Extra is the Heir of Life and Death

The moment Annalise shot back, her silent Of course, I knew the meeting was officially over. Nothing more to discuss. No more decisions to make. No more staring contests disguised as strategic planning.

So I stood up from Kent's desk, stretched like a man who'd just done very important work (I hadn't), and gave the group a lazy backhand wave.

"Well," I said, already turning away, "now that the universe-shattering decision of 'who's on whose team' is done, one of you can go submit it."

Nora raised a brow while Annalise just gave me the look of a disappointed attorney.

I shrugged, completely unbothered.

"As for me," I continued casually, "I have better things to do."

Dead silence.

The kind that said: You better elaborate before we start throwing furniture.

I didn't.

I just walked away.

Because the truth was… "better things" had nothing to do with studying, or preparing, or contributing to society in any meaningful way. No way.

"Better things" meant Belle.

Specifically:

Talking with Belle. Cooking for Belle. Eating that food with Belle. Leaning on Belle's shoulder like the emotionally damaged stray she adopted. And, if the stars aligned and destiny smiled upon me, maybe falling asleep on her lap again.

Jealous. Sue me. Go on, I dare ya.

I am a simple man. A humble human. A man who knows comfort when he finds it, and clings to it like a barnacle on a ship.

Besides… after those two weeks following that bastard's disappearance yes, that bastard, something in me had shifted. Something uncomfortable. Something terrifying.

Something called feelings.

Ugh.

And somewhere between Belle dragging me out of bed, Belle forcing me to eat something that wasn't emotional trauma, and Belle letting me rest against her shoulder while pretending she wasn't blushing…

Yeah.

I think I started falling for her.

Like actually falling. Like if someone pushed me off the top of the Aetherium, I would hit the ground type of falling.

I wasn't going to tell her, obviously. I have pride. And survival instincts, strong ones at that.

But as I walked out of the classroom, leaving my group to figure out the paperwork like responsible adults, I couldn't help but pick up my pace a little.

Because honestly?

Love or not, I really just wanted to lie on Belle's lap again.

Liam Luceris

I've agreed to a lot of stupid things in my life, but this?

This is definitely climbing the list.

Lillith's "brilliant" idea was simple, in the way catastrophic plans always are.

When I give the signal, step forward dramatically. It'll make the entrance more impactful~

I stared at her.

Deadpan.

Expressionless.

And I still complied.

Not because I enjoy theatrics. Definitely not because I enjoy Lillith's company.

No.

I complied because this was my chance.

My first real chance to get close to Nora again.

And as I stood behind Lillith, waiting for her overly theatrical cue, I caught sight of Nora's face.

That gentle smile.

That softness that hadn't changed, even in this new timeline.

Something twisted inside my chest.

A familiar, painful knot of emotion I couldn't, no, refused to acknowledge completely.

Longing. Crushing, suffocating longing that had followed me through death and regression alike.

I forced it down, buried it under cold resolve, just in time to feel it:

Someone staring at me.

My instincts, sharpened across two lifetimes of battlefields and betrayals, tightened. I turned my head slightly.

And there he was.

Sebastian Nekros.

The Apex.

The one man who, somehow, despite my attempts to ignore it, felt fundamentally wrong.

Wrong in the exact way that makes the skin on the back of my neck prickle.

Our eyes met for a moment, and my mind spun.

I honestly don't know whether this feeling that I'm feeling makes things better, or infinitely worse.

Sebastian's presence…I can't define it.

Will he help steer the world away from the tragedies to come?

Will his unpredictability alter the outcomes I've already lived through?

The wars, the betrayals, the divine descent

Will any of it change with him in the picture?

I don't know.

But I know this:

If Sebastian becomes an unstable variable

If he gets in my way

If he threatens the path I need to carve for Nora's safety.

I'll kill him.

No hesitation. No remorse.

Just clean, necessary elimination.

And then...

Right when I'd braced myself for hostility.

Sebastian smiled at me.

A genuine smile. Friendly. Casual. Effortless.

But every instinct in me screamed.

Danger. Danger. Danger.

Something is off about him. Terribly off. And I've learned better than to ignore a feeling like that.

My fingers twitched, just slightly, at the urge to react.

To strike.

To defend.

To do something.

But before I could do anything drastic, Sebastian turned away.

Just… shifted his gaze elsewhere.

As if I wasn't worth holding his attention.

And worse, he looked at Annalise.

My heart darkened instantly.

The hatred inside me, the cold, poisonous hatred forged from the ruins of my first life, surged forward like a beast tugging at its leash.

Annalise.Annalise Astraeus.

The woman who ruined everything.

I won't forget.

I can't forget.

She was the reason so much went wrong.

The reason my friends died, one after another.

The reason the world descended into chaos faster than it should have.

The reason I was betrayed, cornered, and ultimately...

Killed.

I learned the truth too late.

I learned what she'd done only moments before she ended my first life with her own hands.

And now, seeing her again alive, unaware, smiling faintly as if she were harmless.

My hatred shimmered like a blade catching sunlight.

Bright.

Sharp.

Unforgiving.

But my face stayed calm.

Expressionless.

Impenetrable.

Just as it needed to be.

Because if there's one thing I've mastered across two lifetimes…

It's pretending I don't want revenge.

Not yet.

Not now.

But one day, soon.

The debt will be repaid.

---

I looked at Sebastian again.

I couldn't help it.

Something about him demanded analysis, like if I watched closely enough, I could peel back whatever mask he was wearing and see what lurked underneath.

But before I could even attempt to read him, he turned.

As if he felt my gaze cutting through the air.

Our eyes met for half a second, and he offered me the laziest, tiniest wave.

Just a flick of his fingers.

I stared at him, baffled.

…And unfortunately, my body returned the gesture on reflex.

Great. Perfect.

Exactly how I wanted to look today: confused and polite toward a man my instincts were begging me to stab.

Sebastian didn't seem to care either way.

He hopped off the place he'd made his personal throne, Kent Takeahint's desk, yeah, what a stupid name, anyways, he hopped off his desk, landing lightly like he weighed as much as a bored cat.

"Well," he said, stretching his arms behind his head, "now that the universe-shattering decision of 'who's on whose team' is done, one of you can go submit it."

Then he gave us a backhand wave.

And vanished out the classroom door without a single shred of dignity, respect, or awareness of how bizarre he looked.

Just gone.

As if nothing about this place, or any of us, mattered even a little.

A thought bubbled up in my mind.

What an ugly, irresponsible bastard.

And then to my horror, it left my mouth.

Loud enough.

Clear enough.

Every head snapped toward me.

Their expressions ranged from

"Oh, you have no idea,"

to

"Did you seriously just say that?"

I didn't care.

Their opinions meant nothing.

Idiots.

All of them.

But when I looked at Nora, I expected the same small, warm smile she'd shown moments ago.

What greeted me instead was a coldness.

Not mild disappointment.

Not confusion.

No.

Icy disdain.

It hit harder than any blade I'd taken in my first life.

She pushed off Annalise's shoulder and straightened, her expression shuttered, guarded. The way she used to look at strangers she didn't trust.

"Kent," she said, voice stiff, "submit our team form."

Then she walked out.

Didn't look back. Didn't hesitate. Didn't even acknowledge me.

Just left.

And I stood there silent, frozen, stupid

Feeling something inside me crack.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Quietly.

The kind of break that hurts more because no one else hears it.

Nora despising me…again...even in this new life…

It shouldn't matter. I told myself that.

I repeated it in my mind like a mantra.

It shouldn't matter.

But it does.

It matters more than anything.

And for reasons I don't want to name, don't want to face, don't want to admit, it devastates me.

Maybe this is what being madly in love does to someone.

It takes the parts of you that were once stable, once untouched, and hands them over to another person without your consent.

Suddenly, their disappointment feels like a verdict, their silence feels like exile, and their anger feels like a truth you can't escape.

Love makes you irrational enough to care beyond what's reasonable, vulnerable enough to be affected by things that should barely sting.

Is this why I feel the way I'm feeling? Is this why I just want to die again...