Nikeila didn't want to have the same argument again, but Ilaida was an old friend. No. Calling her a friend might be an exaggeration. A colleague fitted better. They worked together but never ot along.

She knew that even if she ignored her, Idaila wouldn't give up.

"We only have to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else," she said calmly. "This is only temporary. He'll upgrade and gain his rationality back."

"At the cost of others' lives. Don't delude yourself. You know a thenebre can only upgrade by predation. If he doesn't hurt anyone, he will remain in this moribund state. Is that what you want?" She stepped closer. "What could justify keeping him alive in this condition? Isn't it too cruel? The chances of him recovering his memories and personality are practically null."

Nikeila wasn't as averse to the thenebre as Idaila and many others. Her reasons to fight them so fiercely were simple: they threatened her loved ones. If they retreated, her hostility would also disappear. That's why she accepted this situation faster than most.

"This is a transition period. He'll be okay when he overcomes this hurdle," Nikeila repeated without taking her eyes off Kaivel.

Kaivel looked gaunt. His features had a menacing sharpness to them. He was in human form with low-level thenebre characteristics. The red sclera, torn mouth full of sharp teeth, and long claws. A pattern intertwined over his pallid skin, like branching veins. His markings and claws were purple, but the color differed from individual to individual.

"He might be even better than before." She hoped so. Even if he never got his memories back.

"You sound like those crazy power-hungry degenerates. 'He'll be better'? You know they're evil! You don't think Thalzev is a blessing, do you?"

She didn't think it was a blessing. But it happened. And her goals and plans had to adjust to the changing situation. Since they had no way to reverse the infection, why not make the best of it?

But that wasn't what Idaila wanted to hear.

"You don't have to be here."

She frowned. "We are teammates."

"We've been disbanded."

"You’re not the only one who cares about him."

Nikeila arched her eyebrow. Whatever. "I'm not killing my best friend."

"I didn't want him to die either. But that thing isn't Kaivel anymore." She pointed to the cell.

"Idaila, leave it alone." She sighed. "I'm not the only one who hopes one day we can find balance and live peacefully with the thenebre." She gestured at the many occupied cells.

Idaila looked at one cell. The thenebre inside was Zelon, the son of the Air overlord, Solvrik.

Nikeila was nearby when the thenebre attacked the young man. She could save him in time but delayed the rescue. And he was infected. Before he caused any damage, she immobilized him and took him into custody.

Solvrik was the main force persuading the others to evacuate the infected efulgen with them. He did everything to save his son. From soft methods like appealing to emotions to harsh means like threats and intimidation. A flexible man.

Nikeila respected him.

"I know why you were punished," Idaila said without looking at her, a hint of disgust and disapproval in her tone.

Usually, the woman’s attitude would annoy Nikeila. But in this particular case, she could only feel resigned.

That moment she saw Zelon in danger, she recognized him. They’ve met a couple of times in the past. He admired Kaivel and his team a lot. A cute fanboy.

She was ready to take him to safety. And then a quiet thought passed through her head. She was taken aback by the wicked idea. But its appeal was there, luring her in. There wouldn't be another chance like that. Her voice alone couldn't convince their superiors to take the infected with them.

The internal conflict lasted for a second. Once her mind was made up, she was unflinching.

Nikeila glanced at Zelon inside the transparent cell.

She closed her eyes and turned back to Kaivel.

"I don't regret it."

She wanted to at least give Kaivel a chance. And she succeeded.

They were close to their destination. Hope and enthusiasm enveloped the starship. Amid all the excitement, Nikeila’s mood hadn’t brightened since her last visit to Kaivel.

She distracted herself by reading records and watching videos about their soon-to-be home. But her thoughts always strayed to the past.

Nikeila and Kaivel were very different from each other.

She was a loner and he was the center of attention.

She was selfish and he was always caring about others.

She liked quiet and he couldn’t stand staying in one place.

They fought a lot. He was overprotective and stubborn. Always lecturing her, steering her opinions in one direction, controlling her actions, and filtering the information that reaches her. What he did was with her best interest in mind. And she didn’t disagree with most of his ideas, but the way he did it was so overbearing she couldn’t welcome his help.

So in the end, many of her choices in life were taken only to annoy him, to show him he had no saying in what she did. Some of them she was glad with the results, others… Well, she was young, and mistakes were made. The one she felt most complicated about was her choice of career.

Their race was called efulgen and Hilvejor was their planet. Hilvejor was overseen by Swavira, the Watcher, the core of their planet and the system that controlled everything. As soon as every efulgen was born, the order in which they would belong was decided.

Water, air, fire, and earth.

They were both water. He acted as if their orders were fated or something. Nikeila rolled her eyes so much after hearing his words, she feared the eyeballs would permanently point upwards.

It was true that it was very comfortable to cultivate with someone in the same order. When cultivating together to upgrade, the effects could be faster and there was no problems of compatibility. And if they were of different classes, the combination could be incredibly versatile.

If they talked about advantages, it was better to cultivate with someone with a complementary element, like water and earth, water and air, fire and air, and fire and earth. It was more challenging and took longer, but there was a chance of developing a secondary element. Like wood, ice, lightning, and metal.

Even between opposites, like fire and water or air and earth, cultivation was possible. But it was necessary to be more careful during the process. And the secondary elements resulting from those combinations, acid and sand, were rare.

Moreover, there were only four orders. Each element had two complementary elements and one opposite. So there was nothing fateful about their situation. Probability was the answer.

But nothing could make Kaivel less spirited. It was tiring.

When they reached ten, their classes would be revealed. There were three: guard, gears, and guide.

Kaivel was guide, the support class. He was glad again, feeling very lucky. Guide class had some extremely useful skills. He had his and her futures all figured out. The combination of skills, a training plan, and where to work and live.

He was sure she’d be gears.

A couple of years later, Nikeila's class was guard, the combat class.

She felt lukewarm about it. She believed she’d react the same way no matter the result. A little upset at first and then compliant. Though she wondered if Swavira had made a mistake. Fighting and protecting were far from her top ambitions. In her opinion, she should be guide, so she could stay safely in the back while cheering the others up. Kaivel suited guard more.

But Kaivel’s reaction was more extreme than she imagined. He was sure Swavira made a mistake. He asked around if there was a way to change classes. He even searched in the history books. He kept saying she shouldn’t do anything until he found a solution.

The timing was bad. Kaivel had just participated in an expedition to Jix Von to help them deal with the Thalzev invasion. At that time he never said what he saw, but when Hilvejor was invaded, she understood what he felt at that time. She understood his dogged determination to keep her safe. Though the result was the opposite of what he hoped.

At the beginning, she was a little moved by his worry. As she read the results of his research, she started seeing the prospects of her class and got hopeful. She felt it might be great to work with him. And being from different classes opened up more possibilities. They might fight a lot, but she always trusted his abilities. She wanted to work hard for a brighter future together.

Kaivel was part of an elite team. He'd been outstanding since young. Nikeila wasn’t less talented than him, she just didn’t have ambition. She was too laid-back to compete for the first spot with him. But now that the desire to be on the same team as him grew, she had the drive to work hard.

Then he started nagging her, rejecting her opinions, questioning her decisions. He wouldn’t listen to her.

So Nikeila exploded. She decided to focus solely on combat skills.

Not all guard needed to be soldiers. Most weren’t. Like not all gears worked with production.

But she’d be a soldier to spite him.

It was reckless of her. Especially when it wasn’t what interested her. She regretted it sometimes but pulled herself together quickly. If she decided to do it, she’d give her all. She gritted her teeth and threw herself in the grind to upgrade fast. She wasn’t kind to herself at all. And her results were exceptional. She got into Kaivel’s team in record time.

Nikeila was on the front lines. Kaivel always by her side. They were perfect partners.

And eventually, he got infected.

She sighed and massaged her temples. What should she do from now on?

The starship shook and a loud explosion echoed through the long corridors. The walls and floors turned white, and the lights flashed red. An alarm rang.

Everybody in the food court stood up and looked around in confusion and disquiet.