The quiet of the apartment, filled only with the soft, steady breathing of its occupants, became too much to bear. Even Reina, exhausted from days of worry and sleepless nights, had succumbed to slumber beside her son. The air was heavy with peace, a fragile kind that Kai and I didn’t belong to.

  We slipped out into the cool night, the door creaking softly behind us.

  The street outside was bathed in dim light from the occasional flickering streetlamp. Shadows of the surrounding buildings stretched long and eerie across the uneven cobblestones. The hum of distant cars and the faint murmur of nightlife added a low, constant rhythm to the quiet.

  As we completed half of the distance, I raised my hand over my eye, covering half of my face. Terror devoured me as I let out a soft murmur; “Déjà vu…”

  Kai, too focused on the thought of getting coffee, seemed to miss the remark entirely.

  But I didn't!

  I had my sharp gaze turn down the street, and what met mys eyes was… not ideal.

  There, with an air of exaggerated importance, was an orc dressed in attire that screamed wealth and vanity. A tailored suit adorned his hulking frame, complete with gold trim that gleamed faintly under the streetlights. A fancy wide-brimmed hat perched precariously on his head. He still had that business-briefcase in one of his massive hands, while the other was handling the leash of his precious vehicle: that raptor!

  The creature’s sharp claws clicked against the cobblestones with a rhythm that was almost… smug.

  I froze, instinctively drawing back. For a moment, I considered another sarcastic remark, but decided against it.

  No, not this time.

  This time, I chose silence from the very beginning, but, as fate would have it, the attempt at discretion failed.

  The orc’s head swiveled, his small yet piercing eyes narrowing as if he felt my peer on him.

  This interaction went just like it did last time.

  I averted my gaze, pretending that nothing had happened, and focused instead on catching up to Kai, who was happily whistling a song about coffee.

  We walked without a word, the footsteps echoing faintly as we were nearing a vending machine placed in the corner of a small, dimly lit plaza.

  The faint buzz of its electrical workings hummed like a background melody to the surrounding stillness

  I, naturally, scanned the area.

  Why?

  To avoid further unwanted interactions, of course!

  The plaza was simple yet oddly serene—a few benches scattered around a cracked stone fountain that no longer ran.

  Above, the sky was a deep navy, the stars barely visible through the haze of urban light pollution. The twin moons hung high, casting a faint, ethereal glow.

  Yep, you read that right—two moons. But these weren’t your typical white moons. No, these were dark green, like the deep shadows of a forest at night, with their grassy floors bathed in the cool shadow of its towering trees. And scattered across their surfaces were glimmers of purple sparkles, like cosmic stardust!

  I slid a few coins into the vending machine, the mechanical clinks loud in the quiet night. After smacking the buttons, a soft clunk followed. A can of coffee tumbled into the collection slot. Kai picked it up while I continued buttoning in order to acquire an energy drink.

  We leaned against the fountain.

  Kai popped open his can first, taking a slow sip.

  He broke the silence, his voice soft but direct. “Curious?”

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  I raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of mine soda. The fizz tickled my tongue. I let the moment linger before responding. “Yeah, but it’d be bad manners, no?”

  The night’s silence was lightly interrupted by a dim hum coming from the vending machine, our third companion. Kai took another slow sip of his coffee, savoring the bitterness, before turning his gaze to me with a sigh.

  “The embodiment of survival,” Kai began, his voice calm and measured, “works much like the gods from the myths and legends. I can offer blessings, but it’s far more competent. More powerful. More direct. And certainly more targeted. It doesn’t rely on faith or prayer to act.”

  I tilted my head with a slight smug. “So, what you’re saying is, that kid’s got some kind of divine insurance now?”

  Kai chuckled softly. “In a way. With the blessing from the Avatar of Survival, the boy is guaranteed to live the longest life he’d be able to. He’ll endure whatever. Survival basically means laughing in the face of death."

  I leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms while processing the info.

  The smirk lingered, but curiosity took over. “What exactly is an avatar?” I asked. “We’ve touched on the idea when we met, but it really just looks like human-ish character you control? Like a video game.”

  Kai nodded, his expression patient. "To explain it in the simplest terms, an Avatar is when the concept gains sentience and forms a voice in order to interact with the world more… directly.”

  Lucifer raised an eyebrow, “So, like… a ghost?”

  “Sort-of”, Kai shook his head. “Now, each concept has its own unique form, be it: flesh, metal, paper, or whatnot. A physical presence to interact with the world directly.”

  "Oh, I got it now" I continued, taking another sip of my soda—damn, it was good!

  "The catch..."

  "Catch? What catch?"

  "That we succumb to the form we’ve taken—at least until the Avatar is destroyed."

  "Huh? Wh—What? What's that suppose'ta mean?"

  Kai exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "In order to survive, I copied some of your... uhm, let’s call them qualities?"

  I didn’t like the way he said that. It was clearly an intentional smack-back talk, but I had to let it slide, but not before I shot him a bothered-annoyed look as he continued.

  "And on top of that, I also copied your form—a human form. That means I’m now suffering from the things humans suffer from: emotions, stress, mental fatigue, and so on."

  "What about your body? And what do you mean by 'destruction'?"

  "I was getting to that..." He waved a hand dismissively. "The body is still a concept’s body—you can’t get sturdier than this. And since I’m the Avatar of Survival that puts me a class above Fictium and Unobtainium combined!"

  "Déjà vu...", I muttered under my breath...

  Kai ignored me and continued. "But Avatars can still be destroyed. That’s just how they work. They aren’t IT!"

  "Huh? IT?" I scratched the top of my head, trying to wrap around his words...

  He froze for a moment, his hand on his chin, deep in thought. After a solid minute, he snapped his fingers. "Think of a ghost. You can’t punch it, you can’t slash it—your attacks just phase right through, right?"

  "Uh-huh." I nodded along.

  "Now, if that ghost were to possess a body, suddenly you could interact with it. Hell, you might even hurt it—if the fusion is deep enough!"

  "Yeah, I can see that."

  "But the moment you destroy that body, you’re back to square one. You can’t touch the ghost anymore because, well… it’s a ghost."

  "Yeah, that makes sense. I think I'm understanding what you're getting at."

  That was where our convo ended and our quiet walk home began.

  Above us, the twin moons hung low in the sky, signaling the night’s slow retreat.

  The first hints of dawn lurked at the horizon as we started our stroll back.

  We fell into a comfortable, if deafening, silence. Both of us continued sipping our drinks, relishing the calm of the early morning as it wrapped around us.

  "(–_–)"

  "(?? - ??)"

  "By the way, didn't you say something about cola, not long ago?"

  Kai wondered.

  Through a playful smile, I replied,

  "I'll get my first cola later, when we're all together, in a good restaurant."

  I took one final sip of the energy drink, and threw it into a far away trash bin before finishing my thought.

  "With Ryna too..."