Persephone was taken aback.
"What? What is what?"
Uriel rolled his eyes.
"You're the same as him, are you not?" he asked. "You have your memories, right?"
Both Enoch and Persephone froze.
Their cutlery slipped from their hands, clanging and rebounding against the wooden table, and their aether spiked, running amok. It was so violent and sudden that a wild gust of air swept across the Terminus Floor.
Their reactions truly confused Uriel. "What are you shocked about?"
"Was that an attempt to… hide it?" He frowned. "Am I an idiot in the past or something?"
"I mean, future—whatever, you get my point. Why would you hide that, though?"
He shook his head, preparing to refocus on his food. But noticing they were still frozen in shock, his gaze narrowed.
Something was wrong.
Enoch and Persephone's gazes met.
Her trembling crimson pupils met his narrowing emerald pupils, and it felt like the air itself froze, saturated under the weight of something that was… beyond aether.
Observing the interaction, Uriel pulled on his Spark and began feeling out the emotions lingering in the air.
Fear.
Boundless and endless fear, accompanied by shock so deep it rooted itself into the very cores of their souls. Yet there, hidden within the storm of chaotic emotions, he sensed a small spark of relief within both of them.
It hit him like a truck, with an intensity he hadn't expected at all.
It took him a few moments to recover from the mental daze he'd been thrown into, but the moment he did, his mind seemed to reach a conclusion on its own.
Uriel's jaw dropped.
"You… didn't know?"
Persephone's hands trembled, but with a sharp clench, she forced herself to settle down, or at least, she tried to. Turning to Uriel, she leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"I love you. Stay safe."
She stood up, and her body began to blur.
"I-I gotta go." Just before she vanished, she threw Enoch one final glance. "Be careful and… don't die."
SHAH!
She vanished in a puff of crimson smoke.
…
The two young men remained silent for a long while.
Quietly, and without uttering a word, they resumed their meal, the shock too great for either of them to properly process.
But Enoch seemed the most shaken of all.
Even when Uriel had been awakening, his reactions had mostly been a jest, he hadn't truly been scared or rattled.
But this time, he was thrown off completely, in a way that even his old mind couldn't rapidly recover from.
TAH!
The server arrived from the distance, smiling as his many arms began to clear the table.
"I see you've had quite the fill. I'm glad you enjoyed our chef's cooking, he puts a hundred and one percent into all his meals!" he laughed.
"But just so you know," he added as he turned to leave, "there will be an assembly in about half an hour, and I'm not sure if you're allowed to miss it."
"So, keep that in mind."
He left.
Gradually, as the minutes trickled by, most of the people on the Terminus Floor stood and began to depart, the entire settlement converging toward its center, near the fountain.
'…'
Enoch covered his face with his hands, then dragged them down as he leaned back, shoulders sagging.
"I have no fucking idea," he said suddenly.
His words echoed with raw defeat.
"I-I…" He shook his head in disbelief. "How did you know she also had her memories? Are you sure of it?"
Uriel threw him a sharp glance. "I mean, I feel like her reaction tells us all we need to know."
"But even if we don't take that as proof," he sighed, "I noticed my Spark reacts differently to you."
"I can sense emotions, and much more, but emotions are only as potent as the memories they're rooted in. That's what I think, at least."
"But I noticed that your memories almost anchor your emotions, making you calm most of the time, or at least, in control, to a far more advanced degree."
He shrugged.
"In my eyes, you both have the same heart. Damn near identical. But I could be wrong, who knows?"
He chuckled softly. "I'm also just noticing now, but when I look at you, you do this thing where you try to swirl conflicting emotions together, all at once, to try and fool me. To have some semblance of privacy."
"To try and have privacy in your own mind."
"It's probably a lie I told you so you'd feel comfortable and not stress out. But for your information, it does not work. If anything, it makes it easier for me to see."
He sighed.
"She did the same. Even more aggressively."
Enoch raised a hand, having heard enough. "Alright."
He stood up, his face returning to a calm, neutral expression. Not quite his usual lax confidence, but calm nonetheless.
"Let's go to the assembly. I'll think as we walk."
"Alright."
…
Tholyr floated in the air above the fountain.
Nearly all inhabitants of the settlement were present, a massive crowd gathered beneath him, humans and inhumans alike.
"Attention."
It had already been rather quiet, but his voice drew every remaining thread of focus toward him. He let the silence linger a little longer, allowing the last few stragglers running in from the distance to merge with the crowd.
"I hope you've been well. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I haven't been as present as I should have been."
"I expected chaos to erupt, and yet, would you look at my beautiful little city?" He smiled. "You've all done well."
"You've been working, training, and living. Getting used to this new realm."
His smile widened.
"But unfortunately, that will soon come to an end."
He pointed toward the dome of silver light covering the plains and the settlement, separating them from the forest beyond.
"You see this? That is called a Settlement Barrier. Within it, none of you can be harmed, even by me."
Before doubt could spread, he continued.
"The people I supposedly killed on your first day aren't dead."
"They've simply been revived and dropped randomly across the forest. A fitting fate for their transgressions, if you ask me."
Uriel nodded inwardly. 'As I'd guessed. A show to make us obedient.'
"And in exactly two weeks," Tholyr continued, "you'll be joining them."
A heavy silence fell over the crowd.
"In exactly two weeks, the silver dome will vanish."