For a heartbeat, everything else ceased to exist.
EJ stood frozen, his sword heavy in his grip, his amber eyes fixed on the impossible figure before him.
Nicholas.
Alive.
The weight of a century pressed into his chest, stealing the air from his lungs. His body refused to obey, as though the sight of that familiar face, framed by ash gray eyes and quiet defiance, had turned him to stone.
He didn't see the danger until it was too late.
Behind him, the shadow phoenix stirred with a guttural shriek, its broken body convulsing, black flames gathering around it like a storm. Its wings snapped open with sudden violence, and it launched straight at him, a blur of teeth and fire.
EJ's fingers tightened on his sword—but they didn't move.
In the next instant, someone struck him hard from the side, and he was falling.
The world tilted, air rushing past, and then his back hit the ground.
Nicholas's weight pressed over him, shielding him as the phoenix's claws scraped harmlessly against stone where EJ had stood seconds ago.
For a long, suspended moment, they stayed there.
EJ stared up at Nicholas, breath caught in his throat. The faint glow of the burning shadows painted his sharp features in gold and black, and for the first time in a hundred years, he could see him this close — the same eyes, the same quiet strength, but now heavier, darker, threaded with something he couldn't name.
He hated how familiar it still felt.
Nicholas's gaze locked on his, unreadable yet full of something that made EJ's chest ache all over again.
Then Nicholas moved first.
He pushed himself up in one fluid motion, his cloak trailing behind him, and turned away without a word. Standing tall again, he watched silently as the dark phoenix wounded but alive hissed and fled into the shadows, its black flames vanishing into the night.
EJ forced himself up, his breathing still uneven, his hands trembling before he clenched them into fists.
"That flame…" he finally said, his voice low, breaking the heavy quiet. "That shadow flame. Where did you learn to use it?"
Nicholas didn't answer.
He stood there, his ash gray eyes steady but distant, the faint remnants of black fire still curling around his hands before he closed them into fists.
EJ took a step closer, Strange still gleaming faintly at his side.
"Where have you been all this time?"
Still, nothing.
Only silence, and the quiet sound of embers dying between them.
"So all this time… you were alive?"
EJ's voice cracked as the words tumbled out, uneven and raw. He staggered a step closer, his amber eyes blazing in the dim alleylight.
"H-how? Is that why—" his breath hitched — "is that why you never answered my Celestial calls? Because… because all this time you were alive?"
His fists tightened at his sides as he stared at Nicholas, the familiar ache in his chest now sharpened into something almost unbearable.
"W-where were you?"
Nicholas's ash gray eyes met his silently, steady as stone, but behind them… there was something. Something dark and unspoken.
EJ's voice grew louder, more desperate. "Say something!"
But Nicholas only exhaled slowly, the faintest curl of shadow flame still clinging to his fingertips before fading into nothing.
"You shouldn't be here," he said at last, his tone low but unflinching, like a verdict.
"No!" EJ's words cracked like a whip, his sword still glinting faintly at his side. "No—before that, answer me!" His voice dropped, almost a plea now. "Why didn't you come back? Why—"
But before he could finish, the sound of hurried boots echoed at the end of the alley, sharp voices barking orders.
Nicholas's gaze snapped toward the noise. Without warning, he stepped forward, his cloak sweeping behind him like smoke, and seized EJ's wrist.
"W-wait—" EJ started, but the world blinked out around him.
The air tore away with a rush of cold as Nicholas pulled him into shadow, and the next thing he knew, they stood once more at the edge of the city square, the faint lanternlight flickering far below them.
EJ stumbled slightly, catching his breath. "W-what was—"
But before he could turn to face him, Nicholas was already gone.
Gone as if he'd never been there, leaving only the faint scent of ash and the lingering warmth on his wrist where those fingers had pressed — still as gentle as they'd been all those years ago.
EJ stared at his wrist, fingers curling slowly over the spot, his heart hammering in his ears.
"…You're still the same," he whispered into the quiet, though there was no one left to hear it.
The morning sun hung weak and pale behind a shroud of clouds, its light struggling to touch the ground. Garrand was quieter than usual, its streets half-empty even as shopkeepers hesitantly opened their doors.
EJ walked the alleys where the chaos had erupted the night before. His boots made no sound on the stones as he moved, his gaze tracing the walls, the ground, the rooftops.
But nothing.
Not a scorch mark, not a splintered stone, not even the faint scent of ash remained.
It was as though the dark phoenix — and Nicholas — had never been here at all.
He stopped in the center of the square, tilting his head back to stare at the empty sky.
A shadow flame.
That was no ordinary darkness last night. He'd seen it with his own eyes, felt the heat of it in the air when Nicholas let it loose.
And the Underworld's power… could not be mistaken.
"…Why?" he muttered, his voice nearly lost to the wind. His fingers curled into fists. "Why did it have to be you?"
That flame — the same flame that had destroyed everything they'd fought to protect. The same darkness that had torn them apart a century ago.
And yet… Nicholas had stood there. Alive. With ash gray eyes that still knew how to look at him in a way no one else did.
"Oh, Mister, you're still here?"
The voice cut through his thoughts.
EJ blinked and turned, finding the young fruit-seller from yesterday — Faron — climbing up from the forest path, a basket of apples slung over one shoulder and another of pears in his free hand.
"I thought you'd already left," Faron continued as he stepped closer.
EJ shook his head once. "Not yet," he replied, his voice even but quieter than usual.
Faron studied him for a moment, then gave a faint, awkward smile. "If you're not busy… would you mind giving me a hand? These baskets get heavier every morning, I swear."
EJ hesitated. Then, as if deciding he couldn't afford to stand still with his thoughts any longer, he nodded. "Alright."
Together, they followed the narrow forest path, the air growing cooler and sharper under the canopy of pines. The scent of damp earth and resin clung to everything. Birds chirped faintly overhead, and somewhere deeper in the forest, a branch cracked.
They reached a grove of low apple trees, the branches heavy with green and red fruit.
Faron set down his baskets and began picking without ceremony, glancing sidelong at EJ.
"You're not much of a talker, are you?"
"I talk when it matters," EJ replied, reaching up to pluck two apples at once with graceful precision.
Faron huffed a faint laugh. "Fair enough."
For a while they worked in silence, the quiet broken only by the sound of fruit dropping into baskets and the occasional snap of twigs.
Then, as if unable to hold it back any longer, Faron spoke again, voice low.
"Did you hear about what happened last night?"
EJ's hands paused briefly before resuming. "Yes," he said evenly.
"That was the hundredth victim," Faron murmured. His shoulders sagged. "I never thought it would come to this. People don't even leave their houses after dark anymore. They just… wait to see who's next."
EJ closed his eyes for a moment before asking, "Have you seen the phoenix yourself?"
Faron nodded faintly. "I did. The first time it appeared here, weeks ago. It was smaller then. No bigger than a wolf. But now…"
He trailed off, visibly shivering.
EJ pressed. "What did you see that first time?"
Faron swallowed hard. "I saw how it attacked the first man. He didn't even scream. The shadows… wrapped around him like chains and dragged him to the ground. And after that…"
Faron's hands trembled as he reached for another apple.
"…he got up," he whispered. "Eyes black, teeth bared. He tore through everyone in the square like an animal. For an hour he didn't stop. Then… he collapsed. And he never woke up. But he wasn't dead. Just… stuck."
EJ's brow furrowed. "So it's growing?"
Faron nodded miserably. "Every time it strikes, it grows larger. Stronger. Like it's feeding on them."
EJ stared down at the apple in his hand until the skin split under his grip. The sound of it breaking seemed too loud in the quiet.
Then his amber eyes lifted, scanning the shadows between the trees.
And though the forest was empty, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone — someone with ash gray eyes — was still watching him.
After a long silence, Faron cleared his throat. "You really are an adventurer, huh? Not just some merchant passing through."
EJ's lips curled faintly, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Something like that," he said softly.
When the baskets were full, they made their way back down the path together. At the edge of the forest, EJ paused, glancing back once more at the place where the shadows still seemed to cling to the air.
It was faint. Almost invisible. But there — at the base of a tree — a faint scorch mark still smoldered in black and violet, no bigger than his palm.
A shadow flame.
He crouched and touched it with his gloved fingers. The mark was still warm.
EJ straightened, jaw tight.
He would find Nicholas again.
And this time — he wouldn't let him vanish without answers.