the rest of the city.

An officer met me there.

He was polite. Direct. Professional in a way that did not invite conversation but did not shut it down either.

"We need to ask you a few questions about your parents," he said. "Nothing accusatory. Just confirmation."

I nodded.

We sat across from each other in a small room with a transparent wall on one side. He asked about my parents’ routines. Their work. Their habits.

Then he asked about plans.

"Did they mention anything unusual before the incident?" he asked. "Trips. Meetings. Projects they were secretive about."

I thought carefully.

I searched my memory, not just casually, but deeply, the way I had learned to do since becoming an Archivist.

Nothing surfaced.

"No," I said honestly. "If there was something, they didn’t tell me."

He watched my face for a moment, then nodded.

"All right," he said. "Thank you for answering honestly."

I relaxed slightly. Then he stood.

"Please follow me."

I frowned. "Is there something else?"

"Yes," he said. "Something that concerns you directly."

We walked down another corridor. This one ended at a door with reinforced glass. Inside the room beyond it, I saw a couch. A small table. A young boy sitting cross-legged on the floor, completely absorbed in a handheld game console.

He was laughing softly to himself.

I stopped walking.

The officer noticed and waited, giving me time.

"Why is there a kid in here?" I asked curiously.

He looked at me. His expression did not change, but his tone softened.

"That," he said, "is the reason you were called back."

I stared through the glass again.

The boy had light blonde hair, cut short but uneven, like he did not care much about how it looked. His posture was relaxed. Comfortable. Confident in a way that had nothing to do with age. When he shifted, I noticed how naturally he moved, like he had always known exactly how much space his body occupied.

His eyes lifted briefly.

Deep sapphire blue.

They met mine through the glass. And he smiled.

Not shy. Not uncertain.

Warm. Familiar. Like he had been waiting.

My stomach dropped. The officer opened the door then.

"This," he said carefully, "is Kyren Finley."

I turned to him slowly. "You’re joking."

He shook his head. "Your parents completed the adoption process shortly before the incident. The paperwork was finalized but sealed due to the circumstances."

The words did not register all at once.

Adoption.

Brother.

Finley.

I stepped into the room without realizing I had moved.

Kyren stood up immediately, tucking the game into his pocket. He was taller than I expected. Broad-shouldered for his age. His grin widened when he saw me up close.

"So," he said brightly, "you’re Theo, my big dependable brother."

My mouth opened. Nothing came out.

He tilted his head, studying me openly, like he was taking notes.

"Wow," he continued. "You look better in person. What happened to your eyes?"

I finally found my voice, asking instead of answering. "Who are you?"

He laughed, not offended in the slightest. "I’m your brother I guess."

The officer cleared his throat. "We’ll give you some time."

He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Silence settled.

Kyren broke it immediately.

"They didn’t tell you, did they?" he asked.

"No," I said. "They didn’t."

He nodded like that confirmed something. "Yeah. Sounds like them."

I stared at him.

Everything about this felt wrong. Sudden, too convenient and too much.

And yet...

There was no fear in him. No uncertainty. Just curiosity and something else beneath it that I could not name.

"Why didn’t they tell me?" I asked.

Kyren shrugged. "They said they wanted it to be normal. Wanted to wait until things settled. Atleast after your graduation I think."

"They died," I said flatly.

His smile faded slightly. Not fully. Just enough. And he nodded.

I quickly shifted the direction of the conversation, thinking the topic was a little too new to linger on just yet. "How long have you known?"

"About you?" he asked. "Or about your parents?"

"About... this," I said, gesturing weakly.

Kyren considered the question. "Long enough. About a week at most. Yesterday they brought me here, telling me I need to be with my guardian already. My legal rightful guardian."

I sat down heavily on the couch.

My head hurt.

This was not how I expected today to go. Not even close.

Kyren moved and sat beside me, close but not invading my space. He smelled faintly of soap and something sharp and clean beneath it.

"I don’t bite," he said cheerfully. "Most of the time."

I huffed despite myself.

I looked at him again. Really looked.

He was not dainty. Not fragile. There was a rough energy to him, like he would rather be outside breaking things than sitting quietly. His presence filled the room without effort.

This kid was not ordinary.

And somehow, I knew that without knowing why.

Kyren swung his legs lightly where he sat, like he had nowhere else to be.

After a few seconds of silence, he glanced at me sideways and said it casually, almost lazily.

"So yeah. I’m staying with you now."

I blinked. "You... what?"

"With you," he repeated. "I’m going wherever you go, for someone so intelligent you catch a little to slow."

My brain stalled, filtering the insult he just said. "Kyren. You can’t just decide that."

He frowned. "Huh? How so?"

"Because," I said carefully, "I don’t even properly stay here anymore. I’m not settled. I move around."

"That’s fine," he said.

"No, it’s not," I replied.

Kyren tilted his head, studying my face. Then he smiled, slow and knowing.

"Oh. That."

My stomach tightened. "What do you mean, that?"

"Of course I know," he said. "They told me."

"...Who," I asked.

"The people handling me," Kyren said. "The agency. The System-side people."

That made more sense. And somehow, it didn’t make me feel any better.

"They explained that you choose to be a crosser," he continued. "So basically you stay for long time in Aetherfall realm."

I opened my mouth. Closed it. I rubbed my face with both hands. "Kyren, listen. You can’t just go to Aetherfall. You need to be an initiate first. There are rules."

"Okay."

"And you need to study," I added. "School. Those kind of things. You’re still a kid afterall ."

"I don’t like studying," he said. "And you can’t force me."

"That’s not..."

"And if I stay here to study," he went on, calm and precise, "that means you’ll have to stay too, right? They won’t allow you to leave me unattended."

The words landed too cleanly.

I froze, because everything he said was correct.

He looked at me steadily.

"You don’t want that," he said. Not accusing. Just stating a fact.

He was right. I didn’t.

Kyren watched the realization cross my face and smiled.

"See," he said. "Easy."

"Even if I wanted to take you with me," I said, quieter now, "it wouldn’t be simple. I’m barely a full time wayfarer."

"You’re already past being normal," he replied. "I’m sure it’ll be fine if I go with you."

"That’s not how it works."

"Sure it is," he said. "Especially since you don’t have to worry about me."

I frowned. "What does that mean."

Kyren’s grin widened. He lifted his hand and flicked his wrist.

A translucent panel bloomed between us.

My breath caught.

Status Interface

Name: Kyren Finley

Race: Human

Status: Dependent of Theo Finley ( Brother)

Strength: 48

Vitality: 76

Agility: 46

Dexterity: 56

Intelligence: 34

Luck: 75

I stared. Checked again.

Then stared some more.

"That’s... insane," I said.

Kyren beamed. "Thanks."

"You’re twelve."

"Almost thirteen."

"That doesn’t help."

I looked up sharply. "Why aren’t you flagged."

"Flagged?"

"By them," I said. "The agency. The System handlers."

Kyren shrugged. "Because they don’t see all of it."

My chest tightened. "You’re hiding your full attributes? How?"

"Yep," he said. "They only see about a third."

"... and you’re letting me see the rest," I said slowly.

"Uh-huh."

"Why?"

He looked at me, expression turning unexpectedly serious.

"Because you’re my guardian now," he said. "And because I decided you should know."

That answer sat heavier than it should have.

Before I could push further, Kyren glanced toward the door.

"Hey," he said lightly, "we should leave."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because this place listens," he replied. "And this isn’t a great place for personal conversations."

I suddenly became very aware of the glass walls. The systems. The quiet hum in the air.

"...You’re right," I said upon realization.

The rest happened quickly after that.

Forms. Approvals. Guardian transfer. Digital confirmations layered with System authority.

By the time it was done, Kyren was officially under my care.

He slipped his hands into his pockets, satisfied.

"See," he said. "Easy."

I looked down at him, still trying to process what I had just agreed to.

"You’re trouble," I said.

He grinned, bright and unapologetic.

"You have no idea."

And as we stepped out together, I knew one thing for certain.

Whatever Kyren Finley really was, bringing him to Aetherfall was not going to be a small decision.