GARDEN OF ECHOES – LATER
Kabul and Abenator slowly rose to their feet, brushing the dust from their clothes. The Garden of Echoes pulsed faintly around them, its soft glow flickering as though it had witnessed everything—and remembered.
Kabul exhaled, glancing toward the distant path leading back to the castle. "Let's go home," he said quietly. "Father is probably looking for us."
Abenator gave a faint smile. "After you, brother."
They turned to leave.
But as Kabul took a step forward, something slipped from beneath his tunic—a silver chain catching the last shimmer of the garden's magical light.
The necklace.
Abenator stopped.
His smile faded.
Slowly, he stepped closer, his eyes fixed on the pendant.
Kabul noticed the shift immediately. He reached up instinctively, trying to tuck the necklace back beneath his clothing. "What?" he asked, unease creeping into his voice. "What's wrong?"
Abenator didn't answer right away.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low—tight, trembling beneath the surface.
"You made a promise… not long ago," he said. "About not keeping anything from me."
Kabul's chest tightened. "I—I know. And I haven't. Why are you suddenly—"
Abenator's hand shot forward.
He grabbed the pendant.
"How did this… end up around your neck?" he demanded, his voice cracking under the weight of something deeper than anger. "You know what this necklace means to me."
Before Kabul could respond, Abenator yanked it free.
Kabul flinched—not from the pull, but from the betrayal behind it.
"I didn't steal it," Kabul said quickly, his voice steady despite the hurt in his eyes. "If that's what you're implying. It… came to me because of something I did. A good deed. That's all."
But Abenator shook his head.
Fury and sorrow twisted together within him.
"I was foolish enough to let the first betrayal slide…" he said, his voice breaking. "But this—this I cannot overlook."
Kabul's breath caught. "Is that truly how you see me?" he asked quietly. "A thief? A liar?"
Abenator's composure shattered.
"How could you do this to me?" he demanded, his voice cracking open completely now. "You've always been the perfect one—the respected son… the treasured one."
His eyes filled with tears.
"And I'm always the treacherous one," he continued bitterly. "The one everyone mistrusts."
Kabul stepped forward. "That's not what I—"
"Don't," Abenator snapped, his voice rising sharply. "Say another word."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Kabul hesitated, then reached out—trying to hold onto something that was slipping away.
Abenator jerked his arm back as if the touch burned.
He turned his face aside, jaw clenched tight.
"Leave," he said, his voice trembling despite the force behind it.
Kabul's expression broke.
"Are you really going to let everything we've rebuilt…" he whispered, "…just crumble?"
Abenator's answer came quietly.
"I didn't want to," he admitted, the words laced with both guilt and anger. "But you forced my hand."
Kabul took one final step toward him—hope still flickering.
But Abenator stepped back again.
"LEAVE!" he shouted.
The Garden reacted.
Its glow flickered violently, shadows stretching as though the very roots of the place could feel the fracture between them.
Kabul stood frozen, his breath unsteady.
For a moment, it seemed like he might say something more.
Fight.
Stay.
Fix it.
But he didn't.
Slowly—
He turned away.
And walked.
Abenator remained where he stood.
Alone.
His gaze dropped to the necklace clenched tightly in his hand.
His grip tightened.
GARDEN OF ECHOES – LATE AFTERNOON
The light in the garden dimmed.
The once vibrant glow faded into something quieter… heavier.
Abenator sat alone on a moss-covered stone, the silence pressing in around him. The vines swayed gently, as if mourning alongside him.
In his hand—
The necklace.
His mother's.
Kabul's.
Now his again.
His shoulders trembled.
Tears fell freely.
And for the first time—
There was no anger left.
Only pain.