They ended up sitting on the floor, leaning against the sa wall of the café. There were at least ten feet between them.
The café remained dim, lit only by the yellowish light filtering in from the street through the window. The elongated shadows of the stacked tables created a strange, almost intimate atmosphere.
Fatigue hung heavy in the air.
Thomas rested his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging loosely between them. He stared at the floor. Selene, on the other side, kept her back straight against the wall, one leg stretched out and the other bent.
For a while, neither of them spoke. The adrenaline had faded. The Abyss felt like a distant dream. All that remained was exhaustion.
Selene broke the silence.
"What school do you go to?"
Thomas looked up, confused.
"Huh?"
"Don’t make that face," she said dismissively. "Everyone studies sothing—or pretends to."
Thomas hesitated for a second.
"I don’t go to school."
Selene tilted her head slightly toward him.
"You dropped out?"
"Yeah."
"Did you get expelled?"
"No... I had to work."
Selene fell silent for a mont.
"For your sister?"
Thomas nodded.
"She’s young. I couldn’t leave her alone."
Selene shifted her gaze to the dark ceiling.
"Your parents aren’t around?"
Thomas inhaled, uncomfortable. He shifted slightly before answering, lacing his fingers together.
"No... not anymore. My father passed away from complications related to scoliosis five years ago, and my mother just got tired and left us. She was always unstable. In a way, it was almost a relief when she left—but she left with all her debts. I’ve spent the past year trying to pay them off little by little."
Selene looked at him from the side. She couldn’t fully sympathize with him, but she respected his situation.
There was a brief silence before Selene spoke again.
"I study at Ark Founders Academy," she said after a mont, as if changing the subject without fully changing it.
Thomas looked up.
"The rich school?"
"The ’illustrious heirs,’ according to the brochure," she corrected dryly.
"So... your family is...?"
"No," she cut him off before he could finish. "I’m there because I pay."
Thomas frowned.
"And where do you get the money?"
Selene looked at him flatly.
"I work as a cosplayer."
Thomas blinked.
"Seriously?"
"Does that surprise you?"
"A little. I didn’t know it paid that well, though I already knew you did that."
"How did you know?"
Thomas smiled faintly and answered while looking ahead, a subtle hint of charisma in his tone.
"Your ID. I need to know who I’m associating with."
"Gross. Damn stalker," she said, crossing her arms. "But yeah, I make good money. Way more than so useless businessn’s kids who study with ."
Thomas let out a short breath through his nose that almost turned into a laugh.
"I didn’t picture you doing sothing like that."
Selene narrowed her eyes.
"How did you picture ?"
Thomas thought before answering.
"Soone who doesn’t need to work."
"I wish," she replied flatly.
"You look like soone who’s had a good life. You always dress well, you know how to take care of yourself, you match your clothes, you sll nice, and you stand out wherever you go. You’re... incredibly attractive." He said the last part with a trace of lancholy, as if drifting into his own thoughts.
"Was that a complint?" Selene asked, her tone and expression almost sarcastic.
Thomas let out a quiet breath that sounded almost like a laugh and answered without looking at her.
"No, I’m just telling the truth. Though now that I know you live off your image, it makes sense."
Silence returned, but it wasn’t as tense as before. A car passed outside, and its headlights briefly washed over Selene’s face before fading.
"So you dropped out because of your sister?" she asked at last.
"Yeah. I had to."
"What were you studying?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Engineering. Ark’s internal structure fascinates , so I wanted to study sothing that would get inside the city."
"And were you good at it?"
"No... honestly, I don’t think so. I didn’t get to study it for long."
Selene tilted her head slightly. Another short silence followed before she spoke again.
"And you still have debts?"
Thomas smiled without humor.
"Working whatever jobs you can find doesn’t pay well. Rent, food, my sister’s tuition... it all adds up."
Selene lowered her gaze.
"Is that why you’re forcing to be here?"
There was no anger in her tone this ti—just a direct question. Thomas held her gaze from across the room.
"Yes."
She didn’t react imdiately.
"Am I... a financial solution?"
"You could be," he replied honestly.
Selene let out a small, ironic laugh.
"How romantic."
Thomas looked away. Selene leaned her head back against the wall.
"You don’t seem like the type who enjoys having power over soone."
Thomas remained silent.
"You seem like the type who doesn’t know what to do with it," she added.
This ti, a faint smile touched the corner of her lips. Thomas lowered his gaze, thoughtful.
"Probably."
’You’d be surprised what I actually plan to do with this power. Though it’s better if you think that way—it’ll cause fewer problems for .’
The clock read 12:56 a.m.
Silence returned, though it wasn’t the sa as before. Selene toyed with a damp strand of her hair.
"The Academy is exhausting," she said suddenly. "Everyone competes over who has the oldest last na. It’s tiring."
"Then why stay?"
"Because it’s useful."
"Useful for what?"
"Connections. Events. Sponsorships." She shrugged. "Cosplay pays well, but exposure pays better."
Thomas looked at her with genuine interest.
"You’re more strategic than you seem."
"Don’t confuse strategy with necessity."
He nodded slowly.
"I guess we all survive however we can."
Selene watched him in silence for a few seconds.
"Your sister... does she know about all this?"
"No."
"Nothing?"
"She knows I work. She doesn’t know how much we owe."
Selene frowned slightly.
"That’s not sothing a kid should have to carry."
"That’s why she wasn’t supposed to know. But today she probably found out anyway." His tone carried frustration.
Selene rested her chin on her bent knee.
"And if you can’t pay?"
Thomas was silent for a few seconds.
"Then I’ll find another way."
"Another heroine?"
There was an edge to the question, though it wasn’t ant to wound. Thomas looked at her.
"Maybe."
Selene held his gaze. Then she rolled her eyes.
"At least pick one who knows how to fight."
There was a pause.
"Though...," she added dryly, "I don’t think many would tolerate your personality."
Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"My personality?"
"Yes. That authoritarian thing you use when you don’t want to answer questions."
He exhaled softly. A brief silence followed. Then, unexpectedly, Selene said,
"If you’re going to use as a financial resource, at least learn to ask for things without sounding like a discount villain."
Thomas stared at her.
"Was that advice?"
"Don’t get excited."
But there was sothing less rigid in her voice now. The café was still closed. The world was still on pause. And for the first ti since they t, they weren’t arguing.
They weren’t friends.
They weren’t allies.
But they weren’t absolute enemies in that mont either. Just two exhausted people sitting on the floor, sharing a problem neither of them could solve alone.
Thomas took advantage of her distraction and checked for the rock he had taken. The one in his pocket had vanished, but the one in his system inventory was still there. His pupils dilated.
’If I find a market willing to buy things from the Abyss, I could turn this to my advantage. And since the missions are daily, I’ll need to move quickly when taming new heroines. The next one I need is an offensive type... an attack-oriented gift.’
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