The cool morning air hung over Brooklyn, carrying the aroma of coffee and freshly baked bread.
Ikki, Zia, Carter, Sadie, and Walt walked along the busy sidewalk towards a popular local diner. It was always crowded, but the promise of the best breakfast in the city made up for any wait.
The facade was simple, with large windows reflecting the gold of the rising sun. As soon as they entered, the strong smell of coffee and bacon enveloped them. The door chime jingled, and a middle-aged waitress greeted them with a smile before leading them to a table in the back.
Ikki sat first, picking up the menu more out of habit than necessity – he already knew he would order black coffee. Zia settled in beside him, while Carter and Sadie plopped down in the seats opposite. Walt took the end of the table, looking quite pleased with the choice.
Before anyone could order anything, Sadie snapped her menu shut.
"So, I think I'll have a double coffee, pancakes, and… oh, what the heck, I want a chocolate croissant too. Since we're celebrating one year of our Dark Pharaoh no longer being a depressive emo…"
Carter sighed.
"Oh, great. Here we go."
"What? I'm just saying, when we met Ikki, he made Batman look emotionally stable."
"I disagree. Batman has billions of dollars and a utility belt. I just had a tragic backstory." Ikki took a sip of water, impassive.
Zia crossed her arms.
"And an impressive ability to ignore any human being who tried to talk to you."
Sadie grinned.
"Which is funny, because now he's practically a people magnet."
Ikki raised an eyebrow.
"Am I?"
"Oh, definitely." Sadie rested her chin on her hands. "Mysterious, intense, good at magic… If you weren't so scary sometimes, you'd probably have a fan club."
Zia looked away, focusing intently on her napkin.
Ikki frowned.
"I'm still not sure if that was a compliment or an insult."
"A little bit of both." Sadie winked.
Zia cleared her throat and picked up the menu.
"Can we order food before Sadie starts listing more of his qualities?"
Sadie smirked.
"I make no promises."
Carter rolled his eyes.
"At least now he smiles. A year ago, Ikki was so sinister that I slept with a protective amulet… and, okay, maybe a fire extinguisher too."
Sadie burst out laughing.
"I knew it! You pretended you weren't worried, but you were terrified."
Walt chuckled.
"I wish I'd seen that."
Ikki, who until then had only been observing the discussion, finally spoke.
"For the record, I never set anything on fire."
Zia narrowed her eyes at him.
"You almost set the terrace on fire once."
"Okay, I almost never set anything on fire."
Carter shook his head, laughing.
"But seriously, you've changed a lot. We joke, but it's been good having you around this past year."
There was a moment of silence. Carter looked thoughtful, as if something didn't quite make sense, but he shrugged and continued:
"Anyway, it was worth it."
"Agreed." Walt took a sip of the orange juice the waitress had just brought. "Thanks to you, the world wasn't destroyed, and we all moved on. Good times, bad times… But it was an honor to fight by your side. And, since I might not get another chance… thank you for saving me."
Ikki sighed.
"I told you, you don't need to thank me."
The food arrived, and the conversation shifted. Pancakes covered in syrup, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and golden toast filled the table. Sadie excitedly recounted a spell that almost blew up the kitchen, while Carter described, with great indignation, how an attempt to summon a falcon ended up attracting a gang of angry pigeons.
"I don't know why this always happens to me!" Carter gestured wildly. "It was supposed to be a majestic falcon! But no… I get a bunch of angry pigeons chasing me around Brooklyn House!"
"Because you have the energy of someone who deserves to be attacked by pigeons." Sadie concluded, taking a bite of her pancake.
Carter snorted.
Laughter filled the air, making the farewell a little less difficult.
Ikki watched his friends laughing and joking. This kind of scene wouldn't have happened months ago, and these memories they mentioned were things he only knew because of his Right Eye, which had the power to view someone's past with omniscient-level detail. The last time they were together like this, eating and talking without the impending weight of the end of the world on their heads, well… it had never happened, to be honest.
When he met them, Carter and Zia carried enormous responsibilities, as if they were always on the edge of a precipice. Walt… well, Walt had plenty of reasons not to smile so much, though he'd known him for less than a day, he knew everything about him. Sadie made jokes, of course, but it was often just a way to hide her worry.
Now, they seemed closer; time really does bring people together. A whole year for them, compressed into a single day, had resulted in this.
Maybe this is what it means to have a normal life, Ikki thought.
"Hey, earth to Ikki." Sadie snapped her fingers in front of him. "You're going to want black coffee, right? I bet you ten dollars you will."
Ikki blinked, returning to reality. The waitress had arrived at this point.
"Don't bet. You'll lose."
The waitress, a woman with graying hair and the expression of someone who had seen it all, took their orders unhurriedly.
"Black coffee. Anything else?"
He looked at the menu, but knew he didn't need to.
"Just that."
Sadie rolled her eyes.
"You're the worst kind of person. We're at a diner with amazing pancakes, and you choose… black coffee."
"I like coffee."
"I like enchanted Egyptian jewelry, and even I know a chocolate croissant is a better choice."
Carter cleared his throat.
"Speaking of better choices… I'll have scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. And orange juice."
Walt smiled.
"Pancakes and tea, please."
Sadie leaned back in her chair.
"I already said mine: double coffee, pancakes, and a croissant. Oh, and with lots of maple syrup, please."
Zia took a second to answer.
"…Just coffee with milk."
Sadie frowned.
"Just that? You'll faint from hunger before lunch."
"I'm not very hungry."
Ikki glanced at her. Even though she tried to hide it, he noticed the discreet look she cast in his direction before lowering her eyes to the table.
The waitress nodded, writing everything down without showing the slightest curiosity about the group's existential dramas.
"I'll be right back with your orders."
She walked away, leaving a momentary silence at the table.
Ikki looked at Zia.
"You should eat something."
She shrugged.
"Maybe later."
Sadie sighed dramatically.
"If you're going to mope, at least be more dramatic about it, Zia. I can teach you some techniques."
Zia gave her a bored look.
"I don't need your techniques."
Sadie smiled sideways.
"Yes, you do. Your tactic of ignoring your feelings is efficient, but honestly? Kind of obvious."
Zia choked on her own coffee, coughing to cover it up.
"What are you talking about?"
Sadie just took a sip of her freshly arrived coffee without answering.
At that moment, the waitress returned with their drinks, distributing the glasses around the table. Ikki's coffee was so hot that a small cloud of steam rose from the surface. He picked up the mug and took a sip without hesitation.
Carter raised an eyebrow.
"You don't even blow on it? You're drinking lava."
Ikki shrugged.
"My body has handled worse."
Walt chuckled.
"That's true. Out of all of us, you're probably the one with the most resistance to near-death experiences."
Sadie took a sip of her double coffee and set the mug down on the table.
"Oh, yes. Our dear Dark Pharaoh. Always surviving the impossible with that 'I'm slightly bored, but I'm not going to say anything' look."
Ikki raised an eyebrow.
"I don't make that face."
Zia crossed her arms.
"Yes, you do."
Carter nodded.
"A lot. Like, you could be facing an army of demons and you'd still look like you're just waiting for a late train."
Ikki took another sip of coffee.
"I'm not very expressive, that's all."
Sadie shook her head.
"Right. And the Nile River is just a stream."
The waitress returned with their plates, and for a moment, the only sound was the clinking of cutlery and the sweet aroma of freshly made pancakes.
After cutting a piece of pancake and eating it, Sadie cleared her throat. "Right. So we have a week. That means there's still time to plan a proper farewell."
Carter snorted. "That means you're going to cause trouble."
Sadie smiled innocently. "Me? Trouble? Carter, you wound me."
Walt smiled. "Well, whatever it is, I guess Ikki has no choice."
Ikki sighed. "I'm already regretting this."
Zia looked at him this time, with a small smile.
"You'll survive."
Ikki held her gaze for a second before looking away.
"Yeah… I always survive."
The conversation continued, lighter now. Carter relaxed a little, which Ikki considered a small miracle. Sadie teased Walt, who retorted with subtle comments, and Zia observed them with that half-smile she rarely showed.
But Ikki felt a growing unease.
Everyone treated him like a longtime friend. As if that year had been real.
But it wasn't.
At first, it seemed like a good idea. Now… it seemed like something a god playing with fate would do.
And what right did he have to do that?
The question echoed in his mind like an uncomfortable whisper, impossible to ignore.
A light touch on his arm brought him back. Ikki blinked and found Zia watching him. Her gaze was steady, without judgment, but attentive.
"Are you okay?"
Ikki hesitated.
"Yes. Just thinking about some things."
He glanced out the diner window. Outside, Brooklyn continued its chaotic rhythm. Hurrying pedestrians. Impatient horns. A dog dragging an unprepared owner. Everything normal.
But Ikki knew nothing was normal.
He didn't feel human enough.
The doubt began to gnaw at his soul like slow-acting poison. He had altered the perception of time for countless people, shaping their lives as he saw fit, and now everyone treated him as if they had actually spent a year together.
Memories that never existed.
Bonds that he had essentially created.
And the worst part? He didn't regret it.
I mean, should he regret it? It was necessary. At the time, it seemed like the only solution. But now, listening to his friends laughing and telling stories they never actually lived, a part of him recoiled.
Did being a god mean ignoring the consequences?
If his mother were alive, what would she think of him? Would she see him as a son who did what he had to… or as another monster playing with other people's fates?
Swallowing the lump that rose in his throat, Ikki turned his eyes back to Zia. There was something comforting about her presence, as if they had always been side by side. But was this comfort real… or just an echo of his own magic shaping her feelings?
The doubt was unbearable.
But he forced a small smile.
"Just processing some things before I leave…"
Zia didn't look convinced. Her sharp gaze said she perceived more than he would like.
Sadie, of course, didn't let the opportunity pass.
"Personally, I think he's having an existential crisis. Classic."
Carter sighed.
"You think that about everyone."
"Wrong. Only about people who stand there staring into space with the expression of someone who's unlocked the secrets of the universe and didn't like what they saw."
Ikki snorted, picking up his coffee cup.
"Maybe I just like silence."
"Uh-huh. And I like advanced mathematics."
Walt chuckled, and Carter rubbed his temple, as if he needed an aspirin. Zia, however, was still looking at Ikki, assessing.
He looked away first.
Breakfast continued peacefully, as if everyone was trying to prolong the moment. When they finished, Ikki went to the cashier to pay the bill while Zia went to get a bottle of water.
He should feel better.
But the weight of doubt remained.
Carter, Walt, and Sadie left first, walking towards Brooklyn House.
The line at the cashier was longer than Ikki expected, and he and Zia didn't leave the restaurant for another fifteen minutes. The cold morning wind blew, ruffling his dark hair as they walked down the streets.
The others were about a block and a half ahead. He could easily catch up to them, but he wasn't in a hurry.
Zia walked beside him in silence, her eyes fixed on some undefined point ahead. Her impassive face could fool anyone, but Ikki wasn't just anyone. He knew that expression.
She was hiding something.
Ikki waited a few steps before breaking the silence.
"You're worried about something."
Zia glanced down at the sidewalk. She hesitated for a moment before answering, her voice controlled:
"I'm not worried." She paused, then added in a softer tone, "I'm just… thinking."
Ikki raised an eyebrow.
"Thinking, hm? Something tells me it has to do with me."
Zia sighed, as if she'd been caught red-handed.
"You're leaving soon."
Ikki didn't answer immediately, but after a few seconds, he sighed and spoke:
"I'll be back." He gave her a sideways glance. "Or do you think I'd run away forever?"
Zia let out a low, humorless laugh.
"No. But that doesn't mean it's not frustrating."
Ikki frowned.
"Frustrating?"
She was silent for a moment.
"You arrive without warning, change everything, make people get used to your presence… and then you leave."
Ikki opened his mouth to reply, but Zia held up a hand.
"I know you need to go. I know you have your own reasons. But that doesn't make goodbyes any easier."
Ikki looked straight ahead. He didn't know what was worse: the fact that she was right, or the fact that there was nothing he could say to fix it.
"You make me sound like a vengeful spirit." He gave a forced smile, feigning offense. "I appear out of nowhere, haunt you for a while, and then disappear."
Zia narrowed her eyes.
"Don't put ideas in my head. If I decide to exorcise you, it'll be your fault."
"Good to know our friendship includes the constant threat of destruction."
"That's how you know it's real."
For some reason, that made Ikki smile.
"Remember when we first met?" he asked.
Zia was silent, remembering everything.
Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah. The Place of Red Sands. A small village in Egypt where her life had been peaceful, safe… until it wasn't.
She was eight years old when her father unknowingly brought home their ruin. A small red statue, sealing something that should never have been released. But it was. In minutes, her village turned to ash. Screams. Fire. Loss.
The House of Life found her amidst the wreckage. Chief Lector Iskandar took her in, tried to rebuild her with patience and pieces of a past she no longer remembered clearly. Her training began soon after—because she would never be defenseless again.
At thirteen, Zia was among the few who remained in Egypt, while many apprentices left for other parts of the world. Until fate threw Carter and Sadie Kane in her path. And, ironically, they found her before she even found herself.
Or rather… they found a version of her.
The shabti.
The enchanted clay copy that lived, fought, and felt in her place. It was through her that Zia met the Kanes. And it was through her that her master called Ikki to talk.
And then he appeared.
It was strange. She had all the memories her shabti lived alongside him, but they were distant memories, as if they belonged to someone else. Like a dream that disappears upon waking.
And yet, seeing him there, in flesh and blood, something inside her wavered.
Because, no matter how hard she tried to rationalize it, no matter how much she told herself it wasn't real, the emotions those memories carried were still there.
And that… that was hard to ignore.
Finally, she crossed her arms and asked, "Which time? When I met you, or when my shabti met you?"
Ikki tilted his head. "Is there a difference?"
She hesitated.
"For me, yes."
Ikki just waited.
Zia took a deep breath.
"When I woke up, I already knew who you were. I knew about the conversations, the battles, the stories we shared. But they were memories that belonged to someone else. Like remembering a dream someone told you about."
She stared at the horizon for a moment before continuing:
"And then you appeared. For real." She gave a half-smile. "It was strange. A part of me felt like I already knew you, but another part… didn't."
Ikki nodded.
"In the end, you're still you. Even if it was an animated copy." He paused, then smiled slightly. "Although the real one is a bit more violent."
Zia raised an eyebrow.
"No one told you to appear silently behind a woman focused on training."
"Oh, right, my fault."
"Yes. Because if you weren't such a distracted airhead, you would have noticed that you were about to be hit by a blast of fire."
Ikki snorted.
"An unnecessary blast of fire. Luckily, I'm immune to that…" He rolled his eyes and pointed to a nearby bench. "Shall we sit down before you try to incinerate me again?"
She chuckled softly and nodded. They walked over to a bench under the shade of a tree.
The wind rustled the branches above them, causing small, dry leaves to fall around the bench. Neither of them spoke for a while.
Zia played absently with the hem of her sleeve, her gaze fixed on some point in the distance. Then, finally, she broke the silence.
"When you come back…" She hesitated. "Just… don't take too long."
Her voice was softer. Vulnerable.
Ikki opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. Because, in the next instant, something happened.
His right eye flashed a reddish-pink hue, ephemeral as a dream. A spark of divine power.
And then, he saw.
He saw her memories.
And he saw the truth he had been ignoring.
Zia was in love with him.
Perhaps the feeling had existed before the spell. But the magic had solidified it, transforming it into an unshakeable certainty within her.
Her memories flooded his mind with brutal clarity.
Nights in the library, discussing spells and ancient stories. Senet games, laughing at their small rivalries. Walks through the city streets, enjoying the rare normalcy in the lives of magicians.
And those more delicate moments.
The moments when Zia lowered her defenses.
The moments when she confessed, hesitantly, that she was afraid of getting close to people. That everyone she had deeply loved had died – her parents, Iskandar. That she was afraid to create bonds only to see them undone by tragedy once again.
But somehow, he had been the exception.
And now, guilt pulsed within him like an invisible, crushing current.
The magic… had he done the right thing?
At the time he cast the spell, it seemed like the only possible choice. But now, knowing what it had caused, doubt gnawed at his certainties.
He couldn't undo the magic. The truth was even crueler.
But then... this illusion... what was it?
A farce?
Or something that transcended the spell itself?
Ikki closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath.
Zia frowned.
"Hey… what's wrong?"
Ikki opened his eyes, meeting hers.
"Nothing."
Zia narrowed her gaze.
"You're a terrible liar."
Ikki let out a humorless laugh.
"I was just… thinking."
"That explains the look on your face, like you swallowed a scarab."
Ikki snorted.
"I was just remembering some things."
She studied him for a moment, then looked away.
"Right. But you know that when you want to talk… I'm here."
The simplicity of the phrase caught Ikki by surprise. He stared at her, but Zia didn't look back. She just stood there, beside him, as she always had been.
He didn't know what to do with that.
"Ikki?"
Zia's voice brought him back to reality. She was standing next to him, arms crossed, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and impatience. The wind ruffled her dark hair, and a red leaf had gotten caught in it.
Before he could think, Ikki reached up and removed the leaf with a casual gesture. His fingers brushed lightly against her hair.
Zia blinked, slightly surprised.
"What was that?"
He shrugged and released the leaf to the wind. "You had something in your hair."
"And that gave you the right to touch me?" She raised an eyebrow, but there was a playful glint in her eyes.
"Technically, it was the leaf that touched you. I was just the intermediary."
Zia rolled her eyes, but didn't press the issue.
Ikki tried to keep his expression light, but inside…
Well, inside, he was sinking.
He shouldn't be here, walking through the park as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't messed with forces that no one should touch. As if he hadn't altered the perception of everyone connected to Egyptian mythology, making a whole year seem like just one day.
He knew the truth.
But no one else did.
They acted as if everything had happened at the right time. As if the connections they created were natural. As if the feelings they nurtured were real.
That included Zia.
He was pulled from his reverie when she summoned a small package through her magic. The gift appeared in her hands with a faint golden glow.
"Here." She handed him the package matter-of-factly, as if it were nothing special. "A present for you."
Ikki frowned as he took the package. He tore the paper and found a brand new, state-of-the-art cell phone.
"Seriously?" He looked at her, incredulous. "You think I'm the type to send texts and post selfies?"
Zia crossed her arms. "No. I think you're the type to disappear without warning and make everyone worry. Now you have no excuse."
Ikki turned the cell phone over in his hands. That simple, everyday gesture caused a tightness in his chest. It was the first time he'd held a cell phone. Demigods have a distinct scent due to a spell cast by Lamia, a monstrous daughter of Hecate, which allows monsters to find them. It's also extremely dangerous for a demigod to use a cell phone, as Monsters are attracted to the demigods' voices traveling through the air.
This was one of the many characteristics of demigods that many overlooked, like the fact that when an Egyptian god looks at a Greek demigod, they see them as a human surrounded by "a powerful ultraviolet aura," something he concealed through magic when he involved himself with the Egyptian world, or the fact that demigods also have the ability to act as hosts for an Egyptian god for at least a short period, despite not being Blood of the Pharaohs, a requirement for Egyptian magicians to safely channel a god's power and host one.
Well, that wasn't important. The fact was that Zia cared.
But did she care because she wanted to… or because he had messed with something he shouldn't have?
He put the phone in his pocket and said, more seriously than he intended:
"Thank you."
Zia looked away, seeming a little uncomfortable with the intensity of the moment.
"It's just a cell phone, Ikki. Don't make a scene."
Ikki let out a short laugh. "You say that now, but I bet you've already put your number at the top of the list."
Zia lifted her chin defiantly. "And if I did?"
Ikki narrowed his eyes.
"So, I'm being watched?"
Zia tilted her head, a small smile appearing.
"Call it… safety monitoring."
Ikki snorted. "Sounds more like emotional blackmail."
"If I need to spell it out for you…" She lightly touched the pocket where he had put the phone. "Answer when I call."
Ikki was silent for a second. Then, he shook his head and smiled.
"I'll try."
Zia smiled sideways. "Good boy."
Ikki rolled his eyes, but didn't reply.
They were silent for a while, watching the park, the children, and the bustle of the Brooklyn streets.
At some point, Ikki broke the silence, to escape the guilt he felt in his chest.
"You're very quiet," he commented, stretching. "That's worrying."
"I'm thinking."
"And that's doubly worrying."
Zia gave him a sharp look, but he just smiled, unrepentant.
"Actually," she continued, ignoring his comment, "I was realizing that, after all this time, I still know very little about you."
Ikki raised an eyebrow.
"That can't be true. You know a lot of things about me. Like… my favorite color."
"You never told me your favorite color."
"Okay, maybe because I don't have one."
Zia rolled her eyes.
"My point is… I know the Ikki of magic, of battles, of elaborate plans. But what about before that? What was your life like?"
Ikki looked away at the paths in the park, clearly uncomfortable.
"Normal. I grew up in Manhattan, just me and my mom. School, video games, trouble with math. Ordinary life."
Zia was silent, waiting. She knew there was more.
He sighed.
"At twelve, my life turned upside down. I discovered that magic existed, that I was a part of it… and that monsters really like to attack me."
"So your life stopped being normal."
"Completely. At thirteen, I thought everything was going to be okay. That we had won."
His expression hardened, and Zia felt a pang in her chest.
"But then your mother died."
He nodded.
"And I tried to bring her back," Ikki continued, his voice quieter. "I tried everything. But you already know that."
She did.
"And now? Would you still try?"
Ikki was silent for a moment, his fingers tightening around his disposable cup before releasing it.
"Not the same way as before."
It was a vague answer, but sincere.
Zia studied him. The way he looked away, as if carrying an invisible weight. She wanted to touch him, to tell him he didn't have to carry it alone.
But she didn't.
Because what she really wanted to say was something completely different.
She wanted to say she was in love with him.
That she didn't know when it happened, only that it was now impossible to ignore.
That she hated the way he closed himself off, but loved the way he still cared about everything…
And that terrified her.
So, instead of saying any of those things, Zia simply said:
"You owe me a better answer about your favorite color."
Ikki blinked, taken aback.
"What?"
"You said you don't have one, but that's a lie. Everyone has one."
"And what if I really don't?"
"Then I'll choose one for you."
He snorted.
"Okay, then choose."
Zia looked at him, considering.
"Blue."
Ikki frowned.
"Blue?"
"Yes. Because it's the color of the sky now, and because it suits you."
Ikki raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by her seriousness.
"That was very poetic. Are you feeling alright?"
Zia snorted, crossing her arms.
"Just accept it. Now blue is your favorite color."
"Right, right." Ikki held up his hands in surrender, a playful smile on his lips. "Blue, then. But if anyone asks, I'll say it was imposed under duress."
She rolled her eyes, but the truth was that the moment made something inside her warm.
The weight of the previous conversation was still there, but less suffocating.
Zia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"But getting back to the subject. You say that as if I'm not poetic."
"You're not."
"And what makes you think that?"
Ikki spread his hands as if the answer were obvious.
"You have the 'I'll burn your face off if you annoy me' vibe. Poets don't usually threaten people with fireballs."
"Maybe I'm a new kind of poet."
"Oh, yes. Explosive poetry. Literally."
Zia laughed and shoved him lightly on the shoulder.
"You're impossible."
They continued sitting, talking about nothing in particular, trivial, almost normal things. The kind of conversation two ordinary teenagers might have. Movies, food, the fact that Sadie talked in her sleep and once threatened to curse a duck in a particularly intense nightmare.
After a while, silence fell between them again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The park was getting busier now, people hurrying past, mothers calling children out of the grass, a dog barking insistently at a pigeon that clearly didn't care.
Ikki stretched his arms and stood up, cracking his back.
"Okay, that was the most casual conversation I've had in years. We need to get out of here before someone thinks I've been replaced by a clone."
Zia rolled her eyes, but stood up as well.
"And where exactly are we going?"
Ikki shrugged. "I think it's time to head back to Brooklyn House. Carter is probably already writing fifty new rules about breakfast."
"And Sadie?"
"Hopefully, she's still arguing with Walt about something completely pointless."
Zia snorted a laugh, and then they started walking.