Chương 14: 014 - From the ashes

*Ding*

The illusion was shattered by the notification sound of the elevator. Cynthia immediately took back her hand and became the first to leave the elevator. She adjusted her hair to distract her heart and allow it to calm down before turning back.

Daemon was walking a bit behind her, still with an unchanged look on his face. But the way he was looking at Cynthia made her even more aware of the embarrassment she was feeling.

"How can a grown man be so petty?"

Daemon replied in a flat tone:

"It's either that, or I will sue you for sexual harassment. Gender equality is a thing now."

Cynthia could only stomp her foot to vent her frustration.

"You win. You are too dangerous, I won't play with you anymore. Didn't you have some errands to run? Where are you going? I will send you to your destination."

Daemon shook his head. He only indulged her when he followed her for a meal.

"I will just stroll around first."

"Then let's exchange numbers."

"I don't have a phone number."

Though Cynthia thought that the answer might be just as much a tactful rejection as it was the truth, she didn't relent:

"Then let's go to the mall, I will buy you a new one."

"Lucky me. As soon as I left the hospital I found a rich lady to take care of me."

The sarcasm thrown in a flat voice was taken in stride:

"You are lucky, indeed. Do you think everyone can make this lady bestow a bit of her grace upon them?"

While Cynthia raised her chin in pride, Daemon let his eyes descend to peer at the smooth skin of the exposed cleavage.

When Cynthia didn't hear any response from him, she looked at him, only to become embarrassed and try to hit him with her bag:

"You rogue! Where do you think you are looking?"

Daemon dodged by taking a calm step back:

"You are the one who left it exposed."

"But can you not be so blatant?"

The banter between them made the ones around smile. Those of their age were more envious, with some feeling pity or disdain for the half-covered face of the man. As for those older, they had reminiscent looks in their eyes.

_ _ _

"Alright, I need to go back to the office. If you don't call me later, I will be the one doing it."

"Whatever."

Daemon watched Cynthia drive away while he took a look at the mall they had just left, before choosing a random direction to start his stroll.

Everything and everyone was the same, but at the same time different, familiar, but at the same time unfamiliar.

But at the end of the day, it was not so different from the other parts of the world he had been to over the years. Maybe some places were better, others not so much.

He stopped at a park and took a seat. Looking at the green scenery, he remembered years ago when he used to come here with the woman he thought he saw at the hospital. The smiles full of love they used to exchange, the joy at each other's presence.

Youth was carefree, and love was untainted. He had made a choice between duty, and the longing in his heart. Did he regret it?

Now the boat had sailed, with the wind having brought the ashes of everything that crumbled away.

After a while, he decided that he had enjoyed enough of the fresh air, and stood up to resume his stroll.

When the sun was going down, he returned to his hotel to take a shower and have dinner.

On the rooftop, as he gazed at the night sky that the lights of the city were hiding the jewels of, he took out the new phone Cynthia bought for him and made a call.

After it rang two times, he cut it, only to repeat the same thing after one ringtone when he called the same number again.

The third time, he let the call ring till it connected after the third ringtone.

From the phone came the voice of a man who seemed of the same age, or at most in his early thirties, not much older than him:

"I thought this phone would never ring."

Daemon let out a smile different from any other he had shown since he woke up.

"Only the devil gets to send others on their way. Nobody is worthy of doing the same thing for him."

"Damn, you only know how to show off. But I really thought you would never leave that place on your two feet. Or even in one piece. Are you in one piece?"

The complaint from the other side made Daemon's smile widen. But the last question brought up his free hand to touch the side of his face:

"I almost had my face destroyed, but you know how things are. No sign that could make you recognizable. So they rebuilt my face as part of the farewell gift."

The voice on the other side asked in a lowered somber tone:

"The others…?"

"Only me."

After a moment of silence, the voice asked with a lighter tone:

"Knowing you, you must have refused treatment at first."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Tch. For you to leave that place, you must have been angry and disappointed, and you must have wanted nothing to do with them anymore. What happened later?"

Daemon looked at the night sky, and after a moment of silence, he spoke:

"I dropped my armor, and let my body show weakness for the first time in years. They took advantage of that to go against my will."

"Would you have rather died?"

Daemon could imagine the frown on the face on the other side. He let out a mirthless smile.

"Alright, that's in the past. I have a new life to build now."

On the other side, the man didn't pursue the subject either. After all those years in the darkness, even if he never dived inside personally, he had experienced enough.

"I would like to ask what happened, but I don't feel like knowing the answer. I don't want to shorten my lifespan."

Daemon let a smirk on his neutral face:

"And who deceived you into thinking that I would answer?"

"Ha. Ha. So, are you calling for your ride?"

Daemon let out a laugh:

"Ryan Hart, did you think that I designed the urban tank with you to let you keep a memento?"

"Very funny. Not even you knew if you would have been alive to use it later."

"Hm?"

The questioning tone was flat, but the one named Ryan smelled the threat:

"Only Zulu 13, the bomb devil can have the last laugh. It is normal for him to come out of the dark depths alive."

Daemon nodded as if the change of tune was the most natural reaction to have.

"I'm happy that you can understand that. So, how long?"

"With your trust issues, you won't let anyone else work on the thing with me, so a few months."

"I can wait."

"Yes, do that. Just avoid killing yourself in a road accident later."

"A very funny joke, Ryan. I see that leaving the section has helped you expand your sense of humor."

"Yeah. The logistics department was too oppressive." He continued in a sad tone: "But now that I've left, there are so many things I can't get my hands on anymore."