Archive of Our Own

Come visit me at the inn, Silver Wolf had said when Stelle talked to her over the phone that morning.

It’s important for us to have a proper girls’ night before we leave Planarcadia, she also said.

We never get the chance to spend some time together, eating snacks and playing games, as all proper gamer friends do, she added.

More importantly, Yao Guang is paying for everything, so we should take advantage of the situation, she declared as her final argument, meant to persuade her once and for all.

Everything she said was true. Stelle had very few occasions to spend time with the Stellaron Hunters. Whenever they appeared, it was usually in the middle of a life-or-death situation, and they disappeared soon after. There was never enough time to do something fun together.

Of course, Silver Wolf being Silver Wolf, she always hacked her way into the Astral Express whenever she wanted to play games with her. But it wasn’t quite the same as doing it in person, and Stelle didn't want to deny her. Not after she went out of her way to admit she considered her her best friend.

It was also true that Yao Guang — and, by proxy, the Xianzhou Alliance — was paying for all of the Hunters’ expenses at the moment.

After their clash against Fulwish, and Blade managing to isolate all of the segments of Shuhu inside of his body, she had taken him under her custody for the time being. But, since he helped them deal with a serious threat, rather than arresting him, she had decided to lead him to a place where he could finally get rid of Shuhu and put an end to his life. Or, at least, that was what she gathered from their conversation. The details were pretty nebulous, at the moment.

In any case, until then, she granted the Hunters a comfortable accommodation in a traditional inn. A proper traditional inn, the sort of which Stelle had seen on a lot of Planarcadian comic books: the ones with soft wooden floors, sliding doors, an internal courtyard, and, more importantly, natural hot springs.

When they moved there, Silver Wolf had sent her all sorts of pictures, bragging about how comfortable the rooms were, how delicious the food was, and how nice the hot springs were. After seeing all of it, Stelle had to admit she was quite curious to try it for herself.

So, after she accepted Silver Wolf’s invitation, they made plans for a slumber party of sorts. They would, of course, take a bath in the hot springs, then eat dinner, and only then would they retreat to her room, where they would spend the rest of the night in their bathrobes, marathoning video games until they passed out in exhaustion.

Everything was set, and Stelle was really looking forward to it. So, when the appointed time came and she reached the designated address, she was really stoked about the pleasant evening that awaited her.

After all the trouble she went through since her arrival in Planarcadia, she really needed some time to just kick back and relax, without thinking about anything and anyone.

However, as Stelle entered the inn, she realized Silver Wolf wasn’t there to greet her as per their plans. And as she was waiting for her to show up, she received a message where she warned her that ‘she had an urgent engagement’ and couldn’t reach her until later. She was supposed to wait for Silver Wolf in the bathing area, as she would reach her there as soon as she was done.

At that point, Stelle didn’t question what she said. Considering her job, there were many reasons why her friend would be busy. Maybe Kafka, or even Elio, had contacted her to have her report about the recent events. Or maybe Yao Guang had called her and Blade to discuss their next steps.

Whatever the case, Silver Wolf had informed the staff of the inn that she was her guest, and they greeted her with perfect politeness. When Stelle informed them that she was planning to take a bath in the hot springs, they appeared to be taken aback at first. However, they didn’t question her.

After showing her the way and warning her ‘not to stay too long’ — something she understood as not spending too much time in the hot water — they left her to prepare herself for the bath.

Stelle knew all about ‘hot spring etiquette’. Of course, she had never actually visited such an establishment, but she had Dan Heng — her personal fountain of knowledge — tell her everything about that sort of thing.

…Well, more like she forced him to tell her everything in the fifteen minutes before she left, but surely that would be more than enough, right?

So, feeling very proud of herself, she undressed, carefully washed herself in the shower room, wrapped herself in a towel, and, after tying her hair in a ponytail, she got out of the building and toward the hot spring proper.

The bathing area was located in an internal courtyard, encircled by a wooden porch, and hidden from outside eyes by a curtain of bushes and trees. The thermal pool itself was a large, U-shaped stone pool, its ends hidden from one another by an elaborate pile of stacked rocks.

It was pretty and quiet. But, more importantly, it was empty. No one else was using it, and she wondered whether the inn didn’t have many guests, or if there was something else keeping them busy at that hour. According to Silver Wolf, it was still too early for dinner…

Oh, well. It's not like it made that much of a difference for her.

She shrugged and walked toward the right end of the pool.

The water was of a peculiar milky white color, so steamy it was hard to see beneath the surface. And it smelled. She couldn’t quite point out what it was, but it kinda felt like rotten eggs.

Sulfur, perhaps? She vaguely remembered Dan Heng mentioning it when he was trying to explain the properties of thermal water.

Luckily, Stelle wasn’t the type to be discouraged by a bad smell. After all, one of her favorite hobbies was rummaging through the garbage in search of treasures. Also, the water didn’t smell remotely as bad as she did after she scuffled with the Lordly Trashcans. As Silver Wolf would have said, this was Easy Mode for her.

She sat at the edge of the pool, carefully dipping her feet in the water.

It was hot. Very hot, in fact. So hot that, as a reaction, the rest of her body felt cold by comparison, and a shiver shook her shoulders. Her first impulse would have been to remove her feet from the water, but she realized it would ruin the whole reason for her being there. So she resisted, letting her skin slowly adjust to the temperature.

It was weird. While the water was hot, it was never quite scalding. It could be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t painful. And after a while, as she got used to it, the warmth started to feel pretty nice around her ankles and calves. Even the smell didn’t bother her anymore.

She removed her towel — she had been told it wasn’t allowed to bring it inside the water — and folded it neatly. Then she left it at the edge of the pool and slowly lowered herself into the milky water.

The temperature difference caused her to shiver again, but she didn’t stop until she was almost sitting on the floor, the water reaching up to her shoulder. Then, the discomfort disappeared, and she felt like she was wrapped in a comfy, warm blanket.

Now, this was nice. Maybe she was starting to get the appeal.

She moved farther in, trying to find a more comfortable position, and she finally settled next to the outer border, the rocky barrier right in front of her. She sat at the bottom of the pool, where the floor raised to form a small seat, and rested the back of her head against the edge, looking up at the sky.

When she arrived at the inn, the sun was already setting. And right now, the sky had turned into a dark shade of gray-blue, a few stars already twinkling between dark puffs of clouds. It was pretty and, for some reason, she couldn’t stop staring at it.

Maybe it was the quiet all around her, broken only by the chirping crickets and the splashing of the water against her body. Or maybe it was the steam sticking to her skin and hair. Whatever the case, it was like fluttering on a cloud. The tension in her muscles was melting away, and it felt like her body was healing from a soreness she didn’t even realize she had.

It was wonderful. She could have stayed like that forever, never thinking about what would come next, or the pains she would have to go through in the future. Forever safe and warm and happy.

As she relaxed, she completely lost any sense of time or the world around her, to the point that, when she heard the sound of a door opening, she felt like she had just stumbled out of a dream.

She looked around in a daze, trying to find the origin of the noise.

The door that opened, as she quickly realized, wasn’t the one she had used to enter the bathing area. It must have been the entrance on the other side of the pool, beyond the rocky barrier. From her position, she couldn’t see who had opened it, but she could hear a sound of footsteps and a bit of shuffling, as someone prepared to enter the water.

Judging by the sounds, it was only one person, and she immediately thought about Silver Wolf. It must have been her, for sure.

She heard someone enter the pool on the other side of the barrier, and then the courtyard went quiet again as the person settled into the water.

Silver Wolf must not have realized she was there.

Well, that was a nice coincidence! She could take advantage of the situation to give her a nice little jumpscare and make her regret letting her wait. After all, wasn’t it impolite to let her own guest wait for her for so long?

Feeling a rush of adrenaline at her ‘evil’ plan, Stelle left her place near the edge and, moving as quietly as possible, she waded toward the other side of the pool. In an attempt to make herself undetectable, she had lowered herself up to her chin inside the water, her head popping over the surface like a shark’s dorsal fin.

She approached the barrier and quietly circled it, so she would reach the other side. And when she finally reached the end of it, she threw herself on the other side, a huge grin on her face.

“Hey there, Silv… AH!”

She had to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle a surprised scream, as she scrambled to hide her body beneath the water's surface.

The person on the other side wasn’t Silver Wolf.

Blade was sitting by the border of the pool, one elbow resting over the edge, the water reaching up to his stomach. He was looking at her with dull surprise, his bright red eyes opened wide as he tried to process her sudden appearance.

And he was naked. Stark naked, in fact. His long, black hair was the only thing covering his shoulders, while a few damp strands stuck to his broad chest. The water hid and blurred the rest of his body, but she could still see a glimpse of its outline, and his knee peeking just above the water surface.

He looked just like one of those marble statues she saw pictures of in some art books: relaxed, serene and beautiful.

She didn't expect to see anything like this when she came here today. Heck, she didn't expect to see anything like this, ever!

Stelle’s cheeks grew warmer as she shook her head like a wet dog, trying to rationalize what lay in front of her.

Well, duh, of course he was naked! She was naked too. They were at the hot springs, for crying out loud! It would be a lot weirder if he stepped into the water fully clothed. The problem wasn’t that he wasn’t wearing anything, but the fact that he was there in the first place!

“You’re not Silver Wolf,” she mumbled.

As his bemusement subsided, Blade’s eyes narrowed, his eyebrows arching slightly. He didn’t say anything out loud, but she could basically hear the ‘You don’t say!’ coming from directly inside his mind.

…That hadn’t been one of her brightest remarks, for sure.

She instinctively crossed her arms to hide her breasts, even though he couldn’t see much through the thick, whitish water.

She never expected to find herself in such a situation, especially not with him. To be completely honest, even if she knew he was staying in that same inn, she hadn’t expected to meet Blade at all. He never seemed particularly interested in hanging out with her and Silver Wolf when they played together.

But, well, here they were! And, at that point, it would probably be even more awkward if she just stood there without saying anything.

She cleared her throat, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer for a beat, as if trying to figure out the deeper meaning of her question.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he finally said in that low, deep voice of his.

“I’m waiting for Silver Wolf. We are supposed to spend the night playing games together.”

“She told me,” he replied flatly. “What I’m asking is, why are you here right now?”

Stelle wasn’t sure she understood the question. She stared at him blankly, trying to figure out what he actually meant. Then, it dawned on her.

“…The hot springs aren’t co-ed, are they?”

Blade slowly shook his head.

“No.”

Her heart sank.

“Then…”

“The thermal baths are accessible to men and women at different times of the day,” he explained. “The bathing time for men started around ten minutes ago. There is a time chart in front of the shower room.”

“I didn’t notice it…” she said, her voice little more than a strangled whisper.

She didn’t notice, because she trusted what Silver Wolf wrote her. That was her mistake.

Stelle wasn’t really sure how long she had spent there before he arrived, but she didn’t believe it was more than twenty minutes. In fact, it was probably less. So, when Silver Wolf told her to wait for her, the bathing time for women was almost up. And there was no way in hell that she wasn't aware of it.

This could only mean one thing: Silver Wolf had pranked her. She sent her there on purpose, knowing there was a very good chance she would miss the time of the split. And she fell for it like an idiot.

Her embarrassment and confusion broke, and she felt a burning, scalding fury erupting inside of her like lava. She didn’t even know if she was more angry at Silver Wolf for the prank, or at herself for actually falling for it. All she knew was that she was so pissed, it was a miracle the water around her didn’t start boiling.

What in the world was Silver Wolf thinking, setting her up like that?! It was all her fault if she found herself in this awkward situation, and with Blade, of all people! And actually, now that she thought about it, she should probably be grateful it happened with Blade! She could have stumbled upon a complete stranger! Or worse, a creep!

Of course, Stelle was perfectly capable of curbstomping any sleazeball that tried something with her, but on the other hand, what if she took an innocent guy for a creep, and mistakenly curbstomped him?! She would be arrested! And then Himeko and Welt would have to bail her out, and March would tease her, and Dan Heng would lecture her for hours about how irresponsible she was…

This was unforgivable. Silver Wolf would not get away with it. She didn’t know how yet, but she would have her revenge!

She was thinking about the best possible ways to get away with literal murder, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Blade had turned away from her, staring blankly at a bush nearby.

He seemed to have lost any interest in their current predicament, and this somehow tore Stelle away from her murderous machinations.

He was technically a victim too, wasn’t he? Silver Wolf had meant to embarrass her, but he was dragged into it. She couldn’t imagine it being pleasant for him, being surprised naked and vulnerable while he was taking a bath. And yet, it seemed like he didn’t really care.

Or was feigning indifference how he dealt with awkward situations? It was very hard to say.

“I’m really sorry about this,” she said for good measure. “I didn’t mean to, but I ended up bothering you while you were trying to relax.”

His eyes darted toward her, as bright as burning embers.

“It’s not your fault.”

Stelle supposed this was his way of accepting the apology.

She nodded in acknowledgment, and after that, she didn’t know what else to say. Blade didn’t say anything either, and instead turned away again, staring into the void as if he were somewhere else.

At that point, Stelle thought it was time for her to go. She would have liked to bathe a little bit more, but she was the one who was out of place at the moment. It would have only been proper to go back to ‘her’ side of the pool, grab her towel, and leave.

Still, it didn’t feel right to just go without saying anything.

“Well… I’ll have to go and kill Silver Wolf, then,” she joked, trying to brighten the mood. “I will see you around, I guess.”

He didn’t react to her jest. He didn’t even look at her. He just gave a small nod, and that was it.

The conversation was over.

Stelle turned around, starting to move toward the barrier. However, before she surpassed it, she couldn’t help but glance back at the man she was leaving behind.

He had not moved an inch, to the point that, more than a human being, he looked like a character in a painting.

Distant. Lonely. Lost to the world, like someone who didn’t really belong to that place or time.

She wondered what he was thinking, and she found herself a bit frustrated when she realized she couldn’t imagine it.

He used to be her companion, right? In her nebulous past, when she was a member of the Stellaron Hunters, he was there, just like Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Firefly. And yet, while the others had tried to recreate a bond with her, he never did.

He lived at the edge of her memory, like a shadow. She knew he used to be there, she knew he had been part of her life one way or the other, but she didn't feel like she knew him. And now, with what happened with Shuhu and the trial that awaited him, there was a good chance this was how it would end.

She didn’t know him, and if he really died as he hoped, she never would. He would remain someone who crossed her path once and never came back.

As that thought settled inside her head, she turned back, looking at him with a determination she had never felt before.

She didn’t know what would happen the following day. She didn’t know if she’d ever get the chance to talk to him again. Even in normal circumstances, she rarely, if ever, managed to exchange a word with him. With the future looming in front of them, it seemed even more unlikely that she’d ever get another chance.

Did she really want to waste the one she had?

She didn’t even have to think about it.

“Now that I think about it, though,” she said casually, as if she was thinking out loud, “whether I leave or stay, it won’t make that much of a difference. The bathing time for women has already ended. Even if I rushed out now, what would that accomplish? I might as well finish taking my bath at this point.”

She put on her best winning smile, hoping to elicit at least some kind of reaction.

To an extent, it worked. At the very least, her bubbly soliloquy managed to get Blade’s attention.

He stopped staring into the void to look at her in mild confusion, and she chose to see it as a good sign.

“Besides, we are the only ones here,” she continued. “It’s not like I would be bothering anyone. Unless you don’t want me to stay, that is. If you prefer to be alone, I’ll leave.”

She meant it. She wouldn’t force him to share her company. However, she hoped that would not be necessary, and that he wouldn’t reject her.

If he did, it would be kind of sad.

Blade’s face turned into a frown, but he didn’t seem angry. More like perplexed. And in the end, in front of her hopeful expression, he decided to humor her.

“It’s of no consequence to me. Do whatever you wish.”

That was exactly what Stelle wanted to hear.

“Thanks! Don’t mind if I do!”

Maybe Blade expected her to go back to ‘her’ side of the pool and just ignore him. So, when she paddled directly toward him as if it was the most normal thing in the world, he appeared positively shocked.

“What are you doing?”

“Keeping you company,” she replied cheerfully.

She was fully prepared to be told that she was annoying and that he didn’t want her around. Instead, what she got was something very different.

“You don’t have to.”

He lacked his usual curtness, and sounded almost gentle in comparison. More importantly, it wasn’t a rejection. It was more like telling her that she shouldn’t feel forced to stay.

Stelle didn’t know if that was really what he meant, but even so, it steeled her determination even more.

“I want to.”

She reached the border of the pool and, while making sure to leave a bit of space between them, she sat at his side.

For some reason, the water felt warmer. Or was she imagining it?

He followed her every movement, as she shifted to find a comfortable position.

“I’m not good company,” he said, and this time he sounded almost sheepish.

It was endearing, in a way. Usually, she got a massive ‘don’t you dare come any closer’ vibe from him, but it seemed that, when pressed, he wasn’t all that standoffish, and more preoccupied about her finding his company unpleasant.

She wondered if he was shy, by any chance.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she said, as she slided a little lower on her seat, until the water reached her neck.

He stared at her in disbelief, and she held his gaze, taking advantage of the situation to study his features. While his face was as stoic as an emotionless emoji, his eyes were very expressive. With a bit of practice, it couldn’t be all that difficult to figure out what he was thinking.

“…You are a perplexing person,” he finally said, as his gaze drifted away somewhere on the horizon.

“Why?” she asked.

She didn’t believe she was all that hard to figure out. Everyone told her that she wore her heart on her sleeve, and that she was predictable and easy to read. And she liked it that way: there was no reason why she should hide what she felt. If she was happy, it was fine if everyone noticed. It was the same if she was sad.

“You have no reason to want to talk to me,” he said. “We are not friends.”

…Well, that was true, though it did hurt a bit to hear him say it so bluntly.

They weren’t friends. They had no relationship to speak of and, to be completely honest, their acquaintance didn’t start on a positive note.

For the longest time, to her, Blade had been only the guy who wanted to kill one of her best friends. She saw him as a dangerous individual who had to be kept at a distance, and she had no reason to think otherwise.

Later on, as she slowly reconnected with Silver Wolf and Firefly, sometimes he came up in their conversations. It was mostly crumbs, random pieces of scattered information.

He enjoyed playing video games, and he was rather competitive about it.

He was a good cook.

He claimed to have a driver's license, but nobody had ever seen it.

He was, according to Silver Wolf, a ‘softie’ and rarely said no to a request, as long as it was reasonable.

While these tidbits made her understand that, at the very least, the other Hunters liked and respected him, she also had no way to experience this in person.

Unlike the others, he never went out of his way to talk to her, and since he didn’t seem to desire any sort of interactions with her, she had no reason to seek his company. Maybe he didn’t even like her, so why would she?

It was only now, here in Planarcadia, that they were forced to work together for a while and, while he remained distant most of the time, she had at least the chance to observe how he behaved. How much he softened around Silver Wolf, for instance, or the way he struggled against his curse. How brave and how much of a badass he was, too.

So, was it so 'perplexing' that now she was a bit curious?

“Maybe not,” she replied, curling up the end of her ponytail around her finger. “But I might not get another chance to talk to you, if…”

She sighed, pushing through her hesitation to end the sentence.

“If things end up going the way you wish.”

Blade whipped his head toward her, his lips pressed in a thin line. At first, it seemed like he wanted to say something, but he changed his mind.

In truth, Stelle knew about his story, though none of it she had heard directly from him.

Yingxing, the High-Cloud Quintet, the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae and its aftermath… all of it, she had mostly heard from unreliable witnesses and secondhand accounts. History books and folk tales were biased, Jing Yuan only knew for certain a part of it, and Dan Heng’s memories, other than being few and far between, were also filtered through Dan Feng’s point of view.

But the one thing that remained consistent about his current predicament was that he wanted to die. Desperately so.

Stelle had no idea what it felt like to live for seven hundred years while being consumed by something you have no control over. Maybe, if it was so horrible for him, dying was for the best. And yet, she couldn’t help but wonder: how could someone ever be ready for such a thing?

“Are you worried? About what’s going to happen, I mean,” she asked.

“Why do you ask?”

She shrugged powerlessly.

“I… don’t know, really. I can’t imagine what it would be like, sitting here and knowing that soon I will die. I’d be scared out of my mind, to be honest.”

The hard line of his mouth relaxed, as his gaze drifted away. He leaned forward, his elbow resting thoughtfully on his knees.

She wasn’t sure he would answer, and she fully expected him not to. But he defied her expectations.

“The only thing I’m worried about,” he said slowly, as if he was trying to gather his thoughts at the same time he was speaking, “is that I will fail, and that what remains of Shuhu will somehow persist. That I will die, and that abomination will infect someone else, plaguing the universe forever.”

His eyes brightened up fiercely, reminding her of pure, molten fire.

“I have lived long enough. I want my life to be put to rest. But not unless I deserve it.”

The sheer intensity of his wish — something he had probably agonized over for centuries — hit her like a truck, and she felt like something had stabbed her right through her heart.

The man in front of her had gone through hell and back, searching relentlessly for a peace that rested just out of his reach, and when it was finally in front of him, he still had to deal with the chance that he might not get it. That he would die a failure, without accomplishing anything, and his struggles would have been for nothing.

She couldn’t fully grasp how agonizing it must have been. And yet, the little bit that she could understand was enough to make her want to cry in frustration.

“I’m sure you won’t fail,” she said, her voice shaking more than she would have wanted.

She wanted to sound encouraging and to say something deep and inspirational that would lift his mood and give him strength throughout his trial. But she couldn’t think of anything, and this made her feel even more frustrated.

She was afraid he would perceive her words as empty, or even dismissive. Instead, his fierceness softened considerably, and she even saw a hint of warmth in his gaze.

“Thank you.”

…She would never have guessed that he could look that gentle. Honestly, that face was bad for her heart.

Stelle looked away, suddenly feeling a bit on edge, and he didn’t try to continue the conversation.

It was probably for the best. She needed a second to recover from the critical hit that soft expression of his gave her. He already had a lethal face card: if he suddenly looked at anyone like that, it would surely cause lasting consequences. She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he smiled.

…By the way, wasn’t it getting kind of hot? She was sweating more than she did before, but at the same time, the water couldn't have gotten warmer. If it did, it would have burned her.

Was it just her impression?

She turned to see if Blade was experiencing a similar discomfort.

He had leaned backward against the border of the pool. He looked completely relaxed, and there was something innocent in the way he looked up at the sky, his eyes half-lidded.

Forgetting everything about what she was going to do, Stelle found herself staring at him, her eyes lingering on the way his chest rose and fell at each breath, and on the tiny droplets of water falling down his arms.

As far as she remembered, it was the first time she had seen a naked man from up close. She had seen illustrations and pictures of the human body, so it wasn’t like she had no idea what men looked like. However, having one so close to her was an entirely different experience.

It was hard to find the word to describe it. It was as if she could feel the warmth emanating from his body even if she didn’t touch him, and somehow that same warmth was being projected on her own body.

It was odd and distracting, but at the same time, she wanted to know more. And in the end, her curiosity got the better of her.

She shifted a little bit closer, subtly leaning toward him. The more the distance between them shrank, the more details she noticed. His arms, shoulders and chest, for instance, were covered in scars. Some of them, the bigger ones, she had also noticed from afar. However, there were a lot more of them.

Most of them looked old, thin, and just a bit lighter than his natural skintone. If not for her close inspection, she might not even have noticed them. Others were darker, wider, and clearly more recent. And each one of them was the trace of a life full of dangers and violence.

“Have you seen anything interesting?”

Stelle looked up, startled.

Blade had realized she was staring at his arm — hard not to notice it, considering she had unwittingly leaned so much that her head almost touched his shoulder — and now he was looking at her again with his typical 'emotionless emoji' face. Except this time she could almost smell the sarcasm in his voice.

If that made any sense.

It probably didn’t.

She pointed at his forearm, where a long, jagged, purplish scar went from his wrist up to his elbow. A flaw that defiled the otherwise fair skin.

“I was looking at your scars. You have a lot of those.”

He stretched his arm, giving the scar a cursory look.

“My job tends to be dangerous.”

Yes, she knew that, but still, there were far too many. Her ‘job’ was dangerous as well, and she had a few scars here and there. But this was on a completely different level. The fact that he treated it like it was no big deal didn’t make it any less true.

The nastiest scar of all was at the center of his chest. It wasn’t because it was large: in fact, it was on the smaller side, compared to others. It looked like a stab wound, right above his heart, and its edges appeared to be relatively clean. However, it was clearly very recent, and its position alone was enough to understand that it was supposed to be lethal.

If that wound had been inflicted upon somebody else, they would be dead.

Driven by instinct and curiosity, Stelle instinctively reached out for it, but before her fingers could touch it, Blade’s hand snapped as fast as a spring trap, grabbing her wrist.

“No.”

His voice was harsh, his command final.

Stelle looked away from the scar and locked eyes with him. Only then did she realize how close she had leaned. It was enough for her to hear him breathe and to see a small, nervous wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.

His fingers were tight around her wrist, but not enough to hurt. And while he was frowning, he didn’t look exactly angry. More like desperate and forlorn.

This made her feel worse than if he had screamed at her.

“I’m sorry.”

She inched back, signaling that she wouldn’t do it anymore.

At first, he didn’t react, staring back at her intensely, as if he could tear into her very soul. Then, his eyelid drooped wearily, before he looked away once more.

His hand fell, letting her go, and Stelle retreated, clutching her arms around her chest without daring to look at him.

She had meant no harm, but she had clearly stepped over his boundaries, both physically and mentally.

She shouldn’t have done that. There were obviously things he didn’t want to share with her, and she should respect that. After all, as he also said, they weren’t friends. This whole situation had almost made her forget that.

As she fidgeted in her corner, wondering if she had ruined everything, she felt a prickling at the back of her head, and when she turned, she met Blade’s gaze again.

He was looking at her, his face unreadable, but when their eyes crossed, his mask slipped a little. He averted his gaze, and scratched the side of his neck uneasily. A genuine reaction that felt odd on someone who was usually so distant.

“I’m not angry at you,” he said.

Well, that was good to hear, at least.

Stelle sighed in relief, letting her hands fall on her lap.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized once again. “I was just a bit worried.”

“Why?”

While subdued, his voice betrayed all of his confusion. It wasn’t clear if he couldn’t grasp why anyone would be worried for him, or if he didn’t understand why she would be.

Since she didn’t know which one was true, Stelle could only give him the answer that felt more true to her feelings.

“Because we were companions once. And I refuse to believe that we had no relationship whatsoever.”

Blade didn’t know how to answer that. He inhaled slowly and looked up at the sky again, his eyes hazy as his mind chased for something she couldn’t understand.

…Maybe that was the time to ask him the question that had been gnawing at her for a while. If she didn’t do it now, maybe it would forever remain without an answer.

“Why have you never tried to talk to me, Blade?”

He let out a bitter chuckle, as if the question itself was absurd.

“If I did, would you have wanted to talk to me?”

…He had a point. For the longest time, she had only thought of him as little more than a villain. If, when she met him on the Luofu the first time, he had tried to reconnect with her, she would probably have refused to entertain the idea. At first, she didn’t even know she used to be a Hunter, after all. And even if he told her, she wouldn’t have believed it. Even when Kafka told her, she hadn’t been sure if she was lying.

From his point of view, he had been simply avoiding an inevitable rejection. And while she didn’t blame herself for acting based on the little information she had, it was a shame that she didn’t find out the truth earlier.

“But you didn’t dislike me, right? Were we friends before I was forced to leave?”

Once again, she got closer, leaning toward him so he would have to look at her.

She wanted to know. She needed to know, in case he disappeared from her life. It was the only way for her not to lose that piece of her former life, and, at the same time, to make sure to preserve something about him.

About a man who, after a long life of sin, violence, and guilt, was brave enough to face his own demise by trying to do something right.

For the longest time, he didn’t say anything. He just contemplated her quietly, his feelings hidden behind an unreadable mask. But, right as she was starting to lose hope that he would ever answer, he finally talked.

“You were always supposed to leave us. It had been decided from the beginning. What would be the point of letting you get close, when I knew you wouldn’t stay?”

His tone was matter-of-factly, but at the end, his voice faltered a little and, for a brief moment, she thought she saw a hint of weariness and sadness. The feelings of someone who had to endure far too many goodbyes in his life.

To fight against that, she tried to give him her best smile.

“Well, we can be friends now!”

“It wouldn’t make any sense,” he replied.

“Why not?”

He didn’t answer, but by how grim his expression turned, she could understand what he meant anyway.

There was no reason for them to become friends, if he was to be gone soon.

Stelle inched even closer, to the point that their legs brushed against each other. The contact sent a small spark underneath her skin, but she forced herself to ignore it, remaining focused on his face.

“I think all memories are precious. Maybe we won’t have many together, but they will still be worth keeping. Don’t you think?”

At that point, she didn’t really expect an answer. She just wanted him to think about the possibility of it. And by the intent way he was looking at her, maybe she had succeeded on that front.

His gaze swept across her face, assessing her. Evaluating her words.

Then, his lips turned very slightly upward.

“You really are a perplexing sort.”

Stelle laughed.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Maybe.”

A silence fell between them once again, there was a moment — a blip in time — where she realized just how close they were: their shoulders almost touching, his face close enough for her to see traces of sweat on his temple, or distinguish every shade of color in his eyes. But before she could process what it felt like, Blade suddenly averted his gaze and shifted away from her.

“The bath has lasted long enough,” he said.

And, before she could do or even think about anything, he started to get up.

Stelle panicked and squeezed her eyes shut as fast as she could, but it was too late.

She saw everything.

Her brain short-circuited, while her shoulders, neck, cheeks, and ears became so hot she thought she was going to self-combust.

How could that man be so nonchalant about this?! Why would he just stand up like that, without a care in the world?! He could have warned her that he wanted to leave the pool! He could have told her to turn around! Instead, he just… he just…!

As she listened to the sound of the water being disturbed, and that of naked feet landing on the ground outside the pool, Stelle tried to regain her focus and convince herself it wasn’t a big deal, but she felt like she was going crazy.

Alright, she wasn’t the bashful type either. If she were, she would have run out screaming the moment she realized he was in the pool with her. She would also have no problem at all getting naked in front of some of her friends, like March, for instance. But she wouldn’t have just stood up like that. Was he an exhibitionist by any chance? Did he enjoy being looked at?

…Or did he not care enough about his own body, that even having people see him naked was meaningless to him?

As the idea hit her, she remembered how indifferent he was to her watching him from the very beginning, and how casual he was about most of his scars. And it all suddenly made a lot of sense.

…Now she was sad.

She cautiously opened one eye to see if it was safe, and she saw Blade standing a few steps away from the border of the pool, while he mercifully wrapped a white towel around his waist.

While they were in the water, she had mostly seen the upper part of his torso. Right now, with his back partially turned toward her, she could admire his full figure from behind. Long legs, broad and strong shoulders, a narrow waist…

Stelle couldn’t help but admire how harmonious his body was, and the way his muscles contracted at each movement. She had met many attractive people during her adventures, but a beauty such as this — both graceful and powerful — was hard to find.

A part of her would have liked to touch him, just to see what his skin felt like, but she knew he wouldn’t let her. With that being the case, it would have been disrespectful to even ask.

Feeling her gaze on him, Blade threw a look at her from over his shoulder.

“You are staring,” he said in such a way that she couldn’t tell if he was just noting it, or if he was scolding her.

Well, he didn’t seem to have any problem with exposing himself no less than two minutes before!

“I’m doing it most respectfully, I assure you,” she joked, as she rested her elbows against the edge of the pool.

Blade didn’t seem amused, and just looked back at her blankly. It was hard to say if he was annoyed or not.

Since she couldn’t read him, the only thing she could do was ask.

“Does it bother you?”

He had to think about it, as if he had never considered what kind of boundaries he wanted for himself.

“Not particularly, but I do wonder what is there to look at.”

There were many things to look at, actually. Mostly due to the fact that it was all unfamiliar to her, as was the way it made her feel. But the general answer was very simple.

“You are very pretty, and I like looking at pretty things.”

Yes, that was it, mostly. It was the same feeling she had when she found a shiny new treasure and could not stop looking at it, except it also came with warmth and funny feelings. It made sense if she thought about it this way.

Blade blinked, surprised by her bluntness. Then he let out a long-suffering sigh.

“You always say the first thing that comes to mind, don’t you?”

Yes, she did. Maybe not always, but very often.

“Why wouldn’t I? If something or someone is pretty, what’s wrong with telling them?”

He shook his head.

“Nothing. I simply thought it’s very much like you to think so.”

Did he, now? But this was the first time they talked one-on-one. If he thought it was ‘like her’, he must have been referring to how she was when she was with the Hunters.

She wondered what kind of person she was back then. Was she similar to how she was now, or was she different?

Before she could ask, she suddenly felt hot, and a weird haziness took over her. She had been sweating for a while, but now her body seemed to have reached its limit. Her energies were draining, while small black dots invaded her view.

She instinctively gripped the edge of the pool, looking for purchase.

There was definitely something wrong with her.

“Stelle.”

The sound of Blade’s voice shook away a bit of her drowsiness, and she managed to look up at him. She must not have looked good, because he was very clearly concerned.

“How long have you been inside?”

That was a good question. Frankly, she had no idea. Longer than him, for sure.

“I don’t know…”

His concern turned into something sharper, similar to reproach.

“You shouldn’t stay in the water too long, if you are not used to it. Get out.”

Yes. That sounded like a very good idea. But she had left her towel on the other end of the pool and, when she tried to move, her legs and arms felt sluggish. She had a feeling she wouldn’t manage to go back there to take it.

When you are in need, ask for help, is what Dan Heng would have said. She always thought he was a bit too cautious, and she often didn’t listen to his advice, but this was probably a good time to start.

“Would you please take my towel? I left it on the other side.”

Blade nodded without protest, and he walked toward the other side of the pool with long strides. He disappeared behind the rocky barrier, only to immediately reemerge with her towel in his hands. He approached the edge of the pool and offered it to her.

Stelle reached for it so she could cover herself up, but for some reason, she couldn’t grasp it. Her hand barely touched the fabric, before it fell powerlessly at her side.

She lacked the strength to do anything. Her legs were wobbly, and she couldn’t get up. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, and her vision was becoming increasingly white.

This definitely wasn’t good.

In between the blinding whiteness, she saw Blade's expression change, going from worry to surprise, to alarm. Then, before she could process what was happening, he moved.

He dropped her towel on the ground and climbed down from the border, entering the pool at her side. Then, with no word or warning, he passed an arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees, and lifted her from the water.

Before Stelle could realize what had actually happened, he had rested her body over his shoulder like it weighed nothing and, while securing it with one arm, he propelled himself over the edge, using the platform they used to sit as a support.

When they were both outside of the water, he let her gently slip from his shoulder and carried her away from the pool, holding her with both arms.

Like a groom would carry his bride.

In her haze, Stelle almost found it funny. It was the same as the cover pictures of some of March’s romance novels.

Her head felt heavy, so she let it fall on his shoulder, feeling his skin under her cheek.

…No, not only there. She felt it everywhere, in each place where their bodies were touching. And it felt nice. It was warm, but not unpleasantly so, and soft despite all of those scars. She could hear the comforting sound of his breathing, and, while the sharp sulfuric smell of the hot springs was still sticking to his skin, there was also the hint of a different scent. One she couldn’t quite identify, but that she actually liked.

To try and fight the dizziness, she focused on the side of his face, taking in his features one by one. The soft line of his jaw. The straight, well-shaped nose. Thin but soft lips…

“Pretty…” she whispered, without quite realizing she said it out loud until he snapped back.

“Be quiet, you fool.”

He sounded annoyed, but, at the same time, she noticed that his ear was turning darker.

Was she imagining it?

He carried her a bit away from the pool, where the hot steam would not affect her, and then laid her on the ground, her back against a flat rock so she would remain in a sitting position. Then, he lightly touched the side of her neck and her wrist, and sighed deeply in what sounded like relief.

“Don’t move,” he commanded, and she nodded meekly.

It’s not like she had the strength to do anything, even if she wanted to. But at least, now that she was out of the water and far from a source of heat, her dizzy spell was finally receding. The blinding whiteness was becoming less intense, and she could hear the sounds properly again. Even her limbs didn’t feel quite as weak anymore.

She must have suffered from mild heat exhaustion.

Blade went back toward the border of the pool and recovered her towel. Then he came back and, supporting her back with his hand, wrapped it around her body.

It was then that she realized that she was still completely naked, and her temperature rose again, though for entirely different reasons.

“I didn’t see anything,” he said, as if reading her mind.

Of course he did. Even if he didn’t mean to, just the act of having to take her out of the water would make it impossible for him not to look at her.

“You did,” she muttered. “You must have.”

“I wasn’t looking,” he insisted stubbornly.

She didn’t push him any further. She realized it was an emergency, and he didn’t mean to. Besides, she had already seen him, so now they were even.

She grasped the edges of her towel and held it tightly around her body.

“Thank you.”

Blade nodded in acknowledgment and stood up again.

“Stay here. I will be back in a moment.”

Before she could answer, he went back inside the building.

Stelle remained obediently where she was, looking at the point where he disappeared, her mind chasing after idle fragments of thoughts.

She should have been more careful. Before she left, Dan Heng had mentioned the risk of a heat stroke, but by that point, she was ready to leave and didn’t listen properly. She also very rarely felt sick, and thought it wasn’t a big deal.

She had been an idiot. She was lucky that she got away with a mild dizzy spell, but if she had been alone in that pool, and unable to get out… what would have happened?

She didn’t even want to think about it.

After a couple of minutes, Blade came back. He had replaced his own towel — dripping wet after he entered the pool after her — with a dry one, and was carrying another towel, and a small bottle of water.

Stelle stared at the latter, suddenly realizing that her throat was completely dry. She had seen a small dispenser in the changing rooms before she took her shower, probably placed there to avoid exactly that kind of situation. If she had been more prudent, she would have taken one bottle with her.

Blade opened the bottle and knelt in front of her.

“Drink,” he said, handing it to her.

Stelle grabbed it with greedy hands, anxious to give some relief to her dry throat. However, before she could take it to her mouth, he stopped her.

“Slowly, or you will feel sick.”

Frustrating as it was, she knew he was right. She nodded and took a small sip. Then, after a while, she took another, trying to pace herself.

In the meantime, Blade folded the new towel around his hand and used it to wipe her forehead. It was then that she realized it was damp with fresh water.

The relief was almost immediate. With her body finally receiving the water it needed, and the towel bringing her temperature down, the dizziness quickly receded, and she felt more energized.

“Does it feel better?” he asked, as he slowly rubbed the towel against the side of her neck.

She nodded again, sighing in exhaustion.

“You are good at taking care of people, are you not?”

He scoffed.

“Spend a few days with Silver Wolf, and you will get good at it, too.”

She understood what he meant. She could easily imagine Silver Wolf forgetting to eat and to sleep when she was in the middle of one of her gaming sessions. Still, while Blade’s voice sounded annoyed, his gaze was soft.

Did he enjoy taking care of people?

Of course, she couldn’t know the answer for sure, but at the very least, she knew Silver Wolf loved being taken care of by him. The same applied to Firefly, judging by the way she sang his praises. And she also knew that Kafka found him a reliable partner to have around.

If he suddenly left them, he would be missed for sure.

“If…” she started, but then she choked, a tight lump forming in her throat.

Blade cocked his head slightly to the side, encouraging her to speak, and she forced the lump down.

“If everything goes as planned, and you end up not coming back, would you regret leaving the other Hunters alone? At least a little bit?”

His hand stopped, and his mouth tightened grimly. His gaze then wandered toward the door of the building, as if searching for something. Or longing for someone.

“…They will be fine even without me.”

He was probably right. They would go on without him, because that was what was expected of them. The Hunters would take the loss of a companion better than the Astral Express would, of that she was sure. And it wasn’t because they cared less about each other, but because they would consider it necessary to reach their purpose.

If she realized that, it was even more true for Blade. And yet, when he spoke those words, it felt almost like he was trying to convince himself.

Maybe that was what prompted her next question.

“You don’t want to spend more time with us?”

‘Us.’

She realized how she worded the question only after she asked it.

‘Us.’

Why did she say it? She wasn’t a Stellaron Hunter anymore. She had new companions she would give her life for. She was happy where she was, and didn’t want to go back.

And yet, she felt that she was still part of it, in a way. That this thing mattered to her as much as it mattered to Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Firefly.

She would miss him, even if they barely had any sort of relationship. Even if he had always refused to reconnect with her. Even if this would end up being the only proper conversation they ever had.

Blade turned back toward her, his expression serious, his eyes wistful. He retreated his hand, and laid the towel in his lap, and for a while, he didn’t say anything, just looking at her as if he were trying to figure her out. And, when he finally talked, what he said didn’t match the topic of their conversation.

“Do you still like rummaging through the garbage?”

Stelle blinked, caught by the whiplash.

“I do.”

Blade nodded, as if she had confirmed something important.

“…Back then, you always did that. You scoured every trash can you could find, searching for ‘treasures’. You also raided everyone’s wardrobes and drawers, looking for scraps and trinkets nobody wanted or needed, and claiming they were precious. That they were pretty, and worth keeping.”

A very small smile, almost impossible to notice, tugged at the corner of his lips, and for some reason, she felt like crying.

“It sounds like me, alright!” she said, her voice shaking as she tried to force a grin.

He remembered her. Even if he tried not to get close, even if he was blunt, distant, and unfriendly, he saw her.

“I did all I could for the Hunters, and I don’t regret anything of what is going to happen,” he said, going back to her question. “But there were times when I could have spent time with them, and I didn’t. Perhaps I should have.”

He rested a hand on her head, hesitantly at first, then patting it lightly.

“And perhaps I should have tried to talk to you earlier, to see if you were still the girl who thought trash was worth keeping. If you were, maybe you wouldn’t have refused.”

He looked away, as if even saying that was a sin. And Stelle couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She didn’t talk. She didn’t think. She didn’t care about the time, the place, or anything. She just felt the tears burn into her eyes and, one moment later, she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly as quiet sobs shook her body.

It felt like she was being stabbed. Stabbed repeatedly and mercilessly, and at the same time, in the sweetest way possible. She couldn’t help but think about what could have been if he had decided to search for her, or if she had tried to overcome her initial aversion and talk to him instead. How much time could have been saved, if they had only given each other a chance?

But now it was too late. There wasn’t enough time anymore.

At first, Blade didn’t react to her embrace, his breath low, his body tense at the mere contact. But then, he relaxed, and he rested a gentle hand on her back to offer her support. Or to seek it for himself.

“It will be alright,” he whispered into her hair, holding her close to offer what comfort he could.

She nodded into his shoulder, unable to say anything.

Yes, it was going to be alright, one way or the other, even if her concept of ‘alright’ wasn’t the same as his. She had to believe that would be the case, because it would have been too sad otherwise.

She had to believe all of this would not be meaningless, and that the precious life she was holding in her arms would receive more than he was hoping for, because he was worthy of it.

As selfish as it was, she didn’t want him to die.

As selfish as it was, she didn’t want to lose him.

Not now that she had finally found him.

Later on, when Stelle stepped into Silver Wolf’s room side by side with Blade, announcing that she had invited him to play games with them, the hacker wasn’t surprised at all. She just noticed how, despite her slightly puffy eyes, Stelle was smiling radiantly, and chose not to ask any questions.

Part of it was because her friend seemed so much in a good mood that she had let go of any attempt to punish her, and she didn’t want to remind her. The other part of it was that, no matter how she looked at it, she had obtained exactly what she wanted, and didn’t want to spoil it.

Everything had gone according to plan, as expected. After all, she was a genius, wasn’t she?