Constantine had a lost and slightly confused look as he watched Cassian, who had just entered the training arena without even greeting him.

  She immediately started running along the perimeter of the arena.

  Sprints.

  Again and again.

  With no apparent strategy or precise tactical objective.

  Cassian was simply running to run, her blonde hair flying behind her with every quick stride.

  When my lungs start to burn, I will be happy.

  That is exactly what I am looking for.

  What I want to feel.

  This pure physical pain that erases everything else.

  Her chest bounced with every impact of her feet on the hard ground, distracting her in her desperate attempt to avoid completely losing herself in the thoughts that kept looping in her head.

  I cannot even recognize myself anymore.

  Who is this person running like a madwoman in an empty arena?

  This is not me.

  This cannot be me.

  She kept running until her legs began to protest violently and her vision blurred slightly at the edges.

  Then she stopped abruptly.

  Dropped straight to all fours on the hard ground.

  Started doing push-ups.

  A lot.

  An enormous number.

  Her arms were already trembling after the thirtieth repetition but she continued without slowing down.

  Until her arms could literally no longer support her weight and lift her back up properly.

  I needed this pain.

  I still need more.

  Much more.

  She immediately switched to squats without even taking the time to breathe normally.

  Each deep descent sent a wave of pure pain through her thighs and calves that, for a brief miraculous moment, erased absolutely everything else from her mental preoccupations.

  For some time now my own body has been betraying me.

  It reacts in ways I do not control.

  That I do not understand.

  And now even my mind is slowly following the same trajectory.

  My mind.

  That is even more terrifying than the body.

  I feel attacked directly in my head.

  The physical fatigue finally arrived like a brick wall collapsing.

  Her legs were trembling violently and uncontrollably.

  Her vision was blurring worryingly.

  Her breathing was hoarse and painful as if someone were rubbing sandpaper against the inside of her throat.

  She finally collapsed to her knees on the cold ground, panting and drenched in sweat that ran down her face and neck.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Her hair was plastered against her skin.

  At first I just needed Hiro to survive in this strange world.

  It was purely pragmatic.

  Transactional.

  Now...

  She actively refused to think about it any deeper.

  I cannot even rely on my own body anymore.

  Hiro has helped me so many times.

  He saved me.

  He fed me.

  He protected me when I was weak.

  My body has become favorable toward him.

  Far too favorable.

  In a way that disgusts me.

  Cassian deeply hated this truth that she could no longer completely ignore.

  The recent physical closeness had absolutely not helped the situation.

  The forced kiss in the street.

  The nights when she woke up pressed against him.

  The breakfasts he prepared especially for her.

  I categorically refuse to associate such pathetic and weak emotions with myself.

  Such ridiculous feelings.

  I must try to keep my rationality intact.

  But it is so hard under these conditions.

  It is becoming more and more difficult every day.

  She breathed deeply while trying to calm the erratic beating of her heart.

  This is really bad.

  Really very bad.

  She desperately tried to remember her initial clear and simple goal.

  Return home.

  Return to Earth.

  Find my normal life.

  None of that has changed.

  It is still my final goal.

  But for now there was still no concrete clue on how to accomplish that goal.

  No obvious final boss to defeat.

  No clear quest marked “Return to Earth.”

  The cursed lands?

  She thought about it briefly.

  It is perhaps just a pathetic false hope.

  It is probably better not to place all my fragile hopes in that single possibility.

  It is perhaps simply some ordinary place with no particular importance.

  I barely know this world after all.

  There is perhaps some classic demon king somewhere who would miraculously be the key to going home.

  I really hope so.

  Otherwise I am stuck here forever.

  She wondered exactly how much longer she would have to stay in this nightmarish world enduring this horrible and constant torment.

  I have done nothing wrong to deserve this.

  Absolutely nothing.

  Why me?

  But what truly terrified her deep inside was something else.

  I fear the day when I will completely get used to this life.

  The day when I will take my abnormal reactions for something normal.

  The day when I might... no longer really want to go back.

  The day when I will be satisfied here.

  The day when I will actively forget to hate Hiro.

  When this hatred that defines me disappears.

  I am afraid of changing.

  So afraid.

  Of becoming someone else.

  Someone I would not even recognize.

  Constantine slowly and cautiously approached Cassian, who was still kneeling on the ground trying to catch her breath.

  For a brief but intense moment he completely lost himself in contemplating her thoughtful and vulnerable face that revealed emotions she usually hid behind her arrogance.

  She is beautiful even exhausted and sweaty.

  Especially exhausted and sweaty perhaps.

  He quickly chased away that thought.

  I know now.

  Cassian and Hiro are really together.

  The kiss I saw the other evening leaves no doubt.

  It hurts me to admit it but I cannot do anything about it.

  Yet he continued to approach her anyway despite this painful knowledge.

  I have always found elves irresistible.

  It is just really unfortunate that the only elf I personally know is already with someone.

  Cassian finally noticed Constantine approaching when he was close enough to cast a shadow over her.

  She looked up without getting up.

  Constantine stopped at a respectful distance.

  “You went a bit hard today in your training Cassian.”

  He paused.

  “You seriously risk waking up tomorrow morning with atrocious muscle pain that will paralyze you for several days if you continue like this without moderation.”

  Cassian immediately realized he was right.

  It is true.

  I had completely forgotten that this was what inevitably awaited me after having mistreated my body so much in such a short and intense period.

  I am going to suffer tomorrow.

  Really suffer.

  But instead of showing her worry or frustration, she smiled widely with a confidence she did not really feel.

  “I will hold up without problem.”

  Her voice was firm and assured.

  “I am more resilient than I look.”

  Constantine nodded slowly without appearing convinced.

  “If you say so.”

  He extended a hand to help her up.

  Cassian looked at it for a few seconds.

  Then accepted it while standing up with legs that were still trembling slightly.

  ---

  Later in the afternoon, Cassian returned to the apartment walking slowly because her legs were violently protesting with every step.

  She discreetly opened the front door.

  Heard Hiro’s voice faintly talking to himself in the living room.

  She approached silently to listen.

  “… five at minimum. Yeah, five minimum, I think that… that would be good. And after… maybe six. Or seven. If everything goes… really well. If we manage to… to keep the pace. Until filling an entire house… with little us. Cassian and me. Yeah.”

  Cassian involuntarily made a slight strangled sound of surprise.

  Hiro abruptly turned around and noticed her standing in the doorway.

  His eyes widened.

  Cassian immediately hurried to lock herself in the nearest room by slamming the door behind her.

  Hiro remained frozen in the living room.

  Did she hear me?

  What exactly did she hear?

  Shit.

  I should have been more careful.

  I thought I was alone.

  ---

  Inside the locked room, Cassian leaned back against the door while breathing quickly.

  Did I really hear what I think I heard?

  He was talking about having children.

  With me.

  Five.

  FIVE MINIMUM.

  She desperately tried to convince herself that she had misheard.

  Maybe my ears are playing tricks on me.

  Maybe I am so tired that I am hallucinating.

  Maybe…

  But if her ears were not betraying her then it was really serious.

  Really very serious.

  Catastrophically serious.

  She was on the verge of starting to imagine what it would be like to have children with Hiro.

  Then she violently forbade herself from thinking about it for even one more second.

  No.

  Absolutely not.

  It is out of the question that this happens to me.

  Out of the question that I end up like that.

  Trapped in this world with children who would tie me here forever.

  She involuntarily recalled Hiro’s face that she had briefly glimpsed.

  He had looked completely serious when he said that.

  Not as if he were joking or vaguely fantasizing.

  His gaze was projected toward the future with conviction.

  Why is he targeting specifically me?

  There are Lena and Lucia as perfectly valid choices.

  It is not as if I were the only option available on his list.

  Why me?

  What makes him think I would want that?

  She closed her eyes tightly while trying to calm her erratic breathing.

  I expected that living here would not be easy.

  But still manageable.

  Tolerable.

  She sighed.

  I admit that I may have underestimated a little too much what I had gotten myself into.

  Especially the sick obsession that Hiro would have for me.

  This disturbing fixation.

  I thought I could handle it.

  Control it.

  Keep it at a distance.

  But he is becoming more and more intense.

  More and more serious.

  She slowly slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor.

  What am I going to do now?

  ---

  Constantine was now sitting on the edge of a carefully made bed in his room.

  Red rose petals were artistically scattered on the white sheets.

  The thick curtains were drawn to create complete intimacy.

  Dim light came from a few strategically placed scented candles.

  He stared at the door in silence with an expression difficult to decipher, the fingers of his right hand nervously tapping his thigh.

  The door slowly opened.

  Charlotte entered with a slightly embarrassed but clearly playful expression that suggested she found the whole situation amusing.

  “Did I wear it well?”

  Constantine raised his eyes to look at her attentively.

  Charlotte was disguised as an elf exactly as he had asked her earlier in the day.

  He nodded slowly while examining her from head to toe, his throat tight with a mixture of satisfaction and emptiness that he refused to analyze.

  “It is excellent.”

  He paused, his eyes still fixed on her.

  “Come closer, Cassian.”