I told him everything....
How I reached the containment wing....
How I got my Imprint..
And how it cost me the one person who mattered most....
I told him how the Number One hero everyone adored had killed her right in front of my eyes...
The clatter of dishes and low conversations drifted through the café around us, but our table had fallen into a heavy silence.
Darius didn't interrupt.
He simply listened.
When I finished, he went silence for a moment.
Then he finally spoke.
"I see..." he murmured.
"You must've had it rough."
I looked up sharply.
Small tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.
"You got your imprint from touching the Tesseract..." he continued, resting his hand against his chin thoughtfully.
"Yeah," I said quietly, wiping my eyes. "But I don't know how it works..."
Darius leaned forward.
"Do you know what that makes you?"
I tilted my head, confused.
"Not really..."
Darius straightened in his chair.
For a moment, the noise of the café seemed to fade behind him. His presence sharpened, as if something about the conversation had suddenly become much more important.
"That means your imprint is different from the rest of us," he said.
"Most of us inherited our imprints from our parents."
His gaze settled on me.
"But yours..."
"...comes directly from the Tesseract."
My chest tightened slightly.
My imprint... comes straight from the Tesseract?
I'm so confused...
Darius lifted his eyes again, sharp and deliberate.
"Hey, Ellie."
"Remember the proposal I made earlier?"
"About joining my faction?"
"Oh..."
I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"so if I join you..."
"...will your faction help me get revenge on Hydros?"
Darius didn't hesitate.
"I have absolutely no idea how to help you with that."
The words landed like a brick.
I froze.
"...What?"
From what I've seen.....
Darius thought quietly, studying me.
This kid's imprint might be at least A-Rank... maybe even higher.....
Similar to the other new recruits.....
With proper training... she might even become the Flame Devil herself.....
My chair scraped loudly as I leaned forward.
"Hey?!"
"But..." Darius continued calmly.
His eyes slid back down to me, sharper now.
He pointed to the black emblem printed on his coat - a symbol of a raven spreading its wings.
"But if you join our faction..."
"...and devote yourself to the Black Ravens..."
"Then I'll do everything in my power to help you get your revenge on Hydros."
His voice hardened slightly.
"After all... the heroes are our enemies too."
I stared at him quietly.
"...So all I have to do is devote myself to your faction..."
"...and you'll help me?"
"Aha."
Darius watched me silently for a moment.
Then-
BZZZT! BZZZT!
A faint buzzing came from inside his coat.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, glancing at it before smirking.
"Whoops."
"Well," he said, pushing his chair back slightly, "It's finally done."
I straightened in my seat.
The conversation had moved so quickly I almost felt left behind by it.
"I know it's kind of late to say this," I said awkwardly, "but... thanks for saving me back there....."
Then I added more firmly,
"If you promise to help me get my revenge..."
"...I'll do my best as your subordinate."
Darius studied me for a moment.
Then he gave a small, satisfied nod.
"Fair enough."
He reached into another pocket and casually tossed a small pouch onto the table.
The pouch had a raven symbol stitched onto it.
I blinked.
"That's the money I made selling the stuff I took from the containment wing," Darius said.
I stared at the pouch in shock.
"....?"
"For now," he added casually while standing up, "those are your funds for now..."
"Spend it while you wait here."
I looked up immediately.
"This is a lot of money... are you sure?"
"Yeah," he replied easily over his shoulder.
"It's fine."
"And besides..."
"You're part of the team now."
I stared down at the pouch again.
Then suddenly-
My entire body jolted upright.
"-!!!"
Darius paused and turned slightly.
"What is it?"
"What kind of person gives a sixteen-year-old a pouch full of money and tells them to spend it?!" I shouted.
"What if I lose it?!"
"What if someone robs me?!"
"It's fine," Darius replied with a shrug.
"You can just beat them up with your imprint like you did to those guys yesterday."
I stared at him.
"...Don't tell me you're always like this."
"Just wait here," Darius said, already walking away again, his coat swaying behind him.
"I'm going to get something."
"And the other newbie should be arriving soon."
I slumped slightly in my chair.
Am starting to wonder if it was a good idea to join his faction...!