The café was quiet at this hour, with only a handful of patrons scattered across worn leather seats. Afternoon sunlight slanted through the windows, catching dust motes in lazy spirals.
Ashen sat across from Seraphine, watching her stir her coffee with unnecessary concentration.
"So the app's actually working?" she asked, finally looking up with that bright smile that made her eyes crinkle at the corners.
"Better than expected." He leaned back, cradling his own cup. "Alice and I rebuilt the whole thing from scratch."
Seraphine's expression brightened. "Oh! Finally! Took you long enough~"
"We dragged a bit, but the results were good." He couldn't help but grin. "Turns out a tool designed for sneaking around makes a pretty decent foundation for our needs."
She giggled, then reached across the table to squeeze his hand. The touch was warm, affectionate... and, unfortunately, brief. Her fingers slipped away almost immediately as she picked up her coffee cup.
Ashen noted it but didn't comment. Instead, he continued, "We turned it into a hub with multiple mini-apps all under one system. There's a platform for the information department where they post everything they gather, and we've got an AI agent parsing through it all."
"AI agent?" Seraphine tilted her head.
"Yep. It's super convenient for removing redundancies and highlighting important details. Otherwise, we'd drown in data." He took a sip of his coffee. "Then there are separate mission and report platforms for each department. With those, orders can be made remotely without ever meeting face-to-face."
The organizational structure had evolved rapidly once Alice and Seraphine's companies injected capital. What started as neighbors watching his family and a handful of security personnel had grown into something with actual infrastructure.
Better hardware meant a more robust database. The AI training space Alice set up could handle the volume of information flowing in daily. Salaries went up, which meant better talent. They'd even established proper training facilities for the security agents, complete with cover stories to camouflage their real operations.
"We even added achievement scores," Ashen added, a bit embarrassed. "There are even rankings and gamification. Alice's idea."
Seraphine laughed. "That sounds exactly like something she'd think of."
"It works, though. People actually compete for top spots in their departments."
The scope had expanded considerably with two businesses now feeding into the network. Alice's company provided access to the tech sector, while Seraphine's gave them inroads to the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Information that used to be fragmented was now connected into comprehensive profiles.
Seraphine's fashion house, which was the most successful, still couldn't contribute beyond financing, though.
'Maybe she will craft us some cool uniforms if we ever decide to stop the secrecy gimmick.' Ashen mused internally.
What was obvious was that their scope wasn't just protection anymore. Alice had started using the intelligence network to recruit promising candidates for her company, screening them before they ever sat for an interview. Seraphine did the same, plus used the gathered data to understand what features people actually wanted in medical equipment, shaping her product development.
"Lucia's been the biggest beneficiary, though," Ashen said, leaning forward slightly. Seraphine mirrored the movement for a moment, then seemed to catch herself and sat back, tucking a strand of pink-tipped hair behind her ear.
"How so?"
"She used to compete with dozens of other Atlas Defense recruiters for the same prospects. Now she just commissions missions through our app. 'Find me someone with X characteristics, Y background, Z skillset.' The information department handles the search, personality profiles, everything. She doesn't even have to leave her house."
Recruitment had reopened across the board, especially for information gatherers. Those positions had the loosest constraints since the people filling them didn't even know they were part of an organization. They were more of part-time jobbers who reported suspicious activity, monitored social media, and tracked just about anything. The gluttonous process Alice had designed meant they just collected everything, and the AI sorted it later.
Moreover, Lucia had taken the lead on the tech-savvy recruitment, like hackers, programmers, and anyone who could dig deeper than surface-level public records. That's when the name had appeared on his screen.
Jenna Slate.
Ashen had stared at it for a solid minute, cross-referencing with what he knew from Braun. Same last name. Right age range. When he'd pulled her profile and seen the hacking skills, he'd almost rejected her application on principle.
But when he checked her through the dream parasites and watched her crack security systems she had no business cracking, and even cover her tracks with a professionalism that shouldn't exist in someone barely out of their teens, he caved in.
'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree,' he'd thought, remembering that Braun had been an undercover operative.
In the end, he'd approved her. With the excuse that having her inside the organization meant he could keep an eye on her.
He was just making sure nothing happened to Braun's daughter.
'Yeah right… Who am I kidding? I'm just greedy for talent.'
He was getting better at lying to himself.
"You look far away," Seraphine's voice pulled him back. She was watching him with those perceptive blue eyes, head tilted in concern.
"Just thinking about recruitment." He set down his cup. "We brought in someone with connections to a friend."
"Friend?"
"Braun's daughter."
"Oh! Really? Mr Braun's daughter… that's great! Can I meet her?"
"Sure…"
Seraphine reached out again, her hand covering his. The touch lingered longer this time, her thumb brushing across his knuckles. Then she seemed to realize what she was doing and pulled back, wrapping both hands around her coffee cup instead.
The pattern was becoming clearer. She'd initiate contact, then retreat. Move closer, then remember something and create distance.
Ashen wanted to ask, and he already did many times. But she always found ways to avoid his questions, and he didn't want to push her too much if she didn't want to talk about it.
Instead, he occupied his thoughts with something else to distract himself from the worry that was starting to fester slowly within.
For example. The Shroud surrounds this planet.
Ashen had never forgotten Braun's mention of how some people were still trying to interfere with it, with a group even successfully seeing beyond it for a brief moment.
After knowing what was beyond the veil, he knew that he had to stop those suicidal lunatics at all costs, unless they accidentally touched something they had no business touching, and doomed them all.
The Crow of Secrets could kill people just by having their secrets spilled. Who knew what the others could do? Who knew if they couldn't reach through and touch this side just by being observed?
So Ashen took the job of looking for these reckless fools quite seriously. Or they might doom them all without anyone knowing.
"..."
"..."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the café's ambient noise filling the gaps. Someone's phone rang. The espresso machine hissed. Life continued, oblivious to conversations about monsters and hidden wars.
Eventually, Seraphine finished her coffee and stood. Ashen rose with her, and she stepped into his embrace naturally. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her press against him for a long moment.
Then she pulled back before he could kiss her properly, turning it into a peck on the cheek instead.
"I should get back," she said, already stepping away. "My company has a board meeting in an hour."
"Right. Yeah." Ashen watched her gather her things, noting the slight flush on her cheeks. "Sera—"
"I'll see you tonight?" She smiled brightly, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say. "We could do dinner. All four of us. It's been a while since we all sat down together."
"Sure. Tonight."
She left with a wave and that same bright smile, and Ashen stood there wondering what the hell was going on.
⛧
⛧
⛧
After a month in Esperra, Ashen could feel his time here drawing to a close.
His parents had stopped hovering. Lapis's training had progressed to the point where she could hold her own against most opponents. The organization was stable, growing, and self-sustaining.
There was one last person he needed to see before he left.
The old abandoned school looked exactly as it had years ago. Cracked concrete steps… an iron gate hanging off its hinges faded, lettering above the entrance that nobody bothered to repair.
Ashen climbed the familiar path to that particular classroom, finding the pile of broken furniture still arranged in its throne-like configuration.
And sitting on top of it, as if twelve years hadn't passed, was Dorian Everly.
"Well, well," Dorian grinned down at him. "Look who finally remembered his uncle exists."
"Uncle." Ashen couldn't help but smile as he climbed up to take his usual seat on the plank to Dorian's right. "You're looking well."
"And you're lively." Dorian's jovial expression didn't quite hide the assessing look in his eyes. "Did somethin' nice happen?"
The casual greeting felt right. They'd already had their heavy conversation, already worked through the resentment and reunion. This was just... two people catching up.
Still, Ashen had questions that had been burning in his mind.
He decided to start with the less serious one. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"...What would make a woman of the Lust pathway suddenly avoid physical intimacy?"
Dorian's eyebrows shot up. Then he started laughing, that full-bodied sound that filled the entire classroom. "Oh man. Oh, kid. Did your girlfriend find out you're a cheating bastard?"
Ashen facepalmed. "Uncle, please."
"No, seriously." Dorian was still grinning. "Because that would do it. Women tend to get particular about physical affection when their boyfriend's been unfaithful. Ask me how I know."
"I'm not asking you how you know."
"Wise choice." Dorian's grin turned knowing. "So? Am I right?"
'How did he know?' Ashen thought, slightly disturbed by his uncle's accuracy. But then he shook his head. 'No, that's not it. She's not that subtle about her feelings. If Sera was mad at me, I'd know.'
And that was true. Seraphine wore her heart on her sleeve around people she trusted. The avoidance was something else.
Dorian's playful expression faded into something more thoughtful. "Then she's not of the Lust pathway anymore."
Ashen froze. "That's... not possible. A pathway is for life. I've never heard of anyone changing it."
"You wouldn't have." Dorian shrugged. "It's not common. But it happens."
"How?"
"Depends on the pathway. Some are easier to switch than others." Dorian leaned back against the broken chair. "What faction is she with?"
"The Everlasting Covenant."
"Ah." Dorian's expression shifted to an understanding look. "Well, that confirms it."
"Confirms what?"
"The Everlasting Covenant operates differently than most factions." Dorian's tone became almost professorial. "They're primarily healers, right? But here's the thing: Lust isn't naturally suited for healing. It's about desire, attraction, enticement. It's great for manipulation, but terrible for sustained medical work."
Ashen nodded slowly, following the logic.
"So they switch," Dorian continued. "Lust to Chastity. Opposite sides of the same coin. In concepts, anything linked closely makes a transition possible. In our case, chastity gives them the purity, the selflessness, and the ability to channel healing without the distraction of desire."
"I actually helped their Sin Lord design the ritual," Dorian added, his jovial tone returning. "Tricky bit of work, that. Had to account for the conceptual inversion while maintaining pathway stability."
Ashen's mind was almost crashing. Seraphine had switched pathways. But why was she avoiding deeper physical contact?
"The downside," Dorian said, his grin turning almost sympathetic, "is that a woman on the Chastity pathway can't have sex. Not vaginal, not anal, not oral. If she does, whoever takes her chastity doesn't just get her virginity. They get her mana, her power, everything… Reducing her to a helpless mortal."
"Fuck," Ashen muttered.
"Yeah." Dorian's look was understanding. "Sorry, kid. Your girlfriend's committed to never letting you tap that. Chastity's kind of tied to the whole power structure for them."
Actually… Ashen felt more relief than frustration. The mystery was solved. Seraphine's behavior wasn't coming from anything harmful. She wasn't pulling away emotionally. She was just dealing with new restrictions.
'As for the chastity problem...' Ashen almost scoffed. 'I'll find a way eventually. Heh… There's no way I'm letting my woman live without my cock. No fucking way.'
Dorian was watching him with an amused expression. "You're taking this better than I expected."
"Just relieved it's nothing serious." Ashen met his uncle's eyes. "Thanks for the explanation."
"Anytime." Dorian's smile softened. "What else is on your mind? I can tell there's more."
Ashen hesitated, then decided to just ask. "Why are you here? In Esperra, I mean."
"Bit of an open-ended question."
"You're powerful." Ashen kept his tone casual… more on the curious, so it doesn't come off as accusatory. He was mature enough now to understand that things were rarely as simple as they seemed. "If you'd been there… fighting alongside us... There would've been way fewer casualties. So why stay here instead?"
Dorian's expression grew serious, the playful mask dropping away. "My duty is to guard this continent."
"Esperra?"
"The last bastion of humanity," Dorian confirmed. "Seravelle's important, sure. That's where the immediate war is. But Esperra represents a different kind of hope. Here, Science and technology… this Innovation without magic…. Is a new path that the human race had disocovered."
"While it might be underwhelming and mostly useless right now compared ot tha Sins pathway system… who says it will stay the same in a thousand more years?"
He gestured broadly at the abandoned school around them, but Ashen understood he meant the whole continent.
"Moreover… If Seravelle falls," Dorian continued quietly, "humanity still has a chance here. A way to rebuild, to survive, to fight back with tools instead of superpowers. But if Esperra falls while everyone's focused on Seravelle..." He shook his head. "Then it's over. Really over."
Ashen absorbed that, understanding the importance of it. But something still didn't add up.
"Couldn't you help from time to time, though? Something like Emergencies summons? You're on the Sloth pathway, but it's not like you're completely unable to move. I've got a skill that restricts my movement for power too, but I still—"
"—I've given up on ever returning to Seravelle," Dorian said quietly.
The words hung in the air.
Ashen's mouth snapped shut. He looked at his uncle's face and saw something ancient and final in his expression. Questions burned on his tongue, but he swallowed them.
...What could make someone like Dorian give up on an entire continent? What circumstances would force that choice?
But from the look on his face, Ashen knew he wouldn't get a straight answer. Maybe he never will.
What he did know, with absolute certainty, was that as a First Step of the Sloth pathway, who had given up on something, Dorian would never set foot in Seravelle again.
Not in this lifetime.
"Bah! What's with the sudden depressive mood! Who cares about Seravelle anyway?"
"Haah?"
"Aren't you there, kid? I'll leave it to you." Dorian unconcernedly shrugged.
"..."
"Pfft." Ashen suddenly felt laughter leave his throat without warning.
"Yeah… why do I even want an old man like you to come and help? Just sit tight here, and let the young deal with their problems."
"That's my boy!" Dorian patted him twice.
As Ashen climbed down from the pile of broken furniture, Dorian called after him. "Hey. When you go back to Seravelle? Give them hell for me."
Ashen looked back at his uncle, sitting alone on that broken throne in an abandoned classroom, and understood that this was as close as Dorian could get to fighting that war.
"I will," Ashen promised. "I'll give them hell."
⛧ ⛧ ⛧
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