They made a little camp in that place, where the light of the lantern reflected off the black rocks, creating a cascade of rainbow glimmers on the facets of the strange stone. It almost sparkled like a diamond and made Aren think that Estella was correct about its potential value. It was hard to tell whether it was some form of gem, metal, or just mineral.

Considering Aren’s luck, thanks to Priscilla’s blessing, it could likely be extremely valuable. But then again, Aren could be overthinking it. In terms of the blessing, most monsters seemed to avoid the group.

From time to time, Aren could see red eyes glaring at them from the shadows ahead, but they did not approach. However, not all of the monsters avoided them, and Aren’s ripped shirt, pants, and missing arm stood testament to that fact like a silent witness. Why only some monsters obeyed the command of Priscilla’s blessing was a mystery, but there were a few potential explanations that could make sense — from hunger to just simple hatred.

“What’s been on your mind?” Estella asked, after a moment.

They sat next to each other around their makeshift fireplace. They enclosed the fire with some of the dislodged shiny rocks.

“I can’t really talk about it,” Aren said.

“Non-disclosure agreement?” Estella asked.

Aren glanced at her and nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”

Estella smiled bitterly and threw some more fire powder into the fire. It was a type of material that burned slowly, did not create a lot of smoke, but was almost like firewood in terms of thermal output.

“I know a bit about you,” she said. “You are the first human to have an AI-assisted brain.”

Aren nodded. “Yeah, thanks to my accident,” he said.

“What is it like?” Estella asked.

Aren shrugged. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

Estella frowned thoughtfully. “I would’ve thought that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. That is what the technology promised. Seamless integration.”

“Well, it is everything but seamless,” Aren said and shrugged.

“What is wrong with it? Do you see ones and zeroes, or something like that?” Estella asked. "Hearing colors? Tasting brightness?"

Aren shook his head. “Not really,” he said. “Well, at one point I did see… in a different way, I suppose. I don’t know how to describe it. But it made me think that we see reality in a very convenient way.”

Estella nodded. “Probably best to avoid the subject then,” she said. “You are lucky you got one of those implants. Best not to risk them taking it away for breaching your confidentiality agreements.”

Aren snorted. “Sometimes I wish they would take it away, but yeah, let’s talk about something else.”

Estella smiled again, hesitated a bit, and then said, “I am in Prometheus seven.”

Aren glanced away from the fire, looking at her expression. She didn’t look at him, intently focused on the fire instead. “Huh…” was all he could say to that.

“What?” Estella asked after a moment, gingerly glancing at Aren.

Aren scratched the back of his head. “I thought you were…” he trailed off. “I don’t know. I thought you didn’t live in the Arcologies for some reason.”

Estella smiled. “You thought I wasn’t a citizen?”

“No,” Aren protested. “Well, yeah. I did.”

Estella laughed. “Why did you deny it at first?” she asked through her laughter, seemingly more interested in that part than the admission. Calling someone a non-citizen was the equivalent of an insult.

“I d—” he stammered and then shrugged helplessly. Why did he deny it at first?

“Do I really seem that different?” Estella asked, twisting a lock of hair around her finger.

Aren nodded. “You do,” he said.

Estella frowned.

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Aren explained. “You are still you, no matter where you are from or what you are.”

Estella glanced at Aren. It seemed he hit a nerve with those words. “Really?” she asked.

“Really,” Aren replied.

“What if I lived in a penthouse?” Estella asked.

Aren shrugged. “That would explain a lot, but still wouldn’t change my opinion of you.”

Estella smiled.

Aren returned Estella’s smile with the same kindness. “Seven, huh? I did not think we’d be neighbors.”

Estella bit her lower lip, staring into the fire. “I am not from seven. I bought an apartment there,” she said, chewing her lower lip.

Aren looked at Estella. His wide eyes betrayed his surprise at those words. She bought an apartment there?

“Can I tell you a secret?” Estella asked.

Aren swallowed as he nodded.

“It’s not really a secret, but...” Estella bobbed her head left to right. “Keep it between us, all right?”

Again, Aren nodded.

“I’ve never really had friends before,” she said. “Everyone I ever met treated me differently, whether it was in the real world, or here. You guys are the only ones that made me feel like I was part of a group. I am almost seventeen now, and it feels like you are the only people I’ve had a connection with.”

Aren blinked. The few ideas he had about why Estella moved to Prometheus-7 seemed to have been way off the mark.

Estella smiled, awkwardly. Then she chuckled. “It might have been a bit on impulse, but I wanted to be closer to you. I wanted to meet you in the real world…” she trailed off and then shrugged. “I guess it’s a bit too much, isn’t it?”

Aren licked his lips. “No, no,” he protested and then narrowed his eyes. “Ok, maybe a little bit.”

Estella burst into laughter again and nodded.

“Buying a whole apartment just to meet us…” Aren trailed off. “It seems a bit excessive.”

Estella smiled, her cheeks turning red. “Well, I live in an apartment,” she said. “But the whole floor is mine.”

Aren’s jaw dropped. “You bought the whole floor?”

Estella clasped her hands together, fiddling with her thumbs. “Too much?” she asked. “For your information, I just wanted the apartment, but Yui bought the whole floor.”

“Yui?” Aren asked. That was a Sector-16 name. Was Estella from Sector-16 originally?

“She is my…” Estella trailed off, pondering something.

“She is your maid, isn’t she? You have a maid, don’t you?” Aren asked.

“Something like that,” Estella said, nodding. She glanced at Aren’s bewildered expression. “Your opinion of me changed, didn’t it?” she asked.

Aren stared at Estella. “Not at all,” he said, in a high-pitched voice. “I bet my bodyguards would love to meet your bodyguards.”

Estella laughed at the words. “I shouldn’t have told you,” she said. “You are just making fun of me now.”

Aren smiled and scooted a bit closer to Estella. “I get it, though,” he said, reassuringly. “I’ve never really had friends either, except one. Honestly, if I had the kind of money to just move to the place where there are people that treat me like a human being, I’d probably buy the whole Arcology.”

Estella smiled and looked into Aren’s eyes. “You know,” she began, “I could send my bodyguards on a date with your bodyguards, and then you could come over.”

Aren’s smile was frozen on his face. Aren did not mean to reveal the fact that he had bodyguards — it was entirely by accident and impulse — but he was glad that Estella did not seem to take it seriously. However, the suggestion made Aren question what Estella really wanted.

Could it be…?

“Alone?” he asked, after several seconds of quiet contemplation.

“If you want…” Estella trailed off and looked away from Aren, chewing her lower lip again.

Aren cleared his throat. The way she phrased that made Aren think that she had something else in mind. “Sorry, I misunderstood,” he said. “We could have our next meeting at your place then?”

Of course, now Aren realized that she was sending away the bodyguards not to be alone with Aren, but to not make the others suspect that... what? That she was rich?

Estella nodded. “Sounds like a great idea,” she said. “I’d really like that.”

Aren grinned. “Leave it to me,” he said. “I’ll sort it all out.”

Estella nodded and smiled.

“By the way, what’s your real name?” Aren asked.

“Stella,” she replied. “Yours?”

“Arnel,” he said. “So, E-Stella, huh?”

Estella chuckled. “I didn’t know what to name my adventurer, so I just added an E to my name.”

Aren smirked. “I added an E to my nickname. I guess that makes me less lazy than you.”

Estella narrowed her eyes. “Aren’t nickname supposed to just be the lazy way of saying someone’s name, though?”

Aren pondered this. “No comment.”

Their laughter filled the chamber.

After a while, they decided to put out the fire, pack up their supplies and return to the surface. The way back was mostly uneventful. They didn’t talk much, because they were mostly focused on the path ahead. With Aren around, it was difficult to tell whether monsters were moving out of their way, or setting up an ambush.

At one point, they walked past a pack of howlers, less than three meters away, that simply watched their passage with idle curiosity.

The way back, itself, was more treacherous than the monsters the dungeon had to offer. They had to cross the sky bridge twice to return to the surface, and the second time, they nearly slipped and fell into the dark depths below. It was Aren’s fault mostly. Without his left arm, he found it rather difficult to balance, even though he had become so used to the difference that it felt as if there was no difference. The incident suggested that there clearly was a difference.

When they reached the irradiated resting point, and walked past it, Estella glanced back towards Aren, smiling. “Next time, we can head to the Grand Cathedral. I might be able to do something about your arm.”

“Divine Warfare?” Aren asked.

Estella nodded. “I don’t know if I can regrow your limb, but I can beseech Aurora for a few temporary blessings.”

Aren smiled. “Sounds like a plan. It would be good for both of us to practice and get used to our… secrets.”

Estella chuckled and nodded. “I was thinking the same thing,” she said.

Eventually, they reached the entrance to the Catacombs, in the ruined cathedral, and wished each other a good night.

However, as Estella’s form faded away from the world, Aren did not follow suit. He waited a few minutes, to make sure that he was alone — he even walked around the perimeter and listened closely for any sounds.

Once satisfied, he looked at his shadow and summoned his courage. Somehow, Aren always felt that if he didn't ask certain questions, things might still turn out okay. As if he was just an innocent bystander, unrelated to all these things. But after he heard the voices of the Lost Battalion, he no longer felt that way. In particular, the words "Thank you for giving us a life worth living" haunted him.

“Camille,” he said. “What is a Code?”

This is what he came to Singularity for. This, and the calming effects of his open buffer.

His shadow rotated around his body, making a full revolution before stopping. Then the golden-haired form of the beautiful entity stepped out of his shadow.