With any potential teasing averted, Edna felt the slightest bit more at ease if still anxious; but a few minutes into their stroll, silent though it was, she already realised she liked being on Laphicet's arm. He was so close that she could touch him whenever she so wished, but never intruded into her personal space beyond where they touched. This would be yet another memory forever preserved, Edna just knew it.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Laphi broke the silence. "So, what brought this on?" He gently squeezed her arm with his for emphasis, though Edna did not need it. She did not need the new bout of anxiety either, beating it down in the back of her mind and leaving it behind at another junction they passed. Despite her many insecurities, all the pondering Edna went through made one thing crystal clear: she needed to know. But to learn more, she needed to tip her hand. Perhaps she should have been more cautious, but in these moments Edna desired nothing more than this. To understand what her first ever friend was thinking, to find out if he meant harm. She had to know yet at the same time, even before the first word left her mouth, she still believed he would not hurt her.

"I read through my brother's letters from long ago," Edna began as they left the main road, voice held carefully neutral. "I know who you are now."

The boy stiffened for a moment when she revealed her knowledge, but he soon relaxed and let out a soft sigh; his gaze remained on the cobblestone they wandered. "Figures," he muttered before perking up and gently pulling on Edna. "I think I have an idea for a place you'd like to see, this way!" His sudden enthusiasm felt fake to her, but she allowed herself to be led; when she opened her mouth to call him on changing the subject, he shook his head. Edna understood and kept quiet.

Laphicet led her through several streets and passages, greeting a seraph man they passed on the way, then halted in front of the grand belltower. Mana swirled around them and once again Edna trusted what her heart told her, doing nothing as the winds solidified; she was carried upward, ever further up until both Laphi and her stood atop the tower's roof. The town's eponymous bell sat directly beneath them, silent after tolling just a few minutes earlier. Edna herself was mesmerised by the sight, so similar from her mountain perch yet different all the same; she beheld the countless humans wandering beneath, each one following their own desires and plans. Specks of Malevolence floated in the air, far too few for such a large crowd. A domain rested nearby, her senses told her as well.

Those observations were cut short when mana suffused the air and all wind fell silent. The buzz of ten thousand conversations and a hundred other noises subsided, leaving her in an eery silence with Laphicet. "I just sealed this place off," he offered when she glanced at him questioningly. "Sound doesn't travel outside anymore, so we can speak freely."

"And you picked a place where everyone can see us?" She could not help but ask, to which Laphicet adopted a strangely empty expression.

"You started this by acting lovey dovey, so I'm just using the same strategy. Anyone who sees us will assume that." He blinked at her, fidgeting a little while Edna blushed over being reminded; the blankness fell away like a discarded mask. "Sorry, I couldn't think of anything better at short notice."

Edna broke eye contact and looked down again; now that she had time to process her actions, she began to feel sheepish about them; it had been the best option at the moment, but in hindsight she just felt embarassed. All of these feelings coursed through her, but none appeared on her face, the enforced calm soon drowning what lay beneath as well. So grounded, she broke the silence before it could truly settle: "You are Innominat, the suppressor." It was not a question because they both knew it was true.

Her declaration left Laphi quiet, deep in thought. Edna followed his example, but watched for his reaction; he played with a loose thread of string on his shirt, frowning for many long seconds. When he answered her at last, it was certainly not in the way she expected: "I'm not sure if that title is still accurate, you know? It's unlikely I will suppress anyone or anything anytime soon."

"What's stopping you?" she could not help but ask. Edna almost added something about developing a conscience, but felt that would be too mean. Yet now she had certainty beyond a shadow of doubt and with her still being unharmed, all caution became fuel for burning curiousity.

"For one," Laphi indulged her without hesitation, "there are other ways. Suppression is the absolute final measure. A complete rebirth of mankind. Hm." Trailing off with a sound, he pondered for a moment and snapped his fingers. "Yes, Reincarnation, that fits."

Seeing her now visible confusion, he grinned. "I was thinking about this from time to time. The four of the elements form a square, Fire and Water and Wind and Earth. Now there is not just one in-between, but three. Maotelus of Rejuvenation, Innominat of Reincarnation, and Minkkubi of... Resistance? Hm, that still sounds a little off." He kept pondering, completely unconcerned about Edna's owlish look, or perhaps even the situation in general. A part of her noted that he really did not need to be worried. It annoyed her.

"Please take this seriously."

Despite the 'please', her voice was flat and tone sharp. Laphi flinched as if she whipped him and apologised at once: "Sorry, I'm trying. I'm just, it's just... I'm just glad you figured it out." He stuttered through the confusing explanation, which placated the seraph girl somewhat.

"What do you mean?"

Her curious question prompted the boy to kick his feet for a moment, expression downcast. He explained with subdued voice: "Truth be told, I wanted to tell you for a while now. But this is a big secret and I knew you'd know what happened, so I was scared you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore. And I kept convincing myself that there's still time after this crisis is over, that we need to keep the secret as best as possible, and I hated myself a little more every time." He paused, not noticing how Edna's expression softened. "But every time I saw you again, I wanted to tell you again and the same thing happened. Now you figured it out on your own, so... I'm sorry. I should have said something, but I just couldn't."

He fell silent at that point, leaving Edna to chew on everything she had been told; in an odd turn of events, looking at the crestfallen boy, she realised it was not him who held the power right now. He was no good actor, she knew that; he was actually scared of her reaction to the revelation. She had half a mind to reassure him, insist they remain friends nonetheless; but her own fear made her stall, change the subject for now. Perhaps he would understand her feelings if she stayed, without her needing to say anything. The first topic she could think of was a simple one, too: "Who is Minkkubi? And what does he stand for?"

Laphi did not look at her, having missed her intention. Edna grimaced and reached out to take his hand, squeezing it for reassurance. He perked up immediately and squeezed back, his answer full of hope: "She. It's the name I gave Velvet as the seventh Empyrean. Her blessing lessens the influence of Malevolence on any and all within her domain. Hellions can control themselves better, dragons turn from murderous beasts into more normal animals. It also increases resistance to Malevolence." Edna's eyes widened, the girl realising immediately just how important this was; not just for her, but for the world. Before she could continue her inquiry however, Laphi interrupted with a question of his own: "What are you going to do now?"

He avoided her gaze, once again playing with that loose thread. Edna almost ignored him in favour of her own desires, but stopped herself; she pondered the question and what answer to give, but ultimately decided on the truth: "I don't know." She would leave it at this normally, but this was Laphi and she wanted to be truthful with him; he was supposed to be the enemy of all creation, she knew that intelectually. To her in person hoewever, he had been among the kindest beings she ever met. She refused to believe he was not her friend. Yet she remained silent and it soon turned awkward; much different to their normal, companionable silences. Time passed like this, odd and absolutely abhorrent for Edna. She wanted back what they had before!

Into her quiet lament, Laphi spoke a question she expected earlier: "Did you tell anyone?" Edna shook her head and he hummed in understanding; in retrospect, she wondered why she kept quiet before reminding herself that Sorey would fight despite the fact he would die. She did not want that, either.

"You... are a very brave girl, Edna." The non-sequitur drew a curious sound out of her throat; his tender smile made her heart melt and he finally looked at her again. "Instead of keeping it a secret, you came to me immediately despite what I once stood for. Even if you believe I changed since, it still takes courage to approach an Empyrean like you did." His words were full of warmth, but they hurt her all the more; she clenched her teeth as silence fell again, fighting for words.

After a few moments, she only had one. A single, explosive "No!" burst out of her with the weight of her own guilt. Edna vehemently shook her head at the startled Laphi, meeting his eyes even though she felt like running. "I'm not brave, I, I just needed to know if it's true! Who you are, what you're planning. Please tell me, please." She was begging and did not care for it, she had to know; Edna felt so fragile. If her only real friend turned out to be a ruinous force, she might just break apart at the seams.

However, Laphi held her gaze calmly and nodded, then held out his hand. "Promise me you won't tell anyone," he demanded. "Not a living soul, and not a dead one either. No one can know." Their eyes met, hope, warmth, and need all clashing and mixing together; Edna shuddered, fully aware what he asked of her. It only took her a moment to take his hand, and to hell with the consequences. Laphi squeezed gently, a gesture which she returned.

Then he told her, every detail; from Maotelus' corruption -"I thought you hate Maotelus?", "Doesn't matter, this is for Velvet."- over the hunt for the Lord of Calamity and the Bloodwing Butterflies, to their plans of using Sorey to draw him out. They never took their eyes off each other as they spoke, minutes turning to the better part of an hour before he finished. By the end, Edna chewed on her lower lip in thought. She had left her desperate need behind in favour of considering all she was told; the issues in the shadows were greater than she had known, but others were already working on it. Even their plan made sense, though using Sorey as bait felt mean to her.

However, he had yet to mention one particular matter, which Edna reminded him of: "The princess, Alisha. What happened to her?" Her actual question remained unasked, whether the human was alright.

Laphi lowerered his head in turn, nodding after a moment. "As fine as can be," he began, carefully picking his words. "She had a bit of a breakdown once we freed her, the lack of power got to her. Alisha is ambitious and benevolent yet never held enough power to see her ambitions fulfilled, you see? So we offered her the power of a therion, which she accepted." His admission made Edna's eyes widen before her gaze lowered.

She wanted to be angry for one inane moment, but it faded quickly. If Alisha made the choice, she felt, it was hers to make. Still, becoming a therion bothered Edna; she could not help but ask: "What worth do such achievements have if she throws away her humanity for it?"

"That is for her to decide," Laphi retortet at once. "She wishes to bring a better era for mankind, to unite the warring realms and end the strife all the people are trapped in. Her ambition is greater than any human bar one could achieve on their own, and that man is Artorius himself." She nodded along, enticed by his earnest appreciation and smitten by his kind smile as he spoke in her favour. "But Alisha is strong, strong enough to see it through. Thus she is human no more."

And that was that. All had been laid out, offered to her without hesitation, spoken in trust. Yet doubt gnawed at her, insisting it was a trick. Once more she felt so uncomfortable sitting next to him despite everything. The words tumbled out before she could stop them, weak, bitter, needy. "You, you aren't lying to me, right?"

She hated herself in this moment, but the feeling passed in favour of surprise when Laphicet took her hand again. He pulled her forward and met her gaze earnestly, steadying Edna. "I so swear," he vowed solemnly, "on my beloved sister's soul."

A shuddering breath left her at that, but she squeezed back and crushed that tiny, insidious voice in her heart to dust. Edna did not care anymore, she just wanted to believe. And so she did, for better or for worse. "I believe you." Just three words, a different three than she daydreamed about but just as important right now; she spoke them and felt her entire being relax, felt herself lighter than before. The weight on her shoulders dissipated for the first time in days.

She basked in this sensation for a long moment before realising that everything would go back to normal now; knowing that, the seraph girl scooted over until she sat next to Laphi and leaned against him. He froze for a moment, unused to her being so close, but relaxed quickly when she just put her head on his shoulder. Having him this close was comforting, it made Edna feel safe, even more so when he wrapped an arm around her. Finally, the silence was no longer awkward and this, too, she basked in.

"Will you be fine with not telling Sorey and the rest? You have to travel with them."

His question was prudent, though Edna would have liked to enjoy the moment a bit longer than just those few minutes. She unconciously nestled closer against Laphi. "I don't know for sure, but I'll manage. I trust you." It felt good to say, she found, though her friend huffed quietly for some reason.

"Then how about I blatantly bribe you to seal the deal?"

He immediately had Edna's attention from up close, though the sudden reminder of his proximity made her cheeks burn; this time, she did not turn away and accepted her embarassment being seen. Laphi said nothing about it, as she trusted he would; rather, he smiled and made his offer: "I am working on a measure to restore dragons. It is mainly a proof of concept that will probably require at least Velvet's and my own power, but the odds are good. So far I did not get around the issue of needing a sufficiently strong silver flame, though. So we need Maotelus, too."

With every word he spoke, Edna's eyes grew wider; her friend did not need to elaborate, she understood how that was a bribe just fine. Impulsively, she bridged the short distance between them and pecked his cheek; uncaring for Laphicet's own blush, the girl seraph answered him earnestly: "Not a word to anyone, ever. If you can really do that, I will do everything for you. Whatever you want, even if it's my body, you can have it." The desperation sounded through, but Edna knew she would not get a better chance; no better odds to have her brother back.

However, despite flustering the boy even more, her final claim made him immediately shake his head. "No, none of that." Edna flinched back, confused by his insistent tone. "You're not in my debt, okay? Even if it works, I don't want you to do something you don't want just out of gratitude. And please, don't ever talk about yourself like a piece of meat again. Okay?" He kept staring at her until she nodded, properly embarassed now that the moment's elation faded. Laphicet sighed. "Good, I wanted to make that clear. You're my friend, Edna."

He did not have to repeat it, but hearing the words made her happy nonetheless. Hope had been rekindled within Edna's heart, the mere chance of bringing Eizen back worth her silence ten times and more. It did not feel fair for her to only keep quiet. "Do you need me to do anything else? Keep an eye on Sorey? Get him to go somewhere in particular?"

However, the response she received was a shake of his head. "It's fine if you keep your silence," he reassured the girl, "though I won't say no if you keep us informed about Sorey's plans." She just nodded, planning to do just that; Laphi then dropped the subject. "Anyway, the issue with cleansing a dragon is mainly the application and difficulty. Even if it is possible, we would not use it unless I can make the process significantly easier." It made sense to her, though she felt she heard something else in the words he chose.

"Seraphim would grow complacent if the threat of an inadvertible end vanishes. The moronic ones might even start to expect three gods to drop everything to come cleanse every single dragon whenever one emerges."

"That's kind of harsh, but I don't disagree."

She grinned now, her mind returning to its usual tracks. "Well, unless you hand out draconic punishments for people demanding anything. But that would have its own consequences, like some trying to bribe you with a whole hoard of treasure. Or-" She stopped when Laphi flicked her forehead, herself grinning. The boy was giggling.

"Okay okay, I got it," he got out after a moment. "Don't forget I'm a dragon too, so the puns do concern me this time."

Unfortunately for him, that only brought Edna onto another one. "I'm afraid my puns can not be suppressed, not even by you." This time she joined him when he broke into laughter; it felt freeing to just sit together in shared mirth, even though it faded after a while. Laphi sighed happily and squeezed her shoulder, never having let go of her.

"If we have the time," he mused idly, "you should really learn more about the scales involved." The comment garnered Edna's curiousity. "Really pretty, those." Which was about as far as he got before breaking into another bout of giggles; this time upon seeing her slack-jawed expression. Edna remained like that for a moment, but then showed a bright smile of her own.