Kaisler had always been a nobody.

His parents had died in an accident before he could remember, leaving him in the cold, faceless walls of an orphanage. The other kids came and went, but Kaisler remained the same—quiet, unnoticed, a shadow in the background.

The orphanage was a place of strange, oppressive silence. The old building creaked at night, the sound of pipes rattling in the walls and a wind that seemed to whisper through the cracks. The flickering lights never quite illuminated the entire hall, and it always felt like there was something watching him from the dark corners. But he never talked about it; no one cared enough to ask.

Then came Buddy.

Buddy had a way of standing out—his grin, his charisma. He was the opposite of Kaisler in every way. Where Kaisler was silent, Buddy spoke. Where Kaisler faded into the background, Buddy made sure everyone noticed him. The moment Buddy arrived, he changed everything. Suddenly, Kaisler had someone to talk to, someone who seemed to understand him in ways no one else did.

But nothing good lasts. And nothing ever goes as planned.

One night, after a long, tiring day, the orphanage had finally settled into an eerie quiet. The other kids were asleep in their beds, and the halls were empty. Kaisler, too, should've been in bed, but his mind raced. He couldn't sleep. He had always been like this—too restless for rest.

He stood in the kitchen, staring at the stove, his hands fidgeting with the burners. There was an odd hum in the air, a strange buzz, and for a moment, Kaisler felt the weight of the building’s silence press against him. He was supposed to turn off the stove before heading to bed, but his mind was elsewhere. Maybe he was thinking about Buddy. Maybe he was thinking about the way Buddy had pulled him out of the shadows. He didn't notice the burner still on, the gas slowly seeping into the room.

It wasn't until the faint smell of something burning reached his nose that he realized what he'd done.

Too late.

The fire sparked from the stove, spreading quickly through the old wood of the kitchen. The flames grew faster than Kaisler could react, tearing through the walls, licking at the ceiling, and reaching toward the bedrooms where the other kids slept.

Panic surged through Kaisler’s veins. His heart pounded in his chest, and his breath came in shallow, frantic gasps. He grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried to fight the flames, but it was useless. The fire consumed everything. The smoke choked the life out of him, making his eyes sting and his lungs burn.

In the chaos, Buddy appeared, rushing through the smoke, his face pale with fear. “Kaisler! What the hell happened?!” His voice was raw, filled with panic.

Kaisler didn’t answer. He couldn’t. The sight of the fire, the screams of the other kids as they tried to escape, it was all too much. His hands trembled as he tried to help, but there was nothing he could do. He was a nobody. Just a kid who had made a stupid mistake.

When the fire department arrived, it was too late. The building was in ruins, a smoldering wreck. Kaisler could only watch as they pulled the bodies of the other children from the ashes, faces unrecognizable, their lives taken by his carelessness. And Buddy?

Buddy stood by his side, silent, his usual bravado gone. His eyes were hollow, no longer filled with that spark of mischief. They were empty now.

“What have I done, Buddy?” Kaisler whispered, his voice broken. His whole world had shattered in an instant. The weight of the disaster was too much to bear. “I killed them… I killed them all…”

Buddy didn’t say anything for a long while. Then, finally, he put a hand on Kaisler’s shoulder. “It wasn’t just you, man,” Buddy said, his voice unusually soft. “We both know this place wasn’t gonna last forever. You didn’t make the fire happen on purpose. But now… we stick together.”

And so, from that night forward, they did. Buddy didn’t abandon him, even though Kaisler expected him to. They became inseparable, both of them carrying the burden of the past with them. The guilt. The loss.

Buddy never judged him. He never called him a killer, even though that’s what Kaisler felt like.

Instead, Buddy had a way of making it seem like there was still a chance. Like maybe, just maybe, they could turn things around.

But deep inside, Kaisler knew. He was a nobody. And now, all he had left was Buddy.

As they walked away from the ruins of the orphanage that night, the smoke still curling into the sky, Kaisler could hear a faint whisper in the wind. It sounded like the cries of the children, carried by the breeze.

He squeezed his eyes shut and kept walking. Because that was all he could do now.
Years passed, but the faces never left.

Every night, Kaisler would lie awake in the darkness, his mind playing the same horrifying scene over and over again. The screams. The frantic, burning faces of the children trapped in the fire, their eyes wide with terror, their mouths open as they begged for help. But he couldn't move. He couldn't save them.

Their faces—twisted in pain, their skin charred, their voices hoarse with desperation—haunted him endlessly. He could see them, even when he shut his eyes. Sometimes, he could almost hear their cries echoing in the corners of his mind, like they were still trapped, still reaching out for him.

"I should’ve done something," he whispered to himself in the dark. "I should’ve saved them."

But he hadn’t. He couldn’t.

And every time he closed his eyes, he saw them again. Burning. Screaming. Dying. Begging for help he could never give.

The orphanage had burned to the ground, but the faces, the guilt, the regret—they lingered, and Kaisler would never be free of them.


He thinks he wasn't strong enough yet not to face those fears but he had to and that he did

I should’ve helped. I could’ve saved them..." the young version of himself whispered, voice cracking, hands trembling as they reached out for someone, anyone.

Kaisler stood over him, his heart aching. He knew that pain, that terror. The guilt that gnawed at him, the self-blame. He wanted to reach out, to comfort him, to tell him everything would be okay. But he didn’t know how to fix the past, how to undo what had been done.

"It wasn’t your fault," he whispered, kneeling down beside his younger self.

The boy looked up, his tear-streaked face a mirror of the confusion and fear Kaisler felt all those years ago. "But I didn’t do anything! I was too scared... I let them die!"

Kaisler shook his head. "No, you didn’t. You were just a kid. You did what you could. You weren’t strong enough then. None of us were."

The younger Kaisler looked at him, eyes wide, trembling. "But I... I should’ve done something! Why didn’t I?"

Kaisler reached out, placing a hand on his younger self’s shoulder. "Because you weren’t ready. You weren’t strong enough to face it. But you will be."

The land around them seemed to shift, the empty sky turning darker, colder. The weight of the memories pressed down on Kaisler’s chest, but he refused to let them crush him. He knew now—he had to accept what had happened. What he could control.

"You didn’t kill them," he continued, his voice firm. "It wasn’t your fault. You were just a kid. The fire wasn’t something you could stop. You tried."

The younger boy’s sobs quieted, his breathing still ragged. Kaisler’s grip tightened on his shoulder, pulling him close. "You couldn’t stop it. But you’ll make sure it never happens again. You’ll face the fear. You’ll face the darkness. And you’ll grow stronger from it."

Kaisler stared at his younger self for a moment, the pain of the past still heavy in his chest. But it wasn’t the same. The guilt, the regret—it was still there, but it wasn’t crushing him.

He wasn’t the same boy anymore.

"I wasn’t strong enough then," he whispered. "But I am now. And I’m not running anymore."

The younger version of him looked up, eyes wide, a flicker of hope breaking through the pain. The land around them started to shift again, the coldness receding, the emptiness filling with the smallest bit of light. Kaisler stood, offering his hand to the broken boy.

"We don’t have to do this alone," he said softly.

The younger Kaisler reached out, taking his hand, and for the first time in a long time, the weight of the past didn’t feel so heavy. The faces still haunted him—he would never forget the screams, the faces begging for help. But now, he knew it wasn’t his fault. And that was the first step in letting go.

"We’re going to be okay," he said, standing tall.

And for the first time, he believed it.

Kaisler slowly stirred awake, his head pounding. He blinked and looked around, realizing something felt off. He was shirtless, his body covered in dried sweat, and beside him, Buddy lay with a wet towel draped over his own chest. The sound of Juno’s sobs reached his ears. His eyes followed the sound, landing on Krar’s lifeless body.

Buddy grinned, his voice thick with mockery.

Buddy: "Well, well. Look who’s finally awake. Took you long enough, dumbass."

Kaisler: "Can you not be a brat for once?"

Buddy’s smirk faded, replaced by a more serious expression.

Buddy: "You took down 2,500 of those reanimated corpses, man."

Kaisler: "Is that a good thing? Also, where the hell—"

Buddy: "For someone of your... stature? Yeah, it's impressive." He cut him off with a cocky chuckle. "And to finish your sentence, they reanimate when invaders trespass into their multiverse strand."

Kaisler: "Multiverse strand? Sounds like a headache." He rubbed his forehead, still trying to process everything. "And how do we cash in on this? Get our money or whatever?"

Buddy snorted, leaning back against the wall.

Buddy: "Calm the hell down, man. But..." He hesitated for a moment, his expression darkening. "Krar was—what was his name? Kray? Whatever. He's in indefinite suspension."

Kaisler: "Indefinite suspension?" He frowned, confused. "What the hell does that mean?"

Buddy’s tone shifted again, this time more serious.

Buddy: "It’s when your body burns through too much energy for the power you’ve got left. You exhaust your life force. The only way to survive that is to win... against yourself."

Kaisler: "Win against myself?" He cut him off, still trying to catch up. "What does that even mean? And what's this about a hollow?"

Buddy leaned forward, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Buddy: "I was getting to that. Your inner hollow... it’s the part of you that controls your power, your inner self. It’s the thing that makes you who you are."

Kaisler: "So that kid I saw—was that my hollow?"

Buddy: "Yeah. Your inner hollow. It’s part of you, but it’s also not." He leaned back again, his cocky pride surfacing. "And you’ve gotta face it if you want to stay alive."
Kaisler: "So this is bullshit."
Buddy smirked, clearly amused by the outburst.

Buddy: "Yep. Welcome to the party."

Kaisler: "Two things, dumbass." He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stay calm. "First, how’s Krar doing? Is he gonna make it, or is he totally fucked?"

Buddy’s smirk faded a little, but his tone remained cocky.

Buddy: "He’s in bad shape. But hey, not dead yet."

Kaisler: "Great, just what I needed to hear." He rolled his eyes, then narrowed them at Buddy. "And second, what about Sarah? You gonna cheat on her with Juno?" He let out a sarcastic laugh, knowing full well Buddy wouldn’t take that well.

Buddy’s eyes narrowed, his usual arrogance flickering beneath the surface.

Buddy: "What the hell kind of question is that?" His tone was still cocky, but there was a sharper edge to it.

Kaisler: "Just wondering, since you’re obviously too busy with your ‘other’ business to help me."

Buddy: "Sarah’s fine. And Juno’s... not my type, alright? You’re ridiculous." He shot a glare at Kaisler.

Kaisler: "Yeah, whatever. Just don’t come crying to me when she finds out you’ve been... playing around."

Buddy exhaled slowly, but his tone turned serious for a moment.

Buddy: "Look, I’m not a saint, alright? But I’m not gonna let you make this about me right now. You wanted answers, you got 'em."