Seele found herself staring as Caelus descended the steps leading to Qlipoth Fort, his sudden appearance on Jarilo-IV surprising her, but what she found odd was that he wasn't smiling.

Her violet eyes brushed over his figure, his eyes a dull amber as his eyes met her own. The color in his eyes did not return to normal, and he smiled instead, but Seele saw how the corners of his mouth tugged in such a manner that suggested that he was faking it.

"Seele!"

He called out, but rather than cheerful, his voice was seemingly empty, like he was speaking aloud.

He quickly approached her and pulled out a hairclip, a mixture of purple and pink, with red accents.

"I saw this while on the Xianzhou Luofu, and it reminded me of you. I would've gotten it to you earlier, but I was in Penacony."

He said, naming two places Seele wasn't familiar with, but she wasn't focused on that, but rather the gesture in itself. Most people would interpret it as merely a kind gift, maybe more or less sentimental to others.

Her eyes looked from the colorful hairclip to Caelus, whose smile softened, showing more genuine emotion. Seele found this intriguing, seeing his earlier state, but she accepted the gift, nonetheless.

"I appreciate it, Caelus, but what's with the sudden visit?"

Seele questioned, in which she noticed that the trailblazer's lips quivered, his expression faltering for a moment before he smiled again.

"I'm just visiting, nothing important."

His voice was slightly sheepish, and she recognized the look in his eyes. The familiar emptiness in them is reminiscent of an old friend. Seele's eyes widened, recognizing the look, she wanted to confront him in the moment, but she knew that would worsen things.

"Oh, well, I hope you enjoy yourself. If you ever need anything..."

Seele trailed on, looking at Caelus with a firm expression.

"Please, don't hesitate to come to me."

Caelus nodded, thanking her before walking off.

Seele watched as his figure disappeared into the distance, sighing. She would make sure to ask around for him later.

...

Later that evening, Seele would find herself wandering all over Belobog looking for Caelus.

She asked around, and when she discovered that Caelus had been giving everyone gifts and thanks, Seele grew wearier of the situation, and given the fact that no one knew of his current whereabouts, she felt her stress grow.

As she thanked Hook, whom she had just asked about Caelus, she walked off and her thoughts wandered.

She found her thoughts thinking about a friend of hers who had committed suicide, it was when she was younger, sure, but that didn't change the fact that the signs were there.

Seele, now older, remembers how the girl's smile faded over time, and she visited Seele less and less as the days went by until she stopped. Seele thinks back to these obvious signs that something was wrong and wishes she had seen them then, maybe her friend would still be alive today. The signs aren't always obvious, some can continue smiling up until the end, while others fade over time. It's much easier to help the latter, and upon seeing another case, Seele was scared. She feared for Caelus.

With her eyes unfocused they fell upon the ambient blue light emitting from the space anchor in front of her, maybe he was on the Astral Express?

Seele would approach the anchor and tap it gently.

...

As Seele felt her eyes close, she opened them to find herself in the parlor car of the Astral Express, her eyes immediately fell upon Himeko, who was watching as Dan Heng and March 7th nervously took sips of her new coffee flavor, which they gave Himeko strained smiles before spitting it out the moment she turned away.

Seele approached them, the three turning to face her.

"Seele?"

Dan Heng would speak up first, questioning her sudden appearance on the express.

"Have any of you seen Caelus?"

Seele would ask, getting to the point, her eyes drifting between the three.

The three would shake their heads.

"I last saw him this morning during breakfast."

March would speak first.

Dan Heng simply nodded.

Himeko just shrugged.

Seele groaned, hastily thanking them for their time before turning around to return to Belobog, quickly tapping the space anchor and returning to the Administrative District, standing in front of the Everwinter Monument.

...

As she looked around, it had turned night, the moon draped over Jarilo-IV, the skies a dark blue color.

She thought of where Caelus would be before an idea appeared in her head. She had seen Caelus exiting Qlipoth Fort, perhaps Bronya would know?

As she quickly ascended the steps leading into Qlipoth Fort, the large wooden doors swung open, revealing a tired Bronya sitting at her desk, focused on something, the room dimly lit, the only light coming from the lamp at her desk.

"Bronya?"

Seele would call out to her, in which her tired eyes drifted towards Seele.

"Seele."

Bronya would say, sighing, sitting up as she looked at Seele with an exhausted look.

"Bronya, do you know where Caelus is staying the night?"

Seele would ask, a strange question to many, but Bronya, despite her exhaustion understood the question.

"Yes. I arranged him a room at the Goethe Hotel, why-"

Before Bronya could finish, Seele was already turning around.

"Wait!"

Bronya's voice boomed throughout the room, in which Seele paused her advance, slowly turning back around to face Bronya.

"Yes?"

Seele would ask, her weary expression not going unnoticed by the Supreme Guardian.

Bronya would give Seele the details of Caelus's exact room, and Seele would quickly thank Bronya for her help before dashing out the doors of Qlipoth Fort.

Bronya sighed, before returning to her work.

...

As Seele descended the steps to Qlipoth Fort, she was in a hurry, she was sure Caelus would be there. She hoped she would barge in and find him playing a game on his phone, or maybe sleeping. But she felt her lips quiver as she thought about the other possibilities too.

As she dashed up the steps leading to Goethe Hotel,

She quickly burst into the hotel lobby, ascending the stairs leading to the reception.

She looked around, seeing the empty lobby before her eyes fell upon a set of doors in front of her.

Seele darted past the receptionist, who didn't even have the opportunity to stop her before she was gone.

...

As Seele walked down the hallway, she came across Caelus's room. She paused and looked at the golden doorknob, feeling nervous. After taking a deep breath, she reached out to test the knob, hoping it was unlocked.

To her surprise it was, and the doorknob turned in her hand, Seele took a deep breath, exhaling for a long moment.

She pulled the hairclip that Caelus had gifted her earlier today, looking over it gently before pocketing it once more.

She pushed the door open.

...

Seele's eyes looked around the dimly lit room for a moment, her eyes darted towards the bed, the sheets neatly done, seemingly untouched.

As she flicked the lights on, the shadow of a figure loomed over her, as she slowly looked up towards the ceiling of the room, she found Caelus's body hanging from the chandelier, her entire body tensed up for a moment at the sight, her fingers twitching as she quickly rushed over to him, using the chair that was beside his dangling legs to help herself up.

She quickly pulled him down, his body collapsing to the floor, making a loud thud.

"Caelus!"

She yelled, dismissing the groans heard from the room beside her as she was focused on him

She shook his body, his body recoiling before returning to its unmoving state, she checked if he was breathing, and to her horror, he wasn't.

Seele panicked, taking a deep breath before placing both of her palms on top of Caelus's chest, and performing chest compressions, his body recoiling every time her force came down on him. Seele's fear began to become real before her eyes, as after a few minutes of constant compressions, he still did not move.

Seele felt her breathing begin to grow uneasy, her eyes drifting to his agape mouth. Seele had never performed or even learned CPR, but at the moment, without hesitation, she placed his lips atop his own and pinched his nose. She began to blow with desperation, her eyes focused on his chest, seeing if it would rise.

To her surprise and shock, his chest would suddenly rise.

Seele's eyes widened as she pulled away from his face, looking over him with a shocked expression.

Their eyes met, both wide, both in a state of shock.

"Caelus?"

"Seele?"

They would say in unison, questioning the other's state.

"Caelus, I-"

Seele didn't know what to say, a few minutes ago she was outside of his hotel room, and now she had just saved his life.

Caelus would sit up, his expression a mixture of emotions.

"Why are you here?"

Caelus would begin, his voice quiet and strained.

Seele wouldn't know how to respond, her body still trembling from the earlier situation.

The two sat in silence, Seele sitting beside Caelus's laid-out body, on her knees.

"..."

The two simply stared into each other's eyes, the silence wasn't awkward, nor was it comforting, it was an empty silence.

Caelus would be the first to act, slowly leaning closer to Seele, before wrapping his arms around her, his grip firm as he would lay his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you."

Seele, in a daze, would wrap her arms around him, beginning to sob as her grip around him was tight, but Caelus didn't seem to mind.

"Why?"

She would utter, her voice quiet as she sniffled, her tears staining his jacket.

Caelus would remain silent for a moment, unsure himself. He made such a decision himself yet didn't know how to answer a question he had answered himself.

"..."

Seele sniffled, sighing.

"You don't need to tell me now. We can talk about that later."

Seele said, about to pull away when Caelus's grip around her tightened.

"Can we stay like this for one more minute?"

Seele sighed, smiling softly as she repeated after him.

"One more minute."

...