"Does Nicholas know you're here?" EJ asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
They sat shoulder to shoulder near the corner of the house, away from the warmth of the newly lit hearth. The orange glow danced faintly on the walls, casting gentle light on their weary faces. Outside, the night air was still thick with ash and silence, broken only by the low flicker of flames igniting in the distance, Jo and Harua, following Gretha's instructions, lighting the shadow flames in homes that still held the living.
Inside, Maki and Taki moved quietly around the room, channeling their celestial energy into simple meals. The scent of warm broth filled the air. Sara and Evan sat close to the food, eyes gleaming with hunger and relief. They were still mortals, after all, beings of breath and blood. Unlike EJ and the others, who had long since learned how to live without eating.
K leaned back slightly, his posture relaxed but his eyes alert. "Probably," he said after a beat. "He knew we were out searching for my grandmother. And he holds a piece of the Compass."
"The Compass?" EJ turned toward him.
K nodded. "A tool we used to track my grandmother, Jo created it.:
EJ's mouth parted in a soft breath. "I see."
There was a long pause before K added, "I can contact him now, if you want. The shadow flame allows us to create communication panels, similar to your Celestial Path."
EJ's eyes flickered with hope, bright, almost childlike – but the spark faded just as quickly as it came. He looked down, drawing his knees up slightly as if to guard himself. His fingers curled into the fabric of his pants.
He wanted to speak to Nicholas. Gods, he did. But…
"I don't know what I'd even say," he murmured. "It's been years. And when I saw him again, I didn't trust him. I didn't even try to."
The guilt twisted deeper than expected.
Gretha's words had been a blade to the gut, that he was too naive to understand that not all Shadowers were evil. And now, seeing Jo, Harua, and K offer aid so freely, he couldn't deny the truth of it.
He remembered Nicholas's face during their brief encounter, how his eyes searched EJ's for something, anything, that resembled understanding. But EJ had given him nothing. Only silence and suspicion.
He looked at K again, quieter this time. "I think I failed him… as a friend."
K didn't respond immediately. The shadow flame near them crackled, filling the silence with its low, comforting hum. Then K said, "He still talks about you, you know."
EJ blinked. "What?"
"He cares about you,"
EJ swallowed hard. His chest felt tight.
K continued, "I think Nicholas never blamed you for believing what you did. But maybe he hoped, at least, you'd remember who he used to be. Before all of this."
EJ's heart pounded. A lump rose in his throat. Memories of warm summer afternoons, shared secrets under starlit skies, and the quiet bond of two boys who once promised to protect each other came rushing back.
He had buried those memories to survive the battlefield of duty. But they hadn't vanished. Not really.
"K…" EJ's voice trembled slightly. "If you do contact him… can I be there?"
K offered him a small, understanding smile. "Of course."
When Jo and Harua returned, their boots still dusted with ash and faint trails of shadow flame clinging to their cloaks, the six of them gathered in a loose circle inside Gretha's home. The air inside was warmer now, thanks to the gentle heat of the celestial energy Maki and Taki had spread throughout the room. Outside, the cursed city still whispered with silence, but for the first time, there was a flicker of hope.
EJ stood with his arms crossed, eyes moving between them, his thoughts already charting their next move.
"We'll go after the curse first," Jo said, his voice quieter than usual, but steady. "I'll undo it—at least, I'll try. But once that's done, we'll need to move quickly."
"To the Shadow Furnace," Harua added, resting one hand on the hilt of his blade. "That's where it leads. That's where they sealed her."
The others exchanged glances. No one needed to say who "her" was.
Gretha, who had just returned with warm herbal broth, placed a bowl near Sara and Evan before speaking. "No one knows what lies beyond the Furnace. But if you're right, and she's there… you'll need more than strength to survive it."
"We're not backing out," EJ said firmly. "Not when we've come this far."
K gave a slow nod. "I'll hold the entrance open. The Shadow Furnace is unknown to us but shadow is what I do best. Once the passage is active, it'll try to pull itself closed. I'll keep it stable from the outside while the rest of you go in."
"You're not coming?" Taki asked, brows furrowed.
K's lips curved slightly, a shadow of a smirk. "The shadows obey me. But I'm not immune to what lies beyond that gate. Someone has to anchor this side."
EJ's eyes lingered on him. "You'd do that for us?"
"I'm doing it for her," K replied. "And for him."
No one needed to ask who "him" was.
Jo knelt and began sketching a seal on the ground using the black ink-like residue of the shadow flame. "Once I finish lifting the curse, we'll have a narrow window. The city may resist. Be ready."
They nodded, the weight of what lay ahead settling over them like dusk.
Soon, they would walk into the abyss. Together.
—-
The house had grown quiet.
After a long day of battling the remnants of the curse and preparing for the descent into the Shadow Furnace, everyone had taken to their corners to rest—some curled on makeshift bedding, others sitting in silence with eyes closed, trying to gather strength for what awaited them.
But K didn't sleep.
Instead, he stepped out through the back door, where a tattered awning still stretched from the house, offering just enough cover from the falling ash. He glanced around once before lifting a hand. A ripple of shadow magic sparked beneath his palm, forming a summoning circle, its edges pulsing with cool violet light.
EJ, who had been watching quietly from the hallway, followed.
K glanced over his shoulder but didn't comment. When the connection finally took shape, he stepped back. "I'll leave you to talk," he said, his voice softer than usual.
The circle spun, then darkened like ink swirling in water. From it, a table materialized—a study littered with scrolls and parchment, books stacked precariously beside a steaming cup. At the center sat Nicholas, glasses perched on his nose, brow furrowed as he scribbled something onto a page.
He hadn't yet looked up.
"It's rare for me to get a call," Nicholas began without glancing at the portal. "Especially when you're on a mission, K. Do you finally need my help this ti—"
His words stopped, caught mid-breath.
EJ stood still in the circle's frame, arms folded tightly across his chest, his lip tucked between his teeth.
Nicholas blinked. His hand froze above the parchment.
"E-EJ…"
His voice cracked slightly with disbelief.
There was silence. Heavy, uncertain. Then Nicholas leaned forward, eyes narrowing as if to make sure he wasn't seeing a shadow trick.
"W-Wait... Where are you? Why are you with K?" There was something bitter in his tone, not sharp, but laced with an ache that hadn't dulled with time.
EJ exhaled a breathy laugh, his smile faint, unsure. "You're exactly the same," he murmured. "Still dramatic. Still overthinking. Still… you."
Nicholas didn't smile. Not yet. He waited, guarded, confused.
"I asked K to contact you," EJ continued, stepping a little closer to the circle. "He just went back inside."
There was a pause, and then, with a softened voice, he added, "He told me to tell you… we found Gretha."
The parchment slipped from Nicholas's hand.
For a long moment, he didn't say anything. His hand gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white. Then his gaze softened, and something flickered in his eyes, relief, sorrow, a distant longing.
Nicholas blinked. His lips parted slightly, as if to say something, but no words came out.
"I received your Celestial signal," Nicholas said eventually. "Are you… are you okay?"
EJ nodded slowly, then stepped closer to the projection. "I am. And I want you to know everything that's happened."
So he told him. No filters, no omissions, about Sara, Evan, the shadows in the houses, the curse that Jo would undo tomorrow, the plan to breach the Shadow Furnace. About the Flame Goddess. About how he'd doubted too much.
Nicholas listened without interrupting, though his expression darkened with every detail. His knuckles had gone white, gripping the edges of the table.
"I'll come to you," Nicholas said suddenly, rising from his chair.
"No!" EJ said quickly, holding a hand toward the shadow panel. "This time, we'll do it with the people you trust. I won't fight them. I won't judge. I just... I want to understand. I want to help."
Nicholas hesitated.
"I heard from Jo," EJ continued, his voice steadier now. "That you shouldn't leave the Underworld unguarded. That if something happened, it could break loose, and we'd have no way of stopping it. Please. Trust me on this."
Nicholas exhaled sharply, shoulders sinking.
The silence that followed was heavier than before, thick with unsaid regrets, almost too fragile to hold.
"Do you not trust me?" EJ asked in a whisper.
Nicholas looked at him. Really looked at him.
"…I have always trusted and believed in you," he replied.
EJ's breath hitched.
Nicholas looked away first, as if the truth had cost him something to say. "It was never about trust. It was about pain. I didn't want you to carry mine."
"And I didn't want to believe you had it," EJ murmured, eyes glassy. "I thought you were the villain in a story I didn't try to understand."
The wind stirred. The shadows faded just a little.
"But I'm here now," EJ said. "I don't know if I can fix it. But after we are done here, I want to listen to your story"
Nicholas closed his eyes. For a moment, he looked exactly like the boy EJ remembered. The boy who used to sit under the sycamore tree, head resting against EJ's shoulder.
"…Then stay alive, EJ," Nicholas said finally. "Don't throw yourself into the dark for me. I won't forgive you if you let yourself get hurt again."
EJ chuckled faintly through his nose, wiping at his eyes.