The boat docked at the edge of Devil Town with a dull thud, ropes tossed over iron cleats.

The city stretched out before her. Cobblestone streets wound between buildings of red brick and gray stone, some three or four stories tall, others shorter with tiled roofs. The windows had dark wooden frames and weathered green shutters. A few Gothic towers rose here and there, but nothing dramatic. Just the kind you'd see in Ghent or Bruges.

Gas lamps flickered on as evening fell, lighting the main streets where people did their daily shopping. There were markets with canvas awnings, a bakery with the smell of fresh bread, a tavern with laughter spilling from its open door.

Despite its name, Devil Town wasn’t dead. Quite the opposite. The streets were full of movement; people, or what passed for people here, going about their routines. A tall creature with raven wings folded against his back swept the front of his bookshop. A dog-headed demon in an apron kneaded dough through the bakery window. A trio of imps clambered over a statue in the square, laughing in shrill voices. A serpentine woman with scales instead of skin and no legs slithered between customers, carrying a basket of herbs.

It was a city that worked. It had functioning shops, clean streets, and even a flower market. It's just that all the residents happened to be demons who'd decided to live normal lives.

She stepped off the boat, her boots clicking against the worn wood of the dock.

Ain landed beside her, stretching. His violet eyes gleamed with amusement. "Ah, Devil Town. Home sweet home." He turned to Juno, noting her unease with a smirk. "Don’t look so scared. I’ll make sure you don’t end up a snack."

She tried to ignore the way the air felt drier, almost metallic. Her gaze flicked back to the boat, and her brow furrowed.

Gin hadn’t moved.

He still sat near the edge, elbows on his knees, fingers curled tight. He was watching the city, his jaw was locked, and something was wrong in the way he sat. Like he was holding his breath.

Juno took a step back toward the boat. "Aren’t you coming?"

Gin’s eye shifted to her briefly. There was something hollow behind them, a thought he hadn’t voiced. Then came the reply, low and reluctant: “I’m not coming with you.”

Juno’s stomach twisted. "What? Why not?"

His eye darted away, jaw tight. He’d been distant, unreadable, but now there was something else.

“Trust me,” he murmured, finally meeting her gaze. “You’re better off without me.” His eye held hers long enough to make her doubt everything she thought she understood about him. Then he looked away again, like he’d already left. “Stick to the main roads. Don’t talk to anyone unless you have to.”

Her hands curled at her sides. “I don’t get it,” she said. “You handled that demon like it was nothing. And now you’re staying behind?”

It didn’t add up. He didn’t look afraid, but something was definitely keeping him here, and he wasn’t saying what that was.

He didn’t answer right away. His jaw clenched, his eye distant. And when he did speak, the words came flat, like he was building a wall between them brick by brick.

“The deal was to get you here. Nothing more.” he said, his voice flat.

For a second, she almost said something, almost fought back. But whatever was behind his eye stopped her cold. There was no satisfaction in the way he said it. Gin turned away, walking back toward the boat’s cabin, and the door creaked shut behind him.

Juno stood there, staring at the door. The unease she’d felt before now tightened even more. Something was definitely stopping him from stepping onto Devil Town’s soil.

Ain let out a sigh beside her. "Well, there he goes, being all mysterious again." He flicked his tail, shooting her a playful glance. "Looks like it’s just you and me, Juno. Try not to enjoy it too much."

But Juno didn’t move.

Her feet betrayed her before her mind noticed, carrying her back across the dock, up to the cabin door. She raised her hand and hesitated, knuckles hovering just inches from the wood.

"Gin," she called softly. No answer.

She exhaled. “I don’t know what your deal is, but…” Her fingers brushed the door, lingering. “I appreciate what you did, earlier.” Her voice lowered. “You didn’t have to help me, but you did. You saved me back there… just thought you should know.”

For a moment, she just stood there, caught between hoping he’d say something and knowing he wouldn’t. Then her hand dropped. She turned back, heart tight in her chest.

Ain was waiting where she’d left him, perched on the edge of a low post, tail flicking lazily. He tilted his head, one brow lifted. “That was cute.”

Juno gave him a glare, but it barely held. “Shut up.”

He grinned, hopping down beside her. “Come on, rookie. Before something decides you look edible.”

She followed him, boots tapping against the stone.

Ain moved like he belonged, weaving through the growing crowd without pause. Juno tried to match his pace, tried not to stare. But it was impossible not to.

She saw demons up close now, some stared at her, others seemed to want to smell her. However, none of them actually got close.

And that’s when she saw them; a cluster of small, black creatures. They looked like children at first, but then they twitched with movements that didn’t quite belong to flesh, their bodies stitched with gaps and eyes. One stared directly at her with far too many pupils.

Juno swallowed, kept walking, trying not to stare much.

Ain noticed where her gaze had landed. “Those little guys… what do you think they are?”

Juno blinked, pulled from her thoughts. She looked back at the creatures; twitching, lurching things that barely seemed to register the world around them. "I... don’t know," she murmured. “They’ve got too many eyes. And they’re... falling apart. Some look like they’re not even real. Just... soft. It’s like they’re barely even there."

Ain let out a short humorless laugh. “Yeah. That’s what happens when humans lose it. When they die weak, scared, clinging to nothing. They rot into those things. No mind, no soul, just instinct and sadness wrapped in skin."

Juno stared harder at the creatures. The way they shuffled. The vacant way they looked around, like they didn’t even know they were being watched.

“…They were people once?” she asked, her voice small.

Ain glanced sideways at her, one ear twitching. "Mmhmm." He paused, tail flicking with dark amusement. "But hey, could be worse. You could turn into a fish and end up in some human girl's stomach."

Juno's mouth felt dry, her stomach lurching as she remembered the taste of scales, the moment she'd realized what she'd eaten. "That's... horrifying."

Ain's smirk softened for just a second. Subtle, but enough to catch her off guard. "I know," he said quietly.

They walked on in silence for a moment.

Then Ain's voice broke through, lighter now. "Speaking of fish..." He looked up at her with those gleaming violet eyes. "What kind do you think you'd be? If you died and turned into one?"

Juno stared at him. "What?"

"You know. Soul fish. If you kicked it right now, hypothetically, what species would you be?" He seemed genuinely curious beneath the mockery. "I'm thinking something small. Anxious. Probably gets eaten first."

Juno's expression didn't change. "Are you seriously asking me this right now?"

"I'm always serious about fish taxonomy." His grin widened. "Come on. Play along. Sardine? Anchovy? Ooh, maybe one of those weird deep-sea things with the creepy lights–"

"I'm not answering that."

Ain sighed dramatically. "Tough crowd." He flicked his tail. "Fine. But for the record..." He paused, studying her with an intensity that felt uncomfortably genuine. "I think you'd be a lionfish."

Juno blinked. "A lionfish?"

"Mmhmm. Beautiful, venomous, and way more dangerous than you look." His smile turned sharp. "The kind people underestimate until it's too late."

She didn't know what to say to that. The silence stretched between them as they continued walking.

Finally, Juno found her voice again. "So... these creatures," she began, her tone low, almost apologetic, as if the question might summon something best left unspoken. "They don't ever get better? Regain their minds?"

"Nope." Ain's voice carried that same casual edge. "Once you rot that far, that's it. Game over." He paused, glancing at her. "The stronger ones, though, the ones that look more human, they were people too. The more human a demon looks, the stronger and smarter they are."

Juno's stomach churned. "It's just... horrifying. To think about losing yourself like that. Becoming something mindless, with no control over your own existence." She swallowed. "How does someone avoid that?"

Ain turned his gaze to her fully, his violet eyes catching hers with an unsettling intensity. A strange, unnerving smile spread across his feline face, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Juno slowed her pace, instinctively taken aback by the shift in his expression.

"Making a pact is an option," he said, the words almost too smooth, too calculated.

Her throat went dry. A tight lump formed in her chest as silence fell between them. Juno’s thoughts raced, a pact? She had made one, yes, but the weight of it now felt different. Before, it had been a means to survival, but now... now it seemed like something she wasn’t fully aware of when she agreed.

Her mind flinched back to that moment. She hadn’t been in the right state of mind then, not fully aware of what it meant, or what he could do with her. What if it was all part of some manipulation? What if she had given him control over her without realizing it?

The doubt gnawed at her insides, tightening her chest as the sense of unease grew.

Ain didn’t press. He just kept walking, letting the silence stretch, as if waiting for her to piece it together on her own.

She wanted to speak, to ask him what exactly the pact meant, what he wanted from her, but the words refused to leave her mouth. Would he even tell her the truth?

Then Ain’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts, light and casual again.

“Come on,” he said, motioning ahead with a flick of his tail. “Let me show you the sights.” His tone was bright, but there was something in it that didn’t sit right.

He pointed toward a heavy, crooked building with dark red lanterns glowing in its windows. “That’s the Devil’s Tavern. You want a drink, they’ll give you something strong enough to erase your name.”

He turned toward a crumbling archway across the street. “And that? That’s the Infernal Market. You can find anything there. Anything. Just… depends on what you’re willing to trade.”

Juno nodded absentmindedly, her mind still tangled in the mess of Ain’s words about pacts and demons. She tried to focus on the world around her but her thoughts kept drifting back.

She didn’t notice that Ain had stopped until his voice cut in, low and clipped.

“Uh-oh,” he muttered, his violet eyes narrowing as he sniffed the air, his little nose twitching slightly.

Juno snapped back to reality, her heart skipping a beat. She followed his gaze, searching for the cause of his sudden tension. "What’s going on?"

Ain didn’t answer immediately. His tail flicked with a quick, sharp movement, a sign of irritation or maybe even concern. “Something's off.” His eyes shifted, scanning the alleyways and corners of the street.

She took a cautious step closer. “What is it?”

Without another word, Ain slipped into the shadows, blending effortlessly. His voice floated back to her, a low whisper that only she could hear: “Stay close.”