When the tir ticked to a stop, I had managed ten slashes.
Only ten. And even those were shallow—tears in his clothes, barely scratches.
"Well done," Kairos said, entirely unbothered. He brushed dust off his shoulder like the entire battle had been a warm-up stretch. His expression remained bright, genuinely impressed. "Your speed is improving."
I wanted to argue. To throw sothing at him. Maybe him, preferably.
But instead, I dropped back down onto the ground and sulked—my pride stinging harder than my muscles. I only managed to slash his clothes, and I was this close to my limit.
"I’ll rest here for a bit," I muttered.
"We should stop our training for today anyway. I have sothing to do," Kairos said as he brushed off his sleeves.
I gave him a small nod. "Thanks for being my sparring partner."
"No problem," he said as he closed the door.
I let myself fully collapse. My back hit the floor and I lay there, panting, feeling my heartbeat pulsing all the way to my fingertips. Sweat clung to my temples. My arms felt like jelly.
After a minute, I lifted my wrist and checked my smartwatch.
————————————
Ezekiel
: I got close to Whitney and Rex! They invited for a cup of coffee!
: Our sumr break just started!
: Did you know that I t Sword Master Cassiel? He said he would take in as his disciple!
: When are you visiting Eldoria?
: Remillia?
————————————
————————————
Cypher
: Remi, how are you doing?
: Have you been sleeping well?
: The others miss you, even if it’s just been a month.
: Rex and Christian have no one to annoy, so now they annoy Whitney and Angela instead.
: Ezekiel started hanging out with us. I guess Rex and Christian found a new toy to play with.
: I’m going to Brimstone Mountain to train this sumr break. I’m going with Angela and Edge.
————————————
There were also ssages from Rex, Christian, Edge, and Whitney, but I didn’t reply to any of them. I was afraid—terrified, really. I didn’t know if I would have to beco their enemies one day.
Frustrated, I pulled out my hip flask from my belt as I unscrewed the cap and drank the contents in one swift gulp, the burn of the liquor sliding down my throat like liquid fire, numbing the edges of my anxiety.
I didn’t even notice that Kairos had returned, watching from the doorway, his eyes fixed on with that unreadable intensity. He finally broke the silence after a long while. "Since when did you start drinking?"
Startled, I twisted around and saw him standing behind , arms crossed, staring down with those sharp eyes of his.
"What?" I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, the flask still warm from my grip.
"That," he pointed at my flask. "Since when did you start drinking?"
"Why? Am I the only one who drinks?" I shot back.
"Not really," he paused for a second before adding, "But... there was one person who used to drink like there’s no tomorrow."
"Oh?" I tilted my head.
’Used to drink.’ Right—despite listing all the Nightjars’ mbers, I didn’t know their history. My knowledge only went skin-deep.
"Was he a mber?" I asked.
"Is he a mber?" I asked, feigning casual interest.
"Forr," he replied but his eyes lingered on . "He said that it was a habit from before he got strong."
"I only drink liquor when I’m tired," I lied smoothly.
The truth was, ever since I’d tasted the liquor from Whitney’s place, sothing had awakened a dormant craving in .
Back in the real world, whenever I was stressed or frustrated, drinking liquor had been my way to ease my mind and to let keep writing.
Kairos studied for a mont, his expression unreadable. "You sure have many similarities," he murmured under his breath.
"What was that?" I asked, gazing up at him.
"Nothing." He straightened, brushing it off casually.
"...Right." I didn’t push. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
"By the way, why did you co back?" I asked instead.
"I left sothing here," he said casually, though his eyes lingered on longer than necessary. "Anyway, I’m going now."
"Ah. Yes—take care," I said, waving a hand lazily.
I continued mindlessly scrolling through the news feed when one headline suddenly pulled in.
————————————
Ex-Vice Leader Annabelle Finley stepping up to beco the new Guild Leader of Sovereign Legion?
————————————
I paused, my eyes fixed on the screen, the words sinking in slowly. My mind was racing—Cypher’s second term was about to end, and when it did, he’d be joining Sovereign Legion. That’s where he and Annabelle would officially et and beco a couple. I just hope that that part of the story won’t change anymore.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
August 28th
Even at night, Brimstone Mountain’s sky was lit up with countless stars scattered across the darkness.
And below that sky, tens of thousands of floating magic spheres drifted lazily around the mountain range, glowing soft blue and ember-red, painting the rocky terrain with the warmth of fireflies.
"Damn, that felt great...." Edge muttered to himself as he stepped outside after a nice hot bath, hair still damp and clinging to his forehead.
Habit kicked in, and he glanced at his wrist, but of course, no smartwatch works in this weird-ass place. He smacked his lips in frustration and started heading back to his room.
Out of habit, he glanced at his wrist—but of course, there was nothing. Smartwatches didn’t function here, not in a mana-saturated zone like Brimstone. He smacked his lips in annoyance and turned, ready to head back inside.
But then—pat.
Sothing soft and dusty fell onto his head.
Edge paused. "What the—?"
He ruffled his hair, and more ash-like flakes drifted down around his shoulders. "The hell is this?" He sniffed and imdiately recoiled. "Smoke?"
His irritation flared. Soone was above him and that soone apparently thought his head was an ashtray.
"You’ll regret this, motherfu—huh?" Edge’s irritation froze in place.
Up on the balcony of the n’s lodging, soone leaned against the railing. A silhouette frad by starlight and the drifting firefly-like spheres.
He had one hand resting casually on the railing, the other holding a cigarette between two fingers. Each exhale sent a thin trail of smoke curling into the sky.
And his eyes—narrow, half-lidded, and distant—were fixed upward, as if searching for sothing among the stars.
Caught off guard by this unexpected sight, Edge could only stare in confusion. Cypher looked so... different.Detached. Quiet. Older sohow.
Then Cypher flicked the ashes off his cigarette and that’s when their eyes t.
"What are you doing there?" Cypher said, voice calm, almost bored.
Edge snapped out of his daze and glared up at him. "I should be the one asking that! Can’t you watch where you fling those ashes? I just took a bath—and now I have to go again thanks to you."
"Oh. Sorry," Cypher said, with the sa energy as soone comnting on the weather.
"I’m not asking out of concern," Edge snapped, "but since when have you been smoking?"
"What? Oh, you don’t need to know that," Cypher said casually as he lit another cigarette.
Edge instinctively stepped back to avoid the ashes falling on him. "Can you stop smoking? You’re destroying the air."
Cypher smirked, teasing, but hollow around the edges. "Didn’t know you were an environntalist. Or do you just care for ?"
"Shut up. I’m still angry that you beat and Angela today. For the third ti," Edge grumbled.
And it was true. Today’s duel ended with Cypher completely crushing both him and Angela without breaking a sweat.
Suddenly, Angela appeared and approached him. "Hey, Edge! Let’s have a spar again tomorrow."
"Already? How are your wounds?" Edge asked, his gaze flicking to the small band-aid on her cheek.
"I’m fine," Angela replied, brushing it off. "besides, we still have to beat Cypher’s ass for defeating us today."
Edge chuckled and pointed upward. "He’s up there."
Angela glanced toward the balcony, spotting Cypher with his cigarette, the tip glowing faintly in the night. Her brows furrowed, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she called out, "Let’s have a fight again."
"You sure? ’Cause I will get rougher on you," Cypher shot back, challenging her.
Angela laughed sarcastically. "Didn’t know you went easy on today considering these wounds you gave !"
Edge’s eyes widened, and he looked up at Cypher with irritation. "Wait—does that an you got easy on too?!"
Cypher didn’t answer, letting silence hang in the air as if his nonresponse spoke louder than words.
"Why you—!" Edge started, but Angela cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"Training grounds. 6 A.M. sharp. I’ll be waiting for you there." Without another word, she spun on her heel and strode away.
"Hey, Angela—are you still sure about your ’revenge’?" Cypher called out, voice filled with provocation.
She halted mid‑step and slowly turned her head at him, her glare sharp enough to cut stone. "Don’t push my buttons."
Cypher exhaled a stream of smoke, unbothered. "See you tomorrow then."
"Yeah," Angela muttered, waving a hand dismissively before heading back toward the won’s lodge.
Cypher flicked the remaining ember off his cigarette and stepped back into his room without another glance.
But Edge... Edge stayed rooted in place.
He noticed sothing was off for weeks now. Every single ti, whenever Cypher and Angela started acting weird, arguing, competing, acting like they were in their own world... he was the first to fade into the background, clueless.
Just what were they even fighting for? Since when did they act like this?
And the person who always broke their fights, the one who always showed up, always smoothed things out, always pulled them back together...
She wasn’t here anymore.
Eventually, he let out a deep sigh. Feeling frustrated, he looked up at the sky. "Hey, witch... As much as I hate saying this, co back." He clenched his jaw, swallowing his frustration. "The others are in a ss because of you."
Reviews
All reviews (0)