Following Lucien's statement, the band users all turned their heads towards Lucien with a confused glare.
"What fragments?" Tarin replied.
"Oh, nothing, just ignore it for now."
I still need to verify this with him, but best I deal with the Darion situation first, though.
Lucien turned towards Darion and smiled. He then held out his hand and helped Darion stand up.
"Hey, you're lucky you know, not only did you manage to survive the darkband, but you're also able to keep Kurai in check within your own body, so you don't have to worry about him taking control, I think..." Lucien commented.
Rex's voice sharpened. "What do you mean by 'I think'?"
"The chances are low. Not zero. If anything happens, it might be most likely caused by a trigger. Something that gives him an opening."
Silas then questioned, "Then why don't we find the trigger now? It took Lucien to take him down. If he ever reawakens while he's away on a solo mission, it will probably take all 4 of us to take him down."
"Don't worry about it, Silas. Right now, it feels like my body is holding him back on its own. It might be due to how weak he is right now in his current state. He shouldn't be much of a problem for now." Darion said.
Cael, with a bored expression on his face, said, "Can we finally leave this place? It feels like I've been in here forever, it's cold, smells like mud, and it's unstable thanks to that whole yin-yang ass fight."
"Fair point, let's get out of here," Lucien replied.
The band users all left the dark tomb, with Darion now being one of them.
The sun was beginning to set as the sky turned into a pinkish color.
They all gazed upon the sunset, finally marking the end of a chaotic afternoon.
...
The band users left the dark tomb and began walking towards the water district located in the top right of Valnera. They were heading towards the local cafe, which they all used to visit since they were in middle school.
"Wait, how the hell am I going to explain this to my parents and my sister!" Darion yelled while holding the ends of the darkband.
"Don't worry about it, we will explain everything to them, and if we get their blessing, you can even join as an official band user, and don't worry, we will give you an official orientation and training to get you ready for missions," Lucien said with a bright smile on his face.
They laughed and kept walking as they approached the crosswalk that led straight into the water district. Crowds formed around them as citizens all began coming home from work, and cars flooded the roads as a barrage of constant honking came from the cars and a smell of exhaust fumes. But what caught Darion's eye was the fact that no one seemed to notice them.
Usually, they are treated as celebrities in Valnera, as they are their own superheroes, worthy of donning an ancient artifact that gives them superpowers and using it to protect people. But here they are, ignored and treated like any ordinary person.
Darion pushed the thought aside, as it was almost their time to cross the sidewalk.
They stepped into the street, horns blaring around them.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
They crossed the street into the water district, and every building around them was colored in blue and gray, and stores were water-themed. They continued walking until they reached the cafe called The Drift.
They all entered and were greeted by a tall, unhurried figure with dark hair tied low, pale eyes reflecting the canal light. He was wearing a black apron with a deep blue stripe along the waist, and on the top right was his name, Iris Calder.
"Hey, Iris, how are ya?" Said Cael in a friendly tone towards the man.
"I'm good, can't wait to clock out though." Said the unhurried barista.
"Unhurried my ass. Anyway, Mirei and I saved your usual spot for y'all."
They followed Iris into the café, the warm amber light wrapping around them like a familiar blanket. As they made their way toward their usual booth, Darion's eyes caught a flash of motion behind the counter.
A girl with shoulder-length dark hair, tied messily high, moved effortlessly between cups and plates. Her amber eyes lit up as she poured coffee for a customer, the steam curling around her fingers like it had a rhythm of its own. Even from across the room, her energy radiated bright, lively, and almost impossible to ignore.
"Mirei!" Cael called cheerfully, and she spun around with a wide grin, nearly tipping the cup in her hands. "Hey, you guys! Over here!" As a faint hum of the lo-fi track carried across the room.
She waved them over, still balancing a tray with the precision of someone who had done this a thousand times, yet somehow made it look like play. "Saved your usual spot," she chirped, her voice warm and teasing, as if they'd all grown up together just yesterday.
Darion couldn't help but grin. Despite the Darkband and the chaos that had occurred, this felt like a safe pocket of normal. Mirei's cheerful presence grounded the moment, reminding him that some things in Valnera, like the friends he had here, remained delightfully unchanged.
"Do they want their usuals?" Mirei called over to Iris, grinding coffee beans.
"Let them rest for a sec, I barely got to talk to these guys." Iris then shifted his focus towards the group. "Gimme a sec, let me get your menus." He said with a calm but cheerful expression.
They took their usual booth, a 3/4-round couch with cyan upholstery and yellow accents along the edges. Behind it was a mini waterfall made of natural stone, with water flowing from the top to the bottom, creating a relaxing ambiance paired with the lo-fi beats playing, truly creating a wonderful vibe.
Tarin then spoke up, "Wait, why didn't we just go to the light tower? It's safer, and we still don't really know how safe Darion is."
Lucien said with a slightly agitated tone, "I just said he's safe, thanks to the beating I gave Kurai and Darion's body adapting to the new change, he's able to hold back Kurai 24/7 in his current state, so we might as well treat ourselves. Also, the vanilla flat white here is phenomenal."
He has a point… Kurai's voice has been getting quieter. From the moment we left the tomb… It's only faded. So there really is a trigger. I'll definitely need to learn more about the darkband, as then I can maybe learn to use Kurai's powers to my own advantage.
Iris eventually came back with 6 menus and handed one to everyone at the table. The menus were wrapped in a muted, fabric-like dark blue cover, edges slightly worn from years of use.
After a short while, they all ordered their usual drinks and waited for their dear friend Mirei to finish brewing them.
Darion then broke the uneasy tension, "So, after we get drinks, should I stay in the light tower? I still am afraid of the rare chance that Kurai can actually take over my body while I'm sleeping and hurting my family or even you guys."
"As I said, your body quickly adapted to the change, which shouldn't happen unless the specific trigger has occurred, although you are right about us taking you to the light tower, but for different reasons."
The coffee aroma and the sound of beans grinding eventually stopped, and a few moments later, Mirei stepped out from behind the coffee bar with a cardboard drink carrier in hand.
She placed the drinks down one by one.
Rex's came first, a demitasse[1] with steam escaping from the lid as he picked it up immediately. Cael's iced matcha followed, the clear plastic cup cold and damp with condensation, the ice shifting softly as he moved it aside. Silas received his milk latte next, caramel streaked along the inside of the cup, and Tarin's came after that. He had both hands around his latte, quiet, the way he usually was.
Lucien's vanilla flat white arrived in a ceramic cup, silky microfoam sitting perfectly on top, the vanilla notes rising gently with the steam. He didn't even wait. He took a giant sip immediately, and his eyes closed for exactly one second. The creamy, velvety texture hit first, then the strong coffee beneath it, and the warmth spread through him. He set it down slowly and said nothing, which said everything.
Then, finally, came Darion's Iced mocha: a tall, clear glass of dark brown espresso and chocolate swirling into creamy white milk, topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. Darion hesitated a moment as he waited for Mirei to fully walk away before he could start attacking the beauty that was the drink. He pushed the straw through the whipped cream and merged with the latte; it had a bold, slightly bitter espresso base balanced by sweet chocolate, creating a creamy, luxurious taste.
He set the glass down and stared at it for a second.
Everything will be okay.
Mirei then looked at Darion as she noticed his down expression, which was very unlike him, then she looked at his forehead and noticed the darkband that blended in with his dark brown curly hair, and asked hesitantly, "Hey, Darion whats that wrapped around your forehead?"
Lucien turned towards her and said, "Don't worry about it for now, we will tell you and Iris everything. For now, just finish today's shift."
Mirei, with an uneasy feeling in her chest, nodded, then went back to the counter where Iris was on his phone, watching cute cat videos. She then told Iris about Darion and remembered seeing the cloth, but was too unfocused to actually care about it. His hand tightened around the blue crystal pendant hanging from the black cord around his neck as he started to properly digest the current situation.
He glanced toward the seating area and counted the customers and how much they paid, and then went to the sign outside the door and flipped it to show closed, as he went back to the counter and turned towards Mirei, and said in a serious tone
"Mirei, hit the lockdown button." Mirei looked at him with shock. "But we haven't-"
"I SAID TURN ON THE LOCKDOWN, DAMN IT." He then calmed himself as he clenched the pendant once again. "Look, we already exceeded today's quota, and those customers already paid, and are almost finished with their drinks. Once they finish, we escort them out, and then we can turn on lockdown. Its just really important we can give them some alone time," His gaze drifted to the corner where the six sat.
Mirei followed his gaze towards the booth and stared for a moment. Six teenagers, a weird cloth on Darion's forehead, and Lucien sitting there like he owned the air around him.
She looked back at Iris.
"Okay," she said quietly.
They waited. The last two customers finished their drinks slowly, the way people do when they have nowhere to be. Iris moved between tables, collecting empty cups, wiping surfaces, doing everything he normally did except his eyes kept drifting back to that booth every few seconds.
Eventually, the last customer pushed their chair back and stood up. Iris walked them to the door with a smile, said goodnight, and closed it behind them.
Then he flipped the deadbolt.
Mirei was already at the panel behind the counter. She lifted the small cover and looked back at him one more time.
He nodded.
She pressed the button.
At first, nothing happened. Then came the hum, low and mechanical, rising from somewhere beneath the floor. Steel panels emerged from the frames of every window and slid downward, locking into place one by one with a heavy, final sound. The front door sealed itself with three bolts driving simultaneously into the frame. The signage outside went dark.
From the booth, Darion watched the steel cover the last window and turned to Lucien.
"Should I be worried about that?"
Lucien didn't look up from his flat white. "No."
"That did not feel like a no situation."
"Drink your mocha, Darion."
Iris walked out from behind the counter, pendant still held loosely in his hand, and stopped a few feet from the booth. He looked at Darion properly for the first time since they walked in. Not at his face. At the cloth resting against his forehead. His expression didn't change, but something behind his eyes did, something old and tired and quietly afraid.
"Out of billions of people in this world, I never thought you would be able to become his shadow."
[1] (French for "half cup") designed for serving strong, black coffee, such as Turkish coffee, or espresso (duh).