It's already rather late in the evening when both Caelus and Roen make their way out of the apartment block, heading in the direction of Roen's temporary quarters. He lives not far from here, and Eridanus Sector is quiet compared to the bustling city they're both used to.

Still, the dim evening lights from every living unit combined are brighter than before now that Eridanus is filled with more residents, some of them having relocated from Andromeda since the quarantine. There are only three residential zones in the City of Leatia, and only two of which are affordable; Delphinus Sector is reserved for the elite families and the rich. With Andromeda out of commission, Eridanus has been rather overpopulated in a way—families forced to cram in together with their known relatives in the sector, previous residents of Andromeda flocking to secure any available housing units.

Needless to say, it's rather lively even this far into the night, a stark contrast compared to that destroyed and abandoned sector at the opposite end of the city.

The stars are noticeably dimmer and more difficult to spot now, and Caelus begins to wonder what he might find if he'd been sitting on the roof this night, staring west toward Sector Andromeda. Destruction was obvious back when the government first lay waste onto the area, and even as Arcane Academy celebrated the successful return of their students, he remembers seeing smoke still settling under the dome-shaped barrier of Andromeda.

Now that a good amount of time has passed, he wonders about the fate of the sector. It's only reasonable to believe that the horde of demons they encountered there—and now trapped there—should be dealt with eventually, to make sure that area is redeemable. Or, at the very least, on an objective standpoint, Andromeda should be completely eradicated so new foundations can be built over it. A quarantine just doesn't seem like a permanent solution, especially now that the whole city appears to be in turmoil. Overpopulation is one problem, but it runs deeper than that because it inadvertently forces people out of their homes, and with the strange demon cases recently that go unreported, alongside the obvious dormant rifts now hanging over the sky of yet another living sector, the citizens are beginning to panic. While the news keep most of the bad news away so they can maintain a peaceful front, those who were affected in Andromeda and now Delphinus—not to mention the increasing demon attacks across the population—have a reason to fear and dread these new revelations.

Everyone goes about their lives as if nothing is happening, but surely some of the people are growing wary; the rift in Delphinus still looms as a ready threat. And yet the bureau elects to celebrate minor victories, reporting none of the realities of the world.

If the authorities don't get their act together soon, it'll be not for long before the citizens themselves turn on them.

For once, Caelus wonders if they'll just summon him and use him already. Whether it's to kill an entire legion of demons so that the rift over Delphinus closed permanently or to send him off to Andromeda and deal with whatever leftover threat there is—he is one of the only ones in the city capable of these feats. And yet, the lack of word or any form of order from upper command feels strange, like a calm before a storm.

"... off, are you?"

"What?" Caelus stops, only then realizing he's been walking a little faster, and Roen bumps into him.

His friend sighs as he catches up to him. "You have always been detached like a cloud, but today you just seem more distant than ever. What's up?"

"What did you say?" Caelus asks instead, wondering when did Roen get so observant.

He can feel his friend's blue eyes studying him curiously, but eventually decides to drop the matter and return to his carefree, joking self. "I was just asking if it was necessary for you to come with me. I've always walked back and forth alone, and you know this. What changed, your love for me? I must be growing on you."

"You said to watch out for each other."

"I-I mean..." Roen is taken aback. Placing a hand on Caelus' back, he says, aghast, "I was mostly talking about you. And Lena, especially in the academy."

"But what about you?" Caelus asks.

Roen laughs, the sound ringing through the quiet night air. "Are you worried about me?"

"But you said—"

"I was just messing with you," he replies, throwing his arms behind his head as he moves on ahead. "I am touched by the gesture, though there's really nothing to worry about."

When Caelus doesn't move, Roen turns around to add, "I meant it when I say that I'm frustrated by doing nothing while everything's happening around us—what's the point of us training to be powerful ability users if we sit away our potential to fight and do something for the better?

"That was why I was so eager to do something—anything, really—other than complying with all the set rules around here," Roen explains. "But while there's an enemy out there, you and Lena are right about how it isn't directly our job to deal with them. It's just" —he clenches his fists, the drops them in frustration— "I think what I'm tying to say is that I'm afraid. You and Lena had both fought off the Shadow Syndicate before, and they have came for us not once but twice now, maybe not as targets directly but in one way or another. What if when the time comes again, and they do bring out their arsenal and attack us in earnest, we're not ready for them at all?"

"You've been taken by them," Caelus reminds him. "So it's not merely Lena or I who needs to worry about them."

"That's not really an answer or something comforting."

"I never was good at those."

This earns a slight smile from Roen. "Right. Anyway, I can walk the rest of the way back myself. I'm serious about what I said earlier, and you're the one who'd been attacked, not me, so who's going to walk you home?"

Caelus elects to ignore him and walks on ahead. "I doubt you'd just thought about this now—though I can handle myself. If so, why didn't you insist from the beginning so I wouldn't go with you?" He stops, waiting for the stationary Roen to follow. "Knowing your stubbornness, you could've convinced me not to go with you."

"Call me selfish," Roen admits in a low voice, "but I thought the company would be great."

When he turns back to look at his friend, Roen's eyes are trained to the ground, his head dipped as if in shame. They haven't been friends for too long, but even Caelus can tell that the popular, cheerful front Roen constantly appears to be in has always been a sort of glass projection, ready to shatter at any moment. Deep down, he's just a lonely soul born to an infamous legacy he is forced to uphold, and a family that only loves their name and rapport.

It's also the very reason why he'd been so jealous of Caelus when they first met, even more so when he'd seen how the Aveyards were kind people and like a family he never had. Only eventually he'd come to understand Caelus' strange background, before the two boys set aside their differences and became friends.

"Then that's exactly what this will be," Caelus declares to him, prompting Roen to look up. "Company."

For a moment, he looks at a loss for words. He smiles, but this isn't like one of his usual dashing appearances; it's sad and rather vulnerable. He rubs at his hair and kicks the ground. The words that come out of him next are a little shaky. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a selfish fool after all—no different from my family. I made you come with me despite knowing it's dangerous for you especially—"

"Who do you think I am?" Caelus interupts before he can wallow into the guilt of his own making. "Whatever it is, you know I can handle myself."

And finally, that draws a genuine laughter from Roen. "I always knew you were powerful. I just didn't know you had it in you to be so arrogant."

"It was meant to reassure you."

"Well, thanks."

"Besides," Caelus adds, "I don't think they are really after me."

"Did you not pay attention to anything?" Roen asks incredulously. "What was our discussion even for if you don't watch out and be on high alert?"

"The attack felt like a spur of a moment thing," he admits, somehow always finding it easy to talk to Roen. There has always been something about his friend that gravitates people, himself included, not at all immune to the effects of his pull. Even if his charm is sometimes a false front, there is nothing fake about Roen's kind personality. "If they were really trying to incapacitate me, they would have tried harder."

"There you go again, arrogant fool," Roen jokes, but asks, "What do you mean by that?"

Caelus hasn't spoken of the attack to anyone except to report it in detail to the authorities, and today is the first day he's had any sort of conversation regarding that with anyone. He knows that his family has been made aware of it, and they had respectfully kept their distance despite being concerned; they know that he wouldn't know how to react to such care or pressing affection. It's the first for him, but he begins to understand the difference of perspective: perhaps the attack meant nothing to him, but to people that actually care for him, they might be worried for his safety. He still has much to learn about interacting with others, but being around Roen had helped, because his friend has always tried to bridge the gap between them despite Caelus' own detachment. And for that, he's extremely grateful.

"For one, they acted as if they were desperate," Caelus goes on to elaborate, deciding that Roen deserves to know about their potential enemy. He has, after all, been kidnapped and faced them in his own way. "And if they were so locked in on me as a target, shouldn't they have been able to take me out with their arsenal?"

Roen looks at him, stunned. "Are you saying you can be defeated?"

"I'm just saying that you and Lena made valid points," Caelus reasons. "She had raised the point about how they sought after a high profile ability user instead of any dispensable ones—or any lesser known A-class that may be able to avoid the news for that matter—and you supplemented that perhaps they had wanted a guarantee for their drug to work. If they were putting all their bets on me, they should have been extremely cautious and prepared."

"So we were right in these deductions. But why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Because it doesn't make sense that only two of them came for me—one of whom I'd already encountered before, no less," he explains. "Meaning they do not have the advantage because while they know of my own abilities, I also know of at least one of theirs. And since we've already faced each other before, they should know my weaknesses and either sent more people or someone with a particular talent to stop me."

"That truly doesn't add up," Roen agrees, frowning as he paces slower to absorb the information.

They've reached the last block toward Roen's residence by now, and it's much quieter here. This far from the city centre, it's almost as if they can finally see the faint starlight beyond the purple barrier encasing them in crystal clear clarity. Then again, given that they're near the edge of Eridanus, they're also now near the eastern Walls of Micah, which glow with an eerier unnatural energy so bright they cast a glow on both boys' features. Somewhere out there, Arcana is fighting to keep his position in Arcane Academy. Caelus hadn't even known it's remotely possible for one to step beyond the walls supposedly protecting the City of Leatia into what they know as a wasteland—what if their headmaster never comes back? What if this had been all a ploy to get rid of Arcana for real?

He has never been one to overthink. But when it comes to Arcana, he can't help it. That man has saved his life more times than he can count, saved him even before his life had amounted to anything at all.

"No," Caelus says, silencing the thoughts in his head and echoing Roen all the same.

He forces himself to think back to the time the S-class ventured into the quarantined zone instead, when he'd faced Cyanide. He shudders, remembering that particularly bloody near death experience, but that face off had been what he'd assumed an encounter with the Shadow Syndicate appears to be like. They are strong, prideful, and cunning; they must also have more members than they had already encountered, and the average ability user is generally skilled. When he'd been ambushed last week, he'd only fell for it for a moment because one of the members had assumed Roen's form, but it was a temporary facade as they had none of his friend's actual charm.

They must have seen Roen around him, and had been able to copy his form from when his friend was taken captive. Caelus mentions none of these to his real friend now, deciding that Roen might begin blaming himself for what had happened because of the fact that they'd chosen him as the bait.

"Lena said you came back unconscious," Roen decides to point out after a bout of silence once they arrive at his residence. His tone is neither prodding or accusing, only concerning. "Did you really encounter something strange?"

It's as if he senses Caelus' reluctance to reply, because he adds, "If you decide to dodge the question or elect not to answer, I'll seek out that very source of strangely reported activity in Delphinus myself. It'll be easy, since I have my connections there."

Caelus pauses, before sighing. "When did you learn to be so threatening? I thought that was Neesha's job."

"One more chance!" Roen warns without any true malice.

"After the active rift you received an alarm signal for as you were on the way to my place, they were cleansing the area for great measure."

Not at all expecting his response so quickly and without further convincing, Roen lags in his next words. "Oh. That."

"You know how it is. I passed out from that." The demon cleansing shockwave is a unique frequency sonar developed to weaken an area of demons, sometimes even killing the lesser ones. But for one reason, it has always bothered Caelus. "That sound, or whatever technology it is."

"You know we can't hear it, right?" Roen reminds him. "But you've always been sensitive to it. Even when you were fighting off that big S-class level demon when the Aerotrain broke down. Maybe it's something to do with your abilities, and the sound waves are just messing with your conjured atmosphere's molecules."

"Sure." That makes sense, although Caelus finds it unsettling to have this inconvenient weakness. "It's standard procedure, and I can't avoid it. But when I was heading home, I felt like I saw something strange."

Roen tenses. "An evolved demon?"

"I'm not sure," he admits, "but there was definitely something strange about it. I can't even guarantee my testimony; I was already dizzy from the signal. I had just stumbled into one of the narrow streets when there was this voice that wasn't quite human."

"You went to check that out in your weakened state and you disallowed me to investigate that source we found on the community page?" Roen asks indignantly.

"To be fair, I didn't realize what it was," Caelus explains, and he finds himself admitting, "I've never seen anything like it. And honestly?"

Roen must have realize that Caelus is serious. Or that he eventually notices his friend's shaking fingers—which he hides behind his back a second too late—because he stops joking. "What happened?"

It's easier to talk now that he's started letting his guard down. "There was a mother and son when I was stumbling back from the rift, and they were in trouble with a demon, so I thought I was helping. But when I tried to subdue that seemingly low-levelled demon, it attached itself to the child. I couldn't get a clear shot without hurting him too; what's worse was that it started speaking with the boy's voice."

"What did you do?" Roen is almost afraid to ask after a short silence, and he appears to be holding his breath.

"Nothing, because one of Dr. Brennan's research teams arrived, and they destroyed the demon, alongside the child."

"How could they do that?" Roen exclaims in outrage. "They just—what about the mother—"

"Roen, what I'm telling you is classified information," Caelus warns. He doesn't even know why he'd decided to tell him now, after how he'd been unwilling to say a thing since returning home, even remaining silent throughout both his friends' and his sister's pressing questions. Perhaps there is something about Roen that makes him feel safe, or that there is a necessity in letting him know not to mess with these things himself. "The mother was later taken in by the research institute and likely told to swear secrecy, or detained if she continues to rebel. I don't know if there was a way to save the child, but clearly the authorities do not think so."

"And they're keeping this information quiet," Roen realizes, understanding what Caelus had meant back when they were discussing the matter of evolved demons being only a myth—but every story has to originate from some truth. "But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Aren't they afraid of what you've seen?"

"Roen," Caelus says slowly, "if you haven't figured it out, I'm just their weapon. Just like any of the S-Class, or any high ranking Catalyst in the city." He leaves out the part where the authorities can literally do whatever they want with him how they did with the mother; silencing them both by either erasing their memories or by some worse off methods such as threats—and in Caelus' case, probably to the Aveyards. He looks down, refusing to meet his friend's eye, afraid of what he might say. "But if it helps, they didn't bother checking with me during that incident. It'd somehow been obvious that I was not in an appropriate state of combat, and the assistants who arrived at the aftermath were reporting that I had an 'unreliable state of consciousness'."

"Then I'm just glad they didn't do anything to you" is, of all things, Roen's response.

Caelus snaps his head back up only to look into his friend's stunningly blue eyes. "That's all you have to say?"

He hasn't been expecting Roen to be angry, but he had thought he'd be at least slightly mortified, or indignant about how Caelus himself had done nothing in that situation. Perhaps he is also expecting his friend to ask for justice, something he himself is unable to accomplish. And maybe more so than anything, he's afraid that Roen will look at him differently, after admitting the fact that he's nothing but a tool for this city.

"What were you expecting me to say?" Oddly enough, Roen smirks, turning toward his apartment complex in his usual casualness. "I'm just glad my friend isn't in too much trouble. Was it that hard for you to tell me this bit?"

Caelus is rendered silent, watching Roen slowly retreat, until he turns back again and adds, "I know that's a big ordeal. And I'm glad you're finally able to talk to me about this. This will eventually prove as a problem in the entire city if left unresolved, but for now, I just want you safe."

When he finally finds his words, all Caelus says is, "You sound awfully lot like Celeste."

Roen laughs, the sound reverberating in the night air. "And I wonder why's that."

"I'll see you in class two days later," Caelus says by way of farewell.

"Hey, one more thing," Roen adds before he can turn to leave. "You know everything you tell me will be safe with me, right?"

"I'd be concerned now if I were you. Knowing something is more dangerous than living in ignorance."

"Well, I'm just glad you told me, even if I can't help."

"I don't think we can, even if we want to," Caelus admits.

Roen shrugs. "Anything else you'd like to tell me before we go back to ice and fire two days later?"

Caelus doesn't quite comprehend what he's implying, but it's true he's been beside himself today by letting Roen in on so many things. It's surprising to find a sort of weight lifted from him, and he's relived to find his fingers no longer acting in tendon of his nervousness. And yet, Roen doesn't need to know that the demon cancelling signal not only took out an entire horde of demons across the rift, it also nearly ended Caelus today. That may be putting it dramatically, but the reason he'd been so groggy of the point that he returned unconscious was because of that wave of disturbance, his head in near delirium after that the research team didn't bother making sure of his silence because he was slumped to the ground, barely able to stand with a nosebleed, a heavy ringing in his ears, and the taste of copper in his mouth.

"Nothing," Caelus eventually answers. "I've already told you too much."

Instead of walking into his apartment compound, Roen turns and strides forward, grabbing Caelus' hand from behind his back. This sudden motion stuns him, and all he can do is blink at his friend.

"You know," Roen says, rubbing his fingers over Caelus'. "You've never been good at lying."

As quickly as he'd closed the distance between them, he now retreats to his residence for real this time, waving.

Caelus stands there by himself, silent for a minute or two, thinking over their conversation and what Roen had implied—but he never pushed him. He supposes he does owe Roen more than a few answers, but the fact that they'd made progress today had been a start.

The moment Caelus turns to leave, he senses something unusual stirring in the late night air. Tense, he turns around, running the short way to Roen's apartment complex. That's when he hears the sound of an explosion, and right enough, one part of the second floor is damaged in the aftermath of that attack.

The eight unit from the right on the second floor—exactly where Roen is residing in. And it's now in flames.