It was a long time before Chaisi realized he was no longer in the Nest.
He realized he wasn't leaning against the butcher shop wall, but the riverside guardrail.
A lone, orange streetlight floated in the endless darkness between heaven and earth. Behind him, the sound of the Haisen River's waves rolled on, indifferent.
The only car on the road was the one he had driven here. Kai Luonan was nowhere to be seen.
Chaisi sat motionless for a while.
He jolted when Damian's intimate voice suddenly rang out, and he realized Damian had been sitting quietly on the railing not far from him the whole time. "Your mother became a resident, and in that form, no less. How are you feeling right now?"
Chaisi slowly turned his head.
"...You don't hate him?" he asked softly.
Damian leaned down, his face still holding a smile—one of glee—and the glistening traces of tears. "Hate Kai Luonan?"
He wasn't really asking Chaisi. He clearly had a lot to say.
