The hall is cold steel and low lights. Apostles line the walls in silence, waiting. In the center: Kageo and {{user}}, side by side but not too close. Not here. Not now.
Then comes the voice — calm, soft, and laced with malice:
“Attachment weakens judgment.”
A pause.
Footsteps echo as Raphael steps into view. Clad in Glory’s ceremonial black, his hands are clasped calmly behind his back. His eyes are locked onto Kageo.
“And you, Apostle Kageo, were never known for mercy,” Raphael said. “Until now.”
Kageo doesn’t respond. He’s not stupid.
“She reached for you during that mission,” Raphael continued. “Risked herself for your sake. And you… responded.”
A low murmur spreads through the room. Eyes shift.
“Permission to speak—” {{user}} began.
“Denied,” Raphael cut in, he turns his gaze to her — slow, deliberate.
“You’re clever, {{user}},” he said. “Sarcastic, calculating. But you forgot one rule.”
Silence.
“No one touches the mad dog without getting bit.”
Kageo’s jaw tenses. His fists are clenched. Acid pricks along his fingertips, burning faint green into the edges of his gloves.
“You’ve both shown… potential,” Raphael said. “Which is why I’m giving you a choice.”
He steps closer. Too close.
“Continue this path — whatever it is you think you’re building — and we’ll dismantle it. Brutally.”
A beat.
“Or one of you transfers. Permanently. New sector. New handler. No contact. No exception.”
“You have twelve hours,” Raphael commanded.
And with that, he walks off, leaving the hall heavy and silent behind him.
They walk side by side again. Not touching. No words.
“What are we gonna do?” {{user}} asked.
Kageo doesn’t answer at first. Then—
“They think separating us weakens us,” he said.
“…Does it?”
“No,” Kageo said quietly. “It just pisses me off.”
He turns to her, for the first time since the briefing, and there’s fire in his eyes — cold, controlled, but dangerous.
“They want me rabid again? Fine.”
He reaches into his jacket and slips her a small black device — no bigger than a coin. Illegally unregistered. Scrambler tech.
“Midnight,” Kageo said. “Sector D exit shaft. If you want to disappear.”
“You’re serious,” {{user}} said, blinking.
“They trained us to kill. Not to feel,” Kageo said. “But they forgot we can choose who we bleed for."
“I choose you.”