Mira's POV
The world had returned to normal.
At least… that was what everyone believed.
The office sounded the same again. People talked near the coffee machine, keyboards clicked endlessly, phones rang every few minutes, and someone somewhere laughed too loudly at something that probably wasn't even funny.
Everything was ordinary again.
As if nothing had happened yesterday.
As if the lights had never shattered.
As if the air had never become so heavy that breathing itself felt difficult.
As if two beings standing in one hallway had not made reality tremble around them.
Forgotten.
Everything had been forgotten.
I sat quietly at my desk, staring at the same document for almost five minutes without reading a single word.
"…how can everyone forget something like that…"
Yesterday replayed inside my head again.
The pressure.
The darkness.
Eryx's eyes.
And Azael standing in front of me like the world itself had bent around him.
Then those words echoed again—
"She is already changing you."
My fingers tightened slightly around the pen in my hand.
"…changing him how…"
That question had stayed in my mind the entire night.
Not loudly.
Not painfully.
Just quietly.
Like something waiting for an answer.
The elevator doors opened at the end of the office floor.
My eyes lifted automatically.
And there he was.
Azael.
The moment he stepped out of the elevator, something in the atmosphere changed again.
Not enough for normal people to notice.
But I felt it instantly.
The office became quieter somehow.
Steadier.
Even the air itself felt calmer.
Azael walked through the office slowly, wearing his usual black coat, his expression unreadable as always.
Calm.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
But now I knew that calmness wasn't normal.
Because yesterday—
I had seen what existed underneath it.
My heartbeat slowed strangely when his eyes briefly met mine.
Not faster.
Slower.
Calmer.
"…why does this always happen…"
"Because he affects you."
I jumped slightly and turned my head.
Kael stood beside my desk with his arms crossed, looking far too amused.
"…you really appear silently like a ghost…"
Kael grinned. "That's because you were thinking too deeply again."
I looked back toward Azael unconsciously.
"…Kael…"
"Hm?"
"…what exactly are you people…?"
Kael's smile faded slightly.
Not completely.
Just enough for me to notice.
"That's a dangerous question."
"I'm serious."
"I know."
He pulled a chair near my desk and sat backward on it casually.
"But humans usually ask easier questions first."
I frowned slightly. "I don't think either of you are human."
Kael blinked once.
Then laughed softly.
"…that obvious?"
"Yes."
My answer came immediately.
"Especially after yesterday."
The smile disappeared from Kael's face completely this time.
"You remember everything clearly?"
"Yes."
"The pressure too?"
I nodded slowly.
"And the lights breaking?"
"Yes."
Kael stared at me quietly for a few seconds.
Then he sighed softly and leaned back.
"…that's becoming a problem."
My chest tightened slightly.
"What does that mean?"
Kael looked toward Azael before answering.
"It means you're involved now."
"Involved in what?"
"In him."
I blinked slowly.
"…Azael?"
Kael nodded once.
"You became important to someone who should never become attached to anything."
His words felt heavier than they should have.
"…why does everyone talk about him like he's dangerous…"
Kael became unusually quiet after that question.
When he finally answered, his voice was softer than usual.
"Because he is."
Simple.
Honest.
And somehow that honesty felt colder than any lie.
"But he protects people," I whispered.
Kael looked directly at me.
"No, Mira."
A pause.
"He protects you."
The difference between those two sentences settled heavily inside me.
Before I could answer, Kael suddenly straightened slightly.
"…well."
"What?"
"He's listening now."
I blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean—"
Then I looked up.
Azael was already walking toward us.
Of course he was.
My heartbeat slowed again immediately the closer he came.
It was strange.
Every single time.
Like standing near something powerful that somehow never intended to hurt me.
Kael casually stood up from the chair.
"Good morning, boss."
Azael ignored him completely.
His eyes rested on me instead.
"You're distracted."
Not a question.
A statement.
I looked away briefly. "…a little."
"You're thinking too much."
I frowned slightly before I could stop myself.
"That's because nobody answers anything."
Kael looked genuinely shocked for a second.
"…wow."
I ignored him and looked directly at Azael.
"What happened yesterday?"
Silence.
Not cold silence.
Careful silence.
Like he was deciding something.
I continued before he could avoid the question.
"People forgot everything."
"The lights shattered."
"The hallway felt wrong."
I swallowed softly.
"And when Eryx looked at me…"
My voice lowered slightly.
"It felt like something was looking through me."
Azael's gaze remained steady on me.
"You are seeing things humans normally cannot."
"Why?"
"Because you are unaffected."
I frowned slightly. "Unaffected by what?"
Azael answered calmly.
"Presence."
I blinked.
"…presence?"
"Existences stronger than human perception distort reality around them."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It isn't supposed to."
The answer came immediately.
"Not for humans."
My chest tightened slightly.
"…humans…"
The way he said that word felt distant.
Separate.
I looked at him carefully.
"…then what are you?"
Kael immediately looked stressed.
"Maybe we should slow down a little—"
"A place humans were never meant to know."
Azael answered anyway.
The air around us felt colder after that sentence.
"…then why are you here?"
Silence.
Long silence.
Then Azael finally answered.
"I stayed."
Not "came."
Stayed.
That single word stayed inside my mind immediately.
"…stayed from where…"
Before I could ask another question, something strange suddenly flashed through my head.
Flowers.
Silver light.
A dark sky.
Someone standing alone beneath glowing petals.
My breath caught sharply.
"…what…"
The image disappeared instantly.
But the sadness it left behind remained.
"Mira."
Azael's voice pulled me back immediately.
I looked up.
Both he and Kael were staring at me now.
Kael looked serious.
Actually serious.
"What happened?" he asked carefully.
"I…"
I pressed my fingers lightly against my temple.
"I saw something."
Azael stepped closer immediately.
"What did you see?"
"…flowers…"
The silence after that word felt strange.
Heavy.
Kael slowly looked toward Azael.
"That shouldn't happen yet," he muttered quietly.
I frowned immediately.
"What does that mean?"
Neither of them answered.
That silence frustrated me more than anything else.
"Please stop doing that."
Kael blinked. "Doing what?"
"Looking at me like I'm missing pieces of something."
Azael's eyes remained fixed on me.
"…you are."
My breath stopped slightly.
"…what?"
His voice lowered.
"Questions do not always protect people."
I shook my head softly.
"But silence doesn't protect people either."
For the first time since I met him—
Azael looked affected by something I said.
Just slightly.
But enough for me to notice.
"I don't understand anything anymore," I whispered.
"Everyone keeps acting like I'm connected to something…"
My chest tightened painfully.
"…something I can't remember."
The atmosphere changed instantly after those words.
Kael quietly cursed under his breath.
Azael stepped closer without hesitation.
"Mira."
The way he said my name—
soft.
Controlled.
Careful—
made my heartbeat shake slightly.
"You do not need to remember."
"Then why does it feel like I lost something?"
Silence.
Long silence.
Then finally—
Azael answered quietly.
"Because some absences remain."
The sadness in his voice stunned me.
It sounded ancient.
Like he wasn't speaking only about me.
"…sir…"
But Azael looked away immediately.
And just like that—
his calm mask returned again.
"You should focus on work."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"You're avoiding the question again."
"Yes."
The honesty frustrated me even more.
Kael awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"…this conversation really failed beautifully."
I ignored him.
My eyes stayed on Azael.
"Will you ever tell me the truth?"
Azael looked at me silently for a moment.
Then finally answered—
"When the truth stops being dangerous."
And somehow—
I knew that day would change everything.