"That's when I met Wyntor," Nick said.
By now, Aria's beam of light had become even redder, and it was slowly approaching black.
Nick's power was falling slightly, but that was only temporary.
He wanted to tell Aria everything before he deleted all the details.
For once, he could be honest with her and tell her why he was doing all of the things he had done in the past.
"You became Dark Dream's Chief Zephyx Extractor by literally just holding up a sign?" Aria asked with a laugh.
Nick nodded.
The atmosphere seemed casual and filled with mirth as Nick told Aria almost everything about his life.
They hadn't talked like this in centuries.
The last time they had a talk like this was shortly before Aria had confessed to him.
Sadly, Nick had been quite absent during his relationship with her, and he had never truly opened up.
Aria laughed a lot as she listened to Nick's story.
After around three hours, Nick was done with his tale.
Aria's beam had become fully black by now.
She knew even more about him than the Technician or Ghosty had ever known.
When there was a lull in the conversation, the atmosphere changed.
"What do you want to be removed?" Nick asked.
"Everything about your abilities," she said.
"Anything else?" Nick asked.
"What else would there be?" Aria asked.
Nick hesitated a bit.
"Our relationship," Nick said. "It must have been difficult for you back then."
"Sometimes, I think it would have been better for you if you never met me."
"Don't say that," Aria answered with annoyance. "Our relationship was part of my life. Yes, it was frustrating and sad, but I was also happy."
"My past is what made me who I am today."
Aria smiled bitterly. "I think this is the best conversation we've ever had, and I believe I understand you much better now."
"Sadly, I will forget about this conversation soon."
Nick remained silent.
"Nick," she said.
"Hm?" Nick asked.
"I never stopped loving you."
Nick looked away.
"But it just didn't work out," she said. "If you had taken more time for me, you wouldn't be who you are."
"I fell in love with your devotion to humanity."
"You gave everything to humanity, and you were willing to sacrifice so much."
"If you made me your priority, you would no longer be the person I fell in love with."
Aria released a sad chuckle. "This was never meant to be. I am attracted to the very attribute that makes it impossible for me to ever have a romantic relationship with the person who has it."
"I want to be in your heart, but if you had actually opened your heart to me, I would feel guilty."
"I would feel like I would be endangering our world."
"I would feel like I would be stepping on all the people who have suffered."
Aria sighed.
"But that thought doesn't help me. My emotions want what they want, even if it is impossible."
"This is my secret, and I kept it inside all this time."
Then, Aria smiled brightly. "Feels good to get this off my shoulders."
Nick just looked to the side.
His relationship with Aria was the only thing that could still penetrate the grey haze that was over his feelings.
It hurt.
"Are you willing to kiss me one last time?" Aria asked.
Nick didn't look at Aria.
Several seconds of silence passed.
"You can't, right?" Aria asked.
Nick closed his eyes, sighed, and slowly nodded.
"Are you afraid that your devotion to humanity might be shaken?" she asked.
Nick remained silent for a while.
"I can't take any risks," he answered, indirectly answering the question.
Aria just smiled.
"I understand."
A moment later, Aria stood up.
"Well, let's get this over with," she said, looking at Nick casually.
Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Do you remember when I came out of Vernon's briefcase?" he asked.
"Huh?" Aria asked in confusion.
Nick's heart raced.
"Vernon told you about his plan, and you agreed," Nick said."You have seen me a couple of times already by then. You didn't believe in me, but you had no other choice. Either you went with Vernon's plan, or Kugelblitz would be done for. Do you remember that?"
Aria laughed. "Yes, but that was reasonable, right? I mean, who would think that an Initial Expert could infiltrate Anatomy?"
"Do you remember how I disturbed the Sea King's senses with Ghosty's machine?" Nick asked.
"You told me afterward," Aria answered. "If I had known that Ghosty had such a machine, I would have had more faith in you."
"Do you remember…"
Nick went over each instance in which he showed any of his powers to Aria.
He could just make Aria forget all about him and just make it so that they met for the first time when Nick recruited her for the secret research base.
But neither side wanted that.
They wanted their past together to remain intact.
After half an hour of deleting memories, Nick talked about his identity as a Specter.
This was also something that had to go.
In the end, Aria's beam was light blue.
When Nick saw that, he felt like he had lost something important to him.
Aria knew that Nick was Nick, but she didn't know that he was a Specter, and she also didn't know any of his powers and abilities.
Nick's power as a Shield was explained by an advanced technology that could isolate him from the Maw.
"Sorry for asking that many questions," Nick said, looking at Aria evenly.
Aria just laughed a bit. "I get it. I also get lost in memories sometimes."
"How long have we been talking?" Nick asked.
Aria took a moment to answer.
"Something like five minutes?" she asked.
The next moment, tears appeared in her eyes.
Outward, Nick showed no reaction.
But deep inside, he felt pain.
"Oh," Aria said in surprise as she realized that tears had appeared in her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't notice."
She laughed in embarrassment. "I guess I also got lost in emotion a bit."
Nick looked at Aria.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?" he asked.
Aria hesitated for a moment.
"No, this isn't related to you," Aria said. "I just remembered Crimson City."
Nick just nodded.
"Then, I will be on my way."
"If you need anything, tell me," Aria said with a chipper tone.
Nick nodded again.
Then, he walked out of the room before vanishing in the hallway.
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