Evening quietly descended upon Lumeris City as golden light spilled between marble structures and arched walkways, catching on glass windows like fragments of a fading sun. Lanterns flickered to life one by one, signaling the living pulse of Aurelium Street. At its heart, the Holy Fountain shimmered, its cascading streams catching the last light like liquid glass.
Sora stepped onto the street, completely stripped of her official elegance. She wore no veil today—simply herself. Her white dress moved with her fluid steps, its delicate cloud-like embroidery tracing the fabric under the gold of evening. Her pure white hair fell unbound down her back like a cascade of moonlight, framing a soft, human blush on her cheeks. Her sky-blue eyes held a deep clarity, with hints of cyan subtly glimmering like hidden starlight surfacing through calm water.
She wasn't trying to demand attention, yet attention bent toward her anyway. Her beauty didn't strike aggressively; it settled over the world like a quiet, inevitable snowfall.
The crowd reacted almost immediately. A passing elf faltered mid-step, while a beastkin merchant paused with twitching ears.
"Wow, look at that heavenly maiden. Her beautiful appearance is off the charts."
"Who is that?" someone whispered. "I have never seen her before. Is she new here?"
"Forget about her origins, bro. Look at her, Is she even human?"
"Indeed, She looks like she descended from a celestial heaven," the elf muttered to his companion, transfixed in admiration.
Whispers layered over one another as she passed. People stood frozen, staring in disbelieving awe at her elegance, entirely unaccustomed to seeing a girl with such striking, perfect features wandering through the city.
To the passing people, she looked like the literal incarnation of celestial beauty in human form—not as a matter of divine ideology, but as someone their hearts accepted as undeniably, absolutely beautiful.
Strangely though, the crowd's rapt attention remained completely pure, devoid of any indecent intent. Even the most sketchy-looking bystanders merely gawked in pure admiration.
-
None of the murmurs truly reached her.
Sora walked on, choosing to ignore the ripples she was causing in the atmosphere. Her focus was entirely fixed ahead, near the edge of the fountain where the crowd instinctively parted to grant her passage.
Then, she saw him.
Null was leaning casually against the pale stone basin, hands tucked into his pockets. His lustrous dark-white hair fell over his shoulders, and his dark white eyes scanned the surroundings with mild amusement.
For a brief moment, the noise of the city completely dimmed. Sora's heartbeat spiked again—fast, unsteady, and incredibly loud.
"There he is," she whispered to herself.
Her fingers curled slightly into the fabric of her dress. The composed Saintess who had faced countless grave hurdles paused in her tracks. Suddenly, walking those last few yards toward him felt far more daunting than stepping onto a battlefield.
Taking a slow, grounding breath to override her racing pulse, she took a step forward, then another. The distance closed between them, carrying a fragile, quiet expectancy as Null suddenly turned his head, his gaze locking onto her approach.
Null's gaze shifted lazily at first, then locked completely onto her approach. For a second, he didn't move, speak, or react. His mind simply blanked. What walked toward him wasn't the distant Saintess wrapped in divinity; it was something dangerously real.
His gaze instinctively traced her form—the way the flowing white dress followed her movement, the soft, unguarded rise and fall of her breathing, and the delicate line of her collarbone.
Everything converged on her face. Her clear, sky-blue eyes quietly trembled with an unspoken emotion, and the faint blush on her cheeks proved she wasn't untouchable or distant. She was here, close enough to reach.
"Oh," the word escaped him, quiet and fascinated. His posture straightened on instinct. The girl walking toward him was just Sora, and she was dangerously beautiful.
Null blinked, letting out a small, slow breath. "So this is what you look like when you unveiled yourself."
Sora stopped directly in front of him, her cheeks darkening by a fraction. "That is a very strange way to greet someone."
Null tilted his head in embarrassment, "I had a better line prepared. But I think my brain just resigned."
Sora's lips parted in surprise. Then, despite herself, a soft, light laugh slipped out. "You're exaggerating."
"I'm really not," Hs eyes locked onto her with Indignance. "This is unfair."
"Unfair?"
"Yeah, You came prepared,"
Sora blinked. "…Prepared?"
Null gestured vaguely at her dress. "…This. Now I look like I showed up to a divine ceremony in casual wear."
She glanced at him and paused, realizing he wasn't exactly being fair either. Her gaze lingered, tracing his features more deliberately this time.
His hair was dark-white unlike hers, lacking the soft luster of moonlight; it instead carried a smooth luster, like frost that refused to melt. Loose strands fell carelessly across his forehead, framing a face that softened just enough to be dangerously attractive.
But it was his white iris that made him truly dangerous. Deep, neither warm nor cold, they held an intense quality—like white embers buried under ash. When he looked at her, it didn't feel like being seen; it felt like being understood. A faint, quiet mischief tugged at his lips, patient and observant. He stood completely relaxed, carrying an odd kind of certainty, as if the world could move however it wanted and he would simply adapt. Even his simple, non-noble clothes felt entirely intentional on him.
Her heartbeat betrayed her again, forcing her to look away quickly. "…You look fine."
Her voice was controlled—entirely dishonest.
"…That doesn't help."
"It wasn't meant to."
A small, charged silence followed. The fountain continued its quiet rhythm beside them, and the city buzzed in the background, but the space between them felt softer and entirely separate from the crowd.
Null exhaled lightly, his faint smirk returning. "So, Miss Not-My-Imaginary-Girlfriend."
Sora's expression immediately tightened. "Do not start."
"Too late." He gestured toward the lantern-lit streets beyond. "…Shall we?"
Sora looked at him for a second longer, then nodded. "…Yes."
They stepped forward together into the evening, leaving the fountain behind as they walked into the bustling city.
A lovely memory neither of them would ever forget nor want to.