Ascending the tower with my SSS class

Miguel left the room just as another figure entered. Uriel knew her well: she had gray skin, red eyes, white hair, and horns and a tail that made it clear she was not a human like him.

"Heeeey, Uuuuriel, you woke up."

Uriel couldn’t help but smile. He was happy to see Ralzire; she was the first person he met in the tower, as well as one of his first informal companions.

Ralzire approached him and used her hands to ruffle his hair.

"You bastaaard, you’ve been sleeping all this time. I’m so damn jealous—I wish I could sleep as deeply as you. How wonderful my life would be if that were the case."

"Wait, wait, stop. It’s not like I wanted that to happen, you know?"

Ralzire’s hands stopped.

"Well, you’re right about that. Besides, you really did protect Ininise; we owed you one. But hey, your people are a pain. We didn’t even spend a full day looking for someone to leave you with, but we couldn’t find anyone; for a moment we thought we’d have to keep you with us."

Uriel was aware that the other humans like him referred to Ininise’s kind and the others as "demons." That, of course, probably didn’t mean anything good, but he would ask about it later; for now, he wanted to know what had happened to the rest.

"I wouldn’t have minded either—I like you guys."

Uriel gave her a sincere smile; however, when Ralzire saw his ruined eye, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. Her hands moved to Uriel’s face, caressing it carefully. The fabric covering her hand was somewhat rough, but her fingers felt soft.

"Damn... look what those bastards did to you."

Uriel didn’t want her to worry too much.

"It’s fine, really. I’m sure there’ll be some way to recover it."

Ralzire nodded; she held onto the same hope.

"Well, if you find a way, I’m going to ask you to tell us. You see, Kaelira lost her arm during the blood moon, so she’s been a bit down."

"Oh..."

Uriel felt saddened; he wished he could have fought alongside them, gone through the same misfortunes together, at least.

"Don’t worry, come see her yourself; she’ll bounce back in no time."

"That’s true, Ralzire, please take me to see them. I at least want to thank them for bringing me."

For a moment, Ralzire seemed a bit hesitant, something Uriel’s single eye did not miss.

"Could it be that they don’t want anything to do with me anymore?"

Ralzire turned, surprised. "Idiot, what are you saying? It’s nothing like that."

Uriel was also surprised. Had he said that out loud? Why would he make such a mistake? Was that girl Anastasia’s madness contagious or something?

Ralzire’s fist lightly bumped into Uriel’s shoulder.

"It’s just that I’m a little worried. When you see Ininise, please don’t be too surprised."

Uriel looked at her, confused.

"Surprised? About what exactly?"

Ralzire scratched her neck, searching for the right words to explain the current situation.

"Uuuh... how do I put it. You see, Ininise has changed a bit; it happens to her, so right now she might be a little more aggressive and lively than usual. Well, it’s better if you see for yourself. Are you coming or not?"

"Oh, of course, just wait a moment; I’ll change clothes."

Ralzire stepped out of the room while Uriel tried on the clothes Miguel had brought him; they fit perfectly.

As he changed, his mind couldn’t help but wander to Ininise and the things she had told him about her other "self." It seemed that now was finally the time to meet her. Uriel stared at the wall, letting his thoughts drift about what this Ininise would be like compared to the one he knew.

"Uriel, Uriel!"

The sound of his name pulled him out of the small trance he had entered.

"Oh, Ralzire, sorry, I was just thinking for a few seconds."

Ralzire looked at him as if he had said something strange.

"A few seconds? Uriel, are you okay? I came in to check on you a few minutes ago, but you kept staring at the wall without stopping until I called you; you looked completely out of it."

"Really? Sorry, it must be because I just woke up after sleeping for so long. Let’s go."

How strange... Uriel would swear that only a few moments had passed since he started thinking about Ininise. How could it have been minutes?

As Ralzire and Uriel were leaving, they ran into Anastasia and Vladimir chatting in the living room.

"Oh, are you leaving already? Comrade Uriel, here, take this." Anastasia tossed something at Uriel, who caught it midair.

When Uriel opened his hand, he realized it was a black eyepatch, with several straps to secure it to his face.

"Vladimir went to get it. Oh, and by the way, feel free to come back whenever you want; this house is very large, and it’s ours, after all. HAHAHA."

Vladimir frowned at her.

"Comrade Vladimir, stop looking at me like that; you’re ruining my good mood. Tch, tch."

Uriel smiled. It was undeniable that these two were strange, but they were, without a doubt, kind—which was rare these days.

"Thanks, you guys, and don’t worry, we’ll see each other again; there’s something I want to ask you."

Anastasia looked at him somewhat annoyed.

"Comrade Uriel, you can’t say that and then just leave; I won’t be able to rest easy."

Uriel smiled and simply walked out the door; he felt a bit like teasing the little lady.

"Comrade Uriel! This is betrayal, betrayal, I say! Vladimir, prepare the firing squad, aaaah!"

The man named Vladimir threw a cushion with precise aim, hitting Anastasia square in the face.

Uriel and Ralzire stepped outside. At first glance, it looked like a normal city, only with fewer people in the streets. Each of these people was a climber, so all of them carried weapons.

Uriel expected to see more species besides humans, but he was surprised to find only his own kind wherever he looked. In fact, many of them cast glances at Ralzire—mostly of hatred and contempt, though some were filled with lust; she was a pretty girl, after all.

Ralzire couldn’t stand it any longer and suddenly wrapped her arms around Uriel’s arm.

Uriel was startled; he felt something soft press against his arm, which made him a bit nervous.

Ralzire leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "Play along, will you?"

"Oh, darling, look at that—it’s so pretty. What if we go over there?"

Slowly, the stares didn’t completely disappear, but they noticeably lessened.