Sitting behind his desk, Ziradith Herald smirked and got to her feet. “Then they suspect nothing?”“If they do, they haven’t said anything. For all intents and purposes, I remain their sworn ally, bound in our shared goal of destroying Uther.”

Should he do it? Just forfeit the match? To admit before the crowd that their prince was too weak to fight back? After everything that had happened to him, he had no pride left, nothing to lose. Maybe it was better to accept his failure and resign himself to his shame. Lying on the ground, he raised his arm, about to surrender, but stopped, thinking back to a conversation he had with Tarnas. It was during the year of training, the two of them sitting around the campfire on an autumn night. Seraph was staring deep into the flames, into the light and warmth, but all he felt inside was cold darkness.

Sarah flopped down on the couch and started scrolling on her phone. She knew she should be doing her homework, or some after workout stretches but she was in a bad mood tonight and wasn’t about to do anything productive. All the girls in her volleyball team had spent practice gossiping about their boyfriends or the boys that they were into while Sarah just had to smile and listen. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t interested in those types of things, but she could do without the snide remarks they made about her being the only one without a boyfriend or even having a crush yet. She’d watched porn and masturbated, but with the way the other girls talked about guys and sex, she couldn’t understand the hype. Whatever itch it scratched for them just didn’t exist the same way for her.

That's it, Seiya. Don't be afraid of me. Very soon, you will understand everything. Finally, we can be together. Calm, please take a look at me. Look at my eyes. The intricate spirals make you feel relaxed. As a saint, your mission is to serve Athena, but now the battles are over. You just need to focus on me. It's time for you to take a break. I will help you. Soon, you will only have me in your head.