When I finally woke up, I was in a hospital on my sickbed. Kiina was sitting on a short stool beside me, sleeping with her torso on my bed. She rested her head on her crossed arms. Her static face was prettier than any of those from paintings. The right side of it was slightly compressed on her arms, making that side of her cheek plumper than usual. Oh, she was still so gorgeous even after our marriage. Some said even the prettiest woman got dull when you spent enough time with them. However, it was certainly not my case. I could just stare at Kiina for hours. I would not feel bored.

She most certainly felt the same to me. She wore the same trench coat and pink beanie she had been wearing since the day I bought them. We were not married then, and she had not worn another pair of those since.

I drew my hand out of the quilt and caressed her head through the beanie.

"Hm?" She slowly opened her eyes. As her eyes widened, she jumped onto me, hugging me while burying her face in my chest. I also wrapped my arms around her, "Kiina, how's it going?"

"Don't talk like that. You almost died," she said in her mumbling voice while rubbing her face against my patient gown.

"Come on, Tale got this. You know it—"

"That bastard almost got you killed, and you are still defending him?" Kiina abruptly raised her head and glared at me in the eyes.

She was right. Even I myself had lost hope when I saw Tale panicking over my wound, but I did survive.

"It's okay, Kiina. I'm still alive, and you are here. That's what matters."

She pouted her lips and laid her head back on my chest, sighing, "At least, you don't need to fight anymore."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I told Tale Nost to fuck off, and he did."

"Wait, do you even know why we were fighting Sable Blade?" I sat up from the bed, and Kiina leaned away, still bestriding on my legs. I felt surprised, more so annoyed. I could not get mad with her, yet she stepped on my tail.

"I know. Tale told me everything—"

"Then you should know it is bigger than me and him—"

"It is Lord Ky they are up against! Who knows what connections he has? He can pull a few strings, and both of us can lose our lives."

"That is why I need to defeat him."

"No, it's not. Sure, someone needs to stop him, but it's not going to be you."

"Why?"

"You are too weak, and I am too weak! We should stay away from this instead of leaping right into it."

She left me speechless. If an entire combo of mine could do no more damage to Sable Blade than a few blows from Tale Nost, what chance did I have against Lord Ky? Thus, I threw away my excuses.

"It's not about that. I can't just stand aside and watch Tale risking his life—"

"Tale this. Tale that. Can't you just forget about him!" Kiina's voice raised, "I am your wife. I'm the one you should care about the most. I thought you were finally going to wake up after that bastard lost his arm, but you just jumped back in."

I could hear her holding her anger. Even with her voice raised, she was still not scolding, not even loud. Tears were rolling in her eyes, and I felt some in mine, too.

"I love you, Kiina. I love you the most." I held her by the arm, "But I have to do this. After this, I won't give a shit about Tale anymore. Whatever next has nothing to do with me. But this one. This one, I have to. I have to do it with him."

"Why? Roason, why?" She softly put her hand on my chest, right on the spot I was stabbed through. Although the injury was already healed, it still ached when she touched it.

"Kiina." I lightly held her hand on my chest, "This had me thinking. Reconsidering my past. You are right. Tale Nost is the worst, most toxic kind of friend, yet we still spent our entire school life together. Eight years. Fourteen to twenty-two. I can't just pretend it does not exist, and I can't accept it to fade away without an ending. I want to move on with you. I really want to. You just have to trust me this one last time. Let me do this with him. Let me put a period to that phase of my life."

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Suddenly, Kiina kissed me. She pushed through my lips and reached into my mouth, tangling with my tongue. Seeing her tears sliding down her cheeks, I closed my eyes. I owed her too much. She deserved a much better husband than me. She deserved a life better than this. I would pay her back. I would do it after I cut clean with Tale Nost, after this one last adventure with him.

After changing back to my casual outfit, I rushed out of the hospital. Kiina said she would deal with the doctors. Zooming through the street with my black hatchback, I arrived at Tale's house before the sun completely disappeared. I sprinted up his stoops. Opening the door, I saw all the tissue wads on the ground, piles of pizza boxes, and Tale Nost.

He was wearing a yellow T-shirt and eating pizza on a table formed by "Lightless Construct."

What?

"Roason," he called my name as he put down a piece of pizza. Sable Blade, without her hat or scarf, came out of the bathroom across the living room, yelling without her usual grace, "What the fuck, man?"

She certainly saw the load of shit in the tub. I really wished I was blind when I first saw it. Judging by the situation, I guessed Sable Blade was on our side now. Yet, why?

"Let me explain. Let me explain," Tale said as he raised his hand, swinging his palm between facing me and her. Tale kept chewing as he said, "Sab will fight Ky with us."

"You explained nothing," Sable Blade walked toward us as she said, "I will help you defeat Lord Ky in exchange for a fair duel with Ice Shaker."

That rang my bell.

"You are part of the organ theft group. Why should we trust you, Sab?" I sarcastically called her the way Tale did, although Tale being suddenly so close to her was much more sarcastic.

She stopped near the black table and answered, "I have no interest in those things really. I was only there because Lord Ky was the only one who could let me express my art. Also, call me Blade."

"What?" I had no idea what she meant. What art was she talking about?

Tale swallowed the piece in his mouth and said before Blade, "She seeks people strong enough to fight her when she uses her power to its full. Now Lord Ky has lost his thaumaturgy, I am the only one who can beat her."

I understood now. Blade had the same problem as Tale Nost. Both of them saw nothing but strength and power. In that case, Tale was probably better than her.

I sighed, realizing I was stuck with two maniacs, "Sure. But you are still an accomplice of organ theft—"

She calmly cut me off, "Ice Shaker will kill me after he wins the duel."

I turned toward Tale, and he nodded. Yup, Blade was much worse.

Later that night, I strolled in Tale's little yard while Blade slept in her sedan. Not a single flower was not devoured by tall weed. I felt my heart racing yet had nothing in my mind. I could judge the morality of accepting Sable Blade. I could miss Kiina. I could think about the victims of organ theft. I could be afraid. I could fall asleep. Yet, I was doing none.

The breeze of the night was a hundred times better than the odor in Tale's house. The night sky was dark but sprinkled with stars. None could cool my beating heart, yet the coziness was great. If the time would one day freeze, I wished it was the moment it froze.

To be honest, I was both afraid and excited. The reason was unstudied, and I liked it that way. We would be on our way to Lord Ky's hideout tomorrow morning. Since he did not know Sable Blade had swapped sides, that place would most likely be where he hid. We had our magic reserve full, ready to fight the former strongest. However, I had no particular feeling about combating him, and I did not sense much about the organ theft thing either. I was here to farewell my past, and that was all I could think about.

"Roason," Tale called as he came out of his house.

"Hm?" I turned to him with my arms propped on the white fence of his yard.

"Roason," he repeated but with a lower volume as he jogged toward me.

"Yeah?"

"You know your wife had a talk with me?" He stood beside me, putting a hand on the fence, next to mine. He gazed afar as he spoke.

I could already tell what he was about to say, yet I decided it was better if he said it himself. Thus, I answered, "She did."

"Then, why are you here? Shouldn't you be with her?" He suddenly turned and looked at me. There was nothing on his face but curiosity. Contrary to my expectations, he was not worried about me. I would feel much worse if he did worry.

"I am the one who gets to decide what I do."

"You certainly did not tell her that," he let out a puff of chuckle.

"I did not. That's why it will be the last time we meet."

"What?" There was an obvious shock on his face. Then, he stared back into afar.

"I know you don't feel this way, but I feel like a sidekick to you whenever I am with you."

His brows knitted in silence.

I continued, "It is not your fault. You are just stronger… Before fighting Sable Blade, I thought I could finally be the one protecting and saving you. Yet, I was still on your shoulder."

"I never thought of you as a sidekick…"

"But I did. I tried not to think that way. I tried for eight years, and I still can't get rid of the thought." I looked away as I finished the sentence. Just like him, I stayed silent, letting the mute breeze speak for us.

Eventually, he eyed my direction without moving his head, and I did the same. He softly asked, "So, it's the last time we get to hang out?"

"That's not the word I'd use for this situation." I returned him a short snicker.

Losing focus in the starry night, he sighed and said, "Thank you, Roason. You've always been a great friend."

"Well, I can't say the same, but I do cherish the time we had together. Those eight years are great. I wouldn't want to spend them in any other way."

"Me, too, pal."