The Gamer's POV

Sometime in the morning, the sun shone in from the high glass window, bathing the hotel room in a dim golden light.

Standing naked by this window was Cedric with a distant expression on his face. He seemed lost in thought as he took a drag from his pipe. It was something stronger this time, cured tobacco leaf to be precise.

’I think my heart has begun to allow me to sense karmic threads. I’m not sure I fully understand it yet, but it’s what gives me those subtle premonitions. Just like the bad feeling I had before reaching Isola Bella. Turns out that warning was meant for Aika. Thinking about it, it seems to be the ties that connect people through events and choices. The thread I felt was the one connecting Aika to that demon, and the events surrounding it were tied to the karmic deeds of their past, present, and future. The demon hurt her in the past and deserved karmic retribution, which led to him receiving it. Hm...’

He took a drag, tilted his head back, and exhaled slowly, letting the smoke curl toward the ceiling in lazy wisps.

’The eclipse is fast approaching. My heart beats faster anytime I think about it, and I sense a lot of premonitions,’ he thought with a quiet sigh.

Just then, he heard a rustle of bedsheets behind him, causing him to turn around. A soft smile lit up his face as he saw his woman slowly sit upright, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"It seems like you have a lot on your mind?" she murmured in a voice thick with sleep.

Seeing her looking up at him so softly, with nothing but a thin sheet tangled around her waist to cover her, Cedric turned and began walking over to the bed, tossing his pipe into his inventory with a quick flick of his wrist.

"I’m right back here, my love," he said, crawling onto the mattress to gather her into his arms. He leaned down and pressed a deep kiss to her lips, before trailing softly down her cheek to her neck, and then back to her lips once more.

Aika chuckled against his mouth, reaching up to frame his face in her hands. "You really can’t seem to help yourself, can you?"

He paused, resting his forehead against hers, staring into her eyes from mere inches away. "Have you seen yourself in the mirror, ma’am? I don’t think there’s a man alive who could have you and still help himself."

A vibrant shade of crimson flushed across Aika’s cheeks. She threw her arms over his shoulders, as if to pull him down a fraction closer. "Actually, you’re a very bad boy, you know. You made me experience things I never even knew existed."

Cedric brushed the flat of his thumb gently over her forearm. "What can I say? I’m a man of many talents."

She smiled, and her eyes gleamed with warm mischief as she leaned in. "Do you want to—"

"Yes," he cut her off without hesitation.

He pushed her gently back into the pillows, drowning her soft gasp in another kiss as the sheets tangled around them once more.

***

Leon stood by the entrance to the Il Fulgore, waiting for his brother, who was fashionably late for their departure.

’What’s taking him so long?’ he thought as he stared out at the quiet landing dock.

He had planned to have a proper chat with Cedric after the gala the previous night, but for some reason, he couldn’t find him anywhere after his dance. He had searched the whole venue, but the man had vanished into thin air.

While Leon tapped his foot impatiently, a raven suddenly descended from the sky, and its form dissolved into smoke before turning into Cedric right on the walkway.

Leon smiled. "There you are."

His smile quickly faltered into confusion, however, when he noticed that Cedric was smiling back warmly. Which was deeply unsettling, considering the man usually wore a face carved out of cold stone.

’Did he lose his mind overnight?’

Leon blinked, scanning his brother’s relaxed posture. "You... look happy."

He had expected the usual dry, sharp reply. But instead, to his absolute surprise and utter bewilderment, Cedric reached out and cupped both of Leon’s cheeks in his hands.

"Yes. I am happy, my friend. Why shouldn’t I be?"

Cedric let go, turning with an almost theatrical flourish, extending his arms wide as he strolled past him into the airship.

"There are a lot of things in this beautiful world to be happy for."

Leon swallowed hard.

For a moment there, he was genuinely terrified that a demon had possessed his brother.

***

After a few more minutes, the captain’s voice echoed throughout the airship, announcing their departure. Before long, the massive vessel lifted off the dock, turning gracefully in the sky as it began its journey back to the Imperial Capital of Lumieria.

Not long after, the clink of a porcelain cup on its saucer sounded in the parlor as Cedric set his drink down, having taken a slow sip of his coffee. He then looked up at Leon, who was still staring at him with a bewildered expression, and asked with a small smile, "So, why did you want to see me?"

"..." At the question, Leon snapped back to his senses. "Oh, uh..." He cleared his throat. "Actually, this is about my bond. You seem to know more than me about certain things, so I hoped you might have an answer."

Cedric arched a brow, silently waiting for Leon to elaborate.

The golden goose took a deep breath before continuing. "You see, around the time your bond mysteriously fell ill several months ago — which was a strange phenomenon in itself, by the way — my bond fell ill as well. I visited your bond a few times, and I confirmed that they really did share similar symptoms."

He paused, carefully studying Cedric’s face for any reaction, but to his frustration, Cedric’s expression remained entirely unreadable.

Leon sighed, almost giving up hope, before adding, "What’s even more strange is that after she recovered, Uriel began to regain certain memories."

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