—

Nikos warped back to their base and sneaked to get to his room. Just when he was about to turn a corner—

“Hey!”

Nikos braced himself on the wall and turned to look at the one who quietly called out to him.

“Geez! Asher, you scared me! What are you doing?” Nikos patted his chest to soothe his racing heart.

“What am I doing? I’ll do you one better, where have you been!? Some people have been looking for you, and I could barely make an excuse to cover your ass!” the man, Asher, gritted his teeth as he whispered his grievances to him.

“Alright, alright, sorry, I had something to do back there,” Nikos ran a hand through his hair.

“Survivor?” Asher crossed his arms.

Nikos thought for a while.

“I guess you could say she is.”

“Huh?” Asher raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, Asher,” Nikos looked around to check if they were all alone. “I’m planning something…”

“Ha? Like what?”

“To end everything. To finally move on,” Nikos stared at him intensely as he gripped his shoulders.

“What are you talking about?” Asher was confused.

“To leave the Dark Empire.”

Asher’s eyes widened and looked around to double-check their surroundings.

Once he saw that it was clear, he turned to Nikos with a sigh.

“Nikos, you know that's… impossible for us…” Asher painstakingly said.

“I used to think that too but… I’m talking with someone… Someone more powerful than us that can help with this plan. Someone that has a chance to give us a different life!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Asher nervously looked at his friend, fearing that their situation has finally broken his mind.

“I know, it's hard to trust my words right now but—” Nikos gripped Asher’s shoulders tighter that he winced.

“Can I trust and rely on you when the time comes that I need your help?”

Asher looked at him, bewildered and astonished.

He had no idea what Nikos was going on about and he had a hard time believing what he was saying.

But looking at his determined face, Asher didn't have the heart to deny Nikos of his request.

“Yeah, sure. You know I’ve always got your back, man,” Asher smiled through his doubts.

Nikos smiled.

“Alright,” Nikos exhaled.

“I’ll talk to you again once the plan’s solidified,” he patted Asher’s shoulders and walked away from him.

“Oh…!” he walked back and whispered to him. “Tell Ava about this too, but keep it under the wraps for now. You're the only two I’m going to tell this at this moment.”

Asher looked at his back as he walked away and sighed.

“Oh, buddy…. What is happening with you…?”