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Shoulder to shoulder, the two Nameless walked through the hallways of the Petrichor Inn toward their respective rooms.
Since their stroll through the Pavilion of Cessation in Fyxestroll Garden that afternoon, March had been unusually quiet—or at least that’s what Caelus thought. He didn’t want to comment on it. Perhaps she was simply tired, he figured. Changing her routine from one day to the next and starting martial training from scratch was quite demanding.
Of course, he was more than willing to support her in any way he could, but there were days when his selfish side would come out. He missed hearing her voice on the Express and seeing her dart around the carriages, just as much as he enjoyed teasing her until she got mad. That’s why—primarily because she needed it too—every now and then they’d decide to take an entire day just to wander around together. Today had been one of those days, but like all the good things, it had come to an end.
March stopped in front of her room. A few meters ahead was Caelus' room, and just a bit further, Dan Heng's. But instead of saying goodnight to him and simply going to sleep, she remained motionless. Surprised by her unusual behavior, he broke the silence.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Perhaps it was the subtle concern in his voice that set off alarms in her, but he couldn’t be sure. March snapped out of it and slapped her cheeks lightly with her palms.
“Yeah! Sorry, I’m just a bit tired,” she said with a forced smile. “I think I walked too much today.”
Next time, he’d make sure to plan a route that wouldn’t be so exhausting yet still fun for her. Caelus didn’t care what they did, as long as he could be by her side.
“Hehe, sorry about that, but you had a good time, right?”
March smiled faintly, but another vague emotion overshadowed her features.
“Yes! It was fun, thank you…”
Caelus nodded. If she didn’t want to say anything more, he wasn’t going to press her.
“Anyway, I’ve organized your schedule for the next few days,” he announced, checking his phone. “Tomorrow, Yunli wants you to focus on strength training, so, well, you know how she is. It’s best if you don’t stay up too late.”
“Ugh, and you’re telling me this now?” she complained, but quickly regained her composure. “Wait, does that mean we won’t see each other tomorrow?”
The disappointed look on March’s face pained him, but Caelus didn’t let her see it.
“No, but in a few days, we’ll go out again anywhere you want. We still have to help Huohuo with the Heliobus case.”
“That’s true,” March said, bringing a hand to her chin thoughtfully. “That’s been worrying me a lot…”
“But that's it for today. Go on, I’ll see you in a few days. Don’t skip your lessons while I’m gone, and okay?”
“C’mon, stop talking like that. It’s not like I’m a little girl,” March said and crossed her arms.
Caelus gave her a warm smile, as it was the best he could offer her at the moment. Without further ado, he turned to leave, but he had barely taken a step when something tugged at his sleeve. Glancing over his shoulder, he found March giving him an unreadable look. This was the second time today she had done that. Caelus stepped back, but she didn’t let go.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, quickly flashing a playful grin. “Still scared?”
Her face twisted into anger at the teasing tone in his voice.
“I’m not scared!” she exclaimed, but then quickly curled up into a trembling ball. “But earlier, when we were coming back from the Pavilion of Cessation, I felt like someone was watching us. And now that we’re here, that feeling—”
A sound echoed in the distance, and she paled as if the very life had been drained from her. Caelus couldn’t help but laugh, sometimes she made things so easy for him to distort that her innocence made him feel tender.
“So, do you want me to stay with you so you can sleep peacefully?”
Completely forgetting what she had heard, March blinked, trying to process what he had just said.
“It was a joke!” he clarified, doubling over with laughter. “You should’ve seen your face!”
She didn’t respond, still clinging tightly to his clothes. Even though he enjoyed teasing her, he wasn’t going to leave until she looked more relaxed. Caelus tried to take her hand, but that noise rumbled again, now closer, much closer. He glanced up and down the hallway, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. A few seconds of silence passed until he dared to let out a sigh, and then a guttural growl echoed from some distant place, sending shivers down his spine.
“What was that?” she asked, pressing herself closer to him.
Caelus wanted to place her behind him, but the door across from March’s suddenly flew open.
March screamed in terror, and he did too. Their fear fed off each other’s, and in a panic, she jumped into his arms. She clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist, burying her face in the curve of his neck. Out of sheer reflex, he held her by placing his hands under her thighs, without taking his eyes off the front. From the darkness of the room, a skeletal hand with long, yellowed claws slowly reached out towards them. It took Caelus a second to react, but by then it was too late.
The terrifying hand gripped the doorframe, and a sickly-looking foxian stumbled out of the room. The foxian’s hollow eyes widened when he saw the two young people awkwardly embracing, with one of them holding a bat threateningly in his direction. Confusion quickly turned to anger on the foxian’s face. He walked away with a handkerchief pressed to his nose, heading for the exit while complaining in a nasal voice:
“Oh, Aeons. You can’t even have a cold without someone threatening you with a bat. These young foreigners today have no shame or respect.”
Both Trailblazers looked at each other with complete innocence, and their noses bumped due to their closeness. Only then did Caelus remember that she was clinging to him, her feet not even touching the ground. The paleness of their terrified faces quickly turned into a deep blush. In a hurry, March let go of him and took a few steps back.
“Keep your comments to yourself. I know you all too well,” she warned, fixing her hair and clothes.
Caelus leaned against the wall next to the door, placing a hand on his chest to check if his heart was still racing. Could the Stellaron destabilize and explode due to panic? He didn’t know, and he didn’t want to find out anytime soon.
“You say that like everything that comes out of my mouth is bullshit. I do say nice things sometimes, don’t I? Haven’t I been complimenting you these days?” he said, slightly annoyed, as he tried to catch his breath.
He didn’t hear her respond, but he wouldn’t have been able to pay attention even if she had. He was too busy trying to calm his racing heart. When he finally felt like he could breathe normally, March had conveniently opened the door to her room.
From outside, without stepping in, she flicked the light switch, but the room remained dark. Confused, she tried a few more times, but the deep darkness continued to dominate the space.
“Oh, Aeons, this couldn’t get any worse,” she whimpered, leaning against the doorframe, too scared to go inside.
Caelus stifled another laugh.
“If there was any hope left, you’ve jinxed it by saying that. Tonight, the Heliobus will come for you, and you’ll turn into a zombie.”
March shot him a look that mixed anger, fear, and a clear murderous intent. He had rarely seen her like that, but instead of worrying for his safety, he just thought that any expression looked good on her. Even bloodthirsty and combative, she was still cute.
He mentally kicked himself for thinking that. Luckily, she couldn’t read his mind… at least not yet.
“See what I mean? That’s what I’m talking about. Sometimes I miss the time when you had just joined the Express and barely said a word.”
Caelus pretended to be struck by a blow, placing his hands over his chest again.
“Oh, you’re so cruel.” He moved closer to her and nudged her lightly with his elbow to get her attention. “Alright, enough games, it’s getting late. How about this: take my room, and I’ll sleep here. I don’t mind the dark. How does that sound?”
March sighed in defeat and nodded. Using her phone’s flashlight, she stepped into the dark room to grab her bedding. Once she had everything she needed, he accompanied her to the other room to collect his things. Fortunately, the lights in Caelus’ room worked perfectly, and it also had a window overlooking the inn’s backyard. From there, they could see the vast landscape of Luofu, obscured by the darkness of the night sky.
Caelus grabbed the shirt and shorts he used for sleeping and headed back toward the door, only to find March blocking his way.
“What are you doing?” he asked, confused.
It was already quite late, and they both had to get up early tomorrow. Spending time together was fun, but it was time to call it a night, no matter how much they didn’t want to.
“I’m not letting you leave,” she replied.
Caelus tilted his head, mimicking the way Peppy did when asked for something ridiculous.
“Earlier, you asked if I wanted you to stay with me so I could sleep peacefully, didn’t you?” she quoted, still standing by the door.
“And then I said I was joking…”
He was honestly a little scared of where this was going, but deep down, he was enjoying the idea. Then March hugged herself, hiding her blushing face behind her hair, and he realized she was serious.
“Stay with me tonight until I fall asleep,” she murmured softly, “please.”
She seemed truly embarrassed by this request. If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t have asked for such a thing.
Setting aside what he was carrying, he gently placed a hand on her head, with all the tenderness he could muster, and she looked up at him. Her teary eyes made it clear to him that she was genuinely scared, and he ruffled her hair.
“Alright. Don’t worry.”
She didn’t reply again, but she walked over to the bed, hugging the pajamas she had grabbed from her room, and spent at least thirty seconds staring at them in silence. Her complexion shifted from its natural tone to a deep red as her gaze drifted off into nothingness.
“Turn around and don’t look,” she suddenly ordered.
Caelus raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Why?”
“I need to change into my pajamas.”
“Sure—wait, what?” His voice rose an octave in surprise. “Don’t you want me to just step out? You’ve got the bathroom right there.”
“No, don’t leave me alone.”
Both of them kept their eyes fixed on each other. March didn't seem to be joking at all. Caelus swallowed hard and immediately complied. He turned to face the door and covered his eyes with his hands for good measure. With her learning the art of fencing, the last thing he wanted was to test whether he could survive a sword stab.
Suddenly, the situation had escalated into something completely unexpected for him. While he could hear March's footsteps behind him, he kept thinking in order not to think, if that was even possible..
He really wanted to focus on something else, but having her so close, knowing she was probably in her underwear, didn’t leave much room to push her out of his mind.
Think of something else, something else, come on, don’t be an idiot, he muttered, shaking his head. Okay… Ah, yes! Tomorrow I’m supposed to go to Aurum Alley with Dan Heng. We agreed to have lunch together for a change. Maybe I can finally convince him to spend the afternoon together and just waste some time around the place. And maybe, who knows, I might discover some new aspects of Luofu from him. It’ll be fun and—
March hummed a tune, and Caelus almost turned to check on her, but he didn’t. He wasn’t moving until she said she was ready.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
“Did you say something?” she asked.
“No, no. It must’ve been someone in the hallway,” he lied.
And there she was again, back in his mind, with nothing he could do about it. What a dilemma.
He let his arms fall to his sides and rested his forehead against the door. He didn’t mind admitting to himself that he had missed her these past days and that spending more time with her was an idea he found delightful. The peculiar thing about that feeling came later, when being close to her became a necessity, and at the same time, it made him experience strange emotions. That… couldn’t be normal, not between just friends.
The last time they had seen each other before today had been five days ago, and for him, they had been rather strange, to say the least. He never thought he could miss her so much until he tasted her bitter absence. The thought of not hearing her voice the next day saddened him.
He wanted to be with her, but behind that need was a terrifying feeling. What were his intentions? He couldn’t even admit it to himself because if he did, he’d have to recognize that everything was lost. As long as it remained unnamed and undefined, no one was in danger… right…?
...
Why am I even asking you? You’re not even convinced of that yourself.
Is it you again? Don’t you have anything better to do than meddle in my mind like some kind of narrator?
That’s how the literary principle of this story has been shaped from the beginning. Come on, Trailblazer, your destiny awaits…
Caelus lightly tapped his head with his fist.
“Okay, you can look now,” she announced.
Caelus exhaled all the air he didn’t realize he’d been holding. When had this stopped being a funny situation and become so... confusing?
Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts any longer, Caelus turned off the light and crossed the room to stand by the window, his back against the wall. Crossing his arms, he stared straight ahead. March was in the single-and-a-half bed, partially covered by the blankets. Her pajamas were a soft pastel pink, a long-sleeved shirt and pants that contrasted with the white sheets.
From her spot, March watched him for a few seconds, puzzled.
“Are you just going to stand there?”
Caelus raised an eyebrow, confused.
“Well, yesssss,” he emphasized, raising a hand. “I don’t feel like sitting on the floor, and there’s nowhere else.”
March sighed, clearly uncomfortable even in the dim light.
“It makes me nervous seeing you stand while I’m sitting.”
“What? Why?”
“I have no idea. It’s just uncomfortable.”
“I haven’t learned how to levitate yet,” he joked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Although that would be awesome. I’ll add it to my list for my next path change.”
March let out a soft laugh and patted the bed, signaling him to sit down. He hesitated for a second. Slowly, he approached and sat at the foot of the bed, keeping some distance.
“Hey, thanks...” she murmured, sitting up and hugging her knees. “For staying here, after all. You could have easily just left.”
“Do you think I’m that cruel?”
“Just like you think I’m dumb, yes.”
The hardness in her gaze and the roughness in her voice, devoid of sweetness, unsettled him. Though he knew how to hide it... or at least he tried to convince himself he did. In reality, he wasn’t so sure anymore, but it was better not to think about it. The silver beam of light from the window crossed her face, and her eyes gleamed in the darkness of the room. However, there was a hint of sadness in them, accompanied by a smile that didn’t convey any joy.
“I never said you were dumb.”
“I know you think that. Everyone does. It’s the running joke, isn’t it?”
Caelus frowned.
“No! I—” The words found silence before they could leave his mouth. “I don’t... You’re not like that, not to that extent. What’s going on with you?”
March shook her head, and he didn’t wait even a second to move closer. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he tried to find her face among her disheveled hair.
“Seriously. What’s wrong? You can tell me anything.”
She hesitated for a moment, then exhaled loudly.
“I’m not really sure about this whole martial artist thing. It started as something fun, but facing Skott... I definitely should have thought it through more.”
“But that doesn’t make you dumb, just impulsive. It has nothing to do with it.” Caelus shook her a little, hoping to get a different reaction from her. “You’re not dumb, don’t believe that. And as for the rest, there’s no way you’ll fail. You’ll see, everything will go well, and you’ll even shine in Wardance. I’m convinced you could even beat Yanqing!”
A smile appeared on her lips, and satisfied with having pulled her out of that dark place, he smiled too.
“We’ve talked about that, but thank you... for believing in me.”
Then March yawned, and Caelus moved away to give her space. “We’ve overdone it for today. You need to sleep. I’ll stay here, don’t worry.”
March lay down on the bed, snuggling into the blankets, but without that troubled expression that had been with her all afternoon.
“It’s really because I forgot my Pom-Pom plushie that I usually sleep with. But it’s no big deal. Goodnight, Caelus.”
“Goodnight, March,” he replied, and silence settled in the room.
At least twenty minutes passed as he tried to distract himself with his phone, the volume and brightness set to the minimum. After a disastrous game, he put his phone down and turned his attention back to her. March was sleeping soundly, her hands under the pillow. The sheets had slipped down and only covered her legs, but her face reflected an absolute peace that made his heart clench.
No, what he was feeling wasn’t normal. No, what he was feeling shouldn’t continue...
Shaking off that burning sensation inside him, he slowly got up and initially just wanted to leave, but... she was there, so quiet; so serene, like never before. It wasn’t that he found her more beautiful like this than when she was awake and chaotic, but it was nice to discover another side of her.
Caelus tiptoed to the head of the bed and carefully pulled the blankets over her. He leaned over her, and suddenly, March’s arms wrapped around his neck in an unexpected embrace.
He held his breath, eyes wide open, until he couldn’t anymore. It wasn’t a hallucination. After so many dream adventures—and drugs, mostly drugs—sometimes he struggled to discern reality from fantasy. However, the warmth of her body, the sensation of her chest slowly rising against his, and the scent of her hair, all told him this was real.
Part of him wanted to speak, to break the silence and wake her up, but that would mean pulling away, leaving her, and not seeing her for who knows how many days...
No.
He didn’t want to.
Even though every alarm in his head was begging him to do so, he stayed there, barely adjusting himself on the bed so as not to disturb her or interrupt her sleep. He didn’t even bother to take off his shoes, but he didn’t care at all.
Time passed, and sleep gradually overtook him. When exhaustion finally forced his eyes shut, the echo of a whisper lulled him until his consciousness completely faded away.
“I like you, Cae—” and though it was her voice, and he thought he felt her lips brush against his ear, he couldn’t confirm if it was a dream or not.
A knock on the door was enough to wake Dan Heng. Though “wake” wasn’t exactly the right word, as he had been up since early but didn’t want to leave his room.
He opened the door and was slightly surprised to find Yanqing standing with Yunli, both wearing worried expressions.
“Mr. Dan Heng, good morning,” Yanqing greeted him and immediately added, “Do you happen to know anything about Miss March?”
“She didn’t show up for training today. She’s not in her room either and isn’t answering her messages,” Yunli added.
Dan Heng frowned, thoughtful.
“Have you asked Caelus?”
“No one’s seen him since last night. We knocked on his door, but there was no answer, even though it’s locked from the inside,” Yanqing replied.
Dan Heng took a deep breath.
“He’s a heavy sleeper. I’ll handle it.”
The young man in green walked the few steps that separated him from his friend’s room and knocked hard on the door. Three knocks, and nothing. He waited a few seconds, but the silence persisted.
“Could something have happened to them?” Yunli asked, a slight tone of concern in her voice. “We’ve asked for the room key at reception just in case, but we thought it was best to ask you first.”
“I don’t think anything’s happened to them,” Dan Heng replied, weighing his options, “but just in case, let me check.”
Yanqing handed him the room key, and trying not to make too much noise, Dan Heng inserted it into the lock. Opening the door just enough to peek inside, he sighed after observing the scene and then closed the door again.
“Don’t worry about them,” he said. “Take the day off... and don’t ask questions. I’ll handle the key.”
The two swordfighters just looked at each other in total bewilderment as Dan Heng walked away. However, another day off didn’t sound bad at all.