"If it isn't Romeo on tour?" Ashen's cheeky greeting was the first thing Braun heard the moment he wandered into earshot.
"Mr. Braun, I didn't realize you were still a threat at your age!" Seraphine added instantly, not even giving him time to return fire.
When those two teamed up, arguing was a lost cause. Braun wisely abandoned any hope of victory, settling for a helpless smile and a casual wave.
"Hey, fellas. Hope I'm not intruding."
"Hi, Braun. A friend of these two is always welcome, so don't be uncomfortable." Alice greeted him next, the only one reacting like a normal human being.
"Yeah, man, we already went over this. Just sit down," Ashen said.
"Then don't mind if I do…" Braun placed his shield on the ground and used it as a makeshift chair across from their bench.
"So… who is she? C'mon, spill the details!" The blonde's tone suddenly turned gossipy, leaving Braun with no real escape.
"It isn't like that," he said, shaking his head. "It was just small talk. Keeping connections isn't a bad habit… it can come in handy when you least expect it."
"Old habits, huh?" Ashen remarked, recalling that his old friend had once been an operative for some undercover organization back in Esperra.
Braun nodded under Seraphine's curious stare and Alice's thoughtful one.
"Well, you know what you're doing," Ashen shrugged. "Still, I'll give my two cents. That one's a gold digger. Don't get too deep into it… Otherwise, if she leaves your ass later, she's leaving with half."
"Yeah, I'm not doing anything 'deep' at my age," Braun said with a chuckle. "Don't worry."
"Wait, Ash, why are you calling it like that?" Seraphine cut in, clicking her tongue. "What did the girl do to earn your prejudice? Now all her chances with Mr. Braun are over. How heartless…"
One would think that this woman had suddenly recalled her identity as a saintess, but Ashen knew better. She was bored. And when bored, it was often him whom she messed with.
Lifting his hands in surrender, he corrected himself. "Aight, aight… I won't say she's a gold digger. But she ain't messin' with any brokies."
"Ashen, that's not helping," Seraphine sighed in mock disappointment.
"Yeah, Ashen," Alice added, tilting her head innocently. "Do I also have to teach you how to be polite?"
He shot her a look. She smiled back, unrepentant.
'Is it my turn to get bullied?' he thought, mildly amused. 'Hmph. It'll take more than this to bully this one.'
Turning back to Braun, Ashen straightened and spoke with utmost seriousness. "Alright, Braun... I am not implying that she is only interested in the financial stability of men; however, it must be said that she avoids relations with impoverished men."
Braun stared at him for a second, then snorted and shook his head. "You've got a real talent for saying the same stupid thing three different ways," he muttered, settling more comfortably against his shield. "It's almost impressive."
Ashen opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, a faint sound slipped out.
A breathy snicker.
Seraphine had turned her face away, one hand covering her mouth, shoulders trembling, but that was enough to give her away. A moment later, Alice failed a little less gracefully, letting out a soft laugh she quickly tried, and failed, to suppress.
"Well," Ashen said flatly, glancing between them, "I see where I stand."
That did it.
Seraphine laughed outright now, light and unrestrained, while Alice shook her head, smiling despite herself. Braun didn't add anything. He just watched the chemistry that the three naturally displayed. It seemed to come too easily for them.
'Funny,' he thought, gaze lingering. 'In a place drowning in despair… you're the only ones I've seen laugh like this. Like the world hasn't tried to break you.'
For a moment, he smiled to himself, quietly, and stayed right where he was, letting himself sit there and take it in... The noise, the warmth, and their fresh breath of life.
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[You have taken another Step toward Ascension. Congratulations!]
[You are now a Step IV, Usurer of Tomorrows]
It had been a while since the system's last messages rang in Lucia's head. But despite her successful ascension, as well as the satisfactory skills she'd obtained, her countenance remained gloomy.
There was one reason for her bad mood, or more like one culprit. It was him… Ashen Hart.
"Haah…"
Letting out a long sigh, she adjusted her damp bangs, straightened her collar, and slipped into her high heels before making her way out of the building where the ascension rooms were situated.
Half an hour of walking, and she was finally back at her rented apartment. The walk did not uplift her mood… and neither did the cold, empty flat that she returned to.
Throwing herself in the most graceless way on the sofa, she palmed her face. "So much for hating irreplaceable things… I should stop unnecessarily lying to myself."
But Lucia knew that it wasn't truly a lie. Things that made her lose control of her emotions… affected her actions in ways she normally would never act… true friends, loyal partners, devoted lovers… How she loathed those pesky irreplaceable things…
…But as much as she loathed them… she also longed for them.
Lucia realized that she was only human in the end, and it was a human's instinct to always seek the most precious thing.
That was where her longing came from, even though her logical mind only classified it as weakness.
That longing also birthed her envy.
She envied those who had people who cherished them. She also envied those who had something to cherish in equal measures.
She envied the will and courage it took to reach out to these connections, as well as the strength to protect the bonds that formed out of them.
She envied Ashen Hart.
She envied his family. His mother's unconditional love, his father's endless worry, his sister's persistent admiration… Oh, how much she envied him…
She envied him for having a lover when she had no one. She envied him for daring to reach out and not let go, whereas she closed herself off. She envied his relentless will to go to any length necessary for them.
She envied, envied, and envied some more. She was ready to go crazy with envy behind her composed facade.
…But then, along the way, without understanding how and why… that envy started slowly but surely turning into… admiration.
They said that you couldn't envy someone without admiring them or at least having some measure of respect for them somewhere in your heart, and Lucia got the chance to test this theory.
It started with a little voice in her head. It whispered… but it was drowned by the countless envious whispers that constantly wished she could take his lover's place, his sister's place, or even his mother's place to feel some of that bond…
But this whisper was persistent if nothing else… and finally she heard it.
Was it possible for us to become something like that?
When that thought took root, it refused to fade. It stayed there like a stubborn weed, and no storms or gales could uproot it:
'While I have a desirable body, I have an ugly personality. I threw him into this hell. No way anything is happening.'
But didn't he eventually come back? Even when you exposed your ugliness, even when you wronged him, he stayed, didn't he?
'I'm a liar. A con artist. No one would want to spend their life with such a person.'
Doesn't he know that? Didn't you already expose your most vulnerable side to him? Nevertheless, he still trusts you… and nonetheless… he still hasn't left…
'Then… can I?'
Yes.
'Really?'
…You have already chosen.
"I have…" Lucia's resigned voice finally echoed across the desolate room.
He doesn't recoil upon witnessing her ugliness, he doesn't run from her lies, and he accepts everything about her… as much as she was happy, she was distressed by this turn of events.
Because she'd long recognized what she was currently feeling was undoubtedly, absolutely… Irreplaceable.
And now that she had it, she feared losing it… was terrified of it, for she would be left with a hollow that she could never hope to replace if that ever transpired.
"How irritating… This is why dealing with money is so much easier." Despite her words, the tone was as sweet as honey…
But her words weren't exactly misplaced. Not after Ashen ignored her warnings and plunged himself headfirst into danger after he'd etched his place into her heart.
"What a great war hero I have… Excellent job, you asshole!"
Remembering his recent accomplishments made her blood boil. He really was throwing caution to the wind and going all out.
"Well, it doesn't matter… Now I have the tools to ensure his safety." With that, she summoned the description of her new skill.
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Life Stake
Pledge a portion of the target's remaining lifespan to seed a directed simulation of the future toward a single, concrete goal (a chosen outcome or state). The pledged years are taken in real time. The process continues until the goal is reached or the host's lifespan is exhausted.
Cost: One simulated day costs a hundred days of lifespan.
"Now you can buy a glimpse of the future of those you envied... Aren't you glad…?"
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Lucia didn't flinch despite the ominous description, nor did the price of lifespan phase her.
She rotated into a sitting position on the sofa, put one leg over the other, and nonchalantly triggered the skill as if she were ordering an espresso.
{Activated path skill: Life Stake.}
"Set the goal to Ashen's safe return to Esperra."
She didn't know how long this war would last, so she set it to the next indicator she felt would put him in a relatively safe position.
[Simulation starting…]
[Day 1: You have made peace with your feelings and acknowledged Ashen Hart's irreplaceable place in your heart.]
[Day 2: You start working toward ensuring Ashen's safety within your means.]
[Day 5: You use your limited information network to keep a lookout for any individual who might target him.]
[Day 10: You discover some suspicious soldiers who were inquiring about Ashen Hart's usual whereabouts. You warn Ashen of this.]
[Day 11: The next day, you find that these men had been reported by Alice Sinclair and were discovered as cultists. They were executed that very same day.]
[Day 15: Three more attacks had happened in the next four days, but you were able to thwart each one of them before they harmed Ashen Hart.]
[Day 16: You got your hands on the interrogation reports. It turns out that those cultists had Ashen Hart under their radar since his tutorial days because he killed one of their recruits, but his recent accomplishments had pushed them to act.]
[Day 20: Ashen's Hart division now boasted more than 20 thousand soldiers. His fame kept spreading wider, but so did the assassination attempts. You fear that your limited network would not be enough anymore.]
[Day 22: As feared, a group of cultists finally slipped from your net using a third-step pathwalker with a concealment Thema.]
[Thankfully, Ashen Hart didn't die, and even emerged victorious. Despite the grievous wounds he sustained from the assassination, his fame increased even more as someone who was able to kill two steps above his power.]
[Now, whenever people talked about him, hope shone in their eyes. His new nickname, The Guardian, was spreading wide in the Bastion, but your unease didn't abate.]
[Day 23: Your skill, Mark, suddenly triggers, informing you of your target's impending death.]
[You rush to inform Ashen Hart, but you are shocked by his current condition. He barely looked alive despite not having a single wound on his body.]
[You also saw the Saintess candidate and Alice Sinclair tending to him and felt your envy burn anew, but you didn't let emotions get the best of you and calmly informed Ashen of his fate.]
[Contrary to the two women's violent reactions, Ashen remained calm and thanked you for the information. With nothing else to do, you could only helplessly head back.]
[Day 24: The Narkal attacks suddenly stirred back in full force and never stopped again. Ashen Hart was forced to head back to the battlefield despite his condition.]
[Day 25: When you looked at the horizon, you saw colossal figures battling a figure draped in fire of wrath.]
[Among the Herculean shapes stood another silhouette bathed in a much more sinister fire.]
[From the top of the Bastion's wall… a single line of light shot toward the skies before finally colliding with the sinister fire… the fire and the light warred and ultimately, the fire swallowed the light.]
[Eventually, you felt the target of your Mark skill lose its hold, indicating his demise.]
[Ashen Hart… is dead.]
[Since the stipulated goal cannot be accomplished anymore, the Simulation will end here.]
[Simulation ending…]
The words kept passing through her retinas, but her mind stayed stuck on that sentence. Ashen Hart… is dead.
"...Dead?"
Her hand involuntarily reached for her heart and felt its frantic beating… She'd already predicted this outcome before, but receiving such a clear confirmation felt completely foreign.
[6 years and 10 months would be extracted as the price.]
The last message finally snapped her out of her shock, but she paid it no mind because all her focus was on one task.
"Die? Not on my watch."
{Activated path skill: Life Stake.}
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Pic of Lucia.