It was at this moment that she realized two things.

The first was that he had loved her so incredibly, so dearly. A love that would last until his final breath.

The second, was that he was about to take that final breath. It was a warning... but also, something more.

He looked at her with desperate eyes. Not the eyes of a lover, trying to cling to life for the other. Not the eyes of friend, trying to warn her of dangers to come.

And with this thought, she came to her third realization - the worst of them all. In a horrible, twisted way that reflected the cruel world they had fallen into, she realized that he wasn't just making sure she knew she was loved.

It wasn't assurance.
It wasn't a warning.

He was asking her permission to die.

And as she looked at him, bound in a million links of chain, she wished with all her heart for any other way.

But no one here was listening to her heart.

"You know I loved you, right?"

"...Yes."

And then, he was gone.