Glass Heart Syndrome

Chapter 26

Eren's days resumed with the same iron-clad resolve, his nights with sleepless vigils. The faces that haunted him had settled into a kind of uneasy silence, leaving him with a cold, hollow sense of certainty that he welcomed, even if only as an illusion of peace. If guilt and regret had places within him, they were sealed in walls he dared not breach.

But tonight, the silence broke.

Eren stalked through the shadows of Ezura's underground, the hidden passageways and labyrinthine corridors that twisted beneath the city—a place few dared enter. Here, dark deals were made, alliances forged and broken, power and ruin exchanged in silence and whispers. It was the one place where Azrael's reach was more uncertain, where even the loyal turned mercenary for the right price.

In the dim light of a hidden alcove, he found the contact he'd been told to meet. An unassuming man, hunched, his face cloaked in shadows. His name was Rulak, a broker known for peddling information to the highest bidder. Eren didn't know much about him, only that Azrael had insisted he handle this mission alone.

"Eren Valen," Rulak murmured, his voice thick and oily. "Or should I say, Azrael's hound?"

Eren's gaze remained cold, unblinking. "If you have something to say, say it quickly."

Rulak grinned, a mouth of crooked teeth showing through the dim light. "I have what you're looking for, but I wonder—does a man like you even understand what it means to search for anything anymore? Or have you become nothing more than a blade?"

Eren held his gaze, feeling the stir of something—annoyance, or perhaps anger—but he forced it down, his voice calm and steady. "The only thing that matters is the information you promised."

Rulak's eyes glinted with interest, leaning closer. "You think you know who you are, Eren Valen. But trust me, even a blade can shatter under enough pressure. Azrael knows this. Perhaps better than anyone."

Eren's patience wore thin, his tone cutting. "Enough of your games. Tell me what you know, or I'll find another way to get it."

Rulak's smile faded, replaced by a look of something sharper, calculating. "Azrael has you on a tight leash. But remember, leashes can be severed. Bonds can break. And when that time comes, will you have anything left?"

Eren's fist tightened, but he kept his voice level, his mask firmly in place. "I'm not here for philosophy, Rulak. Just give me what you promised."

For a moment, Rulak held his gaze, as if searching for something hidden in the depths of Eren's eyes. Then, finally, he nodded, pulling out a small scroll from his cloak and holding it out to him.

"Take it, then," he said quietly. "But remember my words, Eren Valen. Shadows don't protect—they consume. And they don't care who you once were."

Eren snatched the scroll from his hand, turning away without another word. He left the alcove, feeling Rulak's gaze follow him until he vanished into the darkness. The warning was nothing but empty words, he told himself. Rulak was trying to get under his skin, to plant seeds of doubt where none belonged. Eren had made his choice long ago—he was done searching for answers or redemption. Power was the only thing that mattered now.

---

As he emerged from the underground and returned to the quiet streets above, the city was steeped in the first tendrils of dawn, a faint gray light illuminating the silent buildings. He moved through the narrow streets with a practiced ease, blending into the shadows, his mind focused on the task ahead.

But as he walked, he felt a flicker of something—a memory, unbidden and unwelcome. He remembered a time, not so long ago, when he'd walked these streets with a lighter heart, when he'd believed in things like purpose and hope. When he'd looked at the dawn as a promise, not a threat.

He forced the thought away, his resolve hardening. There was no room for weakness, no place for regret. He was stronger now, more ruthless, unburdened by the illusions of kindness and mercy. And yet, as the light grew around him, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was losing something—some piece of himself that he would never be able to reclaim.

He stopped, staring out over the city, his heart a cold, unyielding stone within him. He had made his choice. There was no turning back now.

As the sun rose over Ezura, Eren Valen disappeared into the shadows once more, leaving behind the faint echo of who he once had been.