"Revenge is a poison, Dèmi. Drink it and you can destroy your enemies, but you will die long before you see them take their last breaths." ― Ehigbor Okosun (Forged by Blood)

* * * *

It was well past midnight, and only the soft lapping of waves against the weathered sides of the boathouse filled the stillness. The city was asleep, shrouded in darkness, and the rooftop, Sera's usual refuge, was blanketed in wind and silence.

She hadn't expected company. Not at this hour.

So when Sera heard the rooftop door creak open, her shoulders stiffened instinctively. A moment later, Kailey stepped out into the chill, pale strands of moonlight catching in her long raven hair as she quietly joined Sera at the railing.

Neither spoke.

Sera, her arms folded, eyes fixed on the horizon's endless black, said nothing for several long minutes. But she wasn't naïve. Kailey hadn't come up here for the view.

Not now. Not like this.

If she was seeking her out at this hour, it meant she didn't want the others hearing. Especially not Neil.

"Something you want to ask me?" Sera finally said, her voice level, sharp in its precision. Her patience was thinning with the quiet fidgeting beside her, the way Kailey hesitated like a guilty child caught between conscience and cowardice.

Kailey didn't answer right away. She leaned into the railing beside her, letting the wind thread through her hair as her pearl-white eyes scanned the dark waters.

"We met Leroy," she murmured, almost dreamlike. "And Alisa. And before that, Raul mentioned there was another one. A Blade survivor. The one we've never met."

Sera didn't answer, but the slight tilt of her head signalled she was listening.

"Most people in the underground have heard of him," Kailey continued. "He's infamous. Even civilians know the name. Almost as much as yours."

"Kailey," Sera cut in sharply, her voice cool, like a blade sliding from its sheath. "Just get to the point."

Though now that Zest had been brought up in conversation, albeit indirectly, Sera had a feeling she knew what Kailey wanted to talk about.

And to be honest, Sera is already half anticipating for at least one of the others to approach her regarding this topic sooner or later, especially those that were formerly from pure civilian lives. Zest didn't exactly have the cleanest reputation, even amongst the underground circles.

Kailey flinched, her fingers twitching with the nervous habit Sera had seen a dozen times before.

Sera already knew where this was headed—Zest. It was always going to come back to him. Ever since the Abyss. Ever since that duel. Ever since she disappeared for three days afterward.

It wasn't exactly a secret—her connection to him. And Sera didn't make any particular effort to hide it. Not from Aegis. Not even from those who still whispered the name "Black Demon" like a curse.

"The reason you disappear on your days off…" Kailey finally said, the words rushing out in a single breath. "You're meeting him, aren't you? Zest. The Black Demon."

Sera exhaled slowly, her annoyance simmering beneath her skin. Goddess, how she hated that moniker. That cursed, exaggerated label people slapped onto him like it told the whole story.

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She hated how it clung to him like blood to his name—even if, once upon a time, it had been useful. Even if, in the dark days of Blade, that reputation kept enemies at bay.

"…I hate that nickname," she muttered. "And frankly, I was expecting one of you to bring him up eventually. If not Leroy or Alisa, then someone else. He's the last Blade survivor none of you have met. That alone would've been enough."

Kailey sighed, shifting uncomfortably beside her. She knew Sera valued directness, and yet, she had hesitated. That, more than anything, grated at Sera's nerves. The awkward stammering, the careful tiptoeing around words.

She wasn't fragile. She wasn't some doll to be handled delicately.

"You're dating him, aren't you?" Kailey asked, finally speaking plainly. "We suspected it for a while. But the duel… And then those three days after… Raul practically confirmed it, even said people in Blade used to whisper about you two."

"And if I am?" Sera's voice was cool and measured, but Kailey could feel the warning beneath it. Even under the cover of darkness, she could tell that she'd better pick her next words very carefully.

"He's not good for you."

That did it. Sera's eyes narrowed, her expression hardening like stone. There was a long pause before she replied, her tone devoid of warmth. "And what makes you think that?"

"I've heard things." Kailey's voice faltered, but she pressed on. "Rumours. Stories. Even civilians talk about him. And Raul, Letha, Leroy… They've all said things. Zest was—still is—the one you trusted most in Blade. Probably still do."

Sera's silence spoke volumes. Her gaze remained distant and unreadable, and yet, Kailey could feel the tension coil tighter around her with each breath.

"You're so in love with him," Kailey said, almost accusingly, "you'd let him do anything. Hurt you. Twist you around. And you wouldn't even notice. You'd let it happen, Sera. Because you feel guilty. For what happened to Blade. For what happened to him."

Sera let out a breath—long, heavy, almost exhausted.

"You think I'm with Zest because of guilt?" Her voice dropped, dangerously soft. "Kailey, I don't do things I don't want to. You know that."

"I do. But I also know you. And those rumours about Blade, about him… They weren't all lies."

"No smoke without fire, is that it?" Sera said, her voice laced with disdain. "You think because a rumour exists, it must hold truth?"

Kailey frowned. "You saying they're all false?"

"I'm saying," Sera replied coldly, "that you've already made up your mind about someone you don't know. You think the stories about me are all lies too?"

"That's different!" Kailey shot back. "I know you—"

Sera raised a hand, silencing her. Her eyes gleamed with something colder than anger—disappointment. Fury restrained by control.

"You know me, so you give me the benefit of the doubt. But you don't know Zest, so you judge him on hearsay. That's dangerous, Kailey. It's that kind of blind assumption that got us here to begin with. Propaganda. Misinformation. That's why Eldario's burning. That's why Aegis exists. You want to be better than the Council? Then stop making judgments before you know the truth."

"You're not denying he's dangerous."

"No. He is." Sera's voice held no hesitation. "But so am I. So are you. So are all of us. You don't get to survive what we've survived without becoming dangerous."

Kailey looked like she wanted to argue, but Sera pressed on.

"I'm not going to betray his trust by airing his past. You want to know him? Then ask him. But this isn't about Zest's history. This is about me. Him and me. And here's some advice, Kailey, advice you won't like. Stay out of what isn't your business."

Kailey groaned. "Look, it's not like we care who you fuck. But this is the Black—" She stopped short the moment Sera's gaze cut toward her, like ice cracking beneath your feet. "I mean—it's just—this is Zest we're talking about! And I know you like him. Really like him. But after what happened with Blade, I'd be shocked if either of you weren't completely wrecked inside."

Leroy and Alisa had admitted as much. And Kailey didn't say it out of malice, but out of a clumsy, desperate concern.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't ever be with him," she added quickly. "But maybe… Not now. Wait until things settle."

"With all due respect," Sera snapped, her voice tight in the way that it always is whenever she's holding back from saying what is on her mind. At this point, Kailey could take a vague guess as to just what Sera really wanted to say to her. Probably nothing very polite, "my love life—and who I fuck—is none of your business." Her tone had turned razor-sharp, barely restraining her true anger. "I don't ask about where you run off to on your days off. I expect the same courtesy."

Kailey flinched. "I… We're just worried."

"I appreciate the concern," Sera said tightly. "But I'm not a child. Zest and I are adults. We know what we're doing. And if there's one thing Blade taught us, it's that life is short. We've both agreed to take it slow, for our own sakes."

Kailey bit her lip. "Which is great, but I still don't think this is a good idea. You're so in love with Zest that you'll let him get away with shit that he really shouldn't get away with. And he'll do the same for you. That's not healthy, Sera."

"At this point, you're just repeating yourself," Sera said, rubbing her temples. "You've made your opinion clear. Now drop it."

"But it's a red flag. This whole relationship is—"

"Kailey."

"—and while I don't know him, I also know enough of what had happened in the past to also know that he's also so desperate to be loved that he'll let you get away with stuff that you shouldn't get away with, and you're just going to get hurt—

"Kailey." Sera's voice dropped, lethal in its quiet. "Mind. Your. Own. Fucking. Business."

That was the line. Kailey had crossed it, and she knew it. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I just… I don't know anything about what you feel for him. But I wonder… What does it even mean to love someone?"

For a moment, the rooftop was silent again, save for the wind and water.

"I wonder," Sera murmured. "For me, it was when I realised he was the first person I wanted to share things with. A book. A joke. A moment. When I trusted him with the ugliest parts of myself and didn't flinch. When I thought of him without fear." She looked up at the stars. "Does the person you like constantly appear in your thoughts? It's easy to fall in love. Staying in love… That's the hard part."

Kailey turned toward her. "You're not going to ask about me?"

Sera shrugged. "What you do in your own time is your business. I trust you to do what's best for yourself."

With that, she stepped away from the railing and toward the rooftop door.

"It's late. Go to sleep."

Kailey stood there alone as Sera's footsteps faded. The silence pressed in, her thoughts churning restlessly.

Does the person you like constantly appear in your thoughts?

"…Jonan," Kailey whispered, staring into the night. "Do I love you?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Of all the people in the world… Why did it have to be an ESA agent?"

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