The moon hung heavy and pale above them, casting sharp silver edges on the cracked tiles. The scent of ash still lingered in the air, mingled with the faint metallic tang of Celestial light that EJ had loosed minutes ago.
Nicholas stood at the rooftop's edge, his cloak settling around him like a shadow, his ash gray eyes watching EJ without flinching.
"You…" EJ's voice was hoarse, each word scraping out of him. His amber eyes glimmered with disbelief and something rawer beneath. "You are… indeed… a Shadower."
His fingers clenched tighter around Strange's hilt, the blade now leveled toward Nicholas as though the weight of that truth demanded it.
"I refused to believe it," EJ continued, each syllable shaking as his chest rose and fell hard. "But you really are. Why?! Were you the one who cursed this city!"
The silence between them stretched long, broken only by the faint whine of wind curling between the buildings.
Nicholas's expression didn't change. His aura, cold and suffocating now that EJ stood this close, pressed against him like a wall. Still, he spoke, quiet but firm, each word deliberate.
"I am from the Underworld," Nicholas said evenly. "But I did not curse this city."
EJ's lips parted in a soundless breath, his amber eyes widening in disbelief, though his blade never lowered.
"You expect me to believe that?" EJ's words trembled with fury. His tears finally slipped free, hot against his skin as they fell unbidden. "This… all of this..s the work of your kind. The curses. The shadows. The deaths. And you—!"
His sword shook but stayed pointed at Nicholas, the faint glow along its edge sparking as though responding to his anger.
Nicholas's gaze darkened, but there was no guilt in his eyes, only quiet steel. "I did not do it," he said simply, and though his tone carried no plea, it also bore no lie.
But EJ only scoffed, voice breaking. "Don't…" He stepped closer, his blade mere inches from Nicholas's chest now. "…don't you dare pretend you're different from them."
The air grew colder.
And before EJ could blink, two more figures appeared, materializing from the shadows as though they had always been there.
K and Jo.
K's blade pressed lightly against EJ's throat from the left. Jo's dagger hovered near his ribs from the right, both weapons gleaming black under the moonlight. Their eyes — sharp and warning — bore into his.
"Enough," K muttered lowly, his voice edged with quiet menace.
Jo tilted his head faintly, his gaze hard. "You shouldn't point that sword at him, Legacy."
EJ's breath hitched, but he refused to lower his blade, even as his body tensed under the deadly weight of their weapons. His amber eyes stayed locked on Nicholas, who merely stared back, unflinching, unbothered, his expression unreadable, his silence louder than words.
"Stop. Both of you."
Nicholas's voice cut through the air like a blade, sharp and commanding.
K and Jo froze, their weapons still poised at EJ.
They turned to him in disbelief, their eyes questioning what his words could not yet explain.
"Now," Nicholas added, his tone colder, his ash gray eyes narrowing.
At that, K reluctantly lowered his blade, the edge scraping faintly against the wind as he sheathed it. Jo followed a moment later, though slower, his dagger lingering near EJ's ribs before finally pulling back.
Jo's gaze darted between them, incredulous. "You're letting him go? After he pointed that sword at you?" His voice carried a faint sneer, though the confusion beneath it was palpable. "You're just… letting him?"
Nicholas didn't answer at first, his expression unreadable, his shoulders rigid under the weight of whatever thought passed behind his eyes.
EJ's breath hitched, his tears still falling — silent and unbidden — streaking his cheeks even as his amber eyes stayed locked on Nicholas.
There was disappointment there. And sadness.
"We're done here," Nicholas said at last, his voice quiet but final.
"No need for more casualties," he added, his gaze briefly flicking to K and Jo — a silent warning, a command.
His words hung heavy between them, carried away only by the night wind curling over the rooftop.
"The phoenix is already dead," Nicholas said evenly, his cloak settling around him as the last of the shadow ash drifted away. His ash gray eyes glimmered faintly in the moonlight. "So it's time for you to go back, EJ."
EJ's jaw tightened as he slowly lowered his sword, his amber eyes blazing with defiance. "Don't tell me what to do!"
Nicholas smirked faintly, something cold but not entirely without affection. "I saved you, and what you did in return was point your sword at me. Shouldn't I be the one angry?"
"I didn't ask for your help," EJ snapped, his grip tightening on Strange. "And how dare a Shadower claim he saved me when you're the one who cursed this city in the first place?"
Nicholas exhaled slowly, almost like a laugh but without humor. Of course. EJ had always been this stubborn, unshakable in his convictions no matter how much it hurt him. The boy hadn't changed, not even after all these years.
And as Nicholas studied him, he saw it — the ache in his amber gaze, the grief behind his anger.
"We didn't do it," came a sharper voice, Jo's, breaking the silence. His shadowy form shifted as he stepped closer, dagger glinting faintly.
EJ's lip curled. "Yeah, right. All Shadowers say the same thing."
Nicholas's smirk faded. He turned slightly, sensing Jo tense beside him, ready to strike. He raised a hand in a silent command. "We will go," he said coolly, his eyes briefly meeting K's.
But even before Nicholas could take a step, a faint hum began to rise around them.
The air shimmered.
Below their feet, bright lines of Celestial runes flared to life, encircling the rooftop in a golden lattice.
EJ stood at the center of it, his sword raised again, his expression hardened with resolve.
"I'm not letting you go," he said, voice low but seething. His amber eyes locked on Nicholas, burning. "You're not running from me this time."
Nicholas lowered his gaze to the trap at his feet, the intricate insignia pulsing with light. Clever. EJ had been preparing it all along, waiting for the right moment.
But Nicholas only smiled faintly, that old, infuriating calm settling over him.
"The reason shadows exist," he murmured almost to himself, "is because light exists."
Then his smirk sharpened.
"I never said I was running away," he added, raising his eyes back to EJ, their gray depths unreadable. "We're simply going home."
Before EJ could move, the shadows around Nicholas and his men thickened, curling like black flames.
"Don't you dare—"
EJ lunged, his blade flashing with golden light, slicing through the air, but it met nothing.
The darkness swallowed them whole.
And when it receded, they were gone.
EJ stood there, sword still raised, his chest heaving, staring at the empty rooftop. The silence that followed felt heavier than any curse.
Moments later, the sky split open in a burst of golden light, and two figures descended from it — Taki and Captain Will. The faint hum of their arrival echoed through the quiet night, scattering the ash that still lingered in the air.
When Taki caught sight of EJ, standing rigid on the rooftop with his sword still faintly glowing, his expression hardened with worry.
"E… are you okay?" Taki asked, voice sharp with concern as he rushed forward. His usual poise faltered, replaced with panic. "What happened? Where is he?"
But EJ didn't answer.
He stood there as if rooted to the spot, his amber eyes hollow, staring into the empty darkness where Nicholas had disappeared. It was as though his soul had slipped from his body, leaving only the shell behind.
Captain Will landed a few paces behind, his boots clicking against the stone. His sharp eyes swept across the rooftop, lingering on the faint, fading traces of Celestial runes and the blackened scorch where the phoenix had burned away.
"The curse is gone," the captain finally said, his voice level but edged with suspicion. "You've completed your mission, Legacy. Sooner than expected."
But neither of them knew. Neither of them could have guessed.
That EJ had been helped — saved — by the very creature they'd been taught to destroy.
When they returned to the Celestial Realm, the brilliant halls and endless light felt heavier than ever. EJ submitted his report with mechanical precision, his words clipped and formal. He left out the details he couldn't bring himself to say, glossing over the encounter with him.
When he finally reached the quiet of his quarters, the weight of it all came crashing down.
He dropped to his knees before the window, the endless expanse of stars beyond blurring as tears filled his eyes.
His chest ached — no, it burned — with something he couldn't name.
Because Nicholas was alive.
After a century of yearning, of mourning, of wondering, Nicholas was alive.
And yet… his hands shook with rage, with disbelief.
Because Nicholas was a Shadower.
The very creature that tore their world apart. That killed his family. That destroyed everything they had sworn to protect.
EJ pressed a trembling hand to his chest, as if to quiet the riot in his heart, but it was no use.
The tears came hard and fast, and no matter how many times he told himself to stop, they wouldn't.
He wept, not just for what was, but for what could never be.
Because even now, through all the pain and the betrayal, he couldn't erase the desperate truth clawing at him.
That all he really wanted… was to hold Nicholas again.
To ask him why.
To understand.