"Kassie?"

She turned slightly from the front row of pews.

I stepped closer, but she immediately shouted.

"Don't come closer!"

I stopped mid-stride, feet planted against the cold stone floor. Even so, hearing her voice again sent a strange warmth through my chest. After everything that had happened, just knowing she was okay...

Sparks flickered around her form, dancing like agitated fireflies. Then she fixed me with a stern look.

"Why are you here?"

I raised my eyebrows at the absurdity of such a question.

"What do you mean... why am I here? This is my soul plane. And of course, I came to check up on you."

"Check up on me?" She repeated the words slowly, like she was testing their weight. Confused.

"Yes, Kassie." I strolled forward, keeping my movements casual. "After that fall, I didn't assume you'd come out of it without damage."

"I did take damage. But The Nave healed me."

I shrugged, letting a bit of smugness creep into my expression. "All thanks to my soul plane, huh? Happy to be here?"

She looked at me blankly. No response. Then her expression hardened again.

"Why are you here?"

I stared at her, frustration bubbling up. "This is my soul! I should be asking you why you're here! But I can't, can I? Because I'm the one who damn well put you here, Kassie."

She looked at me with a flat expression. Completely unmoved.

"You should be resting. The fall was strong."

"Oh."

'That was... certainly not what I was expecting.'

She turned away from me, her gaze drifting forward toward the altar.

The tension in my shoulders loosened. I walked closer, a soft smile tugging at my lips, and settled down on the pew beside her. The wood creaked beneath my weight, ancient and smooth.

The altar itself was shattered and broken, chunks of pale stone scattered across the dais like the remnants of some forgotten catastrophe. It was difficult to discern what it could've been before — a place of worship? A throne? Whatever purpose it once served had been erased by time and ruin. Kassie was studying it too, her expression cute and studious in a way that felt entirely at odds with everything I knew about her.

"You have a strange soul." She glanced around the entire building, taking in the high vaulted ceilings, the fractured windows, the dust motes drifting through shafts of golden light. "I've never seen a soul like... this."

"Well, technically you've never seen any soul. Isn't this the first time you've been summoned since your death?"

She looked at me with a frown, and I immediately regretted reminding her of such a terrible thing.

"Yes, it is... still..." She didn't finish. Instead, she sighed and fell silent.

The quietness stretched between us. Radiance poured through the broken windows, painting the stone floor in warm amber and soft gold — worthy of being captured in some timeless piece of art. I let the silence sit, watching the light shift and dance.

After a while, I heaved a sigh and spoke.

"It's been a rough ride the past few days, hasn't it?"

"Indeed it has." Her tone was emotionless.

"To be honest, I came here to talk to you. I thought about summoning you, but then... I'm mindful of the villagers. So I decided to come here instead."

Kassie looked confused. Genuinely, adorably confused — an expression I wanted to steal and put in a museum somewhere.

"You decided to come here... to talk to me?"

I nodded with a smile.

Her confusion only deepened.

"Why?"

I leaned back against the pew in front of us, the wood pressing against my spine.

"I don't know... I'm conflicted. Angry with the church, certainly. But also with myself." The words came slow, heavier than I expected. "I keep asking myself so many questions. Blaming myself. I caused Lira's death — it was so obvious from the start. The church had a bone to pick with me. How is it that I couldn't see Lira and the Mercenary Guild would be exploited to get to me? How could I not see all of it? How could I be so careless?"

I swallowed hard. The guilt sat in my throat like broken glass.

"I let my rage get the best of me. Those people. Children... they didn't deserve to die so cruelly."

Kassie was silent. She turned to face forward, her gaze straight and unreadable. Her eyes were strange — bloody and beautiful. Red lashes framed red irises, and her crimson hair fell against smooth, porcelain skin like a river of fire against snow.

'How often does someone come across a combination like hers?'

"It's pointless thinking of what was." Her voice cut through my thoughts, cool and measured. "Pointless to think of what will be. What matters is what is. Think about that, and make the most of it."

I paused, blinking.

'Such... sagacious words.'

She looked at me.

"I once met an enemy who said this to me. He was a reckless man — too strong and too careless to control his own power on the battlefield. When he swung his sword, friends and foe died alike." Her gaze drifted somewhere distant. "He was one of my... most difficult battles. But I killed him."

'Of course you did.'

She turned back to the broken altar, her expression unreadable once more.

"But he taught me the implications of thoughts and thoughtlessness. Both can be used to one's advantage. There is a time to think, and there is a time to not think. To simply... do."

She looked at me again, her crimson eyes sharp.

"This is not the time to think. This is the time to do."

I met her gaze. "And by 'do'... you mean?"

"Survive."

I nodded slowly, letting the word sink in.

'Not only is she flawlessly beautiful... she's wise too. God, she's hot. I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her right now.'

Of course, if I tried, there was a very real possibility I'd get hit hard. Possibly through a wall.

'Should I risk it?'

I could see the result from miles away. So no.

"And also..."

My eyes were already on her, but they sharpened as her gentle voice came again.

"There's no way the church would have killed the Mercenary Guild and Lira just to get to you. In the grand scheme of things..." She paused, and something cold settled in my chest. "You are insignificant before them."

"Oh?"

"Whatever is happening... it's beyond you. I'm sure Lira knew this. And perhaps those two do as well."

My eyes narrowed as the pieces began to shift in my mind.

'Come to think of it... Emma did say Lira was called to see the queen.'

I'd almost forgotten that detail.

The queen. She was the linchpin to discovering whatever was really going on. If I wanted answers — real answers — I'd have to return to Aetheris Kingdom and speak with her directly.

'Easier said than done.'

Of course, I knew such a feat wouldn't be easy. Which was exactly why growing stronger was the only way forward. Hence my main reason for coming here.

"Kassie."

She turned to me, her crimson eyes wary. Like I was some irritating ant she couldn't quite decide whether to crush.

"Can you help me become stronger?"

Her brows tightened. The fierce look that crossed her face made me scramble to clarify.

"Wait — not that way. Not the way we did it that time." I cleared my throat, heat creeping up my neck as the memory flashed unbidden through my mind. She turned away quickly, her own expression... difficult to read.

"What I mean is... I want you to train me. To become a strong fighter. Like you."

She turned back to me, her crimson eyes wide.

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