With the ending of the mission to retrieve Mitsuba ending in failure, Colt and Yuri both retreated to Dakota's apartment for the night. The entire journey back had plunged them into an ambient silence, leaving nothing but the crunching of leaves beneath their feet. Each step reminding him of events prior.

Fighting Fuchsia, being forced to recognize his faulty ideals, gaining a core power, but worst of all: reuniting with Mitsuba.

It was all too much for him to bear, and not even sleep could rid him of the thoughts. As he rose from his bed, the horrific weight of the truth bore into him once more. Even with the conclusion of the fight, he held no use in determining the outcome.

"Once you accept your limits, the natural course of action lies in surpassing them!"

"If you understand that, get the hell up and fight!"

All he could hear were Yuri's words running through his mind.

Without her arriving when she did, he would have continued to lie in the dirt back there.

"Wait-" Colt shot out of his bed, glancing over to the comfortable bed in the room. It was just as empty as it was the night before; However, there was a small note resting atop the pillow.

She wants me to come outside?

Following the orders of the note, Colt dressed himself up and made the journey downstairs. Somehow, all of the wounds from yesterday had healed, leaving him to believe that it was a result of his core power.

As he stepped into the courtyard, he found Yuri standing off by the gate.

"H-Hey, Yuri?" he walked over, pausing as he stumbled over his words.

Why am I feeling anxious? Is she mad?

"We have to report to the higher ups about our mission," said Yuri without turning to face him.

"Oh, I forgot about all of that stuff..."

His remark was left to hang dry as she stepped off in the direction of their destination.

-

They found themselves sitting in the very same interrogation room where they were first assigned their previous mission. As if nothing had changed, the air was just as thick as it was during their first visit. Instead of sitting adjacent to him, Yuri was on the other side of the table, averting her gaze.

Is she mad at me?

Compared to her typical scowls, her face was in some sort of resting state. Maybe she was just too tired to do anything at this point. He'd relate to that notion more than anything, especially after yesterday.

Wait-I bet something happened with Fuchsia! I've never really seen Yuri act like this...Although, I've known her for barely a week, so that's not much to go on.

Breaking through the dreadful tension, the business man from before stepped into the room, brandishing a stack of folders and papers in hand. Straightening out the stack, he took a seat at the small table, clearing his throat.

"Good morning." he said.

"Hi..." muttered Yuri with great disinterest.

"G-Good morning." Colt mentally kicked himself as his voice came out more frail than he wanted.

"I'd appreciate some updates on the situation." said the man.

Colt lowered his head as Yuri went on to recap the entire situation in great detail from yesterday. Most of her words were muffled to him, as if he were being pulled into some trance. This only broke through once he heard her mention that Fuchsia had fled the scene after their fight.

Still, none of that gave a clue regarding anything that he could leave her in such a mood.

"I see." the man nodded his head, "Now, Colt. It appears that you engaged with Fuchsia before Yuri arrived. Do you have any information that'd prove of use?"

"I do..." Colt grit his teeth at thought of regurgitating any of the memories, "For one, Mitsuba is a completely different person now, which matches the description of any normal victims of Fuchsia. Then there's the whole thing with her mentioning that she could read my mind."

"Hm?"

"She glossed over that fact during our fight." muttered Colt, "It's a blur, if I'm being honest."

The man went to jot down some notes on one of his papers, "It must be a result of her ability to control those she turns into core beasts. This revelation suggests that you do share some things in common with other victims."

"S-So-"

"Don't worry. This small fact won't make us execute you." The man went to write down more notes, "In fact, you should be proud of the results of this mission. Without you, Fuchsia could have destroyed all of mankind."

"How?"

"Before you came along, Fuchsia was one to act in deep secrecy. Every step she took, she made sure to cover her tracks. With you, her special creation, being in our custody, I'm sure she's bound to slip up by making desperate moves to get you back." said the man, "But even more important, we've figured out that there may be a judas within the CCU."

"Y-Yeah..." Colt briefly glanced at Yuri, "Yuri did say that Fuchsia knew about the protocol for dealing with her within the CCU. Who knows what other info she has on you guys?"

"Nevertheless, we're now aware of it." said the man, "I hope you both deem this mission as a success for the side of humanity. You've done great." He rose from his seat, gathering his materials, "That will be all for today, you'll be notified if any other concerns arise."

He left the room, welcoming the tension to flow back in full effect.

All the same, the space within Colt's mind that engaged with the man was left empty, freeing other thoughts to filter in.

Compared to the state he was in before this meeting, hearing the man reveal that he actually did something right in this mission certainly lifted his spirits.

So much for being helpful...If I didn't waste all of that time inside of the party, I probably would've found Mitsuba far earlier. Even then, I should've called Yuri as soon as I found that core beast!

All because I called myself doing something on my own...

"Zombie?"

He nearly broke his neck with the speed at which he turned to face her, "Huh?"

"Damn...I just wanted to check on you. You seem off..."

"I do?"

So much for hiding it...

"Do you want to go home now?" she asked.

"Yeah."

-

The moment they stepped inside of their shared room, they both instinctively shot over to the worn down bed.

Colt reached out and held Yuri by her shoulders, keeping her from reaching the bed. "Y-You can sleep on the comfortable bed, I'll take this one."

"Why?" she asked, somewhat relaxing into his hold.

"What do you mean why?" he asked, "Don't you want it?"

His gesture was a spark of the moment act, simply meant to hold her back; However, time began to freeze as his fingers slowly pressed into her shoulders. His immense exhaustion was somehow sapped from his body, free to disperse somewhere else. All from a single touch.

"I'm not even that tired, I was just gonna daydream a bit."

"Daydreaming is way easier when you're in a comfortable environment..." said Colt, "Like the comfortable bed."

"Aren't you tired after fighting last night?" asked Yuri as she turned to face him.

For the first time in a while, she finally gazed into his eyes. They were just as beautiful as he recalled, but they only plunged him into a deeper spiral of confusion.

Unclear emotions, unclear intentions, unclear state of being.

He couldn't read her, but the sensation swelling within his stomach was just as impossible to decipher. It carried a hint of nostalgia along with it, but not the kind that made you smile while reminiscing. It was the kind that brought you to tears upon the fear that you may never experience such joy again.

"I was about to play my game for a bit," Colt's eyes darted across the room, begging for something to keep him from being held beneath her gaze, "And what about you? I'm not even sure if you went to sleep last night."

"I did, I just woke up before you."

With their little dispute over who would be free to sleep in the comfortable bed picking up speed, the sounds of a light tapping began to permeate their words. It had been present from the moment they stepped inside, but it only continued to grow in volume.

"Dude...What is that?" Colt walked over to the window, watching as a small pebble struck the sturdy glass before him. Upon opening said window, another pebble struck him right in the nose.

"There you are!" shouted Hisa as she waved up at him, "Come down! We're training today, remember?"

"Oh-I forgot!" He closed the window and turned back to Yuri, "You can take the good bed now, I'm going to be outside with Dakota and Hisa."

She sighed, "Fine, you win." She climbed into the comfortable bed, letting a sigh escape her mouth as she relaxed into the large pillows.

"Thank you, Hot-Tot."

She paused as she went to retrieve her phone, "Hot-Tot?"

"That's my new nickname for you. It's got a better ring to it if you ask me."

Hiding her smile with her phone, she nodded her head, "It does...I guess. But why are you still here, shouldn't you be outside right now?"

"About that..." He leaned against the other bed, "I'm starting to have second doubts on if I should even keep going."

"Keep going with what?" she asked as she sat up.

"Y'know...All of this." He clenched his fists, feeling the terror of Fuchsia's words flow back into him. "What's the point in doing all of this work, when I can't even get anywhere? I know what you told me about the Lazy God, but I'm only good at doing work for others. I don't really care about core beasts, but the only positive thing I brought about was helping the CCU crack down on Fuchsia."

"I knew you were feeling something, and you need to stop thinking that way."

"Easier said than done."

"I know...Did that bitch tell you something about your dream? I never really got a chance to ask."

"She did, and it was the truth." Rays of sunlight beamed in through the window, forcing Colt to lean his head downward, "I've been chasing the idea of reviving the dead for years, but I've never gotten any closer to it. Maybe that's why I became a nobody...It's just some fantasy."

"Shut up."

"Huh?"

"Even if you think your chasing the idea of a fantasy, it's important to have something in your life that you're pursuing. If you don't have anything you want out of life, you aren't even living." said Yuri. "What even made you come up with the need to resurrect the dead?"

"Well...It's death. No one is left with anything but grief once someone dies. You can break a leg, and there are chances to recover through physical therapy. You can lose a job, and there are chances of getting a new one...but if someone dies, the bonds they had with others would be severed forever."

As the words left his mouth, he could feel Mitsuba's presence looming over him. All of their time together, trapped within a small device that hung from a chain, dangling so close, but never being within reach.

"If you try shooting for the stars, you're bound to crash and burn eventually." muttered Colt, "There's no way you could realistically reach them."

"True, but did you forget where we are?" asked Yuri, "Stop thinking inside of the box like someone from the Normal Realm, you're in the Seishin Realm now. Things are different, whether they seem like it or not. This isn't your second chance at life though, you're just repackaging yourself before you carry on."

"Yuri," he chuckled, "You're good with words..."

"I mean it. And I agree on not shooting for the stairs. You can climb to them though."

"Can you elaborate on that?" he asked.

"It's kind of funny actually, there are some theories that suggest that some dragons fly by grabbing onto clouds and climbing through the air." She sat her phone down, "Meaning that you need to form those clouds that'd lead you all the way into the stars. You need smaller goals. Even if you don't know how to feel about your main goal for now, having smaller goals would keep you motivated."

"That makes sense. It's all about that dopamine, right?"

"Yup. Any ideas?"

"Uh...Actually, I do have one." He scratched the back of his head and laughed, "You're probably gonna think it's stupid though."

She rolled her eyes, "Come on. 99 percent of goals aren't bad."

"It's about that deal we made. I still really want to go to a party with you." He turned away, "Does that make me sound weird?"

"Not at all. It's funny, but you actually have something to look forward to, right?" she asked. "And there's a tangible chance of it happening."

"Good point!" He smiled and walked over to the door, "And...Thanks Yuri. I mean it."

"Don't worry about it. Just get outside and start climbing."

"Osu!"