1

“Wake up. We lost the sunrise.”

The man crouched down making a painful sound. It seemed he tried to continue sleeping, but he couldn’t when he heard a whisper right next to him. “You would better wake up since I am awake. You’re totally defenseless now.”

There was no need to worry about how hot the sunlight was pouring down from the sky. But the shaking of his heart was different. The pain of temptation continued to resurface throughout the night, scratching his ears.

What the hell is going on with her? Virgilius felt like he was at a dead end. He recently learned something new. The Purple Tear is an unforgivable control freak. Regardless of whether she denies or agrees on that, she is clearly good at it. Too much. “You should learn how to respect other people's daily rhythm.”

“I don’t have to. I already know it.”

Vergilius was one of the people who knew best how daring and reckless, iron-skinned and tenacious She is. He, however, wasn’t ready for her actions with those aspects. Iori’s eyes were glazing towards him, just like the snake preparing for the meal.

“You may know it, but you don’t care about it.”

Her hand with scars swept down his body from above. He tried to remember about how this happened, but he couldn't think of anything in particular. She was probably doing that because she wanted to. Maybe it's just that, really.

“That’s true as well. I don’t miss chances.” He began to consider her as a hedonist.

She was so enjoying the moment that she seemed insane. Every act of resistance he took was drowned out by sweet noises and hissing sounds. She was pulling his hair, but it didn’t hurt. Only temptations ringing in his ears mattered. He needed to close and open eyes several times to maintain his serenity.

“You seem motivated well today.” But he wasn't the desperate one. He wasn’t the one who needed this relationship. He was just playing around with Iori as she wanted.

“I agree.” Iori smirked. A fire throbbed in her eyes. Soon she lifted his chin and kissed him, blocking his further words. Virgilius had no intention of stopping Iori. He could stop everything she plans with a single word, but he let her take the initiative.

“I don’t care.” The man stretched out his hand, grabbed her waist and pulled her closer. He still couldn’t read what remained under her eyes. It was an unsolvable mystery. She had so many plans, but everything was hidden. No one knew what she truly wanted. “You will inform me at midnight if you are going to undress while sleeping.”

“Oh, are you in charge?”

“I am. From the very beginning.” She pretended she didn’t hear what he just said. Instead, she grabbed Vergilius’ shirt sleeve and pulled it. While he thought it was childish, he didn’t want to stop her.

He sensed pure desire from her gaze; that was dangerous. Childish thing was much better. Faust teached him that valuable lesson.

“Don’t forget your place. You were able to trespass here legally because of my aid.” Iori nodded indifferently. She knew it was not easy to defeat him in debate, and she had no ambition.

So she remained quiet, until another topic clinged to her nerves. “Your name.” She pronounced his name slowly, syllable by syllable. It was too long, but still the best when she wanted to taste.

“What’s wrong with my name?” Vergilius responded. Iori ignored it, since there's nothing wrong with it.

“There’s so much questions inside your name. You never took rest when you’re on your way of ‘ideal’. You lived everyday like your last day.” She wasn’t blaming. She never intended to. He knew it as well. If she wanted to condemn him, the place they’re spending this night would never be a hotel room. “But look at you now. What does it feel when you stopped your ideal just because of your losses?”

He didn’t even move his eyebrows. She was talking about the contract with the Limbus Company. She did have a point. He was going to do what he didn’t want, take what he didn’t need, and ignore what he wanted to protect. Just because of it.

“You let your current action bind your future. It was not clever. It will never be.” Iori smiled. On the opposite of what she was talking about, she seemed interested. He never considered her as his alliance, but what she lost is similar to what he lost. There might be a chance someday. “I’d love to hear what you become at the end of it.”

Vergilius tried to start an argument, but she didn’t let him do it. She kissed him, so he became unable to speak. He stared at her with discomfort, but she didn’t care about it.

“You know what I was going to tell you, right?” He sighed.

“That’s why I kissed you. I didn’t want to listen.” She laughed.

2

“How is Lapis doing?” said Iori, pretending she doesn’t know what happened to her. He didn’t respond; She knew that was a wrong question.

“Oh, apologies. How is Charon doing?” That attitude upsetted him. It was a little bit disappointing that he didn’t carry any cigarettes in his suit. He wasn’t a smoker anymore. He quitted smoking the day he agreed with Faust.

She smiled silently. “Are you going to blame me?” She was sitting on the table, swinging her legs as she wanted.

“No.” said Vergilius, remaining calm. “I don’t need it. You could blame someone only if they knew they’re responsible for that. You’ll never know.”

Iori showed no sign of interest on the newly suggested topic. Her mind was full of apathy. He didn’t care; By doing so, he could make her not to bother doing his task.

“What are you doing?” Iori suddenly asked.

“Paperwork. Received from the Limbus Company.” He didn’t lie. Why would he? The golden boughs were surely amazing, but not what The Purple Tear needed. She was not the competitor, at least for the time being.

“Cute. You didn’t ignore it.” It seemed she found that good. Cute? He became curious how she reached that conclusion, but he was wise enough to know it was better not to ask about it.

Iori was wise as well, but in a totally different meaning. She only cared about her final goal; nothing else mattered. The corporation, the library, the bus, the head, even Iori herself. She would decide to sacrifice all of them just to fulfill her wish.

“Still stuck at the day?” She began to provoke without warning. He thought she probably noticed he started evaluating her.

Every conversation stopped. Only silence remained in the room.

“Your memory is good enough to be a shackle.” She shrugged. “When happiness loses its color and the delight becomes sadness, ordinary people let the time fix them. That’s why oblivion exists. It is a cure.”

Finally the debate started. It was Vergilius’ turn. “It is not a cure, just a remedy. It forces everyone to admit the pain was inevitable. Those who suffered the ‘inevitable pain’ forced their future generation to do the same thing. It continues until someone breaks the cycle.”

She stared at him for a while. “You stopped breaking it.” It was true. He nodded slightly. “You are going to be a part of the cycle. Because of your losses.” Iori was not judging anything. She was just presenting facts.

He never wanted to forget his memories, regardless of his preference. His joy was part of him. His pain was part of him as well. Every moment was. They were the core of his life. It was impossible to throw them away.

It was not possible to make lemonade without a lemon. He could only make his idea true by forgetting people who he cherished. Spending time with Limbus Company wouldn’t help him achieving that; Their solution was just a makeshift.

Vergilius’ idea is cruel and merciless. It would transform the city to an entirely different place. No one knows the answer, and the future is still invisible. However he was confident about one thing. His method could work. There was no doubt in that.

“Maybe you’re right.” At first, he wanted to know whether there’s another available method or not. However, at that moment he wasn’t the same; He was in effect of the ‘friendhood’ they offered.

“You admitted it. Strange.” Iori knew that what he felt toward the city was not hatred. He thought it had much more potential than its current form, and was disappointed because of those who restrict it. “Need some morning drink? Vodka?”

There was a brown bottle without a label on the shelf. He couldn’t remember what it was called, but he knew it was strong enough to make both of them drunk. At least it was a wine. “This is better.” That was what he needed. He wanted to stop thinking.

“How much time do we have for today?” said Iori.

Vergilius checked his wristwatch. He rolled his sleeves up. She paid attention to it. “I must leave before the sunset. So around five hours.” It was enough for both of them.

There was only one cup of glass in the room. She tasted the wine with it. “Much better than I assumed.” She handed him the glass after she finished drinking. He took it without hesitation.

“You look tired.”

“I am.”

The day he lost Lapis and Garnet was one of the most terrible days in his life. He wanted to take back what slipped from his hand. Still, he didn’t want to ignore what the city has become. It was necessary to fix it.

The City. The place where the war of all against all is held. That’s where everyone is born and everyone dies.

Mankind became simple; they live for struggle. That was what he wanted to change. He was certainly able to do that. He was, however, waiting until no other way left since his method will make everyone bleed.

On the day of loss, Iori forced him to decide what he really wanted to do. She cut the biggest rope connecting him to the community. She thought that would be enough, but the deal with the Limbus Company was holding him.

If there is any further chance, she will ensure that he stands firm on his original method. There will be no way back for him; he will burn the entire system. The head, The eye, The claw, everything. After that, everyone could begin again.

“I feel solitude inside your mind,” said Iori. “The more you analyze it, the more it analyzes you. Don’t make it consume yourself.” He didn’t make a comment. She didn’t ask further.

Solitude guides people to a wrong choice. It makes people imagine and exaggerate; by doing so, they lose the ability to think on their own. That’s how normal people transform into monsters.

There will be more ways for that, but the point never changes. If someone is consumed by what they believe in, that is enough to be called as a monster.

“I choose for myself. Not for something else.” said Vergilius. She smiled a bit. He was still trying to make his own rule in this appalling society. Among all mankinds thriving in The City, only this man hoped for that. She found that good.

That was the moment his phone began ringing. It was unexpected. He picked it up, and read the message he just received.

“Emergency?” Iori sighed.

“No, but important. The board needs me to provide details in expected scenarios.” He got up from the bed. His coat was waiting for him on the desk.

She threw the keycard toward him. He caught it without a tiny mistake. “I’ll pay for this one. You do for the next.”

“Will there be the next?” said Vergilius.

She didn’t respond. She was looking out the window. It was snowing; the color was different. Everything outside was slowly wearing white.

He didn’t wait for her reaction. The door opened and closed without a word, and she was the only one in the room. “Of course there will.” She delivered it late on purpose, because she wanted to do so.

“You asked the same question last time.” It was still snowing. Iori was still watching it. It was like she had never seen snow fall before.