***
{Inside the projection}
People of all manner of life would say one only dies once.
That might be true for most people.
Malik though?
He might've died more times than he took in a breath.
But this time...
This time, it felt final.
A proper death.
A proper end.
A "break."
He had died sometime between that last step and the fall.
Perhaps he was never going to fulfill his revenge.
His mantle might not have been as strong as it should've been.
Regrets upon regrets upon regrets... a life of nothing but tragedy.
And now... now that he had glimpsed upon happiness, upon a life not alone.
It was gone.
All of it was taken away.
The sandglass had eaten its fill.
Malik only had memories, only feelings.
He remembered the sand. How warm it felt on his cheek. How it sank beneath him like it knew he wasn't coming back, preparing a grave for him to sink in.
Then, nothing.
Not even the darkness that he was used to.
