"What If I really am a demon who can't stand the divine?"
Astra blinked, half-smiling, unsure if he was joking. "You're not serious…" she began, then paused as her eyes searched his face. His expression didn't change. After a beat, she added lightly, "Well… even if you are a demon, I think you'd be the prettiest one ever."
Shion didn't smile. His gaze remained fixed on the sky, where firecrackers bloomed like golden veins, crackling over the rooftops. Then, after a pause, he turned to her and asked softly, "Have you ever wondered what it feels like to forget who you really are, just so you can survive a little longer?"
Astra's grin faltered. She stared out at the night with him, her eyes clouding. For a moment, she didn't speak. The cheer of the crowd below felt distant.
Then Shion chuckled loudly. "Don't give me that look. I was joking." His voice was back to its usual tone, though something underneath still felt… off. "If I were really a demon, don't you think I would've killed you by now?"
Astra blinked back to the present, exhaling. "Well… I don't think you are one anyway. What kind of demon spends money like water?"
Shion narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"
Astra cleared her throat, holding back a grin. "Just an example."
Shion rolled his eyes. "There can be rich demons too, you know. Just like in the mortal realm—status, class, clans, bloodlines… all of it separates the poor from the powerful. The demon realm isn't any different. Some are born into demonic nobility, sitting on vaults of gold."
Astra snorted, flicking her sleeve dismissively. "Then what's the difference? If status, greed, and power exist in both realms, how are they any different?"
Shion tilted his head, considering her words. "That… I'm not sure I can answer fully. But there are differences. Not just one."
She raised a brow. "Let me guess. The greed of demons? Endless bureaucracy? Their obsession with chaos and feeding off suffering to grow stronger?"
He gave a faint smile. "Maybe. But if you ask me… the real difference is the greed of humans."
Astra blinked. "Huh?"
"Humans have short lives," Shion said quietly. "So in that limited time, they try to seize everything—power, love, glory, safety. They want to live like gods, even if just for a moment. They don't want to waste a single breath… and they fear losing everything with their next." He paused, eyes glinting in the firelight.
"That fear… that obsession is what demons feed on. Or anything evil, really. It doesn't even have to be a demon. You just need someone desperate enough to trade their soul for another day."
Astra watched the fireworks for a long moment, the glow of each burst reflecting in her eyes. "Still," she said softly, "humans don't kill each other just for power."
Shion gave a low, knowing hum, but said nothing.
She continued, voice steadier. "They protect one another. They feel things demons can't. Mercy, guilt… love. They give meaning to emotions. A mother shielding her child even if it costs her life. A brother waiting years just to say sorry. A stranger offering help with nothing to gain." Her gaze dropped to Xue, now dozing in her arms. "They feel things so deeply it changes them. And yes… they fall in love. Even when it hurts. Even when it's hopeless. That's something demons don't do, right? They wouldn't think twice before killing or devouring someone."
Shion didn't answer immediately. His gaze remained on her, thoughtful, as the crackling of distant firecrackers filled the silence between them. Then he asked, almost lazily, "So when did you start believing in love again?" He tilted his head slightly. "You used to say love didn't exist. That it was a scam written by people with too much time and ink. All those stories were lies, remember? After you swore you'd never read another love tale again."
Astra glanced away, caught off guard. "I didn't say I believe in it again," she muttered. "I just… remember what I used to hope for. Before I realized it doesn't work like that in real life."
Shion chuckled lowly. "You memorized those stories like they were scripture. Didn't you once throw a book out the window because you hated the ending?"
Astra groaned, embarrassed. "That was one time."
"One dramatic, window-shattering time," Shion corrected with a smirk. "You swore you'd never waste another moment on your favorite series after spending three whole years reading it religiously, every single day. And then… you started pretending like you were never obsessed in the first place. As if you didn't spend every coin you had buying those books. You prayed every night for a love like that. You didn't even spare—what was it? The temple offering jar?" He laughed, eyes bright with amusement. "I still remember that immature version of you."
Astra let out a sharp exhale and turned away, flustered. My Dark Past…
"Don't remind me. The ending was a disaster. I'm still not accepting it. And I get irritated whenever someone claims it was based on a true story." She narrowed her eyes. "Wait—did you just call me immature?"
Shion shrugged, grinning. "It's the truth. You were. You are. You'll always be."
"I was a silly teenager," Astra shot back, folding her arms. "I liked story tales. That doesn't mean I still believe in them. I'm a grown-up now."
"You're just stepping into your twenties," he said, leaning casually on the railing beside her. "Ah… I wonder how much more immature and reckless you'll become. You already lose brain cells every day."
Astra rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward. A silence settled between them. Shion's smirk slowly faded, his voice dropping to something quieter.
"Anyway… i need to clarify something, demons do feel. It's just… different. Twisted. Like drinking water laced with poison. They might love, but that love scorches. They might protect, but only what they claim as theirs. Their emotions don't lift them—they devour them from the inside."
Astra looked up at him, her voice low, uncertain. "Really? Do they?"
He didn't answer right away. Then, "Some do," he said softly. "The ones who remember being something else before they fell." He glanced down at her, and something unreadable passed through his eyes. "It's rare. For a demon to feel something like love—it's nearly impossible. Because only the conscious can feel that. Most lose that part of themselves. They let the evil in them consume everything, until nothing else remains."
Astra frowned, thinking. "So then… what happens when one of them experience love?"
"They usually break," Shion said, the words barely more than a breath. Then, after a pause, he added quietly, "And they become weak."
Astra's gaze sharpened slightly, as if something in his tone had shifted.
"In the demon realm," he went on, "the stronger the demon, the deeper their self-awareness becomes—at one point almost like humans. The higher their tier, the more they begin to feel. But the moment they experience something real… something like love, it changes everything."
He looked down at the street where the celebrations raged on, laughter, and dance painting the night in gold and red.
"They feel deeper than anyone else," he said. "And that becomes their downfall. You'd be disappointed to know how that world works. There are demons—who trick others into love. Not for amusement, but for control. Once they gain the trust of someone, who actually lets their guard down—it's over."
Astra's brows drew together slightly. "Even with their own kind?"
Shion let out a short, bitter laugh. "They don't even trust their own blood. So when a demon actually trusts someone… it's rare. If they love someone? That means they've fallen completely, with no guard left. That kind of devotion becomes a crack in their power. Others exploit it. Turn it against them."
He paused, then added with a dry edge, "Maybe that's why… love is forbidden in that realm."
Astra tilted her head. "Because it's their greatest weakness?"
Shion nodded slowly. "It's useless though. When a Tier 9 demon—the strongest among them, broke that law." His voice dropped slightly. "That one act nearly brought disaster to both realms."
Astra blinked. "Even a Tier 9? But… I thought they were the cruelest, most powerful demons in existence. The ones even other demons bow to."
"They are," Shion replied. "And becoming one isn't something that happens through climbing ranks. Most demons will never reach that level unless they're born with that kind of strength—or unless they devour enough to rival a god."
Astra fell into thought, her voice softening with curiosity. "Then I wonder… what kind of being could make a king of demons fall in love?"
Shion turned slightly toward her, his gaze lingered on the her for a moment longer, the glint in his eyes unreadable. his voice almost too low to hear.
"I wonder too…" he murmured.