Echoes in a Bottle
By morning, the shop was quiet again.Daniel had gone off to negotiate supply prices, and Ayaka had vanished with a suspicious comment about "fox errands."
Lumiel stood behind the counter, sorting vials. Each one shimmered faintly, the liquid shifting color as if listening to his heartbeat.
Liora entered softly, carrying a leather notebook and that same patient smile.
"You never sleep, do you?" she asked.
"Only when time allows," Lumiel said. "Or when my soul's too tired to argue."
"You sound like one of your potions," she said, setting the book down. "Complex aftertaste, mild existential crisis."
He almost laughed. "Flattering."
Alchemy of Empathy
They spent the morning experimenting — small doses, emotional variations.Liora wasn't a mage, yet her presence calmed the Red Code's volatility. When she spoke, the runes slowed their frantic spinning as if listening.
"You see?" she said. "Emotion stabilizes energy. It's not the ingredient — it's the feeling you carry while mixing."
She dipped a glass rod into the amber liquid and whispered something Lumiel didn't quite catch.The potion shimmered, turning gold, then pale rose.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"A memory," she said quietly. "Of someone I loved, long ago. Joy has better structure when it remembers loss."
He fell silent, watching the color settle.The potion now pulsed faintly — like a heartbeat.
The Accident
Liora reached for another flask — a small one, etched with a crimson rune.
"This one… feels different."
"That's because it's bound to me," Lumiel warned. "It's one of the first I made directly from the Red Code."
Before he could stop her, she touched it.Light burst between her fingers — not bright, but alive.Runes spun outward, forming a mirror of liquid glass that filled the air between them.
Liora gasped. "It's showing something!"
"A memory," Lumiel murmured. "But not yours."
The Vision
The mirror rippled.A crimson garden unfolded — skyless, endless, filled with silver flowers growing from black soil.In the distance stood two figures: Hel, beautiful and cold as winter light, and Odin, haloed in flame.They spoke in a language that felt like thunder whispered softly.
"Creation without compassion is tyranny," Hel said."Compassion without control is collapse," Odin replied."Then balance," she said. "A child born from both."
She lifted her hand — light spilling from her palm — and from it, a spark floated upward, dividing into nine streams.The Nine Fragments of the Red Code.
The garden trembled as the vision shifted.A small cradle of light appeared at its center, wrapped in a silver shroud.A baby's cry echoed faintly through the air.
Liora's eyes widened. "Is that—?"
Lumiel's breath caught. "Me."
Aftermath
The vision shattered. The mirror dissolved back into liquid, spilling harmlessly across the floor.For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Liora whispered, "The Code carries your birth… your parents' intentions."
Lumiel's voice was barely audible. "They weren't just gods. They were… trying to finish something."
He looked down at his hands, faintly trembling. "I wasn't born cursed. I was born as balance—and they called it Nihility."
Comfort in Stillness
Liora stepped closer, her eyes soft with understanding.
"Then it makes sense your elixirs teach joy. You're doing what they couldn't — giving compassion shape."
He smiled faintly, the ache behind his eyes softening. "You're good at turning revelations into comfort."
"I used to heal hearts, not bodies," she said. "It's easier when they're not yours."
Lumiel met her gaze — steady, searching."Then let me return the favor."
He raised his hand, summoning a small flame — a gentle thread of Nihility Fire, pulsing faintly crimson.He let it drift into the air, shaping it into a single blooming rose made of light.
"For you," he said. "A memory that doesn't hurt."
Liora reached out, touching the rose's glow.It dissolved into her skin, leaving a faint warmth.She smiled — truly smiled — for the first time since she'd entered the shop.
"It doesn't hurt," she whispered. "It feels like… breathing again."
Closing Scene
Outside, the bells of Celestara chimed.The shop lights flickered as if acknowledging the shift.Kuroha appeared in the doorway, pretending not to watch.
"So," he said lightly, "we've gone from selling emotions to discovering divine genealogy and performing romantic metaphysics. A productive morning."
Daniel walked in right after him, raising an eyebrow at the quiet atmosphere."Did I miss something?"
Lumiel looked at the lingering shimmer in the air."Just a small miracle," he said softly.