Nocten woke up, finding himself amidst his assigned room. His memory everything after saving Lucy was a blur. There were only small flashes of Scarlet's loud, relentless energy keeping the memory from dissolving entirely.
Darkness pressed against the walls. He jolted upright with sweat slicked across his bare chest, with the heat of the cramped room clinging to him. When he established that hours had gone by after cracking open the wooden door, he realized that the plan to raid the Sancta convoy had not yet been set, but he remembered nothing leading up to it.
How could he have lost that much time?
As he remained shirtless and half asleep, he turned back into his room, only for Scarlet to slip through the gap like a shadow, planting herself in the doorway. She braced both hands against the frame, tapping her foot as she stared up at him from her small height. Her grin was nothing but trouble.
Nocten tried to look away, but something about her presence made her somewhat impossible to ignore.
"Sleep well, Noct?" She said as her eyes narrowed in a teasing, sultry arc. Her white garments hung loose on her frame, half‑dressed and presumedly intentional. "You look really exhausted. Upset, even. Something the matter?"
"You're in my way," Nocten said flatly, trying to shoulder past her. "Move."
"What…?" Her voice pitched into a dramatic whine as she blocked him with her whole body. "You don't want to talk? Not even a little?"
"No." His patience thinned. "Move."
Scarlet scoffed, stepping aside with exaggerated offense. "Tsk. Rude," But she wasn't done. "Not even about Lucy?"
Her name froze him mid‑step.
Scarlet's grin sharpened. "Bingo. You're so weird. Aren't you even a little worried about her?"
"What happened? Is she alright?"
"She collapsed after you saved her from that intruder. Martha and the others had to drag the doctor in. And you? You vanished. Poof. Gone. I couldn't even tell you what happened because you weren't around to hear it."
Shame came through his head. He pressed his palm to his forehead and squeezed his drowsy eyes shut. "I don't even remember where I was. What's happening to me…?"
Scarlet's tone hastened. "You're spiraling over Sancta, aren't you?" She stepped closer, studying him with surprising clarity. "You made a choice, and now your brain's eating itself alive over it. I know your type. Vayne told me everything. 'Super loyal soldier,' follows every rule, yadda, yadda, yadda," She waved her hand dismissively. "Ugh, don't worry, the loyal type has never been the one for me. But I get you. You're struggling."
"Lucy…" He whispered.
"Exactly. And someone this messed up in the head shouldn't be sneaking into Sancta convoys tomorrow." She nudged him with her elbow. "Go outside and take a breather. The patio's nice at night. Trust me."
Nocten didn't move.
Scarlet groaned dramatically. "Oh, for the love of... come on!"
She grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the room. He didn't fight her. His feet skidded along the rotating wooden stairs as she pulled him upward. It felt as if her energy was a force of nature he couldn't resist nor deny.
As soon as they were outside, Nocten realized that night was the only time the world looked whole again. When the sun fell, the influence of the looming Rot finally lost its color in the skies. It was as if its foul colors and parasitic influence all vanished beneath the dark. The corruption was there, still eating through soil and stone, and still breathing its foulness into METIS. But it was easier to not imagine it throughout the night.
Nocten and Scarlet stood side by side on the patio. Below the docks was an ocean yielding through an infinite expanse. The stars shimmered above the water as the gentle waves simmered through the night. Despite being half-asleep, the smell of the salty shores awakened him almost instantly.
"Are you afraid of what you'll become?" Scarlet asked, leaning back against the rope fence like she owned the whole patio. "Because killing someone from Sancta... that takes guts. You just crossed a line you can't uncross. That's a lifetime stain, soldier boy."
Nocten narrowed his eyes. "How much did Vayne tell you while I was out?" He asked.
Scarlet scoffed, arms crossing with a snap. "Enough, already. Stop asking me those stupid questions. And don't give me that look, cause I'm not stupid, Noct. I can put two and two together. You think being ignorant is going to fix anything? Please." She flicked her fingers at him, being dismissive of the presumed truth. "You made your choice. Now stop hiding behind it. If you want any of us to survive another day, you're gonna have to let go."
Nocten's jaw tightened. "It's not that simple." He said.
"Oh, please," She rolled her eyes. "You act like Sancta carved their rules into your bones. You killed one of theirs, you crossed the line, you were betrayed by your own captain. Seriously! What more obvious can your path be at this point?"
"That's... my problem," Nocten shouted, louder than he meant to. "I can't just… walk away from everything I was. It was everything I trained for. Everything I believed in."
Scarlet pushed off the fence, stepping in front of him with that fiery confidence she wore like armor. "Uh, newsflash. Can't you see Sancta's choosing to throw you away? What do you care about more? The death of those who abandoned their old lives, or a single man? I know the answer; otherwise, you wouldn't have saved Luce. And you're still clinging to them like they're some holy damn scripture."
"You don't understand," He muttered with fists clenching at his sides. "I spent my whole life obeying them in training. I don't know how to be anything else."
Scarlet scoffed. "Then learn, adapt, do something about it. Do whatever. But stop pretending you're trapped. You're not chained to Sancta. You're just scared of stepping off the leash like a dog."
Nocten's eyes flashed. "I'm not scared." He retorted.
She giggled. "Oh, you're terrified," She shot back, poking a finger into his chest. "Terrified of choosing for yourself, being wrong, and terrified what you'll become without someone telling you what to do."
He looked away, jaw trembling with the effort to hold himself together. Nocten exhaled shakily, still frustrated beneath his skin. "Then why does it still feel like they do?" He asked.
Scarlet leaned her elbows on the rope fence, staring out at the dark water. "You know," She said, voice lighter than the weight behind it. Her eyes gleamed in memory. "You're not the only one who had trouble leaving something behind."
"What do you mean?" Nocten asked.
Scarlet smirked. "Yeah. I wasn't always this charming," She flicked her hair back with exaggerated flair, then let the act drop. "I was the youngest of three. I had two perfect older sisters. Perfect hair, perfect smiles, perfect body... perfect everything. And our parents? Well, they were rich enough to buy their own damn mansion if they wanted." She tapped her fingers against the rope, restless. "Before the Rot hit, we lived in this pristine little world where appearances were everything. And guess who had to keep up? Me. The runt. The one who had to smile wider, stand straighter, talk elegantly. They wanted me to be just like my sisters. Just to be flawless, like them." Her voice dipped, losing its usual spark for a moment. "I tried so hard, but I eventually gave up. I couldn't be like them. They kept pushing. 'Be better, Scarlet. Be like them, Scarlet.'"
Nocten turned toward her. "You couldn't leave?" He asked.
She laughed. "Leave? Ha! I wasn't allowed to breathe without their permission. My parents had big plans for me, obviously, ones that I didn't care about. All they wanted me to become a woman... who was easy to breed with. They wanted a son. I denied it, of course. But still, I was trapped. I was nothing but a pretty little puppet with a painted smile. The Rot came and destroyed everything. Killed my parents right in front of me, and my sisters ran away like cowards. Then Vayne showed up. Stormed into our perfect little life like a damn hurricane. He saw right through the act. Told me I didn't owe anyone a performance. He saved me from them."
Nocten started to understand her more. "So you left with him."
"Damn right I did." Her grin returned. "It was the first real choice I ever made. And I've been making my own ever since."
Nocten looked away, jaw tight. "It mustn't have been easy for you," He said. "I'm sorry."
She nudged him with her shoulder. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're just like me. You're not stuck. You're not owned. You're just scared to make the first choice that's actually yours. I did. So you can too."
Accepting her story, Nocten looked down at his hands across the rope railway. "I'll try. But it doesn't seem easy." He said.
Scarlet snorted. "It never is. But it's still yours to make, one way or another," She then stared beyond the distance, rapidly flicking her eyebrows upward as if she caught her eye on something in the distance. "You know, she's been down there this whole time. Probably listened to our conversation too. Luce."
"Lucy?" Nocten leaned forward, scanning the lower docks. She saw her too close to the ocean as if it would devour her. He felt foolish to not have noticed her."
"I'll leave you two to catch up," Scarlet said. "Don't be late for our mission tomorrow."
"Thanks." Nocten didn't hesitate; he bolted down the wooden steps without another word.
"See you tomorrow, soldier boy." Scarlet whispered. She watched him go, fingers brushing against the rope fence.
As Nocten descended the last stretch of the docks, the sound of the calming ocean grew louder. no longer a distant hush but a steady, rhythmic crash that filled the night air. His boots clacked against the wooden planks, but Lucy didn't turn around. She stood perfectly still at the edge of the dock, staring out at the dark ocean where the faintest sliver of moonlight trembled on the surface.
Nocten caught his breath, catching the faint profile of Lucy's expressionless face. She didn't react to anything at all. Only when he stepped far enough into her peripheral vision did she finally stir, turning toward him with a slow, distant awareness. She wore the same white garments Scarlet had been given from Martha.
"Lucy," Nocten began, but the moment her name left his mouth, the rest of his words died in his throat. He swallowed, tried again, stammering in the process. "I'm sorry. I owe you an apology after-"
"After what?" Lucy's voice was filled with disappointment. It harder than anger ever could. "After what you said about my sister? After you cowardly ran away from us as a child? After your unwavering devotion to Sancta?"
Nocten flinched back. "I didn't mean to-"
"You never mean to," She turned fully toward him now. The moonlight caught the pale shimmer in her expression. "But you still do it."
He stepped closer, but she took a half‑step back, all to make the distance feel seen.
"I wasn't thinking straight," Nocten said, voice low.
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "When? Back then? When we were soldiers? Or-"
"Every single time, okay?" The words tore out of him before he could stop them. "Every time something matters, I fuck it all up."
Lucy froze, her anger faltering for a heartbeat.
"I'm not the soldier Sancta wanted," He said. "Even though I tried my best to put my efforts out there to protect Sancta, what ends up happening? It was all for nothing. I always knew it, but I... I keep running and disappearing. I keep choosing the wrong thing because I don't know how to choose anything at all."
"So you finally admit it," Lucy blurted. "You did this even when we were kids. When we needed you the most-"
"I know, I know," He interrupted. "I'm admitting it all to you," He said with a trembling voice. "I'm fucked up. I'm scared, lost, everything... but I'm trying. For once… I'm really trying."
"Trying?" Lucy's voice twisted, sharp with disbelief. "What are you trying for? Who said you had to try?"
"Lucy-"
"You weren't thinking about anyone but yourself." Her voice cracked, barely rising above the ocean's stir. "You saved me, Nocten. And then you vanished like you and I didn't matter. Like you regretted everything you did."
Nocten's breath almost stopped. "I didn't regret it." He said.
"Then why did you leave?" She demanded, stepping closer, anger trembling through her. "You ran away as if nothing mattered. Not me, or Vayne, or the Huntress, or our mission! Why did you disappear?"
"I panicked," He confessed. "I panicked because I didn't know what I was supposed to be anymore. A soldier of Sancta? A traitor? Your friend?" His voice dropped. "I didn't know how to face you. Because I know you were right."
Lucy's eyes flickered with frustration. She sarcastically laughed in disgust. "And you think running makes it easier for me?"
"No," He whispered. "I know it doesn't."
"Then stopdoing it."
He looked at her. The guilt in his chest twisted itself and revealed its ugly harbor; the truth was, after Scarlet spoke about the convoy, Nocten fled upstairs to his room, disgusted by his own actions of taking Brice's life to save Lucy. His loyalty for Sancta had crushed him, so much to the point where he had tried his best to ignore the consequence. Even after saving Lucy, he regretted it, only to sleep off his temporary wounds.
Lucy's voice cut through the memory. "You have to decide right now, Nocten," Lucy began. "Are you with me, or not? Because if you're not, then I don't want to ever see you again. You can go back home to Sancta and tell everyone I'm dead. If you're really dead set on this... I'm not stopping you."
Nocten's throat tightened. "I'm not going back." He concluded.
He stepped closer toward her, arms distance away until they both looked at each other in the eyes. She didn't move nor react. But she didn't forgive.
"When I was young," He said quietly, "I ran away from everything. I was a coward long before Sancta ever trained me. I was... broken. I was a bully... only because I was hiding in everyone's shadow," He exhaled shakily. "When I met you, I... I only wanted to protect you. That's why I chose to become a soldier."
"You're lying."
"You don't remember?"
"Stop trying to make this up-"
"No," Nocten said, raising his palm toward her. "I'm not making it up. I came to you and told you everything. It was..."
Lucy's eyes gleamed in sudden realization. She had a revelation; a memory that hadn't be unlocked until he reminded her. But it was impossible. How could it have been? Every single memory of him was nothing but scorched earth.
"That boy..." Lucy asked. "That boy?"
Nocten chuckled and looked away toward the moonlight. His eyes began to wetted at the faintest memory of his childhood with Lucy. "It was a little wooden glider my father had carved when I took interest in blacksmithing. I had run into the flower shop and hoped no one would see. But you did."
Lucy was remembering as well.
"Yeah, you were there. You appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, holding this tiny bouquet of wildflowers that you must've picked on the way. You told me I looked sad, so you offered them to me for free. I kept the bouquet in a jar behind our kitchen until the petals browned and fell apart. Of course, I never told you that. But all it did was made me forget about the toy. I was scared to come back, because... I was nervous. But I always checked the door every afternoon hoping you'd come back, but you were never there. Your flowers... saved me from pain and when I needed them the most."
"It... was you," Lucy said. She stood there and could see the way he'd looked at her that day, with the same demeanor and childish eyes. But suddenly, a tinge of confusion ran through her spine. "Why didn't you talk to me ever again? Why didn't you help us when we needed you?"
"When we were kids," He continued with a rough voice. "I couldn't even stand up for myself. You gave me flowers, and I couldn't even thank you properly without fear," He let out a humorless breath. "That's who I was. But I... liked you," He admitted, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "More than I understood, and that scared me. You were brave and stronger than than me in many ways I wasn't. You always were." His voice dropped. "So I kept my distance. I thought… if I stayed away, I couldn't disappoint you."
Lucy's eyes flickered. Something unreadable passed through them that no one could understand.
"I was a fool for it, but not anymore. So I'm staying because I want to. Not because Sancta told me to, or Vayne, or Scarlet. It's because finding the Savior of Curse and resurrecting the Huntress could give me another chance to make things right... And because…"
He hesitated, but he was already this far deep in. He let it go.
"Because losing you scares me more than any consequence Sancta could give."
Lucy's eyes turned away as her breath lost itself. She stared out at the dark water as if it could steady her. "You can't say things like that unless you mean them." She said.
"I do," He said. "And I'll prove it to you. Tomorrow and forever after."
Silence stretched between them. The ocean waves began to crash as soon as a mild wild drafted below. The moonlight crashed on their faces staring at each other's souls, extending the revelation to its final moment. They both looked into each other's eyes, but couldn't find the words to speak.
After several seconds later, Lucy finally spoke with her voice being soft, yet guarded despite the confession. "Then prove it," She said. "Don't run. Don't disappear. Don't make me wonder if you regret saving me."
"I won't," He said. "Not again."
She didn't ridicule him any longer, nor try to pry. But she stepped closer and extended her hand out, reaching for his in agreement. With a warm smile, Nocten and Lucy shook their hands together.
And for a brief moment, it was as if he had given her flowers back for everything she had done.