Chapter 128: Oblivious

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Oblivious

Vesper’s chess match was done. Felix stepped out into the corridor and rolled his shoulders while the heavy security door sealed behind him. Another match, another loss for her, but she had held her ground far longer this time.

Since he was already deep inside the facility, he decided to visit Liora. There was no formal timetable for her sessions anymore. He simply swung by whenever his schedule at Acheron Deep allowed it.

Today, he had no clinical agenda. He just wanted to spend an hour keeping her company.

The scanner read his badge, the lock clicked,

and the blast door slid open. "Hey, Lio."

Her head snapped up, her soft pink hair bouncing with the sudden movement. "Felix!"

Her entire face lit up. She had been sitting cross-legged on her cot with a portable gaming console in her lap, but the moment she saw him, she set it down on the mattress. "You came."

"I’m standing right here, aren’t I?"

"I know." She gave him a small, bright smile. "I just like hearing you say it."

Felix chuckled and walked into the room. "Up for a few rounds?"

Her eyes sparked. "Games?"

"That’s why I’m here."

She quickly shifted toward the edge of the mattress, clearing space on the bed. "Sit here."

Felix sat beside her, and she handed him the second controller. Her chin lifted with quiet pride. "I beat that dungeon boss you were stuck on yesterday. Beat him twice, actually."

She declared, letting out a clean, happy giggle.

It was an easy, natural sound. There had been a time when Liora could barely whisper, when looking someone in the eye made her tremble, and when her own darkness threatened to consume her.

Now she was sitting shoulder to shoulder with him on a narrow bed, teasing him about a high score like an ordinary teenager.

"Alright, show me what you’ve got," Felix said, adjusting his grip on the buttons.

"I’m going to destroy your character."

"That’s bold talk."

The match started, and Liora locked in completely. Her thumbs flew across the directional pad, her eyes tracking every pixel on the screen. Whenever Felix tried to flank her or bait her into a corner, she slipped free and countered before he could reset his guard.

A few minutes later, a loud victory chime rang from the console.

"Yes!" She bounced on the bed, pumping a small fist. "Got you!"

Felix looked down at his defeated screen, then lowered his controller with an exaggerated sigh. "You actually beat me again."

"I told you I would," she said, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

"I’m creating a gaming monster."

"You already did," she murmured, glancing at him with a soft tilt of her head. "You just didn’t notice."

They queued up another match, then another, and eventually swapped to a completely different cartridge.

Every time Felix made a move to pack up, Liora found an excuse to keep him in the room.

"Just this stage," she said.

"Sure."

"Okay, now this co-op mission."

"Alright, fine."

"This one is really the last one, I promise."

Felix looked at her sideways. "You said that four stages ago."

"This time I mean it," she insisted, widening her eyes with total innocence.

"You are an awful liar, Lio."

"I learned it from you."

Felix tapped his own chest. "From me? When do I ever lie?"

"You’re always tricking me during my training sessions," she laughed. "You tell me an exercise is simple, and then it takes three hours."

"That’s called clinical strategy," Felix corrected with a grin.

Liora smiled warmly. For her, these quiet hours had become the center of her entire existence. It wasn’t about the digital games or the high scores. It was simply the fact that he was here.

Sitting right next to her, laughing at her jokes, teasing her, and calling her Lio.

She stole a glance at his profile while he stared at the screen. His dark hair fell slightly across his brow, his azure eyes were narrowed in calm focus, and that faint smirk lingered on his lips.

She didn’t know the exact day her feelings had shifted. Maybe it was their first real conversation. Maybe it was the first time he reached out and took her hand without an ounce of fear in his expression.

Maybe it was when he told her that her darkness wasn’t a curse, but simply a part of who she was that needed balance. Or maybe it was just the gentle way he said her name.

Somewhere along the way, he had stopped being just the therapist who saved her life.

He had become the only person she wanted beside her.

Forever.

"Lio?"

She snapped back to reality. "Huh?"

"Your character is just standing in the fire," Felix said, looking at her screen. "Are you throwing the match?"

"Oh." She blinked down at the display, where her avatar had already collapsed. A faint blush dusted her cheeks. "I was... thinking about something."

"About what?"

She gave him a shy smile. "Nothing important."

He shrugged and reset the stage.

Eventually, the overhead lights signaled the evening shift, and Felix checked his

communicator. "Alright, that’s my cue."

Liora’s smile faded immediately. "You’re leaving already?"

"I have rounds to finish before tonight."

Her hands dropped into her lap, the plastic controller resting on her knees. "Oh."

The single syllable carried so much disappointment that Felix paused. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." She forced a small, polite smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes. "Time just went by really fast."

Felix stood up, straightening his dark coat.

"That usually means you had a good time."

She sat on the edge of the mattress, watching him adjust his collar and check his pockets.

"I’ll swing by again soon," he said, turning toward the doorway.

Her expression softened. "Okay."

"Take care of yourself, Lio."

"See you, Felix."

The heavy metal door slid shut with a dull, echoing click, locking her back inside the room.

The cell fell into dead silence.

Liora remained on the cot, staring at the gray steel panel. Her fingers tightened around the controller, pulling it against her chest as she hugged her knees.

Then, in a voice so quiet it barely disturbed the air, she whispered:

"How wonderful it would be..."

Her gaze dropped to the floor, her heart aching with a strange, sweet weight.

"...to keep you with me all the time."

She buried her chin against the edge of the controller, a warm, slightly embarrassed smile spreading across her face.

"One day," she murmured to the empty room. "Maybe one day."

---

Out in the corridor, Felix walked toward the next security tier, completely oblivious.

To him, today was simply another successful step in Liora’s recovery. She was communicating freely, expressing humor, and building normal social connections.

It made total sense that she felt comfortable around him, he was the one who had brought her out of isolation.

Healthy patient attachment, he told himself. A solid foundation. He had no idea how completely he had misread her heart.

He turned into the adjacent residential wing and stopped outside another reinforced door. Seraphina was next on his route.

The security scanner beeped, and the door opened. "Sera."

Seraphina was sitting on her neatly made bed, staring at her phone. The instant his voice reached her ears, her posture stiffened.

She tapped the screen with sudden haste, pausing whatever she was watching, and set the phone face-down on the sheets with an almost guilty expression.

"Felix."

Felix chuckled, stepping into the room. "What was that? Looked like you were hiding something."

"Nothing important," she answered smoothly, her eyes steady.

"That’s exactly what people say when they’re hiding something very important."

Seraphina didn’t bother arguing. Instead, she stood up, crossed the floor before he could take another step, took him by the wrist, and gently pulled him toward the bed.

Felix raised an eyebrow. "Good afternoon to you too."

"Sit down," she said.

"Alright, alright."

He sat on the edge of the cot, and she immediately took the spot beside him, her shoulders relaxing the moment she was near him. Felix reached into his leather satchel.

"Brought you something."

Her eyes tracked his movement. "A gift?"

"A new book." He pulled out a thick, leather-bound novel and handed it to her.

Seraphina took it with both hands, treating the cover with delicate care. She opened the front page, running her thumb along the paper before glancing at him. "This is brand new."

"You were running low," Felix said. "And I know you’ve already read your other ones three times each."

A rare, warm smile curved her lips. "Thank you, Felix."

She carefully placed the volume on her small bedside table, right next to her reading lamp.

Felix tilted his head. "Aren’t you going to start it?"

"Later," she said. "There is something else I want to do first."

"Oh? What’s that?"

She picked her phone back up and unlocked the display. She unpaused the clip she had hidden earlier and turned the screen toward him.

On the display, two classical dancers were gliding across a grand ballroom floor in smooth, sweeping circles to the sound of strings.

Felix watched the screen for a moment. "A waltz."

---

Picture.