Uriel followed Cassie into the interior of the great ivory pagoda. The inside was bathed in the bright sunlight filtering through the tall, narrow windows. In the center was a circle of chains extending from the middle of the hall, serving as a portal.
"We'll start with the lowest floor first," Cassie said, guiding him toward the stairs descending to the floating island's subterranean level.
They descended for nearly a minute until they reached the island's center, where the fragment of the divine core lay. Below were the enchantments that kept the entire island afloat, the crushing mechanism, and many other spells that Uriel didn't fully understand, though he recognized more than before.
"This level remains unchanged. We need to study the island's enchantments, as well as control the crushing mechanism, though I haven't fully discovered that function yet," Cassie explained.
Uriel crouched down and looked at the runes written by the Demon of Hope.
"I see. So that's what it's about?"
Before Cassie could ask, he replied:
"I didn't notice it before, but now I do. There's a set of runes that intertwine with each other as part of a larger enchantment. For example, this part here," he said, pointing with his finger at a group of tiny runes, "is a linking enchantment. Surely with the Ebony Tower. It allows travel from the Ebony Tower to the Ivory Tower, though it only works in one direction."
"Why do you think it works in only one direction?"
"I have no idea," Uriel replied, then added, "And this other enchantment is related to what keeps the island afloat, though I don't understand the other part."
He murmured as he looked at the runes, trying to decipher them.
Suddenly, he felt footsteps approaching. Something soft pressed against his back, and he tensed.
"What are you doing, Cass?" he asked in a calm tone.
"I'm just looking at the runes. Does it bother you?"
"No," Uriel said before closing his mouth.
He felt the girl press closer to him.
"You know? I discovered that the Ebony Tower was originally similar to the Ivory Tower, built from the same material. It just darkened from receiving the light of the suns for thousands of years," Cassie said.
"Really?" Uriel asked.
"Yes," she replied, slowly hugging him.
Alright, this is getting weird, Uriel thought. He used his dark body, becoming intangible for a moment, and Cassie passed through him, unable to hold him. Then, he reformed.
Uriel took a few steps back, returning to his normal form, and looked at the blonde woman with a complicated expression.
"What's wrong with you, Cassie?" he asked.
"What's wrong with me about what?"
"With your attitude. Why are you acting like this?"
"Does it bother you?" Cassie asked, looking down. "I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable."
Uriel sighed, staring at her intently.
"It's not that it bothers me," he said after a silence. "It's that you're not like this. You never seek physical contact. Especially not with me. So I'll ask again: what's going on with you?"
Cassie was silent for a moment. Her fingers intertwined nervously—a gesture Uriel had rarely seen from her.
"Maybe I'm just... tired of being alone," she admitted quietly. "Ever since I woke up here, I've always been alone. With you... I don't feel so empty."
Uriel watched her in silence. Then, he walked toward her and, without a word, extended his hand.
"Come," he said. "Let's finish reviewing the runes. Then we'll talk."
Cassie looked up, her blue eyes shining with something akin to hope. She took his hand, and this time, Uriel didn't pull away.
After they both finished studying the runes a bit, Cassie led Uriel to the third level of the pagoda, where there was a spacious kitchen equipped with analog appliances. Sitting at the table, Uriel took out a cup of hot tea, several cups, and a tray of cookies he had made during his time in Antarctica.
Cassie took a cookie, took a bite, and nodded at the pleasant taste.
"They taste quite good."
"Thanks, it's my first time making this type of cookie, though it took me several tries."
"Several tries? Did they burn?"
"Yes, some came out raw, others had no flavor, others were misshapen. These were the best of the batch."
Cassie took the hot tea and took a small sip.
Both remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
Uriel grabbed a cookie and began eating it slowly, but what he heard made him choke.
"Can you repeat what you just said?"
"I said I like you," Cassie repeated.
Uriel froze, his eyes wide. His mind had gone blank.
It took him a few minutes to come back to himself.
"Hey, that's not something you say so casually. There's a multi-step process, and you just skipped all of it."
"Do I need to waste time following steps to tell the boy I like that I like him?" Cassie asked.
"No, I mean, yes..." Uriel sighed. "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."
Cassie looked at him with considerable amusement on her face.
"Is this a joke? Or some kind of challenge Effie put you up to?"
Cassie wrinkled her nose.
"I'm offended you'd say it's some kind of Effie challenge, knowing how I am."
"Right, sorry, but isn't this sudden?"
"Don't you like it? Am I not your type?"
Uriel looked at his cup, trying not to look at the oracle woman's face.
"I..." Uriel sighed. He wasn't the type to beat around the bush.
"Listen, Cass. Yes, I do like you. And as for my type, I don't really focus on that aspect," he replied.
The girl's face lit up.
"And so?"
"But... I'm not sure right now. Don't misunderstand me—I certainly feel attracted to you, and I'd like for us to be something more, but not now. Too many things are happening. So I'm just asking you to give me some time. Can you do that? I promise that when all this is over, we can talk about it much better."
Cassie remained silent, her fingers playing with the edge of her half-full cup.
"You're not accepting me, but you're not fully rejecting me either. Do you know how that leaves me?"
"Confused?"
"Yes." Cassie raised her face. Her eyes, though covered by a blindfold, stared fixedly at Uriel, who had a calm but somewhat fearful expression.
"Uriel, you know I'm an oracle, right?"
"Yes."
"And that I can have visions of the future through my dreams?"
"Yes."
"However lately, what should happen isn't happening anymore. I knew about Antarctica a month after becoming Awakened, and I knew what would happen. But everything changed so much that now it's hard to know what will happen and what won't. There are too many paths—it's almost impossible to know which one is correct."
"What do you mean?"
The oracle lowered her gaze, her fingers interlacing with slight tension, as if holding something invisible that threatened to break.
"I mean... the future is no longer a line."
Uriel frowned, observing her in silence.
"Before, it was clear. It was like seeing a river: it flowed in a single direction, with some variations, yes... but it always reached the same sea. I could follow it, understand it... even anticipate its currents."
She paused, taking a deep breath.
"But now... it's as if that river has fragmented into thousands of threads."
She looked up, and for an instant, her eyes reflected something deeper than fear: pure uncertainty.
"Threads that cross, break, fade... and others that appear from nowhere. Some end abruptly. Others... lead to things that should never have existed."
Uriel remained silent, but his expression hardened slightly.
"And you can't see which one is correct?"
She slowly shook her head.
"There's no 'correct' one anymore... or maybe there are too many. And the worst part isn't that..."
She leaned toward him, her voice dropping to an almost inaudible whisper.
"The worst part is that there's something... someone... who shouldn't be in any of those futures."
The air seemed to grow heavier.
"It's like a stain. No matter which path I observe... it appears. It changes events, alters decisions, breaks destinies that were already defined."
Uriel narrowed his eyes.
"That's because of my existence," Uriel said.
"You must already have your suspicions, Cassie. So I'll be honest with you. I know what will happen in the future. Not like your visions—it's literally what will happen, when it will happen, and what will trigger all of this."
Cassie looked at Uriel in surprise. Although everyone suspected that Uriel somehow knew things others didn't, dropping vague hints here and there, now that he confirmed it, she had no more doubts.
The reason destiny had altered so much that it began to lose shape, that the world seemed to be being rewritten, trying to adapt to an external existence like a body adapting to a strange virus it couldn't eliminate.
"Since when?"
"From the beginning—since I arrived in this world. I can't tell you why I know, but I know."
"Why didn't you tell us anything?" Cassie asked.
"Didn't you trust us?"
"No." Uriel's answer was calm.
"You should know better than anyone, Cass. Knowledge is the heaviest thing in the world. If I had told you everything I know, would you have believed me? Would you have trusted me? Would we have the relationship we have now?"
Cassie didn't respond.
"You know it well. Instead of telling everything, I decided to change and alter things just enough so that no one knows what I did—only the results."
"The Forgotten Shore, the journey to the Underworld, the siege of the Crimson Needle, your battle with Sunny and Nephis, even now in Antarctica," Cassie murmured.
"Yes, I knew all of that. Even about your adventure in your second nightmare with the immortal saints and about the Prince of Nothing, though I'm not sure anymore since what should have happened didn't happen—something different occurred."
"You understand."
"I do. I feel like I know you less now than I actually do."
"Do you hate me?"
Cassie was silent for a moment, then shook her head.
"I don't hate you. I doubt I even could. Or maybe I can be angry with you for hiding all this. Everyone has their secrets, and everyone is free to share what they're comfortable with. But tell me something—everything you've done for us, did you really do it to help us, or just to gain our trust?"
"More of the first and a little of the second." Uriel finished his cup of tea.
"At the beginning, I did it just to gain your trust. Then, I suppose at some point, I didn't mind helping you—even giving you powerful and useful memories as gifts whenever I could. It's strange to some extent. I suppose in the end, I got used to this place."
"But returning to the previous topic... I need time. To get my head in order first, so I don't do something I'll regret later," he said, looking at Cassie, who nodded.
"I can wait, though not for long. I'm a selfish person, Uriel."
"I know." Uriel ate the last cookie.
"Can you drop me off at the Chained Isles? I need to visit a place."
"Alright. I suppose we won't see each other for a while."
"I suppose not."
"I hope that when we see each other again, you have an answer for me."
Cassie stood up, walked around the table until she was beside Uriel, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Uriel stopped for an instant, hearing a stifled gasp. He turned his neck, hearing his bones crack from the speed.
His eyes widened as he saw Nephis, whose face was full of surprise. Cassie, seeing through Uriel's eyes, felt her face heat up rapidly.
"When did you see or hear?" Uriel asked.
"Uh... I just arrived now. It seems you're... I'll come back later." Nephis turned toward the hallway without looking back.
"What just happened?"
Cassie let out an amused laugh.
"It seems I'll have to talk with Neph later," Cassie said.
"Yes," he murmured.
Uriel stood up and left that place. Turning the corner into the hallway, he delved into his Sea of Souls before collapsing, feeling his heart beating frantically in his chest.
Shit, shit, shit—what the hell is happening to me? he thought, confused. A sea of strange things hit him all at once.
Hearing footsteps, he looked at Shade, who had an incredulous expression that changed to happiness.
"Oh, wow. Even a tomato would turn green with envy at the redness of your face."
"Shut up."
"Hey, relax." Shade patted Uriel on the shoulder several times.
"What you're feeling is normal for someone without a girlfriend like you."
"You don't have a girlfriend either."
"No, but I have slept with women. But you're clearly new to this. So leave it all to me—Uncle Shade will teach you everything about romance."
"No. I want to discover it for myself."
"Suit yourself. But if you need advice, I'm a master at it." Shade smiled, animated.
"I thought you disliked the idea of getting too involved with Cassie."
"At the beginning, yes, I disliked it, and I'm still adapting to it. But well, they're your feelings, not mine, so as the good, cool, strong twin that I am, I'll support you. In exchange, I need more material on gothic girls with sexy mother themes."
"Why does everything with you have to involve gothic girls?"
"They're my type." Shade sighed.
"It's my dream to marry a perfect girl—beautiful, handsome, somewhat cruel, very strong, over thirty, and with a lot of money. No kids, preferably. But it's impossible to find one like that."
Shade grumbled for a while.
He sighed and decided to take control, leaving Uriel to deal with his sea of internal feelings. Besides, he was already bored of doing nothing, so doing something outside would do him good.
Resuming his walk, he left the Ivory Tower, walking among the fire guardians who looked at him with considerable respect and a bit of envy.
Upon reaching the flying ship, he asked to be taken to the Chained Isles, which they did.
After descending to the Iron Hand Island, Shade created two dark wings and began his flight toward another area of the dream realm where his organization was located.
It was time to initiate his plans and begin preparations.