Razeal didn't move right away when the knocking sounded for the second time. He already knew who it was his senses were too sharp, too absurdly sensitive now. Even before the first knock finished echoing, he had already identified the heartbeat rhythms, the breathing patterns, the small subtle shifts of two familiar presences just beyond the door.

So when he finally spoke, it was with complete calmness, barely glancing up:

"Come in."

The door clicked open, and Maria stepped in first. Neptunia followed silently behind her. Both of them entered the room cautiously, as if expecting Razeal to be in the same tormented state he was earlier. Instead, they found him sitting on the edge of his bed, posture relaxed but expression distant lost in thoughts that clearly ran deep and far from anything either of them could guess.

Maria's eyes flicked around the room almost instantly. She noticed something small but suspicious the chair near the bed, pulled forward as if someone had been sitting opposite him. Talking, listening or maybe questioning?

But the room was empty.

So her eyes narrowed just slightly before she looked back at him.

"So who were you talking to..? I heard you talking from outside." She didn't hesitate, moving right to the chair and sitting down beside his bed. Neptunia found another chair, dragging it softly from the corner and taking a seat as well, watching quietly.

Razeal tilted his head, then let out a very faint breath through his nose almost like a laugh he didn't bother finishing.

"Well would you believe if I said one of the three supreme gods came here to complain to me that some teenage girl slapped his face?"

Maria paused mid arm crossing. She stared at him. Then rolled her eyes so hard it was almost impressive.

A supreme god? A slap? And complaining?

She deadpan glared at him like he was speaking nonsense on purpose.

"If you don't wanna tell, don't. Leave it."

She shook her head, completely dismissing his words. "How you doing now. Fine?"

She meant earlier him clutching his head, trembling, visibly overwhelmed.

"Yeah, I am." Razeal shrugged, his voice completely detached. If she didn't want to believe him, he wasn't going to explain further. Simple.

But Maria wasn't satisfied. Her brows creased, her arms folding tighter across her chest.

"What had happened?" Her voice was firm this time, pushing for the truth.

"Nothing." Razeal answered with the same careless tone. "Just my emotions. I wasn't able to control them. More like… I have something which amplifies every emotion thousands of times… and it just keeps going worse and worse. I was just trying to control them."

He said it casually.. so casually it was almost unsettling. Revealing something that sounded like a weakness, yet he said it as if it meant nothing.

Maria's face froze for a second. Her eyes softened before tightening again, and she stared at him in silence… almost studying him.

Trying to see if he was lying. Trying to see if he was hiding pain behind that indifferent face.

After a few long seconds she finally spoke, quietly but with weight:

"Is this because of what I said?.. Did that bother you? Make you feel uncomfortable?"

Neptunia, who had been sitting silently by her side, rolled her eyes so hard that even Razeal caught it in the corner of his vision. Here she goes again… Neptunia thought.

Razeal turned his head toward Maria slowly. The movement was lazy, almost bored, but his eyes sharpened instantly as they met hers.

Then he couldn't help ithis voice dropped into that sarcastic tone he always used when he wanted to poke at people's sincerity:

"You worried for me?"

Maria just shook her head with plain face.

"I am not." Her voice was firm, clipped, as she looked away for a moment before continuing: "I just say this because I take responsibilities for my actions, which someone else doesn't… for their own. I'm only bothered that I might have hurt someone, which wasn't my intention in the first place. Not to say… someone who saved my life just some hours ago."

Her tone stayed straight, serious, as if this was the only logical reason she had to even speak about it.

"Sure."

Neptunia muttered from the side, a sarcastic whisper she didn't bother hiding. She almost laughed. Maria glared instantly.

"…What 'sure'? You think there is something else?" Maria snapped, turning her head sharply toward Neptunia.

Neptunia raised both hands slightly in a defensive, mocking surrender.

"No… I didn't say anything. Keep it cool, Your Majesty." Her sarcasm dripped like honey, smooth and unbothered.

Maria didn't say anything more to Neptunia; instead, her eyes slowly returned to Razeal. She examined him quietly, carefully. Something about him felt… off, different, unusual. A soft crease formed between her brows.

Razeal noticed her stare. He tilted his head in confusion, a faint flicker of surprise in his gaze as if her concern itself was unexpected.

He let out a small, light chuckle.

"Well… thanks for worrying for me, I guess."

The words left his mouth so casually, so naturally, that Maria's frown deepened instantly. Her eyes widened the slightest bit in disbelief.

He.. Razeal just said thank you?

Her brain blanked for half a second.

She shook her head quickly, almost flustered by how strange this felt.

"As I said, I wasn't worried."Her voice was firm, but the tiny surprise in her eyes betrayed her.

Razeal… saying thank you? That might actually be a sign the world is ending, she thought, unable to help the genuine shock running through her.

Trying to regain control of the moment, she cleared her throat and leaned slightly forward.

"So… can you control it now? Is your problem solved?" Her tone tried to be sound factual.

Razeal shrugged lightly.

"Not really. My emotions are still like that. I just found… some way to bring them down to neutral for now, so it's fine. At least I'm not thinking about going crazy and destroying everything around me… for now."

He said it as if he were talking about being hungry or sleepy. So casual. So unconcerned.

Maria blinked.

Neptunia blinked.

Both stared at him.

Maria leaned forward more, confusion clear on her face.

"So you get thoughts of destroying everything around you?.. And if that happens and you haven't solved it… what if your emotions get wild again?"

Razeal didn't hesitate even for a moment.

"Then… I guess you guys shouldn't let it happen again." A small smirk tugged at his lips. "Because I would love to go crazy now. I don't wanna hold anything back."

He sounded unserious, almost joking.

But the words weren't the kind people usually joked about.

Maria slowly closed her mouth, genuinely unsure how to respond. Neptunia stared at him like he had grown a second head.

Silence stretched for a few seconds before Maria finally spoke again, voice low.

"What… happened to you?" Her eyes studied him like she was trying to recognize him, as if the person in front of her wasn't the same Razeal she knew.

Razeal lifted his eyes toward her, confused.

"Nothing. Why?"

Maria exhaled sharply through her nose.

"You just look… weird." She frowned deeply, unable to pinpoint it yet feeling it strongly. "Different."

Neptunia nodded immediately.

"You do." Her tone was blunt, straightforward.

Razeal looked between the two of them and then simply shook his head.

"You both don't even know me. What difference could you possibly see?" He dismissed their concern outright, not even taking their words seriously.

Maria immediately shoom her head.

"Before, you would've said something like.." She dramatically straightened her back, lowered her voice, and attempted to mimic him.. "'I can't lose my control over these unworthy emotions. I cannot let myself have weakness. I am the great Razeal, feared by all,' or whatever dramatic nonsense you always say."

"I would never say such cringey words." Razeal scoffed.

He said it with such confidence that Maria just stared at him blankly.

And deep in Razeal's mind, even he had to admit silently.. Okay maybe… maybe I could say something like that.. He thought but didn't say it out loud.

Maria continued staring at him long and hard the confusion still remained.

Razeal eventually sighed lightly and shrugged.

"Weakness? No, they're not." His voice was steady, calmer than ever. "Emotions… even amplified… they're still mine. Why should I suppress or restrict myself from doing what I want or what I don't? I'll just do whatever I want. Whatever happens… let it happen."

He spoke with a strange new confidence carefree, detached from fear, detached from consequence.

Neptunia, who had been quiet until now, lifted her eyes toward him. Her expression weirdly turned serious.. deeply serious to look towards him.

She leaned forward slightly.

"It's not really a good idea, you know." Her voice was calm, but firm enough that even Maria glanced at her.

Neptunia continued:

"In stories it might look cool or powerful to say something like that… but in reality, doing whatever you want will always have consequences." Her eyes narrowed gently. "Even if you're strong. Even if no one can stop you. Doing everything you want might hurt someone dear to you… someone you consider precious."

Razeal blinked slowly.

Neptunia held his gaze without faltering.

"All this power, all this freedom… it might look great to you right now." She breathed slowly, almost like she was trying to speak with experience rather than logic. "But don't think like that. Or you will regret it."

Her tone softened at the last word.

It lingered.

Regret.

A word that felt heavier than anything else she had said.

The room fell into a deep silence.

But Razeal just shook his head slowly, almost lazily, as if the topic itself bored him.

"Doesn't really matter to me." His voice dropped flat, hollow, serious in a way that didn't look like he was joking at all. His crimson eyes lowered for a moment before flicking up again, faint light dancing inside them.

"I don't have anyone precious. Nothing to lose in the first place." His tone was calm… too calm. "Really… I really have nothing to lose or fear."

Maria's posture stiffened immediately as neptunia's lips pressed tightly together.

Razeal didn't stop.

"I can die now and feel nothing." He said it like he was stating weather. "I have nothing to live for."

"I'm just not killing myself because that looks disgustingly weak to me." He let out a small scoff. "And not to say so many people want to see me as die so im just not giving them that pleasure."

His eyes shimmered crimson again, darker this time, the glow pulsing with a faint instability.

"And yeah, I remember someone great once saying… that I should be selfish." A twisted smile curled on his lips. "Which I am going to be."

"Regret or not, I'll do whatever I'm going to do from now on." His voice dipped, lower, heavier. "Even if it ends up killing me. Because that actually sounds… fun."

The last word tilted strangely, like a sharp edge.

He leaned forward slightly, and the craziness in his voice felt almost tangible.

"Though I'd love to see who even has something that could kill me.. Because as how i am right now? It doesnt seem easy."

His eyes flashed brightly deep crimson, sharp, wild. His aura twisted slightly around him, a crazed thrill vibrating in the air.

The entire room froze.

Neptunia, sitting beside Maria, narrowed her eyes hard. Her gaze sharpened, deepening as if she were reading something inside him something dangerous.

Maria stared too, but her expression was different. Still narrowed eyes, but something else flickered there concern? Fear? Something she didn't want to admit even to herself.

She parted her lips, wanting to say something to snap him out of whatever this was, but stopped.

For a moment, the room felt like it was tilting.

Maria finally forced her voice out.

"Let's not talk about this." Her tone was firm. "Suicide plans and acting crazy isn't a good thing. And about that being selfish part… I don't think whoever said that to you meant it in that way.. maybe. Well I think you misunderstood it."

"So let's leave it."

She straightened her back.

"And how about we concentrate on something else?"

Her eyes flickered to Neptunia briefly, then returned to Razeal.

"I think Lady Merisa is here. And the second sea's Sea Lord is dead too… so what are we going to do now?"

She spoke quickly, almost too quickly clearly wanting to move away from the topic that had just chilled her to the bone.

"I think it's best we cross the sea and get out of it before any replacement arrives. If the news is true, that is. So maybe we should investigate first and then move fast. And reach our destination before anything else becomes a problem."

Her voice regained its usual calculating tone focused, practical, thinking ahead to avoid unnecessary complications.

Neptunia side-eyed her with a teasing look.

"Hehehe…"

Maria shot her a glare immediately.

Razeal listened to Maria's words, face neutral. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah, she's here. And yes, that Sea Lord is dead. We can cross the second sea anyway. Nothing's going to change we would've gone even if she were alive."

He waved a hand dismissively.

"So don't worry."

Then he sat straighter.

"Also… I have some other serious stuff to talk about."

Maria and Neptunia were surprised that he already knew the Sea Lord had died, and they had no idea how he got the news or why he sounded so sure. But if he said it was true, they chose to believe him. Even if they did not like it, there was nothing they could do. They had to follow him anyway since he was the strongest person here.

Neptunia leaned forward slightly, curiosity brightening her eyes.

"More important than that?" Her ears perked up figuratively and literally. "Did something else happen? Should I know something? Are we in danger? Or is some crazy person targeting you because you hurt them before or something?"

Her questions piled up rapidly, eyes wide, genuinely concerned.

Razeal lifted his hand and waved it casually, like brushing away dust.

"Ah nothing."

Neptunia blinked.

Maria blinked.

Razeal continued

"I just wanna ask… how to make someone fall in love with me. Or how to know if someone is in love with me."

He said it with completely straight face. Completely flat tone. no shame mo hesitation and definitely no emotional reaction to it.

Like he was asking how to sharpen a knife.

"You see… it's kinda important to me."

Silence.

A deep, heavy, suffocating silence.

Maria's brain short-circuited. She looked at Razeal with pure speechlessness eyes wide, eyebrows raised, lips parting slightly as if she couldn't understand whether she heard correctly.

Did he seriously

Neptunia froze mid-breath, mouth slightly open in disbelief.

Her one eye twitched an involuntary sharp little jump like her brain short-circuited for a second under the weight of the unexpected question Razeal had dropped on the room. But then, slowly, something shifted in her expression. A sharp glint appeared in her eyes, bright and cutting..

Then.. clap! She suddenly smacked her hands together, loud enough to jolt the air.

"Well, that's a very easy question," she declared proudly, leaning forward with a confident smirk. "Maria is in love with you. It's just you're somehow unable to notice which is making me wonder just how dense can someone be."

The room didn't just fall silent... It froze. The atmosphere instantly shifted from tense to something heavy, thick, suffocating, and absolutely dangerous.

Razeal blinked. Ohhh?

Maria, however

"Huh?" The sound slipped out of her, sharp and shocked, her tone cutting the silence like a blade.

She whipped her head toward Neptunia so fast air cracked around her, her expression immediately darkening. Her brows pulled together in a deep furious frown, and beneath her eyes.. yes, it was unmistakable a chilling, murderous glint flashed like cold steel.

"You think this is funny?" she asked, her voice dropping low and sharp ..too sharp. "You should control your mouth, Neptunia. I'm being nice to you doesn't mean you can spout any nonsense."

Her tone wasn't irritated. It wasn't offended. It was the kind of tone that warns a person that one more wrong word will cost them their life.

But Neptunia wasn't done. Not even close.

"But am i wrong?" Neptunia shot back instantly, raising both brows, voice rising in justified frustration. "I'm just saying the truth seriously. Do you think I'm blind? Did you see how you treat him? You trusted him to rip your dress. You trusted him to put some weird heart inside you.. something literally no normal person would ever allow!"

Neptunia kept going, unstoppable, her mouth running like a river breaking through a dam.

"And you didn't question him even once just because he said so! And don't even get me started on you being worried for him every second! You literally stood outside this room for so long like hours with your ear pressed to the door, wanting to know what's going on! You were clearly worried about him!"

Maria stiffened, her expression becoming colder and sharper by the second, but Neptunia kept pushing:

"And then should I ignore the fact you changed the whole topic when he started saying that crazy stuff? About having nothing to lose? About dying? About not caring? You were panic-switching topics because.. "

SHHHKKK

A sound sliced through the air not air, water.

Neptunia's words cut off instantly.

Because Maria stood up so violently her chair crashed backward onto the floor with a deafening THUD that echoed through the room.

At that exact moment.

Water in the room shifted.

It didn't just shimmer.

It didn't just ripple.

Just fast and cutting..

Dozens of thin, razor-sharp blades of water formed around Neptunia's throat, appearing out of nowhere hovering only centimeters away from her skin, circling, waiting, humming with killing intent so dense it felt like the room temperature dropped instantly.

A chilling frost swept through the air. Every breath felt cold and tight, like the air itself feared being sliced.

Neptunia slowly lowered her gaze toward the blades. Her throat bobbed slightly, but surprisingly ..her eyes carried no fear. No flinch or panic.

She simply looked back up at Maria, sitting still in her chair surrounded by countless killing-sharp water blades.

Maria's voice came out like winter frost biting flesh:

"One more word, and I'll really kill you."

The room felt like death was standing between them.

Maria's face had transformed cold, emotionless, her pupils slightly dilated with fury and something else. Something sharp and dangerous, like a blade coated in ice.

Every drop of water in the room seemed to obey her pulse.

"Don't," Maria hissed, her tone icier than the blades themselves. "Don't try to link my feelings with him. Nor do I care about him. As I said before.. there is nothing desirable about this man."

The lie rolled off her tongue so cleanly it almost sounded believable.

Almost.

Neptunia though didn't even blink.. She wasn't impressed nor intimidated.

If anything… she looked amused.

Her lips curved into a smirk. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze steady even with death brushing the skin of her neck.

"If that's true," Neptunia said calmly, "then why are you still staying with him?"

Her voice was soft, almost playful, like she was enjoying the chaos she had created.

Maria's fingers twitched. The water blades hummed closer ..closer almost kissing Neptunia's throat.

"You want to know?," Maria coldly replied. "I am only with him because I need something important from him. There is nothing more to it."

Her tone was merciless.Her eyes burned with a cold intensity that could freeze blood.

Neptunia raised one brow, utterly unfazed.

"And people who are only there for selfish reasons," she countered softly, "don't care the way you do. Don't look the way you looked at him. Don't worry the way you worried. Don't stay up all hours for someone. Don't trust there life on them. Don't listen at the door for someone. Don't defend someone the way you just did."

Maria fingers started twitching.

Her eyes grew colder colder than ice, colder than hatred, colder than steel.

"You're lying to yourself," Neptunia said firmly, leaning forward ever so slightly even with blades threatening her life. "Don't pretend you aren't. Don't pretend you don't know it."

Maria's face twitched.. barely but it happened.

And then the temperature in the room dropped another level.

Almost freezing.

Almost suffocating.

Maria's eyes darkened further, turning into deep pools of liquid coldness. She stared into Neptunia's eyes, expression emotionless, ruthless, icy to the core.

Suddenly

The water blades moved.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Close enough for Neptunia to feel the cold sharpness brush her skin just a graze, just enough to draw the faintest drop of blood if Maria pushed a fraction more.

The tension in the room became suffocating.

It felt like the whole space was holding its breath, waiting to see if Maria would slice her head clean off.

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