Seraphiel [TCF X ORV]

v

~His light ~

Cale wrapped the blanket around himself, letting it drape like a makeshift cloak as he slowly stood from the bed. His muscles ached, and his head felt heavy, but the quiet of the night called to him. It's better to calm down and gather my thoughts, he mused, already moving toward the balcony.

The cool night air greeted him as he stepped outside, a welcome contrast to the heat still clinging to his skin. The moon hung high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the quiet world below. Cale stood still for a moment, gazing at the glowing orb, his red hair fluttering gently in the soft breeze. It was the kind of calm that could easily lull someone into a sense of false peace. But Cale knew better.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the cold air fill his lungs. 'This world is so quiet... almost unsettlingly so.' His lips twitched into a faint, sarcastic smile. "No gods, no blood-thirsty hunters, no ancient powers threatening to collapse my organs," he murmured to himself, a dry chuckle escaping his lips. "What a luxury."

For a moment, the calm felt almost foreign to him, as if he didn't quite belong in it. His mind flickered back to the battlefield, to Raon and the others, to the blood he'd coughed up mere hours ago in that other world. And yet, he thought with a sigh, 'I still have to deal with the mess that god left me with here.'

As he exhaled, Cale's gaze softened, his thoughts wandering. 'Maybe just for tonight', he thought, 'I can pretend everything's normal.' He opened his eyes and looked back at the moon, letting the peace of the moment settle over him, if only for a little while longer.

Cale's brows furrowed in deep thought, his gaze hardening as his mind shifted back to the pressing matters at hand. 'An apocalypse,' he reminded himself grimly. 'This world is on the brink of destruction, and I need to figure out how to stop it. But first...' His thoughts drifted back to the breach at the Super Rock Villa.

'How did those hunters break through the defenses? It shouldn't have been possible. Not with Eruhaben's ancient dragon magic, and Rosalyn, a master of the Magic Tower, protecting the place.' His frustration simmered beneath the surface, gnawing at him. There were too many unknowns, too many gaps in his knowledge. He hated that.

He exhaled sharply, running his hand through his long, disheveled hair, which now nearly reached his shoulders. The weight of it felt unfamiliar, but he ignored it, focusing instead on the smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Bastard God," he muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing slightly. "Just you wait. I'm not done with you yet." His voice dripped with sarcasm and defiance. The god had sent him here, thrown him into this mess, but Cale wasn't one to sit back and play along without his own plans.

As the cold breeze tousled his hair, he let his smirk widen a little. 'If you think I'm going to let you have your way, you've got another thing coming.'

Cale stood on the balcony, time slipping away without his notice as the cool breeze whispered around him. He wanted to soak in the calmness, to find some respite in the quiet, but the constant worry gnawed at him-worry for the kids, for his companions still back in his world, for the looming threat they all faced.

Eventually, he stepped back from the railing, the soft hues of dawn creeping over the horizon. His legs felt numb from standing so long, causing him to momentarily lean on the railing for balance. He glanced at the clock in the room, blinking in surprise. "4:30...?" How had so much time passed without him realizing?