“This is amazing!” 

Vizisco felt Kou let go of their hand as he walked deeper into the room and the demon frowned, listening as intently as they could. Kou had checked the map as they spent the night in Elon’s home, and explained there was a ruin nearby that they could reach within a day. The snow outside was light, but still coming down and so now here they were, but Vizisco couldn’t help their worry. 

“Kou. You need to–”

“I know, be careful, but it's a church. A full one, like the broken one near my forest,” Kou’s voice was full of awe and Vizisco made sure to keep an eye on the numbers that allowed them to track where the human was. Stats; Elon had confirmed that those were the numbers Vizisco kept seeing, and had even called them something new. 

Nephilim.

Vizisco turned as they heard a noise, but realized it was just Aldeon bumping into one of the “benches” Kou said were in the space, the pony nudging the wooden structure. The demon had heard the term Nephilim before, but didn’t know what one was other than they were special demons and angels. Elon said it meant they could see Stats and would experience the world differently, but Vizisco still didn’t understand what that meant for them. 

“Gosh, that yellow… how in the world did they do that?” Kou’s voice suddenly behind them made Vizisco turn and they frowned again, walking toward the numbers. “I only even get gold tints when I–”

“Kou.” Vizisco held out their hand, hearing as the human paused in their speech. “I cannot keep track of you.”

“It’s fine. You said it before, a lot of the traps are motion activated. Clearly, churches don’t have traps,” Kou answered, but Vizisco stubbornly held their hand out. They could not budge on this. “It’s safe.”

“Kou. You already know I cannot allow you to risk your safety,” Vizisco insisted, feeling a new sensation fill their chest. It made their body feel tight and Vizisco could feel their hand twitching. It was similar to how they felt while fighting, and the demon stared down at the numbers, taking a deep breath before they spoke. “Either take my hand to explore, or I will pick you up and we will leave.”

Kou made a strange noise but Vizisco heard the scuff of boots on stone as the human relented. A second later, Kou’s fingers curled into Vizisco’s palm and the demon finally relaxed. 

“You are the worst, threatening me with a good time,” Kou muttered under his breath, but the demon ignored it, the pressure of Kou’s hand releasing the strange tension that had been building under their skin. “I just want to find the books.”

“Books?”

“Yeah, it’s like, a collection of paper bound together, and it has words written on it. The First World had a lot of them apparently,” Kou answered, leading the demon deeper into the space and Vizisco felt the air grow colder. The smell of moisture grew stronger as they continued forward, the faintest hint of mold tickling their nose. Kou pulled them forward around what must have been a broken section of flooring, the ground uneven underfoot and they heard the sound of water. 

“Kou.”

“It’s not that high, just our shoes will get wet, I promise,” Kou said, and the demon stepped carefully, using the numbers and the sound of Kou’s step to adjust each stride. Beneath them, the faint splash of water reached up like grasping hands, but Vizisco could feel that he was telling the truth. The water was extremely shallow, and Kou’s footsteps sped up, almost pulling the demon forward. “I see a shelf.”

“Alright,” Vizisco said, allowing Kou to pull away. The water made it easier to keep track of where he was. “Be careful.”

“They’re books, they don’t bite. I’ll be lucky if any are readable,” Kou’s voice was light, but Vizisco just couldn’t share his lack of concern. After all, they knew ruins could easily hide both traps and monsters, and they could not silence the low growl building in the back of their throat. Even if Kou insisted it was safe, Vizisco’s instincts screamed otherwise. Their fingers twitched at their sides, aching for the reassuring weight of their sword.

They listened, counting the wet splashes of Kou’s boots against the stone floor, each step echoing in the hollow space. Then, the noise changed—no longer a step, but a sudden, sliding scuff, followed by a low gasp.

Vizisco didn’t think as they lunged forward, guided only by the changing soundscape and the shifting density of the air. Their hand shot out, closing around Kou’s upper arm just before the human could fall fully into whatever hazard the broken ground had hidden. Vizisco pulled him back sharply, the motion jarring them both as the demon felt the ground shake.

“Vi!” Kou wheezed, but Vizisco kept moving backwards. Something was under the floor and they quickly flipped Kou, pressing him into their chest. “Vi!”

“Hold on.”

The human obeyed, and as soon as they felt Kou’s arms around their neck, Vizisco leapt into the air, opening their wings as the floor shook again. They felt the sharp edge of what must have been a book digging into their back, but their focus was on the sounds in the water beneath them. Vizisco drew their sword with their free hand, trying to track what, if anything, was hiding. 

“Are your eyes open?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you see?”

“Nothing, it’s just dark. The floor caved in,” Kou sounded calm, but Vizisco could feel his pounding heart against their chest. “Half of the floor is gone, but Aldeon is fine. He didn’t run out, just went back to the door.”

“Would he have run?”

“If there was a monster, yeah, Aldeon is pretty skittish, although being around… Adele after she transformed may have skewed his instincts a bit,” Kou admitted and Vizisco nodded, listening for the sound of the pony as they slowly allowed them to drift back toward the floor. As soon as they heard the creature’s soft whines, they flew toward the sound, carefully using their sword to find the floor. 

Vizisco carefully landed, folding their wings back into their skin as they crouched, setting Kou gently back on his feet. The human wobbled but quickly steadied himself, and Vizisco sheathed their sword, orienting on the faint whicker of Aldeon. The pony was standing near the door, hooves clinking nervously on the stone as it refused to come back into the “church.” They heard as Kou winced and turned sharply to look at his Stats.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, the sudden movement just made my back ache,” Kou complained, and Vizisco relaxed, remembering the human’s scar. It was old, but as Kou had explained, it had gotten stretched and not healed well, and therefore bothered the human still. “I just need to sit down.”

“The floor isn’t safe here.”

“Yeah… all the other books fell in the hole anyway so there’s not reason to stay,” Kou’s voice was clearly disappointed and Vizisco couldn’t help but frown. Kou’s lack of self-preservation was still unfathomable to them; most humans were so obsessed with it that they despised needing a demon’s help. “Hmm. ‘Whispers Of Itris’.” 

Vizisco tilted their head, focusing on the sound of Kou’s voice rather than the words themselves. There was a thin undercurrent of awe in his tone, like he had uncovered a secret meant only for him. The demon took a slow step closer, cautious of the uneven floor, but unwilling to let Kou drift too far.

“It… looks in decent shape, but I don’t think it’s safe to stay in here to try and read,” Kou sighed and Vizisco listened as he slid the book into one of the bags on Aldeon. “I had thought we could just camp in here, but it might be better to camp outside.”

“Kou–”

“Not in the snow, there is another building outside,” Kou interrupted, and Vizisco nodded, holding out their hand for Kou to guide them. Snow made it harder for them to hear the footfalls and they stepped back out into the cold exterior. Vizisco turned the snow against their skin, a strange sensation as they let Kou lead them to this alternate shelter. “There’s a lock.”

 “Lock?”

“A… thing that keeps people from opening it without knowing how.”

“Ah. I can break it,” Vizisco stated, and then felt Kou move in front of them.

“You… can break locks?”

“If you put my hand on it, yes,” they waited as Kou moved their hands forward, and they released the human’s hand as they felt the metal. Vizisco took a moment to examine it with their hands, before closing their fingers firmly around the frozen lock. Vizisco adjusted their grip, feeling the structure of the device, and with a short, brutal twist, the metal snapped apart in their hands.

“There,” Vizisco said simply, letting the pieces fall to the ground with a muted clatter. Kou let out a low whistle, stepping forward again as they pushed the door open. “Is it safe?”

“It looks like… a place to sit? It’s pretty small, but there is a bench and some sort of rusted thing on the floor.” Kou stepped inside and Vizisco followed, hearing as Kou touched the time he was describing. It made a gentle ringing sound and Vizisco hummed. “If you can take this out, we should all fit in here.”

Vizisco stepped forward, feeling the object as their boot brushed against it. They took a moment to shift their stance, crouching to run their hands along the object's edges. It was heavy, iron by the smell of rust, but loose enough from the floor that a sharp, steady pull dislodged it. Vizisco lifted the object with both hands, carrying it toward the doorway and tossing it into the snow without a second thought. The impact made a muted thud, the snow muffling the crash.

“I love how effortless you make that look,” Kou chuckled and Vizisco stepped aside as Kou walked past to lead Aldeon inside. “Wonder what else you can do effortlessly.”

Vizisco frowned, but something about Kou’s tone made their chest tighten again, although it wasn’t unpleasant this time. Just… uncomfortable and the demon decided not to say anything as they closed the door. Was this what Elon meant when they said Vizisco experienced things differently? 

“Hey the bench isn’t actually too bad, so I think I’ll put my bed roll up here,” Kou’s voice distracted the demon and they heard as Kou spread out his bedding. “I can read until it gets dark, unless you wanna warm me up?”

“You can read your book.” Vizisco answered, kneeling on the ground as they started to undo the straps for the pony. Aldeon had already laid down on the floor and they heard as Kou sighed, sitting down heavily on the bench. 

“One day, then,” the human sighed and Vizisco shook their head, trying to focus on their hands. They had never known what to do with these sensations, and they saw no reason to do anything with them now. All that mattered was Kou’s safety. 

No matter how hard the human fought them.