"Feeling better now?"


    Thedy who had saved Neron asked him as she entered the room but got no response in return.


    "Neron?"


    Silence.


    "You can stop pretending now. I know you''re awake," She said looking at his still form.


    "How did you figure that out?" Neron asked, opening his eyes.


    "Pftttt. I just can. It''s not hard," She said with a shrug as she settled down beside him on the bed.


    He felt crowded by the sudden closeness so he slightly shifted back as he didn''t know why she was acting all chummy with him when they barely knew each other.


    "You can rx. I''m not trying to harm you or anything. If I was, I could have easily done that all the time you were out."


    It was his turn to scoff as he hated the fact that he had been vulnerable in front of her and she could easily have harmed him if she intended to do so.


    "I''ll like to see you try," He shot back even though he knew that it was a bluff.


    She smiled back without saying a word which only served to infuriate him further.


    "How is your head now? Still feeling lightheaded?"


    "I''m fine, thank you," Neron said, waving her concern away. "I noticed you haven''t yet introduced yourself. I don''t see why I should trust you to begin with."


    She leaned back slightly, giving him space. "The name''s Lilith," she said, her voice calm but with a hint of amusement. "You don''t have to trust me, but I''m the one who dragged you out of the mess that would have killed you. That''s worth something, don''t you think?"


    Neron eyed her warily. He knew that she was right but wasn''t about to give her the satisfaction of gratitude. "Be as it may, I''m sure I would have handled it."


    "Right," Lilith replied, her smile now sarcastic. "You were doing such a fantastic job bleeding out and barely conscious. Sure looked like you had it under control."


    He clenched his jaw as he was irritated by her flippant tone though the truth was that he was furious with himself for getting to that point."What do you want from me?"


    "Nothing." She shrugged again. "I''m just curious. Why does someone with so much potential throw himself into reckless situations? You''ve got more talent than most people I''ve seen. Yet here you are, constantly holding yourself back, ready to throw it all away. Why?"


    Neron turned his gaze to the ceiling, avoiding her eyes. Her question hit a nerve but there was a more pressing question on his mind.


    "How do you know all this, how long have you been studying me?"


    "Studying you. Pfttt, you wish," She replied, folding her hands.


    "I''m serious. You talk as though you know me."


    She met his gaze head on without backing down and he knew after some seconds that he wasn''t going to get an answer to his question.


    She wanted an answer to what she had asked and he ruminated on it.


    "You''re not going to take me seriously even if I tell you."


    Lilith tilted her head. "Try me."


    He exhaled slowly as he felt the weight of guilt pressing down on him the more he remembered everything that had led to the moment he was now in.


    "I''ve made mistakes. Ones I can''t take back." His voice was low, almost a whisper. "People got hurt because of me. Maybe it''s better if I don''t get involved anymore in their affair. That way, I can''t hurt them."


    For a moment, Lilith said nothing. Then she shook her head, adopting a sage-like demeanor all of a sudden.


    "So you''re punishing yourself because of that. That''s your n? Wasting everything you''ve got because of a few mistakes?"


    Neron didn''t respond as he took it as a rhetorical question, the tension in her shoulders told him that she wasn''t happy with what he had said.


    Lilith leaned closer, her voice soft but firm. "You don''t get to decide who''s beyond redemption, Neron. Least of all yourself."


    He opened his mouth to answer her but couldn''t bring himself to form the words.


    She suddenly moved away from him, breaking the moment and the heavy silence.


    "You remind me of someone," she said, her tone light but with a touch of nostalgia.


    "A Magic Schr I met a few hundred years ago. Same guilt, same desire to punish himself for something he couldn''t change."


    Neron blinked, his eyes snapping back to hers. "A few hundred years? You''re that old?" He struggled to keep the disbelief out of his voice.


    She shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Give or take. I''ve seen my share of troubled souls, trust me. But enough about me. I''m more interested in your story."


    "My story?" Neron frowned, still caught off guard by the revtion. "You expect me to believe you''ve lived that long?"


    "Believe it or don''t. Doesn''t matter to me," Lilith said casually, leaning back against the wall. "What does matter is why you''re letting the past keep you chained. You don''t owe me anything, but if it helps to get it off your chest, I''ll hear you out. No judgment."


    Neron hesitated at her words. He wasn''t used to sharing things about himself, especially to someone he was just meeting for the first time, not after everything he''d been through.


    Still, there was something about Lilith''s nonchnt demeanor, her age, her confidence—it made him think maybe she really had seen it all. She gave him a sage vibe which made him think that she wouldn''t judge him the way others had.


    "You really want to know?" he asked, his voice softer now.


    Lilith nodded, her gaze steady. "I do. Start from the beginning, Neron. Tell me everything. And I''ll listen."


    For a long moment, he just stared at her. Then, with a quiet sigh, he began to speak. "It all started when I made a choice… a choice that changed everything..."