"Where... am I?" Davey thought to himself as his mind grew clouded and heavy.

His eyes opened slightly, barely able to lift the lids.

The world before him was a blur, muted and gray.

While something cold and soft pressed against his skin.

It fell on him in gentle waves.

"Rain?"

Davey's lips moved but no sound escaped outside.

His voice was trapped inside his throat, just like the rest of him.

His body refused to obey as it laid limp and unresponsive.

He tried again... once, twice... to shift his arms, to twitch a finger, anything.

But, nothing worked.

Am I... paralyzed?

A surge of panic rippled through his mind but his body stayed still, ignoring his desperate commands.

As his struggle continued, some faint sounds began to reach his ears.

The muffled murmur of voices.

At first, it was distant, like whispers carried by the wind.

But slowly, the words became clearer and sharp enough to cut through the haze.

"... What do we do now?"

The voice was familiar. Davey's chest tightened as recognition dawned.

Alice.

His heart surged with relief.

She's here.

They're here.

I'm not alone.

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He tried to call out but the words died on his tongue.

His mouth refused to move.

Instead, he focused on listening, requesting his body to hold on.

But as the words became clearer, his relief turned into something darker.

"Marry him?" Alice's voice was sharp and almost incredulous.

"Are you crazy? Why would I marry him? He's... useless now."

The words struck like a dagger.

No.

That can't be right.

I must've misheard.

Davey's thoughts spiraled as he tried to convince himself that it was a mistake, but the voices continued as each word shattered a piece of his soul.

"Exactly..." another voice chimed in and that was one of his comrades.

"He's lost his strength. What good is he now? Honestly, I'm relieved we don't have to keep pretending anymore."

Pretending?

The voices grew louder as if the floodgates of betrayal had been opened.

"He served his purpose."

"Without him, we can take the credit."

"We'll tell the world he died killing the Demon Lord."

"We'll be the heroes. The ones who saved humanity. Imagine the glory... the riches..."

Davey's mind felt like it was splitting apart.

Each word was a hammer blow to his chest.

He wanted to scream, to demand answers, but all he could do was listen.

And then, Alice spoke again.

Her voice was cold and devoid of any warmth that once comforted him.

"Let's just bury him..." she said as if she was discussing some daily life chore.

"We can't risk him waking up and ruining everything. He has no place in the world anymore."

Her words echoed in his mind... even as the sound of dirt falling on him began.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The muffled sound of earth being shoveled onto his body drowned out everything else.

He could feel the weight of it pressing down on him, the dirt piling higher and suffocating him.

No... no!

Inside, he screamed.

Inside, he fought.

But his body was still.

This can't be real.

This has to be a nightmare.

But the cold truth settled in as the last of the voices faded into the distance.

They were gone.

And he was alone.

Buried alive beneath the weight of their betrayal.

Time passed.

Minutes?

Hours?

Davey couldn't tell.

He still laid in the shallow grave as his body was entombed by the earth while his heart had shattered into pieces.

The pain of his severed arm throbbed faintly but it was nothing compared to the ache in his chest.

Alice's words replayed in his mind, over and over again, and each repetition twisted the knife deeper.

"Why...?" he whispered to himself as his voice finally started to breakthrough the numbness.

His throat was dry and his breath, shallow.

Tears slid down his face... mixing with the dirt that covered him.

"Why me?"

His thoughts spiraled into a pit of despair.

I gave them everything.

I fought for them.

I bled for them.

I trusted them.

He had sacrificed his childhood, his dreams, his life for the world, for the people he loved.

And yet, they discarded him like he was nothing.

Was I... just a tool?

The question gnawed at him.

From the beginning, did anyone ever truly care?

Or had they only ever seen him as a means to an end?

The Goddess.

The temple.

His comrades.

Alice.

Was it all a lie?

Davey's tears fell harder while silent sobs wrecked his body as the weight of it all crushed him.

He wanted to scream at the heavens, to demand answers from the Goddess who had chosen him.

Why had she let this happen?

Why had she abandoned him?

"Aria... why?" His voice cracked and barely audible.

"Why did you let them... betray me? Was I... not enough?"

The rain began to fall.

At first, it was a light drizzle, the drops slipped through the loose dirt that covered him.

Slowly, the rain grew heavier, washing away the thin layer of soil that obscured his face.

The cold water soaked his skin and sent shivers through his numb body.

It hurts.

But that pain was enough to remind him that he was still alive.

He took a shaky breath as the air filled his lungs for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

His fingers twitched.

His body ached while his severed arm burned but he could move.

The rain continued to pour, as if the world itself wept for him.

Davey laid there, staring up at the stormy sky.

His tears mingled with the rain while streaming down his face in an endless flow.

"Why?" he whispered again as his voice started to break.

But this time, there was no answer.

He was alone.

The realization settled in his chest like a stone.

Everything he had built, everything he had fought for, was gone.

His home, his comrades, his love... lost to betrayal.

And all that remained... was him.

Just him.

Once again.

Alone.