Her brother was murdered before her eyes. The only person she felt comfortable and loved around. Yet the prison breaker walked into their home to make her parents pay for putting him in jail.

It was an unpleasant sight. She quivered and cried, but no tears came. Her brother's blood trickled down her face, warm and murderous. She was only ten after all.

She couldn't move or call out for help. But desperate to know if her brother lived, she approached the corpse, drenching her entire body in blood.

She couldn't take it anymore. She knew her brother was gone, and if that was the case, she had to leave as well. Right by her leg lay the same weapon that killed her brother.

She clung to it, ready to end it all, but her parents walked in.

She was a kid. She knew nothing, but the scene told everything. It wasn't the truth, but it looked like a fact, and that wasn't something even her parents could accept.

Her fingerprints were everywhere. In desperation, the mind tells lies and truths to make sense of what's happening. The reasons why she'd kill her brother came easily to her parents, so easily, in fact, that they couldn't bear to watch the law treat her like a minor.

But in all that darkness, she was saved not by a god or her loved ones, but by those who wanted to exploit her rage for something bitter.

In the years that followed, many fell by her hands. Yet not once did she seek revenge on her parents, only on the man who began it all. Even so, deep within, she sought the warmth and care her brother had given her.

Even in this life, she still wanted that feeling. Eight years, and she still ached for it.

***

Victory was in the air. Halo had secured a perfect relationship with Jihriel, and now he just had to push further to cement what they had until it was solid to the core.

However, with the Northern Mist close by, he needed to train in case their assault started sooner than expected. After all, he was going to be the only Knight among them.

He'd been receiving Sin Fragments from Kysa and Saint, but their kills only totaled a few hundred. He still needed two thousand more to reach Assassin.

But the moment he got to the training room, he stopped. Intense heat was radiating from inside, and yet he didn't hear any movements.

He couldn't tell if his senses were dulling or if she was just that clean with her movements. There before him was Delilah, dressed in black shorts and a black vest.

The moment she spotted Halo, she paused mid-action. She stared at him point-blank for a moment before turning to leave the room.

The coldness in her eyes was unmistakable, and it felt as though his presence disgusted her. But he'd also noticed warmth there since they first met. Even when she acted dismissive and detached, it didn't feel genuine, as though she was being misunderstood.

Before she could leave the room, Halo spoke:

"It's your Flaw's doing, isn't it?"

Delilah turned to him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

Halo began preparing to train.

"Look at how you behave. What's your Flaw? Detachment? Apathy? Something along those lines, I'd guess."

Delilah frowned.

"What makes you think that?"

Halo shrugged.

"If that weren't the case, you would've left already. It's what makes people struggle to understand you. That's why you stay alone."

Delilah was quiet for a while, watching Halo shadowboxing.

"It is Coldness. My Flaw is Coldness."

Halo stopped and turned to her, startled.

"Really? Me too."

Delilah began closing the gap between them.

"The way Flaws appear is shaped by past experiences and trauma. But you… with Coldness as your Flaw, you don't seem like it at all. You remain calm and collected."

Halo forced a smile.

"Keeping a calm, reserved presence all the time isn't simple. But training under Fade of Bridle helped me master it."

Delilah sat cross-legged on the floor, which confused Halo for a moment. He wasn't done training yet.

"Really? Can you teach me?"

Halo giggled. The thought of teaching amused him.

"I am a very bad teacher, trust me."

Delilah didn't look like Halo's inexperience was going to stop her.

"My presence alone keeps people away. I can't really converse with anyone. But I still want to be friends with the team."

Halo didn't mind her. He didn't care all that much, really. She was better as she was. But Delilah started laying her backstory on him.

"My older brother was killed before I could even understand what was happening. Somehow, I was blamed. My parents were sure I was the one who did it."

Halo turned to see her eyes fixed on the floor, as though the mere thought of her brother was enough to make her lose herself.

Halo was cold, not heartless. He joined her on the floor and let her speak.

"I wanted to die because I truly believed I was guilty. If I weren't, my parents wouldn't have believed I was. They fought in court to have me killed, and I accepted it. I was only ten years old."

Halo watched her fidget with her fingers, nervously.

"One day, I slept. Next, I woke up in a bunker. I was distorted, but they still made me obey. If they had killed me, I would've been thankful. They chose not to.

"The bunker was an academy that trained assassins. That's where I learned everything. My parents knew the truth, that their decision to falsely imprison someone led to my brother's death. And even knowing that… they never tried to find me."

She clenched her fist tightly as they trembled.

"I didn't care about my parents. I never did. The only person who was truly my family was my brother. So I did everything I could to avenge him… but—"

She stopped cold. The words clearly weren't easy for her, but she didn't know she was sitting before someone who'd lived through something similar.

Halo wished she could be free enough to spill her heart out, but their coldness clearly worked differently. Halo held no grudges; even being killed by his best friend didn't sadden him. But Delilah's coldness was different, she just pushed people away.

But, well, maybe just this time.

"Hmmm… do you want to know?"

Delilah turned to him. She wanted to know, of course. Who wouldn't?

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