Joy looked at him with desperate anticipation, her heart pounding in her chest.

Ever since the god Cassius had compared her to this mysterious woman, Joy’s mind had been consumed with questions.

Who was this woman? Why did she look like Joy? What was her connection to Cassius?

It felt like the question closest to her heart. She hoped beyond hope that Cassius would have the answers.

But Cassius’s expression shifted to one of confusion.

He thought about it for a moment, his brow furrowing as he searched through his memories.

Finally, he shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry, Joy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name before."

Joy’s heart plummeted.

She’d been so certain he would know. So certain that this was the key to unlocking all her questions, only to be disappointed

But just as Cassius was about to finish speaking, something strange happened.

His vision went blurry, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.

He grabbed his head, wincing as if in pain.

"Cassius?" Joy said, concern creeping into her voice. "What’s wrong?"

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Something was happening inside his mind, something he couldn’t explain or control.

And then, in a flash, he saw it.

A vision. A woman standing before him, smiling at him with a teasing glint in her eyes.

She looked exactly like Joy—the same face, the same features—but she was different.

Her clothing was ancient, nothing like the modern robe Joy wore.

And the way she looked at him was different too.

There was a profound love in her eyes, a devotion that spoke of a bond that transcended time itself.

This Joy or whoever she was looked at him like he was the only person in the entire universe. The only thing that mattered.

Cassius stared at the vision, utterly transfixed. He didn’t know who this woman was, didn’t know why he was seeing her.

But something about her stirred something deep inside him, something he’d never known was there.

And then the name came to him, unbidden.

"...Ysoria?"

The word slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. He didn’t even know why he’d said it—the name just appeared in his mind, as if it had always been there, waiting to be remembered.

And just then—Joy’s panicked voice broke through his daze.

"Cassius! What’s wrong? Why—" She paused, her voice trembling. "Why are you crying?!"

Cassius blinked, confused.

"What do you mean? I’m not—"

But he touched his face and stopped mid-sentence.

His fingers came away wet!

Tears were streaming down his cheeks, flowing so freely that they soaked his shirt.

His eyes were producing water on their own, as if some deep well of emotion had been tapped without his permission.

"Ah! I...I’m sorry, Joy." He said, his voice cracking. "I didn’t mean to cry right now."

He tried to wipe the tears away, but they just kept coming. He let out a weak chuckle that sounded more like a sob.

"I don’t know why." He said, his voice filled with bewilderment. "I just feel like crying when I heard that name. It doesn’t make any sense. I just...I feel so much sadness right now."

"So much grief...that I don’t even understand myself."

His tears continued to fall, and he didn’t even try to stop them anymore. He just let them flow, confusion and sorrow warring in his heart.

Joy stared at him, utterly panicked.

She had never seen Cassius like this. The Cassius she knew was strong, confident, always in control.

But now, seeing him cry like this, she felt her entire world tilt on its axis.

It was like catching her father crying in his room.

That same feeling of helplessness, of not knowing what to do.

Her hands fluttered uselessly. "Cassius, I...I..."

She didn’t know how to handle this. She’d never been good with emotions, never known how to comfort someone who was hurting.

But then she thought of her mother, of how Maria always knew exactly what to do when someone was down.

So Joy did the only thing she could think of.

She wrapped her arms around Cassius in a hesitant, awkward embrace.

Then, bracing herself, she pulled him in, pressing his face right into her chest.

Cassius stiffened in surprise.

This was...unexpected.

Joy, of all people, hugging him proactively? The thought was almost laughable.

But right now, his mind wasn’t in a state to process it or tease her about it. All he could do was accept the comfort, snuggling into the soft warmth of her chest while his tears continued to flow.

Joy had a flustered look on her face, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

She couldn’t believe what she was doing. This was so unlike her, so completely out of character.

But she couldn’t just stand there and watch him break down like this.

So she bit her lip, looking all shy and uncertain, and gently patted his back.

"It’s alright." She stammered, her voice awkward and nervous. "It’s...It’s okay, Cassius. It’s alright."

The words came out haltingly, uncertainly, as if she’d never said them before.

And she hadn’t—not like this, not to anyone but Carmela.

But she kept patting his back, kept holding him close, even though her heart was racing and her face was burning.

They stayed like that for quite a while.

Joy could feel her chest becoming drenched with his tears, and she found herself noticing strange details—how soft his hair was, how fluffy.

She started running her fingers through it absently, smiling to herself before quickly shaking her head and wondering what the hell she was thinking.

’Focus.’ She commanded herself. ’This isn’t the time for—’

But she kept playing with his hair anyway.

—

Finally, after a while, Cassius pulled back from her embrace.

His eyes were slightly red, but otherwise he looked like his usual self. .

"Sorry, Joy." He gave her a small, grateful smile. "I never expected I’d cry in your embrace."

Joy’s face flushed even more. She felt a strange mix of embarrassment and something else she couldn’t quite name.

But then Cassius’s expression shifted to something more playful.

A cheeky smile spread across his face, and he said, "Actually...I feel a little bad. You went out of your way to hug me, and I wasn’t entirely honest."

Joy blinked. "What do you mean?"

Cassius scratched his head awkwardly, a guilty look on his face as he admitted,

"I actually stopped crying a couple of minutes ago."

Joy stared at him in shock.

He continued. "The truth is I realized I had a prime opportunity and was snuggled right in the middle of your chest. So I took advantage of it."

He let out a sheepish chuckle.

"I started snuggling my face deeper and deeper into your breasts. And I even—" He paused, his smile turning lecherous. "I even pulled my tongue out and licked the sweat off your breasts."

Joy’s face burned with shame. She quickly looked down and realized, to her absolute horror, that her dress had been pulled so far down that her bra was showing!

A huge amount of cleavage was on display, all because he’d been groping and licking her without her even noticing.

She yanked her dress back up, glaring at him with murder in her eyes.

But to his surprise and to her own—she didn’t say anything. She just huffed, crossed her arms, and looked away.

She’d already gotten used to his antics. And more than that, she was just glad he was alright.

The fact that he was still pulling pranks like this on her meant he wasn’t too affected by whatever had happened.

Joy felt a strange sense of relief wash over her.

But then Cassius’s voice came again, low and serious.

"As for who Ysoria is..."

Joy’s head snapped back to him so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

The bright, eager look in her eyes was unmistakable.

This was what she wanted most in the world—the answers she’d been craving.

But Cassius shook his head with a wry smile.

"Before I say anything, I’d like you to tell me exactly what happened. Everything you saw. Don’t leave anything out."

He let out a deep sigh. "It would be much better for me to know the entire context before I tell you anything else."

Joy’s excitement deflated slightly, but she didn’t argue.

She launched into a detailed account of everything she’d witnessed.

She told him about the two souls—the black-and-white one and the impossibly dark one.

She described the visions she’d seen, the countless murders across countless ages, the way he’d seemed to be traveling through different worlds and different times.

Cassius listened quietly, his expression unreadable.

He didn’t react much to her description of the first soul, which disappointed her. She’d been hoping for some explanation, some revelation about all those brutal scenes she’d witnessed.

But he simply listened.

She went on to describe the second soul, the cosmic journey, and finally the god-Cassius.

The moment she mentioned him, she saw a flicker of surprise cross Cassius’s face—quickly concealed, but there nonetheless.

She continued, describing everything the god-Cassius had told her, including the women he’d listed and his mention of Faeya.

Subtle reactions flickered across Cassius’s features, and she could tell that he was genuinely surprised by much of what she was saying.

Finally, she finished. She’d told him everything, from beginning to end, including the promise the god-Cassius had made her.

Cassius was silent for a long moment.

He looked away from her, staring into the sky as if trying to see the god Cassius somewhere in the cosmos.

Joy sat beside him quietly, scooting closer until she was pressed against him, her eyes never leaving his face.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Cassius turned to look at her.

Joy’s heart leaped with excitement. This was it—he was finally going to give her the answers she needed!

But to her utter shock and dismay, Cassius just gave her an apologetic smile and said,

"Sorry, Joy. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about."

Joy stared at him, dumbfounded. For a moment, she thought her hearing had malfunctioned. Surely she’d heard him wrong.

But the sorry look on his face told her everything.

"What?" She finally managed, her voice rising. "What do you mean you have no idea? How could you not know any of that!?"

She pushed herself against him, demanding an answer.

"This is literally your soul that I looked into, Cassius! How could you not know the things that happened in your own soul!?"

Cassius responded by grabbing her waist and pulling her right onto his lap. Joy didn’t care at all—she even wrapped her arms around his neck, too desperate for answers to worry about propriety.

Cassius sighed.

"Well, about the first soul...I’ve already told you a bit about that. How I used to be a peacekeeper, how maintaining balance was my duty."

He shook his head, gently rubbing her thighs.

"But unfortunately, I can’t tell you how that came to be, or why I was doing it, or where I was all that time."

"Partly because I don’t know myself—I don’t remember exactly how it all came to be. And partly because there are certain things I just can’t tell you right now."

Joy immediately pouted. "Cassius!"

She tried to sound angry, but with how cute her expression was, it came out more like a coquettish plea.

But Cassius just shook his head firmly.

"I’m sorry, Joy. I just can’t tell you all that."

Joy felt tears prick at her eyes.

She’d seen so many things that had blown her mind, had her entire worldview shattered and reconstructed, and now she was being denied the one thing she wanted most.

But then she realised—

—desperate times called for desperate measures.

So, with a shy, embarrassed look on her face, she pushed her chest up and pulled her dress down, showing off a huge amount of snow-white cleavage.

Cassius’s eyes widened in surprise.

"If you tell me what happened in your first soul..."

She said in a shy, hesitant voice.

"...then I’ll let you play around with my breasts. The ones you love so much."