...God, what is with my obsession with death?
87. Breaking stone
It's the first time he's seen it firsthand. It's surreal. No body, no blood, no trace.
Outwardly, he knows he's blank, and he should be something more. There should be emotion at this passing...but it doesn't feel like one. There's nothing to mourn, nothing to touch and feel the coldness and deadness of.
Someone just died in front of him.
Someone.
Not something.
Someone who cried, who pleaded, who desired and dreamt.
The Colonel has his hand over his eyes; Hawkeye is kneeling like a girl at prayers; Scar is still and silent like a statuesque monolith; and slowly settling between them is the black dust -
It whispers against Ed's cheek as it drifts downwards, and for a moment Ed thinks he can hear or feel an exhalation, a final breath. But the next moment he realizes it's only the breath he's been holding far too long, finally escaping.
There's nothing left of Envy. Just dust on the wind and the echo of the sound of breaking stone.