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For many days, I was drowning in thoughts. Bloom occupied my mind and I never stopped making assumptions. I lived as a Heavenly Virtue for so long but there was still something that I was not aware of.

I wandered earth like a lost soul. Perhaps I was lost. Hyunwoo, on the other hand, kept himself in Heaven and was rarely seen out.

It was painfully quiet with only the two of us. 'Two' was never this lonely.

Someone bumped into me, making me stumble with a yelp. The person held my arms, preventing me from falling.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

I froze. How could it be possible? The familiar voice that I used to hear everyday.

My eyes trailed up the man and widened when I saw his face.

Sunghoon.

He looked shaken. "Miss? Are you not okay?"

I blinked a few times and stood up straight. Clearing my throat, I managed to utter, "I'm fine. Sorry for bumping into you."

He bowed with a trace of a smile. "That's good. Sorry again."

Then he walked past me as if nothing happened. I watched his back as he walked away, mute emotions swirling in me. Until he disappeared from my sight, I did not move a single inch.

He was alive and well and living. It was a relief. I placed a hand on my chest to calm down. My chest was bursting and I did not realize it. Seeing his face again was something I could only imagine.

It was fortunate but strange that we could meet those who were in our lives before by chance like this. Bloom was like this as well. Then she remembered clearer with Hyunwoo's power.

I realized something.

It made me wander earth further but in more hurry than before.

"Where are you running off to like a headless chicken?" Jin asked me one day.

I was searching for the former Humility for days after days. If we used Hyunwoo's power on her, we could get information about what happened to the former Virtues.

But I realized it was easier said than done. Running into former Diligence could just be pure luck.

"Nothing," I told Jin and sat in front of him in the outdoor cafe. "Why do you look so... out of it?"

He placed his cup on the table, eyes focusing on nothing. "You know, this creation power is like a mockery... When I was alive, I spilled blood and sweat and tears to gather even the smallest amount of food and resources."

I did not know much about how he lived or how he grew up. We spent so much time together but I did not know such a simple thing.

"H-How was your life growing up?" I asked him, swallowing my pride.

He smiled slightly and talked about his childhood. The happier times, the hard times, the things he liked doing...

"It's so distant. Like a dream that I had but didn't notice that I had forgotten it after I woke up." He breathed out before materializing a tart with wisteria pattern that I used to enjoy eating and giving it to me, making me widen my eyes. "It's just meaningless now, you know? At this point I just want to forget everything..."

Startled, I frowned at him before taking a bite.

"He who wears the crown bears the responsibility... But why should I wear the crown? The longer I live, the emptier I feel..." He chuckled humorlessly. "Maybe not feeling anything was a blessing for us. It makes it easier to end things."

I gulped. "You can't possibly mean...?"

He smiled. "You were always so smart."

His hand came up to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. "And devastatingly beautiful..."

His eyes were so intense, I held my breath while holding his gaze. "From the first day I saw you and even now, you're brilliant and strong. Gentle and calm like the serene sea but also powerful and unyielding like the stormy waves."

What was he even saying? He was speaking like a man who was about to die. It made me uneasy.

"I'm tired of this unfair world," he sighed. "Ever since I was born and until now, all I could see is unfairness and corruption... If I keep existing, it will only grow."

I slammed my hands on the table and stood up, glaring at him. "I can't let you do that."

"We're enemies." His voice was unnervingly calm and even. "Sooner or later, one of us has to go down for the other to go up. If I go up like this, I will go insane."

His head hung low.

His voice trembled only then.

"And I can't see you die in my arms again..."

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