She had begun to slowly learn how to deal with her emotions over the past months and how to tolerate them. In fact, there was even a time when she seemed to be making progress.

However, the emotions she felt during that little dream of hers reawakened the feelings she had suppressed and amplified them. But more than the anger and hatred that had resurfaced, she was also once again truly terrified.

You see, the reason Aika feels fear towards human beings is that she had brought her trauma with her after being reborn as a Bond. Right from the moment she was born in the coliseum, all she could see were people with large, round heads and clownlike grins that terrified her to her core.

And that included her bearer, Cedric, at the time.

She could still tell people apart, though, based on their mannerisms and their distinct presence. Most times when she could not, she had Gamer Privileges help her with identifying people.

So, seeing Julius right now, instead of his face filled with worry and concern for her, all she could see was a monster.

A smiling monster who was reaching for her.

To be honest, the only reason she hadn’t burned him to ashes right now was that she remembered where she was. She remembered who he was.

Looking down, she could see the towel that had been on her head, now on the bedsheets. And so, she understood that he was probably looking out for her.

She drew in a breath and exhaled. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Her eyes returned to their normal blue and her expression softened once more as she slowly let go of his wrist.

"Uhm..." she began, but Julius simply interjected in a gentle voice:

"It’s alright. I understand you must have been startled."

She looked at him, but immediately looked away again to avoid that face. After taking a few breaths to steady her breathing, she tucked her hair behind her ear and said, "I’ll be leaving."

Slowly, she got off the bed and began heading for the door. Julius, who was now rubbing his wrist, asked, "Where would you go?"

Without looking back, she replied, "I’ll come back if I need anything."

She got out and gently shut the door, and her form dissolved into feathers that vanished into the shadows.

***

Some time later, Aika could be seen sitting atop the ledge of the Great Cathedral on Fashkire. One leg was dangling over the precipice and she smoked from a pipe slowly, the smoke drifting into the cold air.

Her head was in turmoil as she tried to make sense of that dream, or rather, that memory she had.

The man who claimed to be God had the face of Kim Min-jun. She couldn’t understand how that was so.

He also kept speaking about rebirth. Was he a God that had been reborn as Kim Min-jun?

She tried to remember the man’s name, but every time she attempted to recall it, it gave her a headache. So, she let it be. As for the little girl, that was her before she got the name Aika. And thinking about it now, she couldn’t help but be conflicted.

How was it possible that she got the name from Kim Min-jun?

Was this his plan all along? To have her be reborn with him as his Bond?

She really wanted to be upset at this fact, but then she remembered his promise to her. He had promised not to make her do anything against her will. So the fact that she had become a Bond must mean that she had agreed to it. She must have chosen to do it willingly.

And thinking about her relationship with Cedric, it seemed that even this version of him had kept the promise without even knowing.

Dominants had full control over their Bonds. Using their connection and true name, they could command them to do anything, and Bonds could not resist.

In other words, Bonds were not partners, but servants.

But Cedric had never treated her like that. Instead, he treated her more like a companion. He respected her boundaries and her choices, which was why she had grown to like him.

Aika sighed as she took a drag from her pipe.

...Speaking of Bonds, that God had referred to them as something bad that should not have existed, but now did, due to his brother’s recklessness.

Aika couldn’t remember what exactly had happened to her before she was found in that alley by that God, but she could definitely tell that she was human back then. And she could also tell that she was born in a place called Xinthrea.

’Xinthrea...’

Aika’s eyes narrowed in thought. ’Isn’t that a city in the second ring?’

From the memories she had of the time Cedric played Seraphim of Doom, she could remember very well that there was a city in the second ring called Xinthrea, and that the Lords of that ring were the dragons.

Could that be why that God referred to her as being from the realm of the dragons?

She could remember herself mentioning the name of a Goddess.

Could the owner of that realm be this Goddess Tatyana?

But more importantly, could the second ring really be her home? Her birthplace?

For a long moment, she stared into the distance as the wind whipped around her. Suddenly, she began to grow really anxious. One side of her wanted to fully recover her memories, but the other part of her was terrified of what would happen if she did.

She still had no idea why she hated humans, or why she had this trauma that had led to her not being able to recognize human faces.

However, she suspected that the second ring might shed light on all of this.

Eventually, she sighed and decided to push the thoughts aside.

She looked down at the evening streets of Fashkire. She could see people walking all around, though they looked more like monsters to her than human beings.

At this moment, she once again missed Cedric.

’When will you be back?’ she thought.

A few months after she was born and had bonded with Cedric, she had begun to recognize his face. She could see his blue eyes, which mirrored hers. She could see his long black hair and a face that she thought was somewhat handsome.

So now, she longed for the only human being she could recognize — the only person who made her feel safe and took away her fears.

***

...

..

.

In the space between life and death...

——

Cedric’s glowing and ethereal silhouette floated in the vast expanse between life and death.

And then... his eyes slowly opened to the endless void.