What Was Left Behind

Chapter 24: The End of the World

Maia stood in the aftermath of the devastation, her chest heavy, her mind numb. Everything was still—unnaturally so. The machine had finally stopped, its once-deafening hum now reduced to silence. The creatures, including the body of her best friend, lay still on the cold floor, the glowing lights in their eyes extinguished. But none of that mattered now. The world around her might have gone quiet, but inside, Maia was falling apart.

She knelt beside Camilla's lifeless body, the weight of her grief crashing over her like a wave she couldn't escape. Her fingers gently brushed a strand of hair from Camilla's face, her tears falling onto her friend's cold skin. Camilla's expression was peaceful now, finally free from the torment that had consumed her. But for Maia, the peace was nowhere to be found.

Levi stood nearby, silent, giving Maia the space she needed. He had always been the steady one, the one who held her together when she couldn't do it herself. But even he knew that there were no words for this moment, no way to soften the pain she felt.

The loss was suffocating. Her best friend—the girl who had been with her through every twist, every secret, every moment of her life—was gone. Maia's heart ached, the memories of their childhood flashing through her mind like fragments of a dream, now too far to grasp. They had fought so hard to survive this nightmare together, only for Maia to lose Camilla in the end.

And the worst part was, it was Maia's hand that had taken her away.

The world felt broken, shattered beyond repair. How could she keep going? What was left for her now?

As Maia knelt there, her heart hollow, the words of a song her mother used to sing to her when she was young drifted into her mind. It was a song about love and loss, about the finality of a broken heart. The melody played in her head, soft but haunting, like a lullaby meant for the end of the world.

She whispered the words, her voice trembling with grief:

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know? It's the end of the world?
It ended when I lost your love...

The tears fell harder now, the lyrics breaking the dam that had been holding back her sorrow. She could barely breathe, the weight of it all too much to bear. The world around her had lost its meaning, its color. Everything had ended when she lost Camilla. It was the end of the world.

Levi knelt beside her, his hand resting on her back, his touch warm, but it couldn't reach the frozen, broken part of her heart. He didn't say anything—there was nothing to say. He just sat there with her, the silence between them filled with the echo of Maia's broken melody.

I wake up in the morning and I wonder...
Why everything's the same as it was?
I can't understand, no I can't understand...
Why life goes on the way it does.

The lyrics floated through her mind, her voice barely audible as she sang them, her breath catching on every word. How could the world continue turning when her heart had been ripped from her chest? How could everything go on when Camilla was gone?

Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know? It's the end of the world?
It ended when I lost your love...

Levi's grip on her shoulder tightened, as if he could hold her together through the song, through the unbearable loss. But Maia knew there was no fixing this, no bringing Camilla back. She had given everything, and it still hadn't been enough.

"I'm so sorry, Camilla," Maia whispered, her voice cracking as she looked down at her friend's still face. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."

The words felt hollow, but they were all she had left to give. She had fought with everything she had, and still, it had ended like this. Alone. Lost.

She could feel the emptiness stretching out in front of her, an endless void that threatened to swallow her whole. The world had stopped making sense. It had stopped turning. Nothing mattered anymore.

The silence stretched between them, the air thick with grief and finality. Maia's voice trembled once more as she sang the final verse, her words falling like shattered glass in the cold, dead air:

Don't they know? It's the end of the world?
It ended when I lost your love...

Her voice broke on the last word, and with it, Maia collapsed. The sobs wracked her body, violent and uncontrollable, as the grief overtook her, pulling her under like a dark tide. She had lost everything—her family, her past, and now, the one person who had always been there for her.

Levi held her as she cried, his own eyes misting with unshed tears. He had lost too, and though he remained strong for her, Maia knew that he felt the same weight. The same terrible end.

The song had said it all. This was the end of the world. And there was no coming back.