"There's something wrong with you, isn't there?"

Halo raised a startled eyebrow.

Sure, something was off with him. But Seraph was asking about him? She'd been acting weird for days. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

"Let me guess, something else is stirring within you. It feels like your Flaw wants to devour you…"

Halo locked eyes with her. His piercing blue against her faded ones, barely visible in the dark. His face showed only confusion.

"Don't worry, it's nothing you can't handle… You're merely walking through the Flaws your Sin Fragments have given shape to. Pride, envy, gluttony, even oblivion… they're merging now. You'll start to see them bleed into your waking life."

This stirred deeper than what she casually let on. He knew about the damage his Sin Fragments could cause, but still, he was only a few tens into it, and the ten thousand that was required of a Knight, and there would be more once he climbed the ranks, so it didn't seem right logically to have it take a toll on him with just sixty into it.

"Feels too early, doesn't it? We all go through it. Mine started after my first fifty, back before I came here. It'll pass… once your body learns to bear its weight."

Halo was grateful for her concern and explanation, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this had less to do with his Sin Fragments. If that were the case, he would have known.

But his clones' strange evolution and his own deteriorating emotions made that theory seem more likely. He couldn't bring himself to mention it, though. Thankfully, his Flaw made that easier, he didn't want Seraph thinking he was ungrateful.

She locked eyes with Halo.

"You can't speak?"

Halo met her with silence…

"…we know your Flaw is Coldness, but I thought it would run deeper than that. Then again, your eyes tell me everything I need to know."

She smiled.

"Don't worry. You can act as blunt as you want."

Halo had been like this almost his whole life. He wasn't the type to talk much and wasn't one to show emotions before others either. In fact, he actually shared some similarities with Seraph.

He hid behind silence, letting his reputation do the talking. He liked being this way. It made him observant and kept him calmer than most people he'd known.

Still, he knew best to let the lady carry their talk alone.

"Your training with Tough and Sunday, how's it going?"

Seraphim turned to him with a startled expression.

"How long have you been watching me train?"

He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know, but he was certain he had stumbled on her more than once, even at midnight.

"They're strong, yeah, and they keep getting stronger. Tracking my progress feels pointless sometimes. If their power never leveled, I'd know where I stand."

He knew this already. His clones grew stronger with each fight and developed skills like any of them. This made it more likely they were the cause of his condition. But he wouldn't waste Sin Fragments asking the system to confirm it. He had another plan.

"Is this why you try your hardest to finish your training with them every day?"

Seraph nodded with a soft smile etched across her face, her eyes staring at the distant moon and its glimmering stars.

"Some say the gods granted us those few days in our real worlds only to let us taste the illusion of normalcy one last time…"

She turned to Halo, whose eyes lazily glanced around.

"I believe them… what do you think?"

Halo shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have such a privilege since his arrival in this world was different from everyone else's.

"Back in the academy, most people were happy about this life, and it made me also look forward to it to some extent. Even Liam seemed somewhat happy sometimes."

Halo raised a startled eyebrow. He knew they both arrived in this world at the same time, but he didn't know they knew each other before their Purpose.

"I knew I'd lose my humanity someday… so while going on my first Purpose as an Awakened, I took the opportunity to visit most lands."

She began staring at the sky once more.

"I've never been past the Northern Wastes, but they say the stars at Sapphire Coast are beautiful and move differently."

He scowled. He didn't know exactly where the conversation was heading, but he wasn't feeling too confident about where everything was heading.

"We are less likely to see each other again after this Purpose…"

She turned to Halo.

"Will you come watch the stars with me at Sapphire Coast? I don't know if fate will let us meet again, but if it ever does, that would be ideal."

Halo's expression barely let any emotion slip, but within, he was yelling in frustration.

Her faded blue eyes, which made her seem almost blind, held such gentleness and innocence that he couldn't dismiss the moment.

But as the Shadow of Death, he couldn't make promises like this lightly, not when he was destined to die by the God of Death's hand.

He'd made a promise to reach the end of the world with Liam, and he still wanted to explore this world as much as possible. He had to accept, even knowing he might not live long enough to see it happen.

"Sapphire Coast, huh? Sure thing…"

Seraphim smiled and turned to the sky again.

"If you turn out to be my Nemesis, I'll curse the world for its cruelty… and I'll have to hate you too, even if it kills me to do so. I don't want that."

"What's your title, Halo?"

Halo gave her words a beat of silence. He wasn't eager to share his title, though not because of his Nemesis. Even if he turned out to be Seraph's Nemesis, he'd prefer killing her sooner rather than later. He simply disliked the idea of his title being known, it could awaken something he wasn't prepared for.

Still, he told her the moment she mentioned her title.

"I am the Child of Deceit…"

Halo nodded.

"Shadow of Death…"

Seraph smiled in relief.

"I suspected you served the God of Death… the way your ability works, it almost gives it away. Looks like I wasn't wrong."

Halo met her with silence. He knew she was going to ask about his past. He wasn't ready to share that. Not yet.

"Shadow of Death, huh? What earned you that?"

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