Now, fully dressed in her old Shadow Fang uniform, Eris looks absolutely breathtaking.

    The black trench coat flows around her like liquid shadow. It''s sleek, tailored, and just slightly too long, brushing her boots when she walks. Wide leather belts wrap diagonally around her waist and chest, cinching the coat with a sharp, tactical elegance. Her gloves are thick and dark, matching the high leather boots that climb up to her knees.

    The entire outfit exudes deadly grace. It''s both mysterious and cool… and a little intimidating.

    "Woahhh…" I breathe out, utterly entranced.

    Eris twirls once, the hem of the coat flaring dramatically around her legs.

    Then, with a snap of her fingers—whoosh!—a pair of darkness-forged swords materialize from the air.

    Eris strikes a pose, her coat flaring out behind her, then slashes forward with both blades in a dancer''s fluid rhythm.

    "Wooooaaaahhhh!!" I gasp, my tail standing straight with excitement. "You look so cool!"

    She now looks just like a boss from a video game!!!

    Or an SSS-rank character, the kind that only shows up in banners with flaming gold borders!

    Eris flashes me a mischievous grin.

    "Oh? You think that''s cool? Then watch this!"

    From a hidden pocket, or maybe from some mysterious void-space she keeps tucked under her coat, Eris pulls out something new: a sleek, black, full-face mask. Smooth and polished, it has two angular slits for the eyes and no visible mouth, but I can see and feel the darkness attribute mana leaking from from it. The shadows swirl around the mask itself like it''s breathing.

    She lifts it slowly… and then, with a satisfying click, places it onto her face.

    FWOOSH!!!

    Everything changes.

    A blast of dark aura erupts from her, warping the air around her silhouette. Her glowing eyes pierce through the mask like twin stars, her coat''s edges flicker with embers of black flame, and suddenly, from her back, a pair of massive, feathered, jet-black wings explode outward with a gust of shadow!

    "HOLY SHIT!!! ERIS!!!" I nearly fall off the bed. "What the actual heck was THAT?!"

    Eris, now cloaked in pure edge, turns slowly to me.

    "Hehe, well," she says, her voice low, raspy, and distorted through the mask, "it''s just a mask that makes me look cool while hiding my identity."

    I blink.

    Oh my god.

    Even her voice is changed!

    It doesn''t sound like Eris at all! It''s like someone else entirely. Darker, more dangerous!

    "That''s so cool!" I squeal. "You''re like a shadow angel from the underworld now!"

    She places one gloved hand on her hip and shrugs with dramatic flair. "I know, right?"

    Then, she reaches up and removes the mask. An just like that, all the shadows dissipate, the flames vanish, and her wings flicker out of existence. Her voice returns to normal.

    "But," she adds, smiling now, "the mask is just purely cosmetic though. The black flame and dark mana you saw isn''t real. There''s no power boost or anything. It''s just for intimidation actually..." S~ea??h the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ehh????" I blink.

    "Hehe." Eris grins.

    "E-even the wings?"

    "Yup." Eris replies. "The wings are actually just a part of the mask effect. They can glide a little, but that''s about it. No high-speed flight. Sorry to disappoint." She chuckles. "I''m not a bird Furren, after all!"

    "Hmph! You''d be the coolest bird if you were!" I puff my cheeks.

    Eris laughs.

    But then…

    As she tosses the mask back into the chest, a thought floats into my head.

    Wings…

    Yeah, speaking of wings, Alter was able to make a wing by using Azazel''s Guard power!

    It wasn''t cosmetic. It was real, functional wings!

    And not only could we fly with it, we could soar, dive, and dash through the sky like a shooting star. Our speed would easily out fly even the wyverns! Those Light Sentinels was no match against us!

    Eris, now back to her usual self, carefully folds her old uniform with reverence, smoothing the fabric as she places it back into the chest.

    "Hehe… not gonna lie, that was really fun," she grins, brushing a lock of hair from her face. "It''s been forever since I last wear that outfit now."

    "Yeah! You looked amazing!" I say, heart still pounding from the rush.

    "Now then," Eris says, turning toward me with a mischievous grin. There''s a spark in her eyes I know too well. "You saw me in my old guild uniform. Now it''s your turn, I wanna see you wear something cool too!"

    "Ehhh?"

    My ears twitch.

    Something cool?

    What is she talking about?

    I tilt my head. "But… I don''t have anything cool! All my clothes are just casual stuff!" I blink again. "Wait, are you saying I should try your Shadow Fang outfit?"

    "Oh no no no," Eris waves a finger, still grinning. "Not the uniform." Her voice drops to something softer. "Did you forget? You already have something. Something way more beautiful than anything else in this world."

    I blink, confused. "Eh? I do…?"

    "Yeah," she says.

    She turns back to the chest, reaches in gently, as if retrieving a sacred relic, and pulls something out.

    And the moment I see it, I gasp.

    "Wait!" I blurt out. "That''s—! That''s…! That''s Alter''s dress!"

    My breath catches.

    I remember this.

    Alter''s dress.

    The same shimmering, impossibly elegant garment from the day I woke up in this world.

    When I was reincarnated here, that''s what I wore. I was lying there in the dungeon, and Eris found me. This dress was the first thing she noticed.

    She thought I was royalty, maybe a noble, or even a princess or a queen. The way she always described it: too perfect, too exquisite to be anything but divine. She stored it safely in her most secure chest, keeping it for me. Even before she knew who I really was.

    And then, as I saw the dress the first time, along with the pendant that came with it, I was hit with a wave of unknown emotion.

    Tears I didn''t understand streamed down my face.

    It felt like… like my soul was weeping.

    I didn''t know why, not back then.

    But now?

    Now I understand.

    It wasn''t just me who cried.

    It was Alter, the soul I share this body with. The one who had already known pain, loss and rage, before I even opened my eyes in this world.

    This dress… it must''ve meant something to her, something sacred, something painful.

    And now, as I stare at it again, cradled in Eris'' hands… that feeling rises once more.

    A strange, hollow sadness.

    Grief that has no name.

    And buried beneath it, deep and burning like a coal pressed into my chest, is anger.

    Fiercely, quietly burning.

    Not mine, but hers. Alter''s.

    Anger toward the world.

    Anger toward what or who tore something from her, leaving this echo behind.