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zelphin124 · 16 days ago

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LCB-3 -> Intervallo 1: Chapter 4

bangs head against wall ugh I finally sat down to try and finish thi- looks at the two hours left of the recording. Welp. Here's some more for you I guess, I hope you guys haven't given up on my updates since they've been so slow, I am sorry. Masterpost Chapter 3 <--> Chapter 5

~o0o~

Jekyll stretched her arms, her nose picking up on a familiar scent—food, warm and rich, cutting through the damp chill of the air. It wasn’t much, but after hours of travel, even the faintest promise of a meal was enough to make her stomach twist in protest.

Her gaze followed the scent until she spotted a dim glow flickering within a ruined building ahead. It wasn’t grand—just a battered structure, weathered by time, its stone walls cracked and barely holding together. Trees had crept their way around it, their branches twisting through broken gaps as if nature had begun reclaiming its territory. Scattered barrels sat along the entrance, some stacked haphazardly, others overturned, their surfaces worn smooth by age and use.

Maybe someone there would offer us information.

Information? Hyde scoffed. I’m starving. Let’s go take their food.

What? No! That’s so impolite—

Come on, we both are hungry.

Jekyll barely suppressed an eye roll as she lifted a hand, gesturing toward the tavern. “I don’t know, I smelled some good food over there. I’m kind of hungry.”

Kind of is an understatement. I would eat a rock.

“Good food?” Mallo came around the bus, peering at the structure with wary interest. “I’m sure we could go ask.”

“It wouldn’t be too hard,” Dante chimed in, ever the voice of easygoing reason.

Jekyll nodded, forcing logic into her hunger-driven thoughts. “It looks like a deserted town, so hopefully it’s small enough that people would know each other. I don’t know how well Ornella is known amongst these people, but…” Her voice trailed off as her stomach made its demands known.

“I’m sure someone there would know Ornella,” Mallo reasoned.

“It is her home,” Jatayu added, stepping out from behind the bus entrance. His tone was solemn, but there was a flicker of anticipation behind his eyes.

Jekyll tightened her coat against the cold. “Well, whether or not you all are, I’m hungry, and I’m going to grab something to eat.” It felt strange to speak so bluntly, to indulge in such self-serving thoughts. But the rules that had once governed her—etiquette, morality—felt distant now, like relics of a life she no longer carried.

I don’t have to put up a cosplay to be who I am…

The group moved forward, stepping carefully over uneven ground as they approached the tavern. The closer they got, the more details emerged—the faint scent of charred meat, the murmur of voices within, the way the firelight cast long shadows against the fractured stone walls.

It wasn’t luxurious. It wasn’t safe. But it was warm. And for now, that was enough.

Jekyll didn’t pay any heed to the people sitting in the tavern or what they were doing. Her gaze was set on the man behind the bar. On the countertops, there were menus evenly displayed with items for sale. She assumed they used the same currency as the city; therefore, she picked up a menu and started reading it immediately.

Raspberry swirl shake… soups… ooh, roasted potatoes?

Can we get them all?

Mallo joined Jekyll’s side, her gaze lingering on the structure more than on the doctor. “Huh, this place is quite nice, actually,” she mused, sliding onto a bar seat beside her companion. The wood creaked beneath her weight, worn from years of use but sturdy enough to hold. As she settled, she picked up a menu, flipping through the offerings with casual interest.

The large, tan man behind the counter let out a hearty chuckle, the sound deep and rolling like distant thunder. His thick hands, rough and calloused from labor, pressed firmly against the counter as he leaned forward. His grin stretched wide, revealing teeth that gleamed beneath the dim tavern light. His eyes, buried beneath the curtain of his unkempt hair and heavy beard, remained unreadable, though the laughter in his expression suggested warmth rather than menace.

Despite his size, there was an ease to his movements, his bulk shifting with surprising fluidity. His muscles, thick and formidable, jiggled slightly with each motion—an unexpected contrast between strength and softness.

Mallo and Jekyll exchanged a glance, unsure of who would be responsible for negotiating in the conversation at their feet. Jekyll didn’t hesitate to look back at the menu to avoid any interaction. The scent of sizzling meat and warm bread drifted in the air, coaxing her stomach into another impatient growl.

Mallo sighed to herself and glanced up at the large man, resting her arm over the countertop and offering a charismatic grin. “Limbus Company here to… uh…” she bit her lip, stumbling over her words. “Someone important, Ornella… Oh! Speaking of, do you know Ornella, actually?”

“Ah, Limbus Company,” his voice was rough and rugged. “Welcome then. We were hearing about your arrival; we didn’t know when you were coming but… I’m sure Ms. Ornella would love to see you, though.” He lifted his hands from the counter and glanced behind the two women to the rest of the group that slowly trickled in the tavern. “Firstly, though, which one of you is Dante?”

Jekyll glanced up from the paper and pointed immediately to her manager, not giving a care on why he asked.

Mallo joined her, also pointing casually to Dante.

At the sudden introduction, Jatayu and Lenore stood beside the clock, glancing around the room as if they expected to be jumped at any moment. They were more aware of the situation than the manager, who looked around confused before asking, “Why am I being pointed at?”

“He asked who you were, since apparently they’ve been told about us,” Mallo answered. “I assume this arrival has been expected by us.”

The bartender chuckled, stroking his red beard. “Ah! Tick-tockings, just like Ornella said.” He cleared his throat, muttering under his breath before his smile faded. “But you’re the one who hurt her, weren’t you?”

The people in the bar started to quiet their own discussions as they stared toward the party. It wasn’t too difficult to stand out among the residents who all seemed to wear white pants and shirts with blue coats that hung to their calves. Most of them were tan in color with black hair, as if they were all related to each other in some way. The attention wasn’t a good thing, though. None of them looked overly friendly.

“Yeah…” Dante lowered his head.

“Yeah, he might have, but now that we are here, we can make it up to her, I assume.” Mallo interjected, laughing light-heartedly.

The bartender laughed. “Oh, I’m messing with you. It’s quite easy to get under that girl’s skin sometimes.”

Mallo joined in his chuckling. “Yeah, I know people like that,” she gives a I’m-talking-about-Mark glance.

Jekyll sets the menu down, trying to concentrate over her roaring stomach. “So… where do we find her?”

“Ornella’s over in her little house. She should be expecting you all to come any time soon…” he said with not as much enthusiasm as his next sentence. “But please, stay! Have a meal or two!”

Mallo turned to the manager. “Do we want to stay?”

“Depends on how good the meals are,” Lenore replied.

The bartender scoffed, slamming a soft fist down on the counter. “Best in the outskirts, of course!” His punch made all the wooden tables in the cafe shake before the polished stones for flooring settled back in place like the gray and brown bricks on the walls.

“I’ve never been to the outskirts before, is the outskirts food good?” Lenore continued, her tone stoic as always. “If you’re a professional cook, then I would assume so.”

If some of the bystanders weren’t looking at the intruding group, they were now. All of the prior conversations had come to a halt as they observed carefully, some of them narrowing their eyes at them.

The bartender seemed to back down on his enthusiasm. “Well, it’s better than nothing.”

“That much is certainly the case,” Lenore muttered and glanced away, observing the audience.

Jekyll promptly ordered the roasted potatoes as the rest of the party trickled in, gathering around the bartender, Nigel, as he introduced himself. His booming laughter mixed with the low murmur of conversations, creating a steady hum within the tavern walls. The scent of sizzling food and aged wood settled over everything like a comforting haze.

She took her plate and quietly removed herself from the counter, weaving between tables before settling into a wooden seat near the left side of the tavern. The wood was rough beneath her fingers, worn from years of use, the edges softened from time and countless patrons before her. She sighed, sinking into the seat, her exhaustion weighing heavier than her hunger.

Better than nothing, for sure…

She scooped up a bite, the crispy texture giving way to a warm, rich softness. It wasn’t extravagant, but it was hearty—exactly what she needed. She glanced over at the group still chatting with Nigel, briefly lifting her hand, pointing at the potatoes before giving them a firm thumbs-up, mouth too full to say anything coherent.

A few party members took her approval as motivation, ordering their own food to go, the exchange feeling almost like a quiet ritual of relief. A meal. A moment to breathe. A small victory after everything.

Jekyll finished the potatoes faster than she expected, scraping the last few remnants from her plate before finally leaning back, stretching slightly. As she raised her head, her gaze landed on a table directly ahead.

A handful of people sat there, deep in quiet discussion. Their faces were sharp, composed, too controlled. But it wasn’t their expressions that caught her attention. It was the details.

The streaks of violet running through well-kept hair.

The blue coats, pressed and pristine, but failing miserably at concealing the bold, curling purple tattoos etched into their skin.

Her breath hitched for the faintest second.

…Wait a minute—

Hyde stirred, sharp and alert. Watch them.

Jekyll didn’t move. She barely breathed. Her focus narrowed, lingering longer than necessary, just enough to let unease settle deep in her bones. Something was wrong. Or maybe it wasn’t. But the quiet hum of instinct told her otherwise.

The warmth of the tavern no longer felt inviting.

What the hell is the Middle doing in the outskirts? Hyde’s voice dripped with suspicion, piecing together the details faster than Jekyll could. Suddenly, their accessories—the gold chains, the ominous books dangling at their sides like shackles—weren’t just decorations. They were identifiers. Signs of belonging. Markings of intent.

Jekyll side-eyed Mallo. Relief washed over her—the former Lobotomy Corporation employee hadn’t noticed them yet. But what unsettled her more was that no one else had, either.

Had they truly gone unnoticed, or were people simply avoiding the truth that sat so plainly in their midst?

One of the men stood out from the rest. The same markings, the same chain looped around his neck—but something about him was different. His attire clashed with the others. Beneath his deep-blue coat, the standard white garments of the outskirts still clung to his frame. He wasn’t Middle through and through—he lingered on the edge, balanced in between worlds.

Something about him tugged at a distant memory, buried deep within the folds of time, locked behind the haze of survival. The shape of his face, the effortless control in his posture—it wasn’t just familiarity, it was history. Her history.

A flicker of recognition sparked in her mind, a whisper of a name forming at the edge of thought, dragging itself forward like an old ghost.

Merlin Alwera.

Her breath hitched.

The realization settled into her like cold stone, sinking deep, making itself known with the weight of truth. Was it really him? Here, in the outskirts? Among the Middle, yet not fully of them? The pieces didn’t fit—not yet—but the way Hyde reeled, the way her own instincts screamed at her to act, told her enough.

She kept her expression neutral, tension coiling tight beneath the surface. And then—she laughed.

What the hell is he doing here?

That silly boy, the one who chose honor over her student, cost her life. What a tale. What a man. Still alive, even after being with the Middle?

Impressive, to say the least.

As if sensing the shift, Merlin’s gaze flicked upward, sharp as a blade. He was watching Mallo. The moment stretched, silent, unreadable—until the other Middle members exchanged glances and abruptly left, slipping through the tavern doors like shadows retreating into the night.

Merlin lingered for only a breath longer. His gaze skimmed over Jekyll, unreadable, calculated—then he followed his companions out, moving with a purpose that made Hyde stir uneasily.

They were expecting us.

Hyde paced in the depths of Jekyll’s mind, thoughts slicing through the growing unease. The Middle doesn’t just show up anywhere. Those bastards only leave U Corp if they’re hunting for something. Or someone.

Revenge? Jekyll’s thoughts drifted toward the obvious conclusion.

On Mallo.

Likely. She’s the only one with a current connection to them.

The idea settled uneasily between them, heavy with implication.

Mallo, oblivious to the tension circling around her, finally received her food. With casual ease, she strode over to Jekyll’s table, grabbing the chair Merlin had abandoned and turning it to face her.

Jekyll barely looked up, but her grip tightened on the edge of the table. I’d like to know how he felt about his decision that day…

How it felt to have my maestro kill his lover before his eyes.

It wasn’t long before Jatayu as well came and sat down next to Mallo, facing Jekyll, whose gaze was still locked on the table. Following Jatayu came the rest of the party to sit around the table. Alex took the seat next to Jekyll on her right, versus Lenore, who took the left. Dante sat at the edge of the table and started to speak, but the doctor was hardly paying attention. She proceeded to eat her food in a quiet manner, plastering a smile on her face to not seem suspicious.

The rest of the party passed food to each other, muttering small talk while others enjoyed their food. “This is better than most food I’ve tried in the city,” was the only comment Jekyll heard from Mallo while she was stuck inside her own head. They continued to chat about restaurants in the backstreets and how they were terrible, with Jatayu making an off comment about the last restaurant he went to being a cannibalistic one. Jekyll paid little attention, as none of what they said shocked her. She cleared her throat, keeping her opinions to herself. “I’ve heard of them,” she muttered. “A waste of supplies…”

“The worst part about them is they don’t tell you what’s in the food until after you’ve eaten there,” Mallo added. “It just makes you feel sick afterward.”

Lenore stared at her meal, the catch of the day offered by the restaurant, and put it away for later consumption before Mallo asked about it. It looked like a normal jerky as expected, but it had an odd aspect in terms of coloration. It was cherry red, almost as if it were raw and steaming.

“I’m starting to think eating this will be physically harmful to myself,” Lenore shuddered.

Mallo offered to try it to test it out, but Lenore declined and simply finished putting it away.

There wasn’t much more conversation between the party before Mallo turned toward the manager and inquired about the plan at hand.

Dante started explaining the required elements of said plan without actually addressing any course of action; he went on to talk about how Ornella might not be the happiest to see him in particular. Hyde almost interpreted it as free rein to ‘learn on the job’ before the conversation eventually rounded around to a solid plan of action. Lenore offered to translate, but suggested the use of IDs to get the job done, which no one had a great idea, considering Mallo’s suggestion of a G Corp ID, and Dante immediately turned the thought down.

“Does she have a history with them?” Lenore inquired.

“Yep,” Dante replied curtly.

“Oh wait,” Mallo thought for a moment. “Wasn’t Old G Corp the whole reason why Z Corp fell in the first place?”

Dante nodded again, and the rest of the party agreed to put the idea aside.

When Mallo turned to Jatayu to ask him about his IDs, Jekyll finally intercepted the conversation. “Do we even need to use IDs?” She stammered before clearing her throat. “It shouldn’t be that hard to be cordial and diplomatic when negotiating.”

“A golden bough is at hand,” Lenore replied before anyone else could, as if she were in charge. “We are trying to prove our odds.”

“She has a point,” Mallo backed the doctor up. “If Ornella used to work for Limbus Company, she would know about identities and could probably turn our use of them against us, as we wouldn’t be entirely honest with her.”

“It wouldn’t be dishonest,” Dante shrugged. “We just need a little bit of charisma with us.”

Mallo started talking again, but Jekyll decided to tune out everything and get up from the table. She walked toward the restaurant doo,r ready to get on with the mission. We are not helping ourselves by discussing this. We are only delaying our chances of escape.

Hyde smirked. I like our odds against this wanna-be scientist.

“I’m going to listen to Hyde,” she muttered under her breath.

The rest of the party seemed uneasy by her comment and started to shuffle out of their chairs onto their feet, concern edged in by their unimportant comments.

It was easy to spot the Middle members outside of the cafe, which Jekyll made sure to avoid attracting their attention, and strolled the opposite way. The party wasn’t too far behind her, but it seemed her sudden motion was enough to get them going.

Heh. Fools.

It didn’t take long for Jekyll to approach Vergilius and Charon outside the bar. Kuvira was also nearby, staring off into the distance as she rubbed her fingers together over her scarf anxiously.

“Jekyll, Hyde, wait!” Mallo was faster than the others and caught up to the doctor. “We should wait a minute and not wing this!”

Jatayu also opened his mouth to speak after he caught his breath, but he was caught off guard by the Red Gaze. “Took you all long enough,” he sighed with the usual disappointment. The trees behind him swayed slowly as if to carry his voice.

“We were trying to find Ornella and asked around,” Mallo replied.

“I assume you were able to find some leads, then?” Vergilius actively had a hand over Charon’s eyes, facing her away from one of the drunkards nearby. It was clear his actions were intentional, and Charon trusted him blindly.

Haahh… Hyde rolled her eyes. Keeping her delusional in a world full of harsh truths, I see.

Jekyll almost agreed, the words catching in her throat like an unspoken confession. But the Red Gaze turned sharply—his stare slicing through the space between them as though he’d intercepted her very thought mid-formation. Her breath stuttered.

W–Wha—

No response came. Just silence thick with knowing.

Mallo launched into her explanation, her voice steady but strained, listing scattered leads they had on Ornella. It all sounded promising until Vergilius tilted his head, his expression sharpening into that familiar mask of disdain. He sighed, long and low.

“Theory does not make truth,” he muttered.

Lenore attempted to fill in the gaps, her words carrying logical enthusiasm but no anchor. It only seemed to frustrate him more. The debate on the golden bough—what a person might want with it, why it mattered—continued in circling speculation. In Jekyll’s mind, it was all noise. Ornella wasn’t getting closer while they stood around theorizing themselves into irrelevance.

Still, she kept silent.

Eventually, too, for the doctor’s taste, the party peeled away from the fruitless conversation and continued down the winding alleyways that bordered the city’s edge. The air was cooled, heavy with dusk. Crickets sang out rhythmically, only to be interrupted by the jarring call of a lone bird. Their footfalls whispered against dirt and gravel, the sounds disjointed, like a patchwork of quiet momentum.

Grunts. Steel. A rhythmic hiss of motion.

Jekyll’s brows furrowed as she caught the sharp slashes of metal on flesh echoing overhead. A battle.

It didn’t take long to find the source. They stepped into the clearing—a half-forgotten square on the outskirts, ringed by skeletal trees. A house squatted to the right, its structure sagging and stitched together with weathered stone and torn cloth over the windows. The roof bowed inward, threatening collapse.

But the scent—

Roasted meat. Fresh bread. Herbs. Warmth.

Contradiction.

A strange tension wrapped itself around the house, like comfort at war with decay.

In the center of the square stood Merlin, his back straight and arms fluid, sword dancing effortlessly through the air. Strange, small creatures—eyes with limbs, bodies that rippled like water—surged toward him in chaotic waves. He sliced through them without pause, each cut surgical, each movement precise. He didn’t acknowledge the party. Didn’t glance up. If he registered their arrival, he gave no indication.

More creatures spawned, pulled from cracks in the earth or mist from the trees. Jekyll stepped forward and peered at them, fascinated despite herself. The eyes blinked erratically, twitching toward her—but they moved as if tethered to Merlin’s presence alone.

Inside the crumbling home, footsteps danced slowly across stone. Graceful. Almost ritualistic. Water sloshed. A basin? A bath? The rhythm was soft but persistent.

Jekyll felt the hair on the back of her neck lift.

The mood of the place was dark—not evil, not violent—but heavy. Like something asleep, waiting to be stirred. It gnawed at her instincts, that fine tremble along her spine that Hyde would call hunger and she would name caution.

Behind them, Kuvira lagged, her steps soft and uneven. She clutched her arms as though shielding herself from a wind only she could feel, her gaze drifting lazily from the square to the sky. Her shoulders trembled, but not from the cold. Jekyll noticed that, too.

“I’m pretty sure those are abnormality minions,” Mallo murmured, her tone casual, but her eyes remained locked on one of the twitching eye-creatures now lying still at Merlin’s feet—its ichor soaking into the dirt, vanishing like ink spilled on canvas.

Dante tilted his head thoughtfully. “Huh. I sense, vaguely, that there are abnormalities nearby.”

“That’s… strange. Is there a Lob Corp facility here?” The question hung like an echo, too afraid to answer itself.

“I don’t see any,” Jatayu muttered..

“Well, that’s where golden boughs come from, right?” Jekyll offered, her voice sharper than intended. She could hear Hyde sharpening thoughts behind her ribs like knives in a drawer.

“Assuming they had not already been pre-collected, yes.” Vergilius cut the exchange short again. He didn’t turn to them, only stared forward, his shoulders finally relaxing but not in relief. He was preparing—something.

His eyes were fixed on the door, unblinking. If he breathed, it was shallow.

“I’m sure Ornella can answer all that.” Mallo’s optimism seemed to rebound off Vergilius’s silence. She stepped in front of him, her coat rustling softly in the breeze. Her knuckles met wood with a firm knock. “I’m sure abnormalities are in abundance out here.”

“They exist on the outskirts?” Jatayu’s voice had lowered, concern flickering behind his careful expression.

“I don’t know the exact details, but I do know they exist out here.” Mallo shrugged, knocking again, slower this time.

Then the sound inside changed.

The sloshing steps paused. Silence bloomed. Then came the shuffle—more deliberate, heavier. Something about the rhythm felt offbeat, like it walked to a cadence known only to itself.

An old, soothing voice laced with something colder called out from within: “Merlin, I told you, if you need to—”

The wooden door groaned open.

She stepped into view.

The woman looked carved from oceanic stone. Her hair—long, black, coiling down like ink across parchment—brushed against her hips. She bore the tan skin of someone whose blood knew the sun but whose aura knew deep frost. Piercing ocean-blue eyes scanned the party with practiced precision, magnified slightly by the glasses balanced on her upturned nose.

Her lab coat fluttered faintly, the deep blue shirt beneath echoing the palette of the outskirts. Brown pants tucked into boots that shimmered wet at the edges, and her skin—her skin was dusted with frost, like a chill born from within.

Jekyll felt Hyde stir.

Not with fear. With curiosity. Oh-ho~, this will be interesting.

The woman’s presence was ancient, perhaps not in age but in silence, like someone who had outlived moments no one remembered. Her tired and shocked eyes flicked across them all, lingering just long enough on Jekyll to make her pulse quicken. Then her gaze shifted—almost painfully—to Vergilius.

Everyone knew.

It wasn’t said, but the stillness said it for them. Dante stiffened, his usual aloof posture faltering. Jatayu’s eyes gave a subtle twitch, and Kuvira took half a step back, her hand clutching at her sleeve. Even Vergilius, the ever-composed, seemed to fracture slightly—not visibly, but inwardly, like a wall bracing for a storm.

Mallo seized the moment, her voice slicing through the tension like a scalpel through fog. “Ornella, we are the Limbus Company. You’ve been expecting us, yes?”

Ornella didn’t respond.

Her gaze fixed on the faces, eyes narrowing with recognition, the kind that hurts because it’s too sharp. She didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe. Not until she stepped forward.

It wasn’t fast.

It was deliberate.

With an elegance that defied the cold air surrounding her, she crossed the distance and wrapped her arms around Vergilius—the Red Gaze—in a quiet, lingering embrace.

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zelphin124 · 2 months ago

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LCB-3 -> Intervallo 1: Chapter 3

I am SO SORRY for the long hiatus without warning. These chapters have been recorded, and it's been really difficult to find time to jot everything down and turn it into a good story. I've also gotten a full-time job, so that hasn't helped either. My creativity is ZAPPED. Please forgive my absence. I decided to split up the chapter a bit to get more out to you guys. Masterpost Chapter 2 <--> Chapter 4

~o0o~

“White Lake: defeated. Gossypium: defeated. MVP: Hyde, 100% damage dealt.”

Hyde raised her head high, smirking to herself as she observed the final stats of her conquest. That’s more like it.

* * *

The attempt to snatch a few moments of sleep in one of the front seats of the bus was short-lived. With a sudden, jarring halt, Charon slammed on the brakes, causing Jekyll to be jolted awake and thrown from her chair, landing forward with Boy, Alex, and Jatayu, who were similarly flung from their seats by the abrupt stop, stirring everyone else from their slumber. The bus brakes screeched, and everyone groaned from their new injuries.

“Ah, we’ve arrived,” Vergilius was unmoved by the sudden halt. “Everyone to your feet.”

“Ow,” Boy rubbed his head, wincing as he pushed himself off the dirty floor.

Alex groaned as well, seemingly trying to wake up still.

Jekyll groaned as she got up, her eyes twitching as she heard Mark snoring beside her. “What the heck?” She glared at Charon, who did not turn back to look at anyone.

“Why does nobody strap in?” Lenore asked, gesturing to the seatbelt across her waist. “It would help you all.”

We didn’t expect to have a terrible driver, Hyde snapped in Jekyll’s head, silently plotting a just-in-case death.

“Charon is a safe driver,” she commented.

Oh, now I’m really going to kill h—

“You really are, ow…” Boy sighed, slumping back into his seat.

Jekyll decided to follow the social norm she had picked up on. “Great job, Charon…”

“Thank you, lady,” Charon finally whipped her head around and softly smiled at Jekyll.

She was taken aback and scratched her head. Awh, that was…

Hyde seemed to backtrack as well.

Mallo swung her legs off the adjacent seat and groaned, getting up from the back and walking toward the front. She scoffed as she glared at Mark before strolling over and clapping loudly in front of his face. “Oi, chap, get up,” she snapped.

Mark cursed under his breath as he startled awake, glaring back. “Ugh, you could’ve done a better—” he was cut off mid-snore as he rubbed his eyes. “Give me a second…” His eyes looked dreary and heavy, but he responded quickly. “Okay, I’m good, what happened?”

“We're here. Get up.” She demanded.

“We have arrived,” Lenore added.

“Aren’t we having like a small meeting where we get all the information?” Mark groaned. “Couldn’t you have woken me up after that?”

Mallo’s patience was growing thin already. “No, Mark, because it’s important that you listen and know what we are doing!”

“I’ve slept through half of these and I’ve still done my job.”

The manager finally turned around to see the commotion. “Half?” He stammered. “We’ve only had one.”

“Eh, I mean—”

“And I assume you’ve slept through that,” Lenore cut him off. “Half of your round up.”

“We’ve had the training manuals, the instructions, and more. I got the gist of it.”

Mallo groaned and rubbed her face, turning away from him. “Man, no wonder you’re useless,” she mumbled and shook her head as she looked at the guide.

Mark grinned. “You say that, yet I am the one who figured out the whole thing with Maut, the insurance. I lead combat, so let’s not talk about uselessness here. I may be lazy, but at least I know what I’m doing half of the time.”

Lenore rubbed her temples. “Oh, gosh… things are getting off to an excellent start, I see.”

Mallo simply ignored Mark. Her gaze was stuck on Vergilius as if she waited for him to give the instructions.

Jekyll took the time passed by the argument to look outside. She saw little to no city lights… in fact, she didn’t see the city at all. “...Where are we anyway?”

They were certainly far from the familiar cityscape they had known. As the party's focus shifted, their eyes wandered to the world beyond the bus windows. At first, it seemed deceptively ordinary—stone brick buildings sat stoically under the blanket of the night sky, a disorienting sight given that it was clearly the afternoon. The strange contrast tugged at their sense of reality, the mundane and the surreal locked in an inexplicable dance.

The land around them felt untouched, wild, and untouched by human hands. Jagged rocks, both large and small, dotted the terrain like relics of a forgotten age. The trees stood tall and silent, their silhouettes etched against the deep hues of twilight. This was not a place that welcomed life; it felt remote, unclaimed, and solemnly aloof, as though it actively resisted being known.

The soundscape of the moment was gentle yet striking. Crickets serenaded the stillness with a soft, steady rhythm, weaving their song through the persistent hum of the bus engine. It was a melody that could have lulled the unguarded into a daze, yet the starkness of the scene kept the party alert. Each member sensed an underlying tension in the air—a subtle charge that suggested there was more to this environment than met the eye.

Above, the sky stretched endlessly, free of the heavy clouds that had always shrouded the city. Stars glittered with uninhibited brilliance, their celestial dance breathtaking in its grandeur. There were so many—countless points of light, each seemingly alive, pulsating with a vibrancy that one rarely saw. Their varied colors spilled across the heavens, creating an artistic masterpiece that defied any earthly comparison. The hues blended seamlessly, radiant streaks of blue, crimson, gold, and violet shimmering like freshly laid brushstrokes, beckoning the viewer to pause and marvel.

The party couldn't help but feel like intruders in this untouched expanse, passengers on the fringe of a vast, uncharted realm. The landscape whispered mysteries in its silence, daring them to uncover what secrets lay hidden beneath its stark beauty. Jekyll’s jaw slackened, staring up in awe at the stars. The stars… we… we finally get to see them…

How inspiring. Hyde’s voice was also full of wonder. Look how beautiful the colors work…

“We are just outside of District 17,” Vergilius explained.

“The outskirts?” The window lost the prisoner's attention. “Ain’t that the place where all them monsters are roaming about?” He looked back outside. “This doesn’t look like a place where mobs would be roaming around.”

“I don’t see any at the moment, perhaps,” Lenore countered.

“I don’t know, man. You hear and see people talking about stepping into the outskirts, and getting swarmed by monsters, and getting killed. This looks like the outskirts, but maybe it’s the city, I don’t know.”

“Maybe they can just tell the Red Gaze is here or something.” Lenore guessed, throwing the idea out there like darts on a board.

Alex visibly pales, the blood draining from his face at the mention of the outskirts, causing a few raised eyebrows to be cast in his direction.

What’s his deal?

Jekyll shrugged at Hyde’s comment, not caring too much about the matter.

Mark rolled his eyes. “No offense, Lenore, I don’t imagine that the outskirts would know who the Red Gaze is. It’s more of a city thing and less of a monster-knowing what the hell a color ranking is, right, Vergi?”

“Maybe they can just detect… strange power. Maybe Dante affects them in some capacity; perhaps he has an aura about him that discourages monsters and abnormalities from approaching the bus.” Despite her efforts to sound concrete, Lenore did not sound sure of her explanation herself, as if she was just pulling it out of the sky on a whim. “Golden boughs do weaken abnormalities, correct?”

Kuvira slowly got up from the back seat, making her way toward the center of the back of the bus as she listened to her conversation. Her face was furrowed and confused, as if she had heard something that struck a memory. “This isn’t just the outskirts, though… is it…?” Her voice was soft and carried an underlying tone that Jekyll couldn’t quite identify.

The bus grew silent as people turned their faces toward her. It was not often that the bus had calmed down over one person speaking up; not even Vergilius could successfully do that every time. It was something about the way Kuvira said it, perhaps, or a type of authority she carried.

A type of power she had.

You’re insane, Hyde.

Vergilius slowly nodded, almost expecting someone to chime in, but nobody did. He gestured outside toward the darkness. “We are currently in the remains of Z Corp, post Smoke War.”

Kuvira slowly nodded and went back to her seat, her usual glowing skin dimming as if to match the darkness. She glanced out the window, leaning her elbow on the seat, and heaved a great sigh, her eyes somewhere else.

What is her deal?

“We will be handling a more… diplomatic mission of sorts,” the Red Gaze continued. “I entrust that you are all aware of what diplomacy is, yes?”

Mark shrugs. “Ehh…”

“Yeah, a little bit,” Boy commented.

Mallo turned in her seat to face the guide. “Yeah, it’s like talking and stuff, to make a deal, right?”

“Just to ask ahead, if diplomacy fails, what’s our other option?” Mark inquired, clearly not liking the idea of negotiating with an outsider.

How ironic, he used to do it all the time. Hyde grinned in Jekyll’s mind. He must have gotten sick of it.

I mean, it is easier to bash someone’s head in and take what we need.

Look at you being so vulgar.

The prisoner received a red, harsh glare before his reply was generated. “If this does not go as intended… Limbus Company will try another form of persuasion. However, doing it this way will entitle you all to a free life lesson.”

“The life lesson of… what? That we have a chance to suck at talking?”

“You might suck at talking,” Boy chimed in, somewhat excited about the idea. “But I am fairly confident that I can talk.”

“What, and the lesson being violence isn’t always the solution?” Mallo was the last person Jekyll expected to agree with Mark on the matter, nevertheless, it was she who spoke the thought. “Really? Like, no offense, but we are not five.”

The thousand-yard stare the guide ripped from Mark and placed on Mallo was one of a kind and said wonders about her statement, as if he couldn’t think of a more obvious lie.

“Not to bring your point down, Mallo, but we did get into many childish fights all last mission,” Mark sat back in his seat, proud of his observation.

“You two got into a childish fight when you were training me,” Boy added.

The prisoner did not like that comment. “Hold up, it wasn’t a childish fight, we specifically told—”

Boy, Mark, and Mallo proceeded to talk over each other for the next five minutes. The doctor leaned back in her seat and buried her face in her hands. This is why we can’t ever get anything done. She nor Hyde saw the point in keeping up with their aimless arguing that derailed off the topic very quickly.

“This is why you two need to be in separate rooms,” Boy stated calmly, gesturing with both of his hands oddly.

“We are in separate rooms!” Mallo and Mark shouted at the same time.

Wow, they finally agreed on something for once.

“You guys are not five years old,” the guide looked more annoyed than satisfied when they had proven his point correct. His expression was sarcastic, but it was clear he wanted to get on with the task at hand.

Mark leaned back in his seat. “I don’t know, man, I am just doing my job.”

“Hopefully, the ideal solution to this is that you all come out of this a little bit wiser,” Vergilius did not acknowledge Mark’s remark and continued on with the brief, sighing to himself.

“Vergi, Vergi, buddy, can I call you Vergi?”

“No.”

“Okay, uhm… What can I call you then? Mr. Red Gaze, Vergilius, old man?”

“Vergilius will suffice.”

“Alright Vergilius… what if they are uncooperative, huh? Are we permitted to use force?”

Who are these people we are trying to negotiate with anyway? Jekyll thought. Surely they aren’t some strong force that we have to take the bough by force… the threat alone should be enough considering the enemies we faced.

Boy glanced at Mark, answering his question. “I say we cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“We should still leave that discretion to the decision of the executive manager,” Lenore cut in before Mark could start yapping again.

“That is correct, Lenore. It is good to see someone not so ready to devolve into baseless violence.” The guide nodded slowly in her direction.

“It’s not baseless violence!” Mark argued. “It has a basis; that being they are uncooperative!”

“We haven’t even met them yet!” Boy pointed out with a tinge of anxiety in his voice.

“It never hurts to prepare in advance.”

“Who is this that we are trying to convince?” Jekyll piped her voice up above the rest, hoping to get the brief back on topic. I want information that’s actually useful here, not this pointless bickering.

Vergilius hesitated for a moment, glancing outside as if he was recalling… no, reliving some memories. He clasped his hands together before crossing his arms and speaking softly. “We will be meeting with one of the former LCB-2 members… Sinner Ornella Alwera.”

Huh, he didn’t call them by their sinner number, that’s odd.

Who cares? Hyde shrugged.

Well, it means she probably either did something really good or really bad to earn that kind of respect from the guy…

My question still stands.

“Oh, one of the incompetent people?” Mark snickered.

Dante looked hurt by the comment. “Mark!”

“Oh gosh,” Lenore rolled her eyes and facepalmed.

“Am I wrong? The LCB-2 failed, that’s why we exist!” He defended.

Jatayu shrank down in his seat, not wanting to be seen after the harsh comments were thrown about his former crewmates.

Mark’s gaze softened ever so slightly as he observed the veteran. “Uh, no offense Jatayu, it happened.”

“They can’t be total failures, Jatayu is here,” Mallo added.

“Jatayu performed well working with us, but from what we heard, he didn’t do that well working with the others. Maybe it’s just us helping Jatayu?”

Boy cursed out loud at the remark.

“It’s a give or take thing, depending on the coworkers.” Mallo shrugged, glancing back at the guide as if she too wanted to get on with the brief.

“Did the other guys not help each other at all?” Mark asked anyone who wished to answer.

“It-It’s not that t-they weren’t working together…” Dante began, scratching his hands nervously. “They could… uhm… It was just a lot of backstabbing and holding me hostage and… other things.”

“Ah, so what Mallo did to you with the spear.”

“I-I-I didn’t do anything, Mark,” Mallo snapped, glaring. “Shut up!”

“Dante, you wanna replay that memory?”

“Can we get on with this?” Jekyll narrowed her visible eye, growing annoyed by the second.

“I agree with Jekyll,” Mallo added.

I didn’t ask for your agreement. “Come on, guys, I don’t want to sit here and listen to you all whine and argue all day.”

“Let’s move on, because I don’t want to sit on the bus all day,” Mallo continued to add commentary, much to Jekyll’s disapproval.

“If you want your questions answered, you can ask the LCB-2 person,” Alex raised his head and spoke for the first time that day. It seemed he was done keeping to himself.

“Quiet,” Vergilius almost growled as his eyes grew red, signifying his ever-dwindling patience. “It will be nice to get rid of you all for an evening. We should continue with the debriefing.” He inhaled a sharp breath and sighed to himself. “Ms. Alwera has offered to give us a golden bough. This is something you all should realize we are highly in need of.” He glanced outside toward the flickering lights of the abandoned city. “In return, however, she has requested a conference of sorts with the new LCB team.” He glanced back toward the group regrettably. “That would be you all.”

Mallo glanced at Mark as if she wanted to say something, but she instead turned her head toward the guide. “Why?”

“The explanations provided were vague and scarce to me. Ms. Faust?”

Faust would get up from her seat between Mallo, Alex, and Jatayu before addressing the company. “The purpose of this is likely to… get in touch, rebuild bridges and… put away former grudges that Ms. Ornella Alwera held against Limbus Company, amongst other personal reasons.”

“I think I heard that wrong.” Mark wasn’t the only one who was looking at Faust as if she had gone crazy, but he was the first to speak about it. “Can you repeat that again, Faust?” When Faust simply repeated what she said in question form, the prisoner continued. “So, you’re telling me, the person who failed at her job wants to put away grudges and build bridges at something she failed at.”

“Well,” Dante grew more nervous by the second, his flames sparking more frequently than usual. “Ornella was one of the sinners I had wronged personally from the LCB-2…” he rubbed his head as if trying to calm himself down from the memories.

Dante? Wrong somebody? That’s a first. Jekyll side-eyed Dante and didn’t hide her disdain.

Mark looked perplexed. “What the hell did you do, Dante?”

“I didn’t mean to… but there was a situation involving one of the employees where I had to betray Ornella’s trust to calm the situation down…”

“Are you saying Ornella was going against the group, and to ensure the group didn’t fall apart, you did what you did, and now she blames you for making a good decision?”

“No… Ornella… was trying to protect the group.” Dante glanced at the bus floor. “But to prevent a distortion from happening… I had to slightly throw her under the bus to keep the situation from escalating.”

The party paused for a moment, pondering what the manager had informed them about, as vague as it was. The prisoner turned toward the guide and spoke to break the silence. “Vergilius, before we head out, can we get Dante’s story real quick? We should get the whole picture before we step into something and screw everything up.”

To the doctor’s surprise, Mallo agreed with him. “Yeah, it might be a good idea to not immediately anger the person we are trying to negotiate with.”

Vergilius could not hide his impatience any longer. “I don’t see why not, it’s not like we got all day,” his sharp glare turned toward the manager, as if telling him to make it quick.

“Okay, wait a moment, Dante,” Mark rushed into the back of the bus before returning shortly with a bucket of popcorn.

Boy looked curiously at the food. “Where’d you get that?”

“I have crap in my room, okay, Boy?”

Alex slowly reached over to eat some of the popcorn himself.

“Let me try to understand this,” Lenore interrupted the commotion. “If you can read our memories, can you show us yours? It might be faster than telling what happened.”

“If I can, I haven’t figured out how.” Dante replied with a shrug. “The most I can tell you is that I am being honest.”

There was a quiet hush over the bus as everyone slowly leaned in to listen to the manager tell the story, save for Vergilius and Charon who stared at the stars and listened to the wind brushing against the vehicle. The party waited anxiously to hear a tale older than their arrival, and one the veteran recalled quiet well.

Dante sighed, sitting down as his clock faced the floor. “A previous employee, Carcosa, sinner no. 16, was about to undergo a mental breakdown of sorts, likely a distortion. They were kind of already an entity of itself and not human, it is really fuzzy territory… Ms. Faust would know more about it but as far as things are concerned, Carcosa held me at weapon-point with a blade to my neck…”

It was easy to catch the glance Mark gave Mallo at the moment.

“It was Ornella, Ithas, and Salki who came to my rescue. Jatayu was killed as Carcosa held me hostage, and Ithas was knocked out, but he eventually got back up after I rewound him and assisted in restraining Carcosa.”

“This Ithas guy definitely sounds incompetent; getting knocked out while protecting the manager? Not really competent.”

Jekyll rubbed her face. Shut up, Mark. No one appreciates your commentary.

“In order to prevent Carcosa from having a full-on mental breakdown, Salki assisted in comforting her, but in order to let me go, I had to say a few secrets that Ornella entrusted to me… Secrets that would not put her in a good light toward Carcosa. I betrayed her trust in doing so.” He paused, heaving a sigh. “It ended up with me being spared and Carcosa calming down… but not without a cost, I guess.”

Mark, still, wasn’t satisfied. “So are you going to say what the secrets were? Come on, Dante. Don’t leave us hanging.”

The manager snapped his head up to face the prisoner. “I am not going to make that same mistake again.” He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back with a firm nod as if that was a hill he would die on.

“So you want us to walk in blind and negotiate with someone that knows the full story and left—”

“Mark,” Lenore interjected quickly. “I think all that matters is we know the important context of what Dante did to upset her even if we don’t know the exact details of the events. How do those specifics matter in this case?”

“Maybe things would make more sense if he gave them to us, because right now it feels like Dante made the right decision and this sinner or whatever is being upset over a bunch of nonsense.”

Lenore stammered before turning toward the veteran. “Jatayu, you were there, what were your thoughts on this? Do you think Ornella being upset over this is justified?”

“I was not there when it took place. All I did was find Ornella after she left the room to comfort them.” He replied shortly, not making eye contact. “I don’t exactly know what was said.”

“The bottom line is Dante has never been dishonest with us,” Lenore turned away from Jatayu and faced Mark and Dante again. “I think we can trust him in this case.”

“Ehh, maybe, I don’t trust clockhead over here, no offense,” Mark rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat.

Dante opened his mouth to defend himself, but clamped it shut and nodded along.

“Well now that we know, I assume that’s everything?” Mallo was already standing by the door, tapping her foot impatiently.

“I still have a question,” Lenore scooted forward in her seat. “Do we know how Ornella got a golden bough? It might come into play when asking her to give it up.”

“Such information has not been disclosed,” Faust answered. “However, the LCCB detected a strong resonance of one here. It can be hypothesised that shortly after Ornella’s departure from Limbus Company she managed to obtain one. Or, perhaps, she already did have one.”

“Wouldn’t that be a breach of contract if she did have access to one and did not hand it over?”

Not if they didn’t find out, Hyde recalled as much of the clauses as she could in the contract. It’s only if they knew and then you refused to hand it over. It’s not a crime if they never find out.

Mallo almost spoke her thoughts. “If I remember correctly there wasn’t any sort of clause of already owning one.”

“Right, I remember too,” Lenore pondered the memory with her hand on her chin. “I’m very surprised that is the case. You think the company would think of that but eh, oh well.”

“Maybe it is under their possession. They didn’t get it under the company, therefore it’s theirs.”

“I mean, yes, but doesn’t the company want all of the golden boughs?”

“This is correct,” Faust nodded approvingly to Lenore.

“Why do you want the golden boughs anyway?” Mallo asked. “We are the ones getting them, I feel like this is very important information to know.”

“Nah, it’s grunt work. We are just collecting crap, and they take it, because we are the grunts,” Mark offered his input.

“The attestation of the golden boughs would align to assist Limbus Company’s goals and your own heart’s desires.” corrected Faust.

“I don’t need a golden bough to get what I want, I can do it by myself,” Mallo scoffed.

“Then why are you here?” Lenore inquired.

“Take a guess.”

“It’s surely not for the salary.”

“Did they offer you a good deal?” Boy asked.

“What other place would hire a previous wing employee?” Mallo crossed her arms and leaned on the window behind her.

Jekyll rubbed her head, resting it in her lap. This is why we never get anything done. Management under Sir Danves Carew was more efficient than this.

There was more senseless arguing before Mark decided to budge in with an insult as always, causing more ruckus in the bus and delaying the briefing further. Jekyll glanced up at the crowd before slumping into her seat and turning her gaze in the direction of Jatayu, who was watching the fight with agony, and Kuvira… who’s glow seemed to dim, her eyes downcast and locked on the outside landscape.

…Is she from here or something?

The conversation went onto Faust’s knowledge and how far it encompasses, mainly led by Mark, but Jekyll only had half of an ear paying attention as she looked outside the window herself toward the stars.

You can surely see a lot more of them here than from the city.

Quite inspiring, isn’t it?

If you want to take it that way, Hyde, then sure.

I believe our students would create many glorious things if we gave them the chance to see a sky like this.

Perhaps one of the fingers has nearby jurisdiction and we can ask them for an escort.

I like your thinking.

…Thanks, I guess.

Jekyll and Hyde only stopped their creative brainstorming when Vergilius’ voice cut through the commotion like a hot knife on butter. “This has been idiotic. That is all the information you needed. It will be good for me to rest while you are out on the mission.”

Jekyll will never forget the grin that slowly grew on Faust’s face. “Sir Vergilius?”

“Faust?”

“You are slightly mistaken. You will be accompanying the sinners on this journey.”

Jekyll sat up from her seat, baffled. “What?”

Mallo turned slowly to face the group as Mark started to shout. “Ey! Old man is joining us!”

“The Red Gaze is accompanying us to a… diplomatic meeting?” Lenore tilted her head confusingly. Isn’t that like showing up with a loaded gun?”

“Maybe she has her own loaded gun,” Mark proposed.

“Surely not,” Mallo glanced at Faust. “Does Ornella have some history with Vergilius or something?”

“Vergilius was around during the LCB-2 journey, it is highly likely that Ms. Ornella wishes to see him too.” Faust closed her eyes and sat back down.

Mark smirked. “Does she have a crush on Vergilius or something?”

Mallo audibly laughed at the comment. “Okay, that’s a good one Mark, alright.” It was difficult to decipher whether or not she was being sarcastic.

Lenore shrugged. “She could just be a fan.”

Jekyll side-eyed Kuvira when she slowly rose from her seat and strolled over to the group, standing behind Alex and next to Jatayu. “Faust, does this mean I can also come? I mean, come on, I am Mr. Red Gaze’s assistant, so I gotta go where he goes because you know that’s kind of my job description haha… and if Charon is going too, well, I think it would be best that there would be some extra protection for her as well, assuming we are all invited by our old friend and—”

“Indeed,” Faust replied to cut her off before she rambled. “Ms. Kuvira and Ms. Charon will be allowed to accompany the group on this journey.”

“Will we be leaving the bus completely unguarded?” Lenore inquired.

“No, Faust will stay behind to ensure the repairs on the bus are meeting expectations.”

“I’m somewhat surprised; aren’t you the most knowledgeable for terms of negotiation?”

Mark chimed in yet again. “Maybe she can’t?”

Faust smiled at him.

Her smile got to his ego. “See? I’m right. Maybe it’s a contract obligation on why she can’t, and it’s up to us to—”

“Are we going to sit here and let this kid yap, or are we going to get on with it?” Jekyll stood up from her seat, stretching her back. Her tone was sharper than usual, and she almost covered her mouth afterward but refrained.

Huh, taking after my tongue I see.

Shut up.

Mark furrowed his eyebrows and turned toward the doctor. “Hyde?”

“To be fair, we were discussing important details of the mission,” Lenore argued. “And don’t upset Jekyll like that.”

Not important enough to the negotiation at hand.

“Isn’t Jekyll usually more meek, though? That was rather harsh coming from her.” Mark bit back. “It doesn’t sound like Jekyll.”

“Congrats, Jekyll, you’re getting a spine,” Dante tried to compliment her, but it only pissed her off more.

Jekyll took a deep breath, trying to calm her tone and block out Hyde’s overbearing presence in her mind as she calmly replied whilst rubbing her face. “We’ve been in this bus for… I don’t even know how long I’ve lost count of the time. I would like to get some fresh air.”

Vergilius looked as annoyed as she did. “It’s been five minutes, and I already agree.”

“Exactly.” Guess this Red Gaze guy isn’t so bad after all.

“I’ve been waiting at the door this entire time,” Mallo added. “I am ready to go.”

There was some more unimportant chatter before Charon opened the bus door to let everyone out. The hiss of hydraulics marked the slow, deliberate opening of the bus doors. A rush of cold wind wasted no time, slipping past the threshold and clawing at exposed skin, tugging at coats and hair alike. The stale warmth of the bus was immediately replaced with the sharp bite of open air.

Jekyll inhaled deeply. The crispness of it cut through the fatigue that had settled in her bones, awakening her senses like a slap to the face. The scent of damp earth and distant pine mixed with the lingering traces of exhaust. Despite the chill, it was refreshing—cleansing, even.

Faust and Mark were the only ones who did not exit the bus immediately. Jekyll rubbed her arms together slowly, exhaling a shaky breath. “It’s really cold out here.”

The vast expanse stretched endlessly above them, a sea of shimmering stars unburdened by city lights. They burned brilliant and cold, their silent vigil untouched by the dangers lurking beneath.

Jekyll barely remembered to breathe. She had seen stars before, of course—but not like this. Not with this clarity, this raw, breathtaking magnitude. It was as though the universe had opened itself to her for the first time, laying bare its infinite wonders.

Mallo, standing beside her, hugged her arms against the chill but didn’t look away. “Strangely beautiful,” she murmured again, softer this time. “I’ve never been to the outskirts before.”

Jekyll tore her gaze away to glance at her companion. The awe in Mallo’s face mirrored her own. For a fleeting moment, the worries and monsters that loomed ahead faded into the background.

Then, the wind shifted. A rustling in the underbrush—too deliberate, too close.

The stars remained indifferent.

“Hey Dante?” Mallo turned toward the manager, her voice cutting through Jekyll’s thoughts. “Have you been to the outskirts before?”

“Multiple times, yes.” There was a pause as his clock ticked slowly. “Why do you ask?”

“What do you think of the stars?”

Dante took a moment to reach his hand out toward the vast sky. “I’m still trying to reach towards mine, but… I think we are almost there.”

There were a couple of murmurs before the manager continued. “I see it every time I rewind for you guys…” He glanced ahead as if he was dozing off before clapping his hands together. “That said, we should probably get a move on! Kuvira has already walked ahead of us.”

Jekyll turned her attention to the guide’s assistant as she wandered down the path ahead. Her usual vibrance had dulled, her footsteps slow, measured. The ruins surrounded her like specters of a past long forgotten—or perhaps a past she had tried to forget. There was something different about the way she moved here, as if each crumbling archway, each shattered pillar, held whispers only she could hear.

The wind wove through the desolate remnants, curling around Kuvira’s form as though greeting an old acquaintance. Her gaze lingered on a broken monument at the heart of the wreckage, eyes tracing the faded engravings with a familiarity that did not belong to a mere visitor. The way her fingers twitched, the slight press of her lips—it was not longing, not nostalgia, but something heavier.

Jekyll didn’t speak. Neither did anyone else. Those who stared at her felt it—the shift, the unspoken weight pressing against Kuvira’s shoulders. Whatever history she had with this place, it wasn’t theirs to intrude upon.

She inhaled sharply, straightening her posture before stepping forward, leaving behind whatever ghosts clung to her.

The ruins remained silent, but the wind whispered as if it knew better, as if they knew who she was to this place.

What more secrets have you been hiding from us, Kuv?

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