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I told her yes. 

I told her Saturday evening would do just fine. That dinner sounded alright, won\'t it? Yeah… why not?

She was admittedly a little taken aback by how quick I was to agree to everything, no more questions asked, think she might have been under the impression I might resist or evade the offer in some way. 

"Are you sure?" She asked for the third time.

"I\'ve haven\'t said \'no\' yet, have I?" also repeated I, for the third time.

Just like that, we had it all settled. After tomorrow\'s convention, I was to get myself dressed nice and handsome, because at 7 pm sharp, there is to be a table of two ready and waiting illuminated intimately by the glow of candlelight.

Seems I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow…

That didn\'t stop her from asking why, but I didn\'t let that stop me from telling her it was fine. Guilt, I suppose. Springing this up on me from out of nowhere, little time to think things through. Probably was thinking she didn\'t deserve a \'yes\' with a smile.

"Hey, I accepted the terms and conditions, didn\'t I?" I told to her uneasy stare. "Signed my name at the bottom, we both knew this was a long time coming."

"I suppose…" She muttered, simply shrugging.

"Then, that\'s that," I said, reaching out and softly tapping her hand laying limp atop the table. "7 pm, don\'t keep me waiting. I\'m a busy man." 

Truth was, I just wanted it over with. As quick as possible, as soon as possible. If we both wanted this over with, which I undoubtedly do, then I needed to be a hundred percent committed. 

A hundred percent in love. 

And if something were to happen in the heat of things, if perhaps I ended up being a little too committed to the role, then… maybe that wouldn\'t be so much of a bad thing now, would it?

Irene was nice enough when she wanted to be, more considerate of a person than she\'ll allow herself to show, a sense of humor... strong-headed, had a soft side too. That\'s not even to mention her innate ability to turn heads wherever she went.

I mean, even now, looking the way she was now - hair unkempt, sticking out at odd angles, sleepless baggy eyes… an even baggier tracksuit that almost looked as if it was swallowing her whole - even despite all that, there wasn\'t a  single doubt in mind that she could still walk the most prestigious runway there ever was and still come out on top.

So I ask again - would it?

Guess we\'ll find out soon enough…

Irene had just started on her second cup of hot coffee, when the conversation finally shifted elsewhere. 

Her stare out the window, both hands clasping her cup, "You… wanted to talk about Ria?"

"Ah, yeah," With a blink, I left my mind, and stared back at reality, at her peacefully sipping away. "Actually I\'ve been talking to her for the past two nights now."

I got soaked again, and it wasn\'t even the rain this time. There was a loud sputtering noise for a split second, then the next I knew, someone had turned on a sprinkler at full blast and aimed squarely at my face. 

Irene promptly offered me some tissues whilst also coughing quietly behind a closed fist. "Sorry…"

She actually got me quite good in the eyes. Hopefully, this won\'t be a recurring theme the next time we are sat across from each other - cause by God, this girl\'s squirting power is deadly, ow.

"You\'re talking to Ria?" She repeated breathlessly immediately after her coughing had subsided. "How? Through Sera? Is that why she needed you? I don\'t - you should have started first! Argh, just explain."

I made sure to only elaborate when I saw that she wasn\'t drinking cause the surprises don\'t end there for her. Halfway through recounting my first night, just as I finished explaining the method Sera used to place me into her dreams, she had another outburst… thankfully water-less this time.

"She did… what?!" 

Irene\'s less-than-composed reaction right then basically affirmed what I already thought suspicious before - that Sera\'s way wasn\'t exactly the most ethical nor proper way of doing things.

"No, that\'s - she\'s not putting you to sleep," Irene was shaking her head, her brow flickering more and more. "She\'s killing you, she\'s very nearly killing you, that\'s what she\'s doing. It was a practice - it\'s been swiftly condemned, the Magus that discovered it had been instantly ex-communicated from the Seven Churches upon presenting her findings." 

She went on to explain the process behind it. What I thought was just me entering a dream apparently was a lot more insidious behind the scenes. My mind wasn\'t just one with Ria, my soul was too… Sera had been temporarily offering my soul to Lady Death herself in order for me to enter her domain and have my one on one with Ria. 

Keyword here was temporary. Sera was making sure I didn\'t end up a soulless husk come the break of dawn. She was the catalyst keeping my soul tethered, and for so long as she was… I get to keep my soul. 

Hearing this, really I wasn\'t too surprised. Nearly killing me, giving me up to death - sounds about right for the Arbiter of Death, doesn\'t it?

"You don\'t seem too faze," Irene pointed out as I helped myself to another bite of berry-flavored delight. "Why?"

"Everything I\'ve done so far has always been die this, die that - why would this case be any different? Besides…" I swallowed a piece. "Not dead yet, am I? Sera\'s a pain in the ass, but she knows what she\'s doing."

"You actually trust her?"

"I don\'t have to trust her to know what she can do. I already know what she can do - you made me learn what she can do, remember?"

"How about the other danger of the ritual? Did she tell you about it?"

I snorted. "She hardly tells me anything."

"It builds up. Each time you go in, you give a little more of yourself - you get closer to death bit by bit. Eventually, at some point, you don\'t have any more of yourself left to give… and who knows when? Maybe the next, maybe the fourth, fifth? You can\'t keep doing this." 

"It\'s only until she wakes up."

"And when will that happen?" She retorted. 

"I don\'t know."

"Don\'t throw your life away."

"I\'m not, I..." I trailed away, blowing a sigh. "Look, I know what I\'m doing. Can we just move along?"

She sighed as well, looking not too convinced, nevertheless… she leaned herself slightly closer. "Fine…"

"Okay," I nodded. "First things first, I guess - Latrissa..."

Told her about the encounter with this never-before-mentioned daughter, told her everything that happened after too… the other children, Ria\'s cold and distant behavior too.

"Did she tell you she had kids?" I asked. "A lot of them too?"

"She didn\'t have to. I just presumed she must have had kids at some point," Irene said, staring deep into her half-empty cup. "But when I first met her… she was… well, she was always alone by herself."

"So there were no kids by the time you met her?"

"It was always only her," She repeated again. 

"How was she when you first met her? How did you meet her?"

"I was young. My father - my adopted one, well… he knew her, sometimes they would meet up and I would tag along. She was the same as she always was."

"Has she ever talked to you about her past?"

Irene paused. "She doesn\'t like to talk about it."

"You never asked her yourself?"

"Never had a reason to," She said, then added. "But sometimes… she\'ll open up - it was rare, but it happens… and I\'d just listen, I think she just wanted someone to listen."

"And what did she tell you?"

This back and forth went on for a while… never really reaching a climax, or a point where I could stand up and go \'Ah, that\'s it!\' - the things I learned about her were trivial. 

I learned she was never too fond of her phoenix-form, I learned she loved spending her time just laying amongst the grass, I learned of her distaste of the color blue - I don\'t know why blue. 

Really, I wasn\'t getting much of anything…

Until…

"What do you know about Torem?" 

Her expression spoke out before her words did.

"How do you know about Torem?" 

Confused, surprised… but probably most of all, greatly unnerved. 

"She didn\'t… she didn\'t tell you about Torem?" I titled my head. "Y\'know, her father?" 

"Her father?" Irene\'s confusion soared to even greater heights. "You mean Silas?" 

"Silas?" It was my turn to be confused. "Who\'s Silas? No, no… Torem! Torem Ignis. The man who created her." 

"He… what?"

"Torem! Ria\'s creator! Did she never mention him to you?" 

"She told me about Silas. that\'s the father that I know," Irene looked absolutely perturbed. "There was never any Torem. I think we\'re talking about two different people. The Torem I know was someone else." 

"Then, who…" I ruffled my head. "Who is this Torem to you?"

"Torem. Torem Morti," Irene explained, utter somberness in her gaze. "The man that would become Kronocia\'s first Demon Lord."