"After my parents died, it took a long time for me to get back on my feet. I spent the days sitting in my room, sobbing about what had happened. I hoped it was all just a bad dream." Renna laughed, taking another mouthful of alcohol.

"Weeks I spent in that room. I couldn’t tell night from day. Time just... it all just blurred together. You go through the motions until your body is exhausted, you know?" She sighed as Alice nodded her head.

She had the same feeling trapped in the Zenia prison. Those days of monotony. When the thought of giving up clawed against her heart night after night.

Yet even as she wanted to give up, the collar denied her fate.

Without knowing, her fingers drifted up to her neck.

Her collar was gone but...

A small part of her still felt trapped in that tiny room, like an invisible leash wrapped around her neck.

Maybe one day, she could forget those days and step forward without care. Maybe when the Zenia family disappears, she can truly let go of her anger and hatred.

"When we made the agreement to enslave the race, we had to prepare carefully and move to Extalia. We had to abandon our old home, burn down our memories.

"The pain of having to leave fuelled our desire to get strong. The elders, the adults. They promised to get stronger no matter what, so that our race could stand on their own two feet." Renna smiled bitterly, tapping her empty bottle against the railing.

"Most of the children were simply told that they were moving to some place safer. They weren’t exposed to the truth, with the exception of those who lost their family. Me included.

"Like many others, I thought to myself, what if I take advantage of the Abyss Blood in my veins? What if I can use this to propel myself further than anyone else? To become a Lord so that I can kill those who caused such destruction to our people." Renna held her hand up against the sky.

In the blink of an eye, she felt as though she was transported back to that hellscape.

Burning landscapes, crackling trees as they toppled in the distance.

The suffocation of trying to breathe, only to have smoke clog up your lungs. The heat searing against her skin, her tears evaporating from her eyes. And... the blood staining her hands as her parents bled out while hugging her.

Blinking once more, she found herself back at the balcony.

The times had changed, but she had never left that spot.

"I can still remember my first hunt. It was a bloody one. I struggled and struggled, failed a few times before I finally got the kill." Renna chuckled.

"It wasn’t even a difficult hunt either, now that I think back. Just a steel falcon. Feather edges so sharp they’re like blades. Speed was the only thing they had going for them. As long as I brought a shield or something similar, it would have trivialised it.

"But~ I decided to bring a dagger to try and kill a falcon." She laughed, recalling how dumb she had been back then.

"What about you? Do you remember your first hunt?" she asked, pulling out a new bottle as Alice nodded her head.

"Clear as day. Twilight Hunter. That’s the beast I had to kill. There were no second chances for me." A soft smile appeared on her face as she recalled the days of the arena.

Talking with Lilia, harvesting the plates from the sealed Lord. Her first taste of ’freedom,’ if you could even call it that.

Then, with Lilia’s death, she was pulled out of the arena by Allura and truly embarked on her journey.

But no matter the connections she makes now, she could never forget her first ever friend.

"Twilight Hunter? For your first kill? Yikes..." Renna blinked her eyes in surprise.

"But I suppose it’s normal considering what you can do now. After I killed my first beast, I became good at hunting. Far better than my peers, you know? Steel Falcon isn’t a complicated power. What it does is enhance what’s already there, giving me speed, power, and an affinity for using bladed weapons.

"But using that, I climbed to the top of my class. But..." She paused. "Having lost my parents, I closed off my world for the pursuit of strength. The people who tried to befriend me, those who struck up a conversation every morning, I forgot all of them. I didn’t even bother to remember a single one of their names."

"Are you lonely?" Alice decided to ask straight up. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Renna almost choked on her drink before letting out a loud, hearty laugh.

"Yes. Yes, I am." She grinned. "All the people I meet now, they are either subordinates or people who are scared of me. It is very hard to make a close connection when power is involved. I suppose I could try to make friends with other Lords, but...

"As a member of Extalia who guards the King, no connection is ever simple. If you are not trying to take advantage of them, they are trying to take advantage of you. It is a connection built on advantages, and once you lose the advantage, you are discarded."

Had she split even a speck of her focus on making friends with the people around her, maybe she would have someone to talk to after a day of work. Someone to share her burdens with. Someone she could confide in rather than drinking all alone on the balcony.

She had respect, she had honour. But what use is that if the heart is empty and crying?

Yet... she could not say she wanted to trade away the power she had in this moment either. Power meant safety and security. Giving herself up to the whims of others? After all these years at the top of the food chain?

Renna could not do it.

She could only drown herself in alcohol while watching the same old sunset every evening.

"You have got a friend next to you, do you not?" Alice smirked, holding up the bottle of alcohol.

Renna blinked.

"Tell me, do you think I am trying to use you? Are you trying to use me? Or are we just two dumbass alcoholics ranting about the world while enjoying a good drink?"

Renna opened her mouth. She wanted to say something in return before letting out a helpless laugh.

"Well, sh*t, you got me there. I do not think I have seen anyone as fearless as you. Talking crap to a Lord, not caring about retaliation. Honestly, even if you were trying to use me, I might have gladly let myself be used with the way you are talking." She bumped bottles with Alice.

The two of them drank the whole bottle in one go before letting out a sigh of relaxation.

"Honestly, I do not understand why you old folks make it so complicated." Alice grinned as Renna’s smile twitched.

"Old?"

"Yeah, duh, old to me. You are already at the top of the food chain. What is there to take advantage of? You have already won at the game we call life. Just enjoy it. Do not scheme, do not plot. Look forward to tomorrow knowing you will not be in danger and enjoy a good drink." Alice smiled.

"But that only works if everyone is in on it. Which makes this simple happiness harder than anything to get. Especially if you try to start late like you are."

"You little sh*t. Are you trying to cheer me up or piss me off?" Renna grumbled in annoyance.

"Do you want me to be myself or crying in fear?" Alice flipped the question back to her.

Renna rolled her eyes as the answer was obvious.

"So how about it, drinking buddy? Do you consider me a friend?" Alice asked as Renna chuckled and shook her head helplessly.

"Can I even reject? You win. Just do not go around taking advantage of my good name and smearing it in the dirt, and you have got yourself a deal."

"Only if you do not be an arse about what you do." Alice shrugged.

"What do you even mean-"

"I was a student at Rosalyn’s school when you were sent to deal with the Inverted World. I might have been the cause of it blowing up and Rosalyn ascending to Lordship. So if you see her greeting me, do not be surprised." Alice dropped a bombshell as Renna’s brain short-circuited.

"You, Rosalyn? Huh? Wha? The f*ck?" Renna stuttered in confusion.

"You do know why you were sent to recover the Inverted World, right?" Alice asked while sipping some alcohol.

Renna was still trying to grasp what Alice had just revealed.

"It was so that the Zenia family could... Ohhh..." Renna realised the issue.

The Zenia family.

"There you go. Now you have got it. The Zenia family wanted access to the Inverted World because I ran away from home. There was a copy of me in that world, so if they recovered it, they would have been able to use my strange blood for more experiments.

"I do not exactly know how the hierarchy in this country works, so I am just giving you a warning. If the Zenia family tries anything, do not follow." Alice warned.

Renna gave up trying to figure out the full picture.

"Ignorance is bliss, right?"

"Yep. Ignorance is bliss. Though I am just giving you a heads-up in case you walk straight into danger. Perks of being friends." Alice raised her bottle for another cheers.

"What kind of drinking buddy gives warnings about nation-toppling conspiracies based on facts? Are you not putting me in danger just by telling me?" Renna’s smile twitched as she bumped bottles with Alice.

"This one. And would you rather meet on the battlefield not knowing what the hell is happening?" Alice pointed at herself.

Renna thought for a moment before exhaling through her nose.

"Topic too serious. Let’s just drink the night away." Renna chuckled.

Alice nodded as the two laughed.

Drinking with a friend was much better than drinking alone.