Extra is the Heir of Life and Death

A/N: Alrighty, people, don't judge me based on the title of the chapter, I really don't have a feet fetish...

Trust.

The memory faded, and the present bled back in the chatter of the café, the smell of roasted beans and sugar, the faint sunlight spilling across the table.

Liam was still there. Still smiling, still glowing like some divine protagonist blessed by the gods themselves. The same silver hair. The same violet eyes. The same infuriatingly peaceful expression.

I sighed, dragging a hand down my face. Of course, he was happy. That's what protagonists did: bounce back, no matter how many times you tried to crush them.

"Sebastian," Nora's voice cut through my thoughts, soft but firm.

I blinked, turning toward her. "Yeah?"

She gave me that look—the one that said she'd been talking for at least a minute and knew damn well I hadn't heard a word.

"I was saying," she continued, her tone effortlessly composed, "that our excursion to Hollowveil Forest starts next week."

Ah, right. That.

Hollowveil Forest.

I'd first heard the name from Alectra when I'd arrived at Astralis months ago, her telling me with that calm, too-knowing tone that the forest was older than the academy itself. It wasn't just a patch of wild land.

It was the land vast, untamed, and far older than any of us had the right to touch. Half of Astralis's territory was built around it, its borders sealed by enchantments ancient enough to make historians cry. Some said the wards were older than civilization itself, though personally, I preferred the more scientific estimate: older than most monkeys. And yes, monkeys here live a long time. It was supposed to be dangerous.

Was it really a dangerous place? Yes. But for us?

Not really.

Kent leaned back in his chair, legs propped up on another, half-asleep and half-smug. "Yeah, yeah, Hollowveil. Dangerous, mysterious, blah blah blah." He yawned. "I've already studied the runic flow patterns of the area."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "Runic flow patterns? You mean those circles you doodled on your arm during class?"

Kent didn't even flinch. "That was research."

"Research into what?" Annalise chimed in sweetly, tilting her head with childlike innocence.

Kent opened his mouth, clearly unprepared. "Into-uh advanced… temporal… rune displacement theory."

Annalise grinned. "In other words, anime again?"

"Hey!" Kent's tone was wounded, defensive. "It's called cultural study."

I snorted. "Yeah, sure. I'll believe that the day your 'studies' get peer-reviewed."

Kent pointed at me with mock offense. "You're just jealous because you can't understand the deeper symbolism of Celestial Maidens: Reborn."

"Pretty sure there's no symbolism in two girls fighting over a toaster, Kent," I deadpanned.

The table erupted in laughter, except for Nora, who was trying (and failing) to look dignified, and Sacha, who was staring at Kent like he'd just said something profoundly stupid.

"Papa," she said, puffing her snowy fur out. "Sacha doesn't like the lazy one. He smells like regret and bad decisions."

Kent groaned. "Even your tiger's roasting me now?"

"She's got good instincts," I said proudly, scratching under Sacha's chin. She purred, tail flicking like a queen receiving tribute.

Nora sighed, but there was a soft smile playing at her lips.

"Honestly, you two are impossible. At least try to take the excursion seriously."

Annalise leaned in, voice honeyed. "Oh, don't be such a buzzkill, Nora. You're just upset Belle's not leading the team personally."

At the mention of Belle's name, Nora's expression cracked , poise gone in an instant. "I-I'm not upset!" she said, a little too fast. "I just think it would be… educational… to observe her in action again."

Kent grinned. "Educational, huh? You mean like how you took fifty pictures just this morning?"

Nora's face went pink. "That was for reference!"

"Right," Annalise said slyly. "Reference for your shrine."

Nora gave her a look that could melt glaciers. "Do you want to die?"

Annalise only smiled wider. "I'd scam death itself if it meant keeping things interesting."

I leaned back, smirking. "She's not lying. I'm ninety percent sure she already sold Kent's soul to a bakery."

Kent frowned. "Wait, what?"

Annalise's innocent smile didn't waver. "Relax. They were out of croissants."

Sacha giggled, covering her mouth with a paw. "Annalise is funny. But also scary."

"That's her brand," I muttered.

I looked around the table then, Nora's elegance, Kent's lazy grin, Annalise's mischief, and Sacha's bright eyes. Lillith and Xavier were missing today, but even so, this was our group. The so-called cream of the crop. Top of Astralis's first years.

To anyone else, we probably looked like a mess.

To me, it was perfect.

I leaned back, folding my arms behind my head. "So, Hollowveil Forest, huh? Half the academy's built on top of it, it's crawling with mana beasts, and the last time someone tried to map it, the map tried to eat them."

Kent groaned. "Sounds like exercise. I'm out."

"Too bad," I said. "You're coming."

"Make me."

Sacha puffed her chest. "Sacha will make you, lazy human!"

Kent leaned away slightly. "Okay, okay, jeez! I'll go. Just don't let her bite me again."

"She only bites people she likes," I said.

Kent blinked. "Wait—"

Sacha grinned. "Sacha likes Kent very much."

Annalise snorted her drink.

Yeah. For most first-years, Hollowveil Forest was a nightmare.

For us? Just another day in paradise.

The conversation had derailed, spectacularly, I might add. That was kind of our thing. Give us food, time, and zero supervision, and we'd find a way to turn any serious topic into something utterly ridiculous.

Kent leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head like he hadn't slept properly in weeks which, to be fair, he probably hadn't. "You know, our second combat instructor really has it out for you, Seb."

I raised a brow. "Which one? The fire mage with the temper problem, or the bald one who yells at clouds?"

"The bald one," Nora said immediately, her voice elegant even when she was laughing. "Oh, stars, I'll never forget that speech. He actually stood there in front of the class and said, What was it 'I hate handsome men!' Like it was a personal tragedy."

Kent nodded solemnly. "Yeah. He looked like he'd just remembered his wife ran away with a guy who had good hair."

Annalise snorted into her drink. "Maybe she did."

I couldn't resist. "Can you blame her? Handsome men are dangerous. We ruin lives just by existing."

Nora gave me a look that could only be described as queenly disapproval. "Sebastian, not everything revolves around you."

"Incorrect," I said with absolute confidence.

Kent groaned. "Here we go again."

But Nora was already laughing, trying and failing to hide it behind her hand. "He even said, 'They have mysterious hair, strange eyes, and that handsome face with a dismissive attitude!'"

Annalise chuckled. "So basically… you."

"I'm flattered," I said, smiling like I'd just won a prize. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The man clearly recognized greatness when he saw it."

Annalise stared at me, deadpan. "No, he recognized an ego problem and gave it a nickname."

Kent pointed at me, pretending to be serious. "He started calling everyone by their hair color after that, 'Blondie,' 'Red,' 'Mophead, ' but you? You got the special treatment. Bumble Bee."

I pressed a hand to my chest in mock reverence. "A sacred title. May it forever live on in legend."

Kent raised his glass. "To Bumble Bee, the bane of bald men everywhere."

We clinked glasses. Even Nora smiled, shaking her head. "I swear, the more time I spend with you people, the more my brain cells commit suicide."

Sacha perked up from my shoulder, tail flicking. "Papa has lots of brain cells, though! They just don't listen!"

Annalise choked on her drink, laughing. "She's not wrong."

I patted Sacha's head proudly. "That's my girl."

We were all still grinning when Kent suddenly said, completely out of nowhere, "Oh, by the way, I saw someone taking a picture of Nora's feet after your duel."

The laughter stopped instantly.

Nora blinked once. Slowly. "...Feet?"

Kent nodded, calm as ever. "Feet."

"Feet," she repeated again, her voice losing a little more emotion each time.

"Yep. Camera, zoom, the whole thing. Guy was dedicated."

Annalise leaned over with a grin so evil it could curdle milk. "Oh no, Nora. You can't get married now."

Nora's eyes widened in horror. "WHAT—" she started, then froze mid-scream. "...Feet."

Sacha blinked innocently. "Big sis Nora is broken. Should Sacha fix her?"

I bit back a laugh. "No fixing necessary, Sacha. She just realized her reputation's been defeated by feet."

Kent was already halfway gone, laughing so hard he nearly fell off his chair. Annalise was wheezing beside him, barely keeping it together. Nora, meanwhile, had buried her face in her hands and was muttering "feet" like a prayer to some higher power that might undo her existence.

It was chaos. Beautiful, stupid chaos.

And somehow, in the middle of all that noise and laughter, I caught myself smiling. The table, the laughter, the warmth.

It felt like home.

Even if Kent was still dying of laughter over feet.