A few hours later...
Cassie took a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly as she processed everything Klaus had told her. She had listened in silence for hours, never interrupting. Just sitting there, absorbing the impossible truth.
Klaus watched her carefully, noting the disbelief and shock still lingering in her expression as she slowly sank into her chair and leaned back. Her delicate features were a storm of conflicted emotions... confusion, grief, a hint of fear… and something else. Something he couldn't quite discern.
After a long silence, she finally managed to speak. Her voice was soft, uncertain, as though the words tasted foreign in her mouth.
"So… you are...? Wait, wait…"
Her brows furrowed.
"You killed your father... and Nephis's revenge… all of it… it was you?"
Klaus nodded calmly, lifting the glass of whisky to his lips but he didn't get the chance to finish it. Cassie snatched it from his hand in one swift motion.
She didn't say a word.
For a long, heavy moment, she just sat there, motionless. Then, without hesitation, she downed the remaining whisky in a single gulp and slammed the empty glass onto the table.
Her voice came low and slow, like someone trying to piece together a shattered puzzle.
"So you… planned Nephis's entire life," she said, her crystal blue eyes aimless, disbelief coloring every syllable. "The Sovereigns didn't kill Broken Sword. You did. You killed your own father… to save the world. And you were a child."
Her breath hitched.
"But that wasn't all. You faked your death. Sealed the Dreamspawn in the moon and destroyed his domain."
She laughed, softly at first, then louder. Not from amusement, but because she didn't know what else to do.
"You're telling me… you did all of this as a child? Deceived the entire world,twice!? Built your own organization, orchestrated all of this madness from the shadows, and now…"
Another hollow laugh left her lips as she buried her face in her hands for a second.
"For the dead gods' sake, Nik… this isn't funny. This is a really, really bad joke."
But Klaus's expressionless face did not changed. There was no trace of humor or remorse. Nothing to suggest he was joking.
Cassie's forced smile faltered, cracking under the weight of his silence. Her sightless eyes widened as realization settled in.
"So... but that changes everything! What will you do now? What about Nephis? What will happen when she finds out the truth?"
Klaus merely shrugged, calmly pouring himself another glass and taking a slow sip.
"Most likely… she'll hate me," he said flatly. "Well, it doesn't matter."
Cassie stared at him, lost. She couldn't read his expression, but she knew that voice, knew it meant he had already made peace with the consequences.
"How does it not matter?" she asked, quietly. Genuinely curious about his thoughts.
Klaus tilted his head, massaging the back of his neck like the weight of the conversation was finally starting to settle.
"I didn't do it for acknowledgment," he said, voice casual but quiet. "I just… protected my sister."
His gaze drifted toward the horizon, eyes distant.
"That's what big brothers do."
Cassie didn't know what to say. She understood everything now but it was too much. The weight of it all left her disoriented, adrift in a sea of revelations. She didn't know what to feel, not fully. There was too much. Too many truths, too many consequences, too many unspoken wounds.
But one feeling rose above the chaos like a tide.
Sorrow. A deep, aching sorrow.
What kind of life had that been? Could it even be called living? A life shaped by fear, buried under oppression, built on secrets, regrets, guilt, and the constant grind of self-loathing… A life spent carrying the unbearable weight of necessity, of doing what had to be done, even if it broke him.
No wonder you're tired, Nik... she thought bitterly, watching him in silence. No one else could've done what you did in this world, two worlds even.
What a lonesome life you've lived…
Her expression shifted quietly, almost imperceptibly.
To pity.
"You know I support you, right? No matter what happens..."
Klaus's hardened expression softened, and a rare, genuine smile touched his lips.
"Thanks... It really means a lot. That you're accepting this. And... accepting me, too."
Cassie shrugged. The revelations had been shocking, yes but nothing he could say would ever make her hate him. Truly, nothing. Klaus had always been there for her, especially when she needed him most. Sure, she had helped him too. Fed him information, prepared him for what was to come.
But that was just the surface.
She had waited, longed for him to open up like this. She had always known he was hiding a great deal, and even now, she was sure he hadn't told her everything. But that was fine. Not every truth had to come into the light.
That didn't mean her love for him would ever lessen.
If anything, it only made her want to stand beside him more. To be the emotional support he had always been for her. Maybe that was selfish.
But so what?
He was hers.
"So, what do you plan now?"
Klaus's smile froze for a moment. That was a delicate question, one he wasn't entirely ready to answer.
"I don't know yet," he admitted quietly. "I have some plans, some ideas... but nothing's decided. My people are dying, Cas. They're fighting a war for humanity, and all they get in return is hate and oppression. Accusations. Distrust. So I really don't know..."
He looked at her, weary but sincere.
"You tell me, what am I supposed to do?"
Cassie smiled gently, then stood up. Without a word, she slid into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her forehead against his.
"Well... for now," she whispered with a playful glint in her voice, "maybe you should do your duty as my lover. Hmm?"
Klaus blinked and then burst out laughing. A loud, genuine laugh that caught even him off guard. He was surprised… and maybe a little dumbfounded.
"Hey, and I'm the pervert? Really, Cas? As if we don't both know whose aspect is freakier?"
Cassie blinked, her aimless eyes somehow managing to land on his face and groaned dramatically.
"You ruined the romantic atmosphere! What is wrong with you!? And I told you never to bring that up!"
She huffed, pulling her arms from around his neck and trying to get off his lap but Klaus caught her wrist and gently pulled her back onto him.
"Hey now, that's just cruel," he said with mock sadness.
She snorted, squirming half-heartedly. "Let me go, you bastard. You deserve it."
Klaus gave her a pitiful look, not that she could see it, but somehow, he always had the feeling she felt it anyway, even without her abilities.
"Okay, I'll let you go... but after an hour. C'mon, I'm not even asking for standard six anymore. Just one. One single hour."
Cassie remained unimpressed and stood up, calmly adjusting her dress.
"No… Still, I don't think this is the ideal time for sex. We need a plan."
Klaus stared at her, a little lost.
"Ahem… Uh, dear. Wasn't it you who brought up my duties in bed?"
Cassie shook her head, her thoughts now on a completely different subject which left Klaus stunned. By the looks of it, even if he could take the shape of a woman, there were still things he just couldn't understand.
"But you do have a plan, Ni... What am I even supposed to call you now?"
Klaus chuckled, waving his hand as Cassie began to float in the air. In the next moment, they both vanished from the conference room.
They reappeared in their house. It wasn't his mansion, but a small cottage. nothing special, really.
Cassie, at this point, was used to it. She just floated there comfortably, legs crossed in the air.
Now that she knew Nephis was Klaus's sister, she began noticing the similarities between them. For one, both were great cooks and undeniably attractive.
But it wasn't just that. Nephis was as indomitable as Klaus. The more Cassie thought about it, the more she saw Klaus in Nephis.
Nephis's relentless obsession with achieving the impossible, her overwhelming sense of responsibility, her reckless, borderline suicidal plans, and complete disregard for her own pain…
In a strange way, she was taking after Klaus.
But there were differences too. Klaus deeply understood people, not just his own, but everyone. He could grasp their motivations, their beliefs, their pain.
Nephis couldn't. She couldn't even understand her own emotions, let alone anyone else's.
Nephis was obsessed with strength, so she could have her revenge. But Klaus wasn't like her. He didn't care about revenge. What he wanted was peace. Maybe, deep down, he just wanted to accept himself… to leave behind the regrets and sorrow that haunted him. He sought strength and knowledge for their own sake. As he often said: for the love of the game.
Nephis was noble and disciplined. Klaus, on the other hand, was chaotic and unpredictable. He was a lunatic. Someone who, if pushed hard enough, would destroy everything. Someone who would do something so unexpected that the world could only stand and stare, wide-eyed, every time.
Nephis was going to destroy the Great Clans from within and sit on their thrones. But Klaus had no desire to sit where the Sovereigns once ruled. He would crush them with his own hands and rule his own domain.
Klaus was analytical and calculating. He was like a cunning politician, yet also an unhinged scientist, making one discovery after another. Nephis, by contrast, wasn't as deceptive or insidious. Her methods were more direct, more brutal.
"Maybe Sam..." he murmured. " That's what my grandmother used to call me and the rest of my clansmen did too. Though only my mother and outside world ever called me Icarus. So I guess… Samael. That's what you can call me. Or just Sam."
Cassie smiled, using her own essence to overwhelm Klaus's. She stopped floating and landed softly on the floor, stretching.
It was something she had figured out about Klaus's ability. He couldn't control people that easily. Sure, he could use repulsive or attractive blasts, but those would either kill or seriously injure someone. So, if someone wanted to escape his gravitational control, all they had to do was overwhelm the essence he was using to anchor them. If they could do that, they'd break free.
Well, not that she was going to share that information with anyone. Why would she tell the world about her lover's weakness?
She smiled sweetly, lowered her head, and inhaled the scent of food with satisfaction.
"Well, I know you have a plan. There's no need to act clueless or uncertain with me, Ni... Sam."
Klaus chuckled, shaking his head gently, a smile playing on his lips.
"How did you figure it out?"
Cassie climbed onto his back with practiced ease, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. Her presence felt like warmth against the early chill of twilight.
"I just did," she said with a quiet smile. "You always have a plan… and then five more tucked behind it, just in case."
Klaus rolled his eyes, his hands returning to the chopping board. He moved carefully, methodically, as if even cutting vegetables could be an art form.
He hummed and rubbed the meat with fragrant spices, lit the coals with a flick of his finger, and slid each piece onto the skewers. As the skewers settled above the glowing embers, the fire sprang to life in a sudden burst before calming under a splash of vinegar. Smoke curled upward, thick with the scent of spice.
"Well," Klaus said with a little smirk, "as you can see... not that you can see it, but you can definitely smell it. I'm making kebabs."
She pouted, then bit his cheek and tugged it playfully, making him smile with awkward amusement.
"Okay, fine. I have plans," he admitted, "but I'm not telling you yet. Let's keep it a surprise. Trust me, it's going to be absolute cinema."
Cassie frowned, tilting her head in mock annoyance, but then shrugged. She had said something similar once, back when she didn't tell him about her plans concerning Sunny's future. So, it was fair.
They had this unspoken agreement between them. a strange kind of trust built on half-secrets and shared chaos. It made things more interesting.
Or maybe they were just both a little messed up in the head.
Who knew?
Klaus had to wait for the meat to cook, so he gently put Cassie down. His hands, still covered in spices and raw meat juices, found their way to her cheeks, stretching them playfully.
"Stop doing that!" Cassie protested, swatting his hands away with mock irritation.
But annoying her was always too much fun for Klaus. Grinning, he pulled her close and kissed her cheeks, now messy with spices. With a soft laugh, he even licked the stray bits off, leaving her flushed and smiling despite herself.
Life was good with her. At least when he was with her, he could forget all his exhaustion and pain. Sure, he had only a month left to live but for now, none of that mattered.
So yeah, life was pretty good...