Night had fallen over the Andromeda Mansion. A digital clock in the corner of the room read exactly 11:00 PM.
The living room was silent, swallowed by an almost complete darkness. Only the dim light of the moon slipped through a thin gap in the curtains, casting a faint glow across the cold, glossy white marble floor.
The streaks of light formed pale patterns on the surface, giving the impression that even time itself hesitated to move.
Modern, minimalist furniture was arranged neatly, with a long white leather sofa resting calmly in the center of the room.
In front of the sofa stood a low glass table with a black metal frame, bare of any decoration. No sounds, no television—only the thick, suffocating silence.
On the sofa, Fear sat curled up. Her thin pajamas clung damply to her from cold sweat. Her body trembled, her breathing erratic and shallow.
Fear's face was pale, her eyes vacant, as if she had just returned from hell in her sleep.
"They… they…" Fear whispered, her voice barely audible.
The voices returned—screams, wails, accusations. Hundreds of victims. Hundreds of memories she couldn't discard.
"Not… not me…" she murmured faintly, clutching her head with both hands. "It's… it's them who used me…"
Her small body curled tighter, swallowed by the calm yet judgmental darkness.
Suddenly, the living room door opened, pushing back the shadows. Dim light from the hallway cast a soft glow on the silhouette of a tall man.
With empty, crimson eyes, Fear turned slightly toward the entrance.
In the doorway stood Rian, dressed in a long black shirt with a matching tie, dark trousers framing his composed stride.
His polished black shoes clicked lightly against the marble floor. A black trench coat hung from his arm, and blue-framed glasses rested on his face.
Without haste, Rian stepped inside, letting the shadow of his body blend seamlessly with the darkness of the room.
Rian's gaze immediately fell on the figure curled up in the middle of the sofa: Fear, clad in thin pajamas damp with cold sweat.
"You haven't slept, Fear," he said flatly, though not entirely without concern. He approached and stopped beside the sofa. "Hmm… your condition. Did you just have a nightmare?"
Fear gave no answer. Her small body remained curled, hands hugging her knees, her face hidden behind her arms.
Rian studied the tiny figure, shrouded in the lingering shadows of an unfinished nightmare.
He exhaled softly, then with calm, deliberate movements, he sat down behind her, making no sound—only a presence that could be felt.
Without a word, Rian's hands slowly wrapped around the silver-haired girl's shoulders.
His touch was unhurried, not forceful, merely steady warmth, as if silently saying that the world was still safe.
In a voice barely above a whisper, Rian said, "Relax… I'm here, Fear. No curse can frighten me."
Fear's pupils widened—not from fear, but from surprise. The empty eyes that had been hidden behind her arms slowly began to catch the light. Her tension started to melt away.
Her small body, still trembling lightly… then stilled. Her breaths remained uneven, but a faint blush crept across her pale cheeks.
"…Pervert… let go," Fear murmured softly, half embarrassed, half relieved. Yet she did not resist the embrace.
"No," Rian whispered, his breath brushing gently against Fear's ear again. "Fear feels comfortable, right? A hug that shares warmth… is the best remedy for nightmares."
"You—" Fear's voice caught, unfinished.
Her heartbeat surged, making her breath hitch with the unfamiliar warmth radiating from within.
Fear remained still, bewildered by the gentle heat flowing through her body—something far from fear… yet not quite a normal feeling either.
Rian carved a faint smile. "Your body is warm, Fear. Not like a monster, or a heartless creature that only knows how to inflict pain. That means… you're alive. You're not a curse, and you're not a monster."
Fear's body stiffened for a moment. Her eyes widened, filled with doubt, like someone who had just heard words too beautiful to believe.
Yet Rian's embrace remained unchanged. Warm, steady, and real. A calm heartbeat against her back, gentle breaths brushing her ears.
A sense of peace slowly began to dissolve all the whispers of darkness within her.
For a moment, Fear did not feel alone. And for the first time… her curse felt lighter.
Rian noticed it. A faint smile formed at the corner of his lips. He rocked her body gently, back and forth, as if soothing a child who had just awakened from a nightmare.
"Fear," Rian whispered softly yet firmly, "as your Master… you may share part—or even all—of your curse with me."
Fear fell silent. There was doubt in her eyes, yet a glimmer of hope slowly began to grow. She struggled to form words, trying to push away the fear that clutched at her heart.
"B-but… all my previous masters… they were consumed by madness and…"
Before Fear could continue, Rian answered calmly, "I already know. Alice gave me telepathic access… and your memories. I know everything you've been through."
His embrace tightened, not to suffocate, but to offer warmth and space for Fear to breathe.
"So, don't be afraid. Let go of your worries. Trust… I am very strong."
Fear lowered her head, her shoulders trembling lightly, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Then, almost inaudibly, she whispered, "Thank you… for not being afraid of me, Rian."
Rian smiled softly and held her closer, as if to affirm that he would not leave.
"What reason would this handsome man have to fear… a tiny, adorable girl like you, Fear?"
Fear smiled faintly, warmly. Her eyelids slowly closed, and her breathing began to steady.
Sleepiness slowly overtook her tiny body, now resting in Rian's embrace.
It didn't take long for Fear to drift completely into slumber. Her steady, gentle breaths became a sweet rhythm in the quiet of the living room that night.
Rian leaned down slightly and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Fear's head from behind: warm and full of affection.
A faint smile curved across Rian's handsome face, radiating the final calm before sleep.
"Sweet dreams, my beloved cube," Rian whispered softly, his voice as gentle as a night-time breeze.
But just as Rian closed his eyes, a small vortex formed in the air.
A swirl of cosmic blue clouds slowly materialized, rotating gently: a manifestation of distorted space and time.
From within it, Alice appeared, her Tesseract body glowing translucent blue with a soft aura.
Her core Mind Stone shone like the heartbeat of existence, while the energies of Time, Space, and Power orbited gently within the Tesseract.
Without a word, Alice floated closer, carrying a neatly folded blanket, lifted telekinetically by her control over the Space Stone.
She gently draped the blanket over Rian and Fear, then settled calmly at Rian's side, her shoulder lightly touching his.
Then, positioned to Rian's right, Alice projected soft tones from the gentle glow of her Mind Stone into the surrounding psionic space.
The melody of a music box flowed—not from any physical device, but from an illusory resonance that directly touched their subconscious: soothing, as if the sound came from the heart of the heavens.
Rian opened one eye briefly, catching a glimpse of Alice, then smiled warmly. His heart felt at ease.
And for the first time that night, Rian finally drifted into sleep… accompanied by the quiet, the warmth… and two beings who now felt a little more at peace.
***
"Father, Alice has completed a thorough scan of your brain," her voice soft and sweet, distinctly that of a little girl.
"Everything has been analyzed: cognitive functions, chemical balance, and even your thought patterns represented as a matrix," she continued, her tone calm yet full of meaning.
"The comparative results show… a rather surprising difference," Alice added.
At this moment, Alice and Rian were at the West side of Eden—a private workshop area that also served as a storage space for various prototypes and weapons.
The entire room was meticulously organized. A long metal table, shelves stocked with modern weapons, and storage cabinets lined the walls.
Pale blue lights softly reflected off the metallic surfaces, giving the space a sterile yet futuristic feel.
To Rian's right, Alice hovered calmly. In front of them, the workbench glowed with blue digital holographic projections, displaying three panels of data side by side.
One panel showed a scan suspected to belong to Gojo Satoru, another contained older data Alice had acquired through a "retrospective vision" using the Time Stone, and the final panel presented a comparative overlay of the two results.