Tears stream silently down his cheeks. He tries to wipe them away. Drops fall and are quickly swallowed by the earth. It wasn't meant to be like this. It wasn't…
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Under the night sky, colour loses all meaning. Reds, greens, even blues. They all fade into obscurity and become indistinguishable…
"Nothing."
No light. No meaning. That's right – if they have no meaning, it shouldn't matter…
"Liar."
But he can't escape those eyes. They stare at him, their last moment of terror reflected wholly in those two spheres. All-seeing and all-knowing, even in death. The soul's long gone. What remains in that lifeless shell…?
"I'm not lying."
"Liar."
Hot tears of denial. He tightens his fists. How many more? How much longer? It's useless. What is there to gain? Lies. All lies. Is that the price? Cold, merciless, and unforgiving. Inhuman. Monsters.
"I'm not lying, damn it!"
"Then why are you crying, brother?"
He gazes at the stars. A pointless endeavour. There is nothing to be gleaned from them. A pinprick of light streaks across the sky.
"Ah! I see one!"
A childish dream. They're not real, they're empty – substitutes. Yet he still watches them. They are the only light in his world now.
"Make a wish…"
Dark liquid drips slowly from his hand, following his tears. Assassins cannot feel.
"The stars are falling…so many today…"
The corpse sways silently, suspended from a branch. Black shapes are strewn across the ground, unmoving. They blend into shadows on the ground – invisible, yet clear as day. If only it was day.
Because then he could see it – see the stained red for what it was. Now, it's nothing – another shade of black amongst many.
But he can see it anyway. And somehow, it seems darker. Even darker…than black.