The window creaked open just enough for me to slip through.

  The night air followed me in, carrying the scent of rain and soot. My boots hit the floor with a dull thud, and I tugged the window shut behind me before the draft could catch the curtains.

  The apartment was dark, silent, almost painfully normal. No ghosts. No shadows creeping in the corners. Just the faint hum of the city bleeding through the glass.

  I exhaled through my mask, the sound rasping in the quiet. With the sound of faint steam, the mask detached from my tired face. Then, without ceremony, I crouched down and slid it under the bed. The black metal caught the faint moonlight before vanishing into the dark. The sword went next - the mechanism in my sleeve clicking softly as the hilt retracted and locked in place.

  By the time I flopped down onto the mattress, the exhaustion hit like a wall.

  Muscles heavy. Mind fogged. Breath slow.

  The world faded before I even felt the pillow.

  ---

  When I opened my eyes again, the air was different.

  Cool. Still. Saturated with that faint scent of perfume and roses.

  I was back in the cage.

  Charlotte’s cage.

  Golden bars hung like threads of starlight along the walls, the crimson ribbons of her power pulsing faintly beneath them. The same endless, twilight glow filtered from nowhere - soft, sickly, and warm.

  Charlotte herself was sprawled on her fainting couch, grapes in hand, wielding an expression that could only be described as murderously irritated - as her eyes glowed a blood red.

  I blinked, a bit surprised by her expression.

  “...Hi?”

  Her head snapped toward me, and faster than I could blink, that frustration melted into a dazzling, almost theatrical smile as the red in her eyes seemed to lighten a bit. “Oh, Damian! How lovely to see you again.”

  That’s suspicious.

  “Uh-huh,” I said slowly, watching her toss another grape into her mouth. “You look… cheerful.”

  Charlotte sat up, brushing imaginary dust off her dress before snapping her fingers - the couch dissolving as she walked towards me. With another motion of her hand, a porcelain tea set appeared on the table in front of me, as she lightly sat down on the chair across from me - with all the decorum of a princess.

  Charlotte smiled cheerfully, pouring two cups of tea. “Why wouldn’t I be? I always enjoy our little chats.”

  I sat, my arms and legs restrained as usual. I couldn't help but notice she'd poured two cups, as if I'd have a choice but to drink.

  I stared at her for a bit, as she smiled the whole time - a little too wide, a little too polished.

  Something was off. Very off. Even for Charlotte's standards.

  My eyes narrowed, not falling for the act. “Alright. What’s wrong?”

  Her smile twitched - just barely - before she smoothed it out again. “Nothing at all. Why would anything be wrong?”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  Charlotte sighed, long and dramatic, like an actress giving up the performance halfway through the play. “Fine,” she said, setting the teapot down a little too forcefully. “If you must know-”

  I smiled a bit hearing her crack under almost zero pressure.

  Here it comes.

  “-that thing you’ve been feeding,” she said, gesturing vaguely toward me with one elegant finger, “is becoming a nuisance. One I'm now finding hard to ignore.”

  I blinked. “Thing?”

  “Yes, your little... shadow man,” she said with clear disdain. “Your… what’s it called? Perhaps we should give a name to that thing sometimes soon? Though calling it a mere disease of the soul is not beneath it.”

  I gave it some thought before continuing.

  "What should we call it? The Shadow? The Parasite? The Disease?"

  Charlotte's lip curled. "I call it an annoyance. That's name enough."

  Her tone was sharp enough to cut glass.

  Charlotte crossed one leg over the other, flicking a red string off her finger like dust. “Since you’ve reached the Eleventh Seal on its pathway, it’s started interfering with me.”

  “Interfering how?”

  She gave me a flat, deadly look. “I can barely summon you anymore. Do you have any idea how irritating it is to call for someone and get nothing but static? It now has majority hold on you - at least until you reach the eleventh seal on my pathway.”

  I frowned. “Didn’t know my consciousness was some kind of… product.”

  Charlotte ignored me, continuing her rant with growing irritation. “And it’s not just that. Every time I try to bring you here, that shadowy entity - whatever it is - tries to override me. Even before your ascension, it would always try its hardest - like it’s competing for control. Me, Damian. A goddess of the Veil, one of the Twelve Great Apostles. Competing with a mindless, arrogant little parasite.”

  Charlotte spoke her last words with extreme venom. From her reaction alone, I could tell she wasn't lying.

  Before I could reply, the cage groaned.

  A low creaking sound rippled through the space, like pressure shifting against invisible walls.

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  Charlotte clicked her tongue, sneering at the sound.

  "Even now, this pathetic insect decides to interrupt our time. I won't stand it."

  Charlotte’s expression hardened instantly - her red strings shot from her fingertips, slamming against the cage’s perimeter like living tendrils, tightening around the golden bars.

  A wave of heat rolled through the air, heavy and electric.

  Then - silence again.

  She released the bindings, breathing out sharply. Her voice, when it came again, was tight with irritation. “And that, my dear, is another side effect. The annoyance presses against the barrier even when you’re gone. I can’t relax with it scraping against my cage like an animal. The wish for each others destruction is mutual, it seems.”

  I watched her for a moment with complicated eyes, the red strings slowly retreating into her sleeves. “I feel like a child stuck between two parents.”

  Charlotte’s eyes flared red for a moment. “This thing isn't a parent - it's a parasite. That annoyance shouldn’t dare defy me. If I weren’t trapped here-” She stopped herself, jaw tightening - before finally sighing lightly. “-never mind. There's no point in complaining like this. I'll just have to bide my time until we can finally get that thing out of you.”

  I couldn’t help it - a small laugh escaped me.

  She looked up, slightly startled.

  “Well,” I said, leaning back, “you really do sound like a recently divorced mother, you know?”

  For a heartbeat, her eyes softened - the anger breaking just enough for amusement to slip through.

  She smiled lightly, the sound sweet but tired. “You’ve got quite the nerve, mocking an existence like myself.”

  “I’m tired enough to mock anyone,” I said. “Consider it a sign of affection.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes but smiled despite herself. “You’re fortunate I find mortals with bad manners amusing.”

  Her tone softened as she poured more tea into my cup, her earlier vexation fading into quiet warmth. “Still,” she said, almost to herself, “I’ve been watching. You’ve had quite a week, haven’t you?”

  I smirked faintly. “That’s one way to put it.”

  Her crimson eyes lingered on me, thoughtful. “You’ve changed.”

  “Maybe,” I said, staring into the tea. “But the benefits are definitely there.”

  Charlotte arched a perfect eyebrow. “So are the risks.”

  I met her gaze across the table - divine red against weary gray.

  And for a moment, neither of us spoke.

  I broke the silence first. “Off topic, but how can I ascend to Seal Eleven of your pathway?”

  Charlotte blinked, as though caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. Then her lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. “Straight to the point, are we?”

  “I like to get to the part where I don’t get consumed by my own shadows. And I'd rather keep both of you divine beings trapped in my head at an equilibrium if possible - so one doesn't end up consuming the other.” I said dryly.

  She set her cup down, eyes flickering like candlelight. “As if that thing could ever touch me. As for ascending, it’s… tricky,” she said after a moment. “Ascension isn’t a set ritual, Damian. It’s not some ladder you climb. It’s different for every bearer - a conversation between the Pathway and the soul unfortunate enough to walk it.”

  I tilted my head. “So what? I have to bring myself to the brink of death again?”

  Charlotte chuckled softly. “Not quite. Think of it this way: the Bishop forced you to ascend that Shadowy Pathway because he dragged you close to death. That Pathway feeds on extremity - despair, fear, survival. My Pathway… isn’t like that. Most may I add, aren't like that.”

  Her gaze drifted upward, thoughtful. “Most, including mine, answer to transcendence - moments when body and mind break limits and spill into the realm of the divine. When you become something more than what you were, even for a heartbeat. It's especially easy for a Veilwalker like you, who walks the line of both realities so often. Though of course, it carries much more risk.”

  I frowned. “So what if I just sit down and meditate? Try to reach enlightenment or something?”

  Her stare was flat enough to cut through marble. “That would be painfully boring. And it wouldn’t work - it wouldn't be pushing your limits at all. I also doubt you could sit down in one place for more than three minutes.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, your probably right.”

  “Besides,” she added, “where’s the drama in that? You mortals can be so dreadfully dull.”

  She clapped her hands once, sharply. “Anyway, enough of this talk. Here - have some tea.”

  Before I could react, she reached across the table, plucked one of the tea cups she had filled, and leaned forward. “Say ‘ah.’”

  “Wait- Charlotte-”

  Too late.

  She pressed the rim to my lips and tilted the cup. Warm liquid flooded my mouth before I could protest. I choked back half of it, swallowing out of sheer survival instinct as she smiled triumphantly.

  When she finally withdrew, setting the cup down, I glared at her over the rim. “You know, for some veil-bound goddess, your manner’s are terrible.”

  Charlotte’s expression was pure satisfaction. “But you liked it, didn’t you?”

  Reluctantly, I nodded, slight surprise hidden in my eyes. “…It was really good, actually. Surprisingly so.”

  “I know, I made it myself.” she said simply, as though that were the most natural response in the world.

  I narrowed my eyes. “How do you even know what kind of tea I like?”

  Her gaze sharpened, the crimson irises shimmering with faint symbols - spirals, runes, things that almost looked like constellations. “Because I know more than you think I do,” she murmured. “In fact… I probably know you better than you know yourself.”

  I laughed softly. “Usually that would be a deeply creepy thing to say to someone.”

  Charlotte tilted her head, smiling. “And yet, you seem perfectly fine with it.”

  I shrugged. “You’re already lodged permanently in my head. Not much left to hide, is there?”

  Her smile widened. “If only you were always so obedient, my life would be much easier, you know?”

  My smile strained a bit, eyebrows twitching. "Okay, don't push your luck."

  I sighed, my eyes gaining a more serious light to them. “On that note… a troublesome thing came up.”

  Charlotte leaned forward, the playfulness in her eyes dimming. “That troublesome princess, who may I remind you I told to cutoff.” she said, the frustration in her voice barely hidden. “But not only does she want you as her personal servant, but she also witnessed something quite interesting, didn't she?.”

  I nodded.

  She was quiet for a while, studying the ripples in her tea as though they were runes. Then she said, softly but firmly, “Don’t dwell on it. Your right eye being black is likely just a side effect of the Bishop’s interference - remnants of his corruption clinging to your soul. It will fade.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” she said, a little too quickly. “Quite sure.”

  I exhaled, a small breath of relief escaping me - though the unease didn’t vanish completely. “If you say so.”

  Charlotte’s voice gentled, but there was an edge beneath it. “Still… avoid feeding that shadow pathway too much - at least not anymore than you feed me. The more you ascend with it, the stronger its mark becomes. If anyone were to see that eye again-”

  “I know,” I said quietly. “I wouldn’t be alive for long.”

  She nodded once, then clapped her hands, dispelling the tension like smoke. “Then don’t fret! Your ever-loving guardian is here to help.”

  I smiled faintly, my eyes narrowing at her with slight suspicion. “Guardian, huh? Sounds more like you just want pry control of me from that shadowy man. Less divine protection, more… territorial power play, no?”

  Charlotte rested her chin on her palms, giving me a sultry, half-lidded look. “Maybe. It'd be interesting to see what you could do fight against me though. I'm much more trustworthy than the other option, no?

  I smiled, enjoying the honesty if her words despite their venom. "I guess your right. You've really trapped me in a corner, haven't you Charlotte?"

  Charlotte continued to stare at me with the same sultry expression, as if she found the whole ordeal entertaining. "Despite you reluctance to believe me, there’s one thing I can guarantee, Damian. It’s that I want what’s best for you, truly.”

  “Why?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  Her eyes softened, the red glow dimming to a quiet ember. “Because I’ve grown rather fond of you. Even before you met me, I fear.” she admitted, voice low and almost human. “Maybe it’s the loneliness of the Veil. Or maybe you’re simply entertaining to me.”

  For once, I didn’t have a clever reply.

  The cage was silent except for the faint hum of her strings. The warmth of the tea lingered in my throat.

  “Well,” I replied with a smile. “I'm glad to entertain.”

  Charlotte’s smile was sad now - a rare, unguarded thing. “I'll make sure to keep watching. For as long as you draw breathe, I'll be here waiting. That's a promise.”

  My vision began to blur at the edges. I felt my body weaken as my eyelids grew heavy.

  Charlotte’s eyes followed me as my head dipped forward, her voice soft and distant. “Sleep well, Damian. And good luck. And please...”

  The last thing I saw was her hand reaching across the table - almost touching mine - before the light of the cage faded to black.

  "...Keep me entertained."

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