My Soul card is a Reaper

The famed Violet Pavilion of the Death Clan village stood tall against the shifting skies, its spire piercing the mist that constantly drifted across the mountains.

Beneath it, a winding path of white stone led to a set of wide marble steps.

A warning board, half-covered in moss and dust, leaned against a post beside the staircase. The words were carved deep in crimson:

"WARNING: Gravity Steps — Increases every 30th step. Proceed with caution."

Luna, who arrived there, barely spared it a glance.

With a quick flick of her dark cloak, she adjusted her glasses, took a long breath, and began to climb.

Her boots made soft taps against the marble, each one echoing a little more heavily than the last.

She could feel the subtle pull on her body, like someone had gently started pressing down on her shoulders.

By the time she reached the 180th step, her muscles were humming with resistance, but her breath remained steady.

As an 8-star Arcana Master, her body had been forged under pressure much heavier than this.

"Well, halfway done. I wonder what will be at the top," she muttered, glancing up at the remaining steps, when suddenly…

Thump!

Someone was climbing down, but not in the normal way. It's Orion who was shirtless, upside-down, arms rippling with lean muscle, descending with two fingers on each hand, perfectly balanced. His legs floated just above the steps, as if defying the very gravity that bore down on everyone else.

Luna blinked in surprise, tilting her head. "Huh?"

He noticed her at the same time, and their eyes met. "Eh? Selene?"

He lost balance at once.

"Ow—damn!"

Orion dropped like a sack of bricks, landing on his back a few steps below her. His fingers cramped mid-air, arms flailing as he rolled to the side with a groan.

Luna peered over the edge of the step, adjusting her glasses. "Are you alright?"

He looked up at her, blinking, then broke into a grin. "Yeah, I'm alright. What are you doing here, Selene? Came to see me, perhaps?"

Luna froze for a second.

"Selene?" she echoed, and then quickly smiled, amused by the mistake. "Oh. Yeah. That's me."

"I didn't expect to see you here!" Orion sat up, rubbing his hands, clearly still aching but pretending he was fine.

"I'm just… looking around," Luna said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "My mother's at the clan meeting. Thought I would kill time." She didn't speak of Selene and pretended to be her, instead, thinking of it as fun.

"Well," he said, standing up and brushing the dust off his pants, "Allow me to be your tour guide then, Lady Selene."

She laughed softly. "That's very generous of you."

They walked side by side, past the steps and into the heart of the training grounds. Orion's enthusiasm lit the air like sparks. He waved his hands around as he talked, pointing out buildings and sparring zones.

"Over there's the battle training room. As you can sense around, the gravity around her is 44 times the ground. But, in there, prepared by Affea, it's got the gravity set at 100g. If you can walk in that, you can probably wrestle a dragon."

"That's the weapons section. We've got every type: swords, spears, daggers, and every type of weapon. As long as we have enough clan merits, we can even take them with us for private training. Or else, the disciples here can only use them on these grounds."

"Over there? That's the archery field."

"Beyond that, the forge, it's very hot, I must say."

Luna kept a neutral expression, nodding politely.

Orion tilted his head. "Are you bored, Selene? I mean, there aren't many interesting things in places like this. Outside world is probably much interesting."

"Huh? Oh no," she said, blinking out of her thoughts. "This is actually… interesting. I just don't get to see mountains often. My village is an island without any mountainous regions. It's all soft plains and beaches. Thin air's probably messing with my head."

"Altitude sickness?" Orion chuckled. "So, even Arcana masters also get altitude sickness."

She gave him a pointed look. "Arcana Masters are also humans."

They kept walking until Orion hesitantly asked. "Hey. I've meant to ask you something for a while. Why were you wearing glasses? Do you have some kind of eye condition? Or… just for style?"

Luna hesitated, fingers grazing the frame. "It's… hereditary. From my father. I usually wear contact lenses. I don't like how these feel. And who would wear such big glasses for style? It's nerdish…"

"Huh," he said, nodding. "I guess that's why you didn't wear them at the banquet the other night."

Luna said nothing at that.

But then, Orion grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Honestly? You should wear them more. It's not nerdish…"

Luna blinked, caught off guard by his statement. "Do you like glasses on people?"

"I don't usually," he shrugged. "But you know, they kinda suit you. They make you look… you know… Kinda cute."

"C-Cute?" Luna's cheeks flushed pink. She turned her head quickly, pretending to study the rock formations beside the path.

Orion frowned slightly, noticing the change. "Did I say something wrong?"

Luna shook her head, hiding her smile. "No… It's fine. Just not used to compliments like that."

"They must be blind then," Orion said, matter-of-fact.

Luna blushed deeper, biting her lip.

"Oh, she's blushing…" Orion saw that and his eyes widened. He clenched his fist and grinned inside his head. "Oh, god, I didn't expect to impress this girl with just little compliments. Here I thought she was all broody and like that Zion bastard. She's probably acting that way in public. Her real self is this… Oh, my, she now looks so cute that I want to kiss her… Relax, Orion… Relax. This isn't your home. This is where all of these superhumans live. Let's not go ahead with any stupid things…"

"Orion… Orion…"

"Eh?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Ah? Nothing… Sorry… sometimes, I just think unnecessary stuff and daze out…"

"Oh…"

*

Back at Garcia Palace;

Shuichi moved through a side corridor, cloak trailing behind him, escorted by a couple of guards.

Once he reached there, the guards stopped, and he entered the chamber. Azzy was seen waiting for him.

Shuichi entered with the calm grace that made him seem older than he was. He bowed deeply, out of politeness and the tradition of his clan. "Lord Azrael. I appreciate the audience."

Azzy poured them both tea. "Please, sit down," he said.

As he sat down and took the teacup, Azzy looked at him and said. "As I have mentioned in the meeting, I won't marry. If you have any other requests, let's talk about it, Lord Fujiwara."

"I came here to establish the marriage alliance." Shuich gave a slow nod and explained. "Our elders still believe it's the best way to solidify this peace."

Azzy leaned back, expression steady. "I've said it before. It's not going to happen."

The Minamoto leader didn't flinch. He'd been expecting that. So, he said, "But you have a son."

"I won't force my son into anything, Lord Shuichi," Azzy replied. Shuichi's face darkened at that reply.

However, in the next second, surprise took him as Azzy said. "But I'm open to arranging blind meetings. Not forced but just natural meetings without saying anything to one another. If something real happens, it happens. If not, it won't. That's the only offer I can make."