Julian and Cordan took their chance to use the bathing chamber after Raina returned leaving her alone with an unconscious Jack. At Julian’s request, Raina sat next to the bed where Jack lay watching for any changes in his condition. Kafkë had claimed that Jack would be fine; however, a cursory glance at the man’s pained expression, bodily tremors, and the droning buzz coming from the blue core in his chest had told another story. Thankfully, by the time Raina finished her bath, his condition seemed to have stabilized. At the moment, he was resting peacefully although his facial expression was looked in a state of deep concentration.

He must be having a really intense dream, she thought as she leaned forward, chin resting on the palms of her hands. I bet its more interesting than sitting around here, whatever it is.

It’d been less than ten minutes since the other two had left but Raina was already getting pretty bored. All of her equipment had been taken by the undead including her sword and phone, either of which would have given her a basic distraction to pass the time. As it was, her only options were to move around unnecessarily— she’d already done that— or stare at Jack while he slept. Admittedly, he was an interesting specimen especially after whatever changes had occurred due to Kafkë’s power in her absence.

Driven by boredom and curiosity, Raina poked Jack’s left arm. Much to her surprise, the metallic flesh was warm to the touch and yielded slightly under her finger though not quite as much as normal skin. She placed her hand on his bicep feeling the latent strength in the muscle. Her eyes roved over his exposed torso which had been entirely encompassed by the blue metallic flesh previously exclusive to his left side. Additionally, the changes extended all the way down his right arm as well as up his neck until it stopped at his jawline; however, due to his pants and boots, Raina couldn’t tell how much of his lower body had been affected. Her eyes locked onto the Blue Heart and she slid her hand tentatively toward the pulsing World Core. Suddenly, she yanked her hand away and leaned back.

I can’t believe I was just doing that. She blushed fiercely at the realization that she’d been feeling up a half-clothed sleeping man. For more reasons than one, the revelation made her uncomfortable. Not only was she inexperienced in the extreme when it came to men, but she also understood the basic boundaries of socially accepted behavior; several of which she’d definitely crossed. She imagined their positions reversed and suppressed a shiver. Jesus, I feel like such a creep.

She got up making her way to the sole window in the room to preoccupy herself with the boring landscape. The view looked down on a ruined courtyard filled with several units of stationary undead soldiers. Beyond the walls, the broken remnants of a city stretched on for miles within a scorched wasteland. Somewhere to the east, the group’s only pathway back to Fracture was being guarded by Zandur’s shadows. Raina wondered how the Remnant Gate would have played out had they ventured into it normally. The undead in the courtyard seemed pretty weak at a glance; nowhere near as strong as the Twilight King and his entourage. Would they have simply cleared out the outpost full of undead or would the Twilight King have arrived and decimated them all?

Once again, she mused about the choices and circumstances that had brought her to this point. A few minutes later, a deep voice broke the silence causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

***

After leaving the Well of Souls, Jack woke up laying in a bed; however, he didn’t immediately open his eyes or move. His hearing told him that there was only one other person in the room. Based on the breathing and heartbeat, Raina was the most likely candidate, so he chose to lay still rather than let her know that he was awake. Where are Alindal and Cordan? Have we been separated?

He was thinking about where his friend could be when Raina touched his arm. It took quite a bit of willpower to not pull away or grab her hand. She didn’t stop there though; her hand pressed into his bicep and slid a few inches along his upper arm. He nearly opened his eyes to demand an explanation from her, but her touch made him realize something. She was touching his left arm and he could feel the sensation of her caress as if it were his right side.

Wait a minute, he thought as Raina abruptly pulled away. He finally noticed a slight difference in the feel of his body. He opened his eyes in time to see Raina turn away from him and make her way to the window. He lifted his hands in front of his face and his eyes widened. Jack sat up to look at the rest of his body making very little noise thanks to the bed’s soft covering. It progressed this much? In such a short time?

Ironically, his first action after sitting up was to run his right hand over his left arm and leg while marveling at the sensation as his nerves responded. He’d gotten so used to the numbness in his left side that he felt like he’d been transplanted with a new arm and leg. He also felt the back of his neck out of habit and realized the metallic flesh had covered his entire neck although it hadn’t progressed any further along his skull to his relief. Once he finished fondling himself, Jack looked to Raina who was staring out the window oblivious to his motions.

Well, I suppose being alone with her gives me a chance to get some answers about that hidden objective of hers. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up. When Raina still didn’t react to his movement, he said, “You should really pay more attention to your surroundings.”

She yelped flinching at the sound of his voice and making Jack’s eye twitch at the sudden high-pitched noise. Unfortunately, his headache still wasn’t entirely gone. He grabbed his shirt which he noticed laying across a nearby bed and put it on while Raina collected herself.

“So… how are you feeling?” she asked as he finished.

He shrugged as he sat down on the bed across from her keeping his body perpendicular to the room’s entrance. He almost lied to hide his condition but due he was in a good mood, so he didn’t. “Surprisingly, I’m feeling pretty good.” He held up his right hand flexing the various muscles throughout his arm. “It hurt like hell though.”

“That’s good,” she responded averting her gaze when his eyes found hers.

Ignoring her social awkwardness, Jack went straight to his desired topic before they could get mired down in meaningless small talk, “What rewards did you receive from the Protector of Mundus objective? And before you try to deny it, I know you completed it.”

Since her assignment had been to protect his World Core until it reached Phase 1, she should have received a notice of completion at some point after he named the Blue Heart. All the same, he listened closely to her heartbeat and breathing pattern with the expectation that she’d attempt to mislead him; after all, the rewards of a hidden objective were incredibly valuable.

At first, Raina’s heart rate increased slightly telling him that she was surprised by his question. She appeared to internally debate answering him then took a calming breath. “Alright, I’ll tell you.”

And much to his surprise, she did tell him. Her heartbeat was steady the entire time as she listed off the rewards and gave descriptions of each. All the while, Raina held eye contact making it hard for Jack to miss the open and earnest look in her eyes. The exchange actually made Jack a bit uncomfortable because he didn’t understand her motives.

Why is she being so forthcoming? Is she making some kind of play or am I missing something? His paranoia told him that she wouldn’t just give away valuable information for free without some kind of ulterior motive.

His suspicion must’ve been apparent because Raina added, “Is it possible for me to make my notifications visible to you? If there is I could show you—”

“Stop, I believe you,” he said cutting her off. Despite the interruption, a weight seemed to lift off of her shoulders when she heard his words. For his part, he couldn’t believe she had just offered to show him her notifications. There were ways to make one’s Status and notifications viewable by others but the only people who regularly made use of those methods were slaves who were forced to do so and members of elite organizations that mandated transparency. Raina was new, so he suspected she didn’t know the value of the information available in notifications and her Status or the significance of the offer she had made. Making her notifications visible meant more than just allowing others to see them, it also opened up tactile interaction with said notifications which meant he could subdue her and flip through her information at his leisure as long as he could stop her from dismissing the windows— like if she were unconscious. He shook his head at the ridiculousness of her ignorance. “By the way. don’t ever allow someone else to see your notifications.”

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Her eyes widened. “Not even people I trust?”

“You’re better off not trusting anyone,” Jack said. It was a bit hypocritical for him to say it since he had Alindal, but that piece of advice would’ve saved him a lot of pain over the years if he had heeded it.

“But…,” she said before pausing for a moment then meeting his eyes. “Isn’t that a really lonely way to look at things?”

He looked past her shoulder, unwilling to meet her eyes as her question drove closer to home than he was comfortable admitting. She walked over to the bed and sat next to him though not close enough that they were touching.

“What about Julian? Don’t’ you trust him?” she asked. Again, he didn’t answer. Just as he was about to divert the subject back to her objective rewards, Raina reached out as though she were going to grasp his hand then pulled back which was good because Jack wouldn’t have allowed her to do it. She sighed and said, “I’ve been thinking. The four of us are trapped here with those insanely powerful undead and we have no hope of escape by our own power. Shouldn’t we work together as a group to get the best outcome for us all? To do that, we need to be able to trust each other at least a little bit, right? I may not know much about Fracture or dying worlds or World Cores but I do know that ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’”

She giggled like she’d made some kind of joke but her mirth faded when she saw his dire facial expression. Although Jack put forward an aloof mask in most social situations, he was more adept than most at reading body language and social cues. He could tell she was trying really hard given her situation. Her eyes were sincere and her words were hopeful. In many ways, Jack understood her outlook. She believed the people around her were good until they gave her a reason to believe otherwise and had a naïve hopefulness in her actions that marked her as an optimist or, even worse, a romantic; much like he’d been during his first few months in Fracture. If he wanted, Jack could use her own naivety to string her along and manipulate her as he saw fit, yet he refused to do so. Her honesty, optimism, and naivety made her an easy target, yet it was exactly because of those traits that Jack had resolved to be straightforward with her. In truth, Jack wondered if they could’ve been friends in different circumstances.

“We can work together to a point but it’s impossible for me to trust you or Cordan,” Jack said, getting up so he didn’t have to see the hurt in her eyes as his words struck home. He walked over to the window to look at the ruined landscape for the first time while Raina took another deep breath.

“Is this because of Ciel?” she asked softly. He ran a hand down his face and sighed.

“Yes. I can’t trust someone associated with a Celestial.” He faced her so she understood the severity behind his words.

“But—,” she started to say before he cut her off again.

“I know what you are going to say,” he said. She looked annoyed at being interrupted and more than a little skeptical at his claim. He frowned. “You’re thinking that Ciel has been nothing but kind to you, so he must be a good person at heart. You have it in your head that if you could just talk to Ciel, you can appeal to his kind heart and smooth out the situation, right?” She nodded although she appeared less than thrilled with the way he was framing it. “It won’t work for several reasons but the main one is that you don’t understand the way Celestials think.”

“And you do?” She asked crossing her arms and frowning.

After seeing that she was on the verge of getting defensive, he changed tack. “Celestials don’t think like normal people, Raina. They’re immortal and they’ve been around longer than either of us will ever likely know. Not to mention, they wield incredible power, literally and figuratively. They are the unofficial rulers of Fracture and they have no fear or understanding of anyone below them. In other words, they can’t possibly empathize with people like you and me. Think about it! Despite all I’m sure he’s given you, has Ciel taken any time at all to get to know you or has he just floated in the sidelines giving off smiles and kind words of encouragement during the training he no doubt put you through?”

Raina finally spoke up. “I don’t think that’s a fair question. I’ve only known him for three days so he probably just hasn’t had the chance or, maybe, he wanted me to bring up those things myself? Besides, he must’ve been busy planning our trip.”

Jack seized the opportunity presented by her argument. “See that’s my point! You’ve only known him for three days. Can you really say you know him any better than I do? In the time you’ve spent with him, have you talked about anything other than your training or the basics of Fracture?” Raina opened her mouth to say something then slowly closed it casting her eyes downward. “He may be nice; hell, he may even have the capacity for kindness, but he doesn’t really care about you or anyone else. Want to know what he called you on the bus while you were on the first level?”

Raina looked uncertain but asked, “What did he say?”

“He called you one of his pet projects,” he said. Her face fell and she bit her bottom lip making Jack feel uncomfortable. He really didn’t like giving her such a harsh wakeup call, but she needed one if she wanted to get by in Fracture even if she went back to Ciel. “He said he had it on good authority that you were special in some way, but added that your results had been disappointing. He said he hoped you put on a good show at the Remnant Gate otherwise he’d have to recoup his losses from you which is a nice way of saying you’ll be forced to work off the cost he paid for you.”

“Wait, he bought me?!” she exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief.

Jack shrugged. “Maybe not explicitly. He may have been referring to other financial investments like your training, equipment, housing, etc. If you tell me how you met, I might be able to tell you for sure.”

Raina hesitated briefly before her eyes hardened with resolve and she stood up walking over to join him by the window. Jack suddenly felt a twang of guilt. He’d set out not to manipulate her but here he was, about to receive potentially valuable information about Ciel. More for his sake than hers, he held up a hand and added, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. In fact, we can drop this since we’ve gotten sidetracked fro—.”

This time, she interrupted him when she said, “No.” He lowered his hand and waited. “No, I want to know, so I’ll tell you.” And, once again, she did; however, Jack stopped her after she described her first few hours in Fracture.

“You can stop there,” he said. In the short time that she’d been speaking, his mood had gone from good to bad. She looked at him, confused, so he elaborated, “The man with the creepy eyes that you saw after you woke up in the summoning circle? He’s a Celestial named Azatiel, an undeniably sleazy scumbag who deals primarily in black market trade from drugs to… to people. The three-eyed woman? She was probably a Zaruhi. Azatiel has a lot of them working under him. The third eye gives them healing abilities and lets them ascertain details about a creature’s body. She examined you to make sure you didn’t have any diseases or disabilities that would impact your value to a buyer. The thin ‘tablet' Azatiel used on you? It’s a piece of sigiltech that shows the Status of those who touch it, willing or not. He uses them to get the details from the people he trafficks. If anything, maybe you should be grateful to Ciel. Since your designation is so common and you’re a young woman, you probably would’ve ended up somewhere horrific.”

Jack pretended not to notice Raina blink away tears before she asked, “Is Azatiel the other Celestial that’s after you?”

“Yeah,” he said leaving it at that. A heavy silence fell over the room seemingly widening the inches between them into an uncrossable distance.

As was her specialty, Raina broke through the silence. “How do I know you aren’t making all this up to get me to turn against Ciel? You could just be a good liar trying to manipulate me because you hate Celestials.”

Now she’s getting it. Jack chuckled darkly and looked into the perpetual night sky above the castle. “I guess you don’t know. After all, I never claimed to be a good person.”

She was quiet for a few seconds as she brought her hand to her chest gripping the fabric of her shirt as though trying to alleviate some kind of pressure within. Finally, she said, “You’re right, probably, but I believe you anyway.”

Instead of being touched by her words, Jack was confused. He frowned and asked, “Why though? You know me even less than you know Ciel.”

Instead of answering immediately, Raina reached out and grabbed his hand with both of her own. To his surprise, he didn’t pull away although he still tensed up out of habit and gave her a sidelong glance. Once again, she had that frustratingly earnest look in her eyes, “Someone precious to me once said that ‘sometimes, you have to have a little faith before you can build trust’ and I have faith that you aren’t trying to trick me.” She squeezed his hand then let it go.

He shook his head and laughed. When he spoke, his voice was a little bit lighter than it had been before. “That’s a terrible saying.”

Raina laughed a bit herself. “Maybe, but the woman who told me it has never steered me wrong before.” She smiled and he couldn’t help but think they made an odd pair standing under the moonbeams and starlight. As he grew silent in contemplation, Raina asked, “So… I know we got a bit distracted, but will you answer a few questions I have about my objective rewards? You seem like you know a fair bit about this kind of thing.”

“But what if I decide to lie?” Jack asked cheekily.

She rolled her eyes but she smirked and said, “You won’t. I trust you.”

Despite himself, Jack smiled. “Sure, ask away.”