Chapter 6: cold....

Melusine's cold, golden eyes bore into the teenager standing before her, his arms cradling the injured Spirit who called herself Nightmare. The air was thick with tension, the faint scent of blood lingering in the breeze.

Before Melusine could speak, the boy—Shido—blurted out, "You... you're Meteor, right? What are you trying to do to her?"

Melusine tilted her head slightly, her expression unchanging. "What am I trying to do to her? Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to kill her."

Her words were blunt, delivered without hesitation or remorse. Shido flinched, his grip tightening around Nightmare, who was still bleeding from Melusine's earlier attack.

"And do you really think she's so innocent that she deserves your concern?" Melusine continued, her gaze locking onto Shido's. Her voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that made Shido's stomach churn.

"I—I—" Shido stammered, trying to find the words to refute her. But deep down, he knew she was right. He had seen the files, the reports of what Nightmare had done. The lives she had taken. The pain she had caused.

Melusine snorted, her eyes flicking to Nightmare, who was pretending to be unconscious in Shido's arms. "She's not as helpless as she looks," Melusine said dryly.

Shido swallowed hard, his voice trembling but firm. "But taking someone's life is still wrong! Even if she's done terrible things, we can't just decide her fate like that!"

Melusine's expression remained impassive as she replied, "That's how the world works. The strong rise to the top, while the weak remain below. As the strongest being in this world, I treat all creatures equally—because, in my eyes, they are all weak. To me, there is no right or wrong. Only strength and weakness."

Her words were delivered with a chilling finality, leaving no room for argument. But Shido, despite the fear gnawing at him, stood his ground.

"But I know you're not that kind of person!" he said, his voice firm.

Melusine regarded Shido with an impassive gaze as he made his strange assertion. "Why would you think that?" she asked, her voice devoid of inflection.

"Because you're a good person," Shido insisted.

Melusine tilted her head slightly, like a predator considering unfamiliar prey. "I've never considered myself as such. Your reasoning is flawed." She began advancing slowly toward Shido, who still cradled the injured Nightmare in his arms.

"It's not flawed!" Shido protested in a rush, his words tumbling out in a single breath. "I've seen what you do - saving that girl earlier, helping elderly cross the street, reuniting lost children with their parents. The whole neighborhood knows about your kindness."

As Melusine continued her approach, her hand began glowing with an ethereal, moonlit radiance. The air between them grew heavy with unspoken tension.

"Please... reconsider, Meteor," Shido murmured, his face obscured by the shadow of his bangs as he looked down at Nightmare's unconscious form.

Melusine halted abruptly. For several heartbeats, she remained perfectly still, her luminous eyes studying Shido with inscrutable intensity. Then, without warning, she turned away.

"I'm not a good person," she stated flatly. With a sudden gust of wind, she vanished - leaving behind only the faintest shimmer of displaced air and the echo of her words.

Shido shielded his face from the sudden gust of wind, blinking as the space where Melusine had stood now lay empty. "I know deep down you're a kind person..." he murmured, his voice barely audible. His legs suddenly buckled as the accumulated stress from Melusine's overwhelming presence finally took its toll.

[Beep]

[Onii-chan! Are you okay?!] Kotori's worried voice crackled through his earpiece.

Shido swallowed hard, leaning against a nearby wall for support. "I'm okay... just a little tired," he managed, his breathing uneven.

[Stay right there! I'm sending a recovery team!]

As the adrenaline faded, Shido became acutely aware of the weight in his arms. Nightmare stirred slightly, her eyelashes fluttering open. "Is she... gone?" she whispered, her voice weaker than usual.

Shido looked down at the Spirit in his arms, surprised to find her wounds less severe than he'd feared. "Yes... she's gone."

"That's good." Nightmare's lips curled into a familiar smirk as she regained her composure. "Ara~ So you're Shido, aren't you? Planning to hold me much longer?"

"Ah! S-sorry!" Shido's face flushed as he hastily released his grip.

Nightmare gracefully righted herself, one hand touching her cheek in amusement while her left eye - now glowing with an intricate golden clock pattern - locked onto Shido with unsettling intensity. "My my, how adorable. But..." The clock's hands began spinning rapidly. "It's not time yet."

"Wait!" Shido lunged forward, but his fingers grasped only shadows as Nightmare dissolved into the darkness, her faint laughter echoing in the empty alley.

---------------

A few hundred meters away, a silver-haired girl descended slowly from the sky, her feet touching the ground with barely a sound.

Melusine stood there for a moment, her expression unreadable.

"Me... a good person?"

She snorted, shaking her head. But as she glanced back in the direction she'd come from, something about that boy—his earnestness, his stubborn kindness—stirred a memory.

Master.

The thought came unbidden, and with it, a pang of longing. She missed him. She missed his warmth, his voice, the way he'd look at her with pride.

Melusine closed her eyes, trying to push the feeling away. She didn't like this cold. She didn't like this emptiness.

With no destination in mind, she began walking again, her footsteps slow and aimless. The glow of streetlamps cast her shadow long and short in turns as she passed beneath them. A car drove by, its headlights briefly illuminating her before fading into the night.

The streets were quiet now, the hour late. Most people were home, asleep or spending time with their families.

Then, a voice called out to her.

"Little Lancelot? What are you doing outside this late?"

Melusine turned her head. An elderly woman stood in the doorway of a small house, her face lined with concern.

"Grandma?" Melusine said, recognizing the woman she'd helped carry groceries for earlier that week.

The woman stepped forward, her worry evident. "It's dangerous out here at night. You should be home by now."

Melusine stared at her, silent.

Home?

She didn't have one.

The grandmother approached with slow, careful steps, her wrinkled face creased with concern. "Little Lancelot, it's freezing out here. Come inside first."

Melusine opened her mouth to refuse automatically, but as her golden eyes flickered to the modest house behind the old woman, she hesitated. The quiet stillness of the home told her everything - no rustling of other occupants, no overlapping voices. This woman lived alone.

If keeping her company counted as help... then Melusine couldn't refuse.

"Okay," she agreed softly.

The grandmother's face brightened as she led Melusine inside. The warmth of the house enveloped them, carrying the faint scent of dried herbs and old wood. "You sit here, yes?" she said, gesturing to the worn but comfortable-looking sofa in the living room. "Grandma will make tea."

Melusine nodded silently, her gaze already wandering. A collection of framed photos on the side table caught her attention. She drifted toward them, her fingers hovering just above the glass.

The first photo showed a younger Grandma Sayuki standing beside a kind-faced man - her husband, presumably - both smiling brightly. The next frame held a family portrait, but the grandfather was conspicuously absent. Instead, Grandma Sayuki held a small child while standing between a young couple - her children, perhaps. Their smiling faces seemed to glow even in the faded photograph.

"Here's your tea, little Lancelot." The grandmother's voice startled Melusine from her thoughts. She turned to see the old woman setting down a steaming cup and a plate of biscuits on the kotatsu table.

As Melusine settled at the low table, the grandmother chuckled knowingly. "Curious about Grandma's family, hmm?"

Melusine nodded, lifting the scalding tea to her lips without flinching. The heat meant nothing to her dragon's constitution, but the gesture of care... that was different.

Melusine listened intently as Grandma Sayuki spun stories of her youth - how she'd met her husband at a summer festival, their modest wedding beneath the cherry blossoms, the small grocery store they'd run together. Every word was absorbed with perfect attention, the dragon faerie committing each detail to her eternal memory.

"Grandma Sayuki's husband was a good man," Melusine observed quietly when the story paused.

The old woman nodded, her fingers tracing the rim of her teacup. "He was... but happiness can't last forever." Her eyes grew distant, gazing through the window at memories only she could see.

Melusine understood immediately. "My deepest condolences," she said, the formal words carrying unexpected gentleness.

Grandma Sayuki's smile returned, though softer now, as she continued about her son - his first steps, his graduation, the proud day he brought home his bride. Melusine could taste the joy in each syllable, bright as summer fruit. But the unspoken question hung between them: Where was this beloved family now?

With trembling hands, the grandmother lifted the family photo. "It happened so fast... One evening news report about a car accident. Three lives lost that day were..." Her voice broke as a single tear splashed against the glass frame.

Melusine rose silently and moved to sit beside her. Though unfamiliar with human comfort, she remembered her Master's teachings - sometimes presence alone could ease pain. She sat perfectly still, her shoulder just brushing the old woman's.

Wiping her tears, Grandma Sayuki studied Melusine's face. "You remind me of my grandson. He'd be about your age now..."

"If Grandma doesn't mind," Melusine said carefully, "Lancelot could stay with grandma sometimes." The offer came haltingly, as if testing unfamiliar ground. "To help."

The grandmother accepted her offer with a grateful smile, and Melusine spent the next few hours in quiet companionship—listening to stories, helping with small chores, and simply existing in the warm space of the old woman's home.

When the clock struck late into the night, Melusine rose from her seat. "I will take my leave now, Grandma. I will return tomorrow."

Grandma Sayuki beamed, her wrinkled face softening. "Please return home safely, little Lancelot."

With a nod, Melusine stepped out into the night, the door clicking shut behind her.

The streets were empty now, illuminated only by the faint glow of streetlamps. Melusine walked without direction, her thoughts drifting like the shadows cast around her.

Human emotions were complex—something she had never fully grasped. And yet... somehow, she understood.

The ache in her chest when she thought of her Master.

The way her hands had once cradled the beauty of the aurora, alone, before she had ever known his warmth.

The memory of his smile—just for her.

Every time the cold had seeped into her, she had sought refuge in his bed, curled against his side where the chill could not reach her.

Now, he was gone.

And the cold had returned.

Melusine stopped beneath a flickering streetlamp, raindrops beginning to patter against the pavement. She lifted her hand, staring at it as if hoping, foolishly, that the connection between them still remained—that at any moment, his Command Seals would flare to life, summoning her back to his side.

But nothing happened.

The rain fell harder, soaking through her clothes, dripping from her silver hair. She hated this cold. She hated the emptiness.

Then, slowly, she tilted her face upward, letting the rain strike her skin like tiny needles.

"Master..." Her voice was barely a whisper, lost in the downpour.

"...I miss you."