Chapter 2. Déjà Vu

"You always ruin my plans, Linora."

Those words hit me harder than the bullet he fired in that death warehouse. His cold voice kept echoing, clashing with my heartbeat, which still hadn't stabilized.

I stared at Skyden's back as he busied himself making coffee across the room, trying to find where I'd gone wrong all this time.

When did I start ruining his plans?

When I insisted on investigating Echelon Nine early on? Or when we managed to thwart the deal at the port?

It turns out, every success we celebrated as partners was a thorn in his path to betrayal.

He smiled brightly as our gazes met. But my eyes no longer looked at his friendly face; instead, they scanned every inch of his body, covered by his uniform.

Black Lotus. If he's part of them, their membership tattoo must be somewhere there. Hidden somewhere beneath the skin I often touched when we helped each other put on bulletproof vests.

Where is he hiding it? In a place I can't see?

I have to find it. I need proof, but my hands are trembling.

Damn. Even my own body isn't fully following my thoughts yet.

I watch his hand as he offers me a coffee cup. He didn't just bring black coffee for himself, but also a glass of warm water for me.

"Drink the water first before you eat that pudding, Vance. Your stomach hasn't been feeling well since yesterday, has it?"

I froze. My stomach does often hurt when I'm stressed, but on March 30th in my previous life, I hadn't told him about that yet. I only complained of a stomachache a week after the investigation began.

How could he know?

"I'm not in the mood for pudding," I said as calmly as possible.

It wasn't just Skyden; almost all my teammates looked confused. I'd never turned down pudding before, but this time I did.

Skyden Wolfe.

He didn't just shatter my trust.

He also destroyed the one small thing that had ever truly made me happy.

At the orphanage, pudding was a luxury treat for the kids. The only thing that could cheer me up back then.

Now… seeing Skyden offer it to me just makes me sick.

"Are you okay?" Even Noah, the youngest member of our team, looked worried about me.

I nodded slowly and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Senior Marcus asked.

"To get some fresh air," I said without turning around.

***

The air on the rooftop cleared my head a little.

I wasn't dreaming.

Skyden had really killed me.

I had died.

And now I'd woken up thirty days before my death.

My eyes narrowed as I sensed someone's presence; maybe it was my survival instinct, because before the person could touch my shoulder, I had already turned my head and taken a step back.

"Elliot?" I muttered as I looked at the man in charge of our team's data—an analyst.

"Linora," he said with a stiff smile.

He was the quietest person on the team. Why was he talking to me?

"Are you okay?" he asked, holding out a cup of warm milk.

I didn't take it and let his hand hang there in the air, staring intently at him.

After Skyden betrayed me, I no longer trusted anyone's kindness; there had to be a hidden motive behind it all.

"What's wrong? Do you think I put poison in it?" he asked.

I nodded without thinking, and a second later, his laughter burst out.

This was the first time I'd seen him laugh so freely. I grew even more suspicious.

As soon as he stopped laughing, he gulped down half the cup of milk.

"Do I look like I'm about to die?" he asked then.

I remained silent.

"I was worried seeing you leave like that; it's not like you to act that way," Elliot said this time in his usual calm tone.

"You should've just ignored me," I said softly.

"Yeah, I should've. I just… wanted to thank you for standing up for me," he said.

I furrowed my brow.

"I heard it—you scolded some members of the top team when they were belittling me," he explained in a soft voice. This time I could see a change in his expression; there was a shadow in his eyes, yet he was already smiling faintly as he looked at me.

Now I remember. Thirty days before my death, that morning I had a heated argument with some members of the elite team because they were gossiping about my team.

They said our team was a bunch of losers, unlike them—especially the analyst on our team, whom they claimed was unreliable. They compared him to the analysts on their team.

I was furious; I told them they had no idea how hard Elliot worked for the team—he was a thousand times better than the analysts on their team.

We ended up pulling each other's hair; even though it seemed like I was outnumbered, I was satisfied because they got injuries just as bad—if not worse—than mine until the Commander came to separate us.

I didn't mean to defend him; I was just upset that my team was being belittled. I think Elliot heard it.

Just as I was about to retort to Elliot, an arm wrapping around my shoulder made me freeze.

"So you're here, Vance. I've been looking everywhere for you."

Skyden.

I was still frozen—why didn't I sense his presence the way I sensed Elliot's? I didn't even hear his footsteps.

Back then… I always knew when he was approaching.

This man… was more dangerous than I thought.

Elliot immediately straightened his posture, reverting to his usual stiff, silent analyst mode. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Skyden was still holding me, looking at both of us with his usual friendly smile, but his eyes were fixed sharply on Elliot—or more precisely, on the cup of milk Elliot was holding.

"The Commander is looking for you, Linora. I think it's about The Raven," Skyden said, releasing his hand from me, as if wanting to reclaim his position beside me.

He glanced at Elliot briefly. "Thanks for looking after my partner, Elliot. But I think she needs rest more than warm milk."

I, now fully alert, slipped out of his embrace.

"I'll be leaving soon. You go ahead; I want to talk to Elliot for a bit longer," I told Skyden.

His eyes immediately took on the look of a disappointed puppy, but he nodded and left.

"What's going on?" Elliot asked once we were alone.

"Black Lotus—do you have any deeper intel on them? I need it ASAP," I said.

Elliot fell silent; perhaps he was confused. The Commander had ordered us to keep an eye on The Raven.

Black Lotus is a group that's "not worth worrying about" like The Raven, but they don't know that in the future, the remnants of Black Lotus could potentially rise up and form an alliance with The Raven.

Besides… I need more clues.

Elliot stared at me for a long time, as if weighing whether I'd gone mad or was planning something big.

However, he finally nodded. "I'll look into it via the private server and contact you later."

"Thank you."

***

Sector 4 Warehouse. The place where my life once hung in the balance.

I received information from Elliot that this place was often used for illegal transactions by the remnants of the Black Lotus group.

Tonight, in the drizzling rain, I steeled myself for an independent investigation.

My instincts grew sharper; the moment I sensed something was wrong, I turned around immediately... and there he was.

We pointed our guns at each other.

"Put down your gun or you'll die right here."

The voice cut through the warehouse's darkness like a knife.

Déjà vu.

My heart was pounding, my breath held, and my fingers gripped the trigger stiffly.

The flickering yellow light cast a large shadow of his body.

Just as I suspected. This man... is dangerous. I was truly foolish to have ever loved him.

"I should be the one saying that to you," I replied, staring into his eyes with a cold gaze.

My hands were trembling, but not from fear. Flashes of blood, the sound of the trigger, and the change in his expression when he saw me die in that moment—they all flashed rapidly through my mind.

In a split second, I was a split second too slow to react, but a bare-handed fight broke out—our guns flew from our hands, fists and kicks were exchanged, the sound of cracking bones and heavy breathing mingled with raindrops from the leaky roof.

I managed to pin him against the wall, the knife nearly pressed to his throat.

Finally… I can defeat him on my own, I thought. A sweet victory amidst the rain and shadows, but it was only fleeting.

Skyden gave a faint smile; there was no fear in his eyes despite the real threat of the knife that could slit his throat at any moment.

My hands trembled again; my body wasn't quite ready to keep up with my mind.

"You don't seem surprised—did you see this coming?" he asked, twisting my weakening wrist and flinging the weapon from my hand.

But I lunged at him again; I didn't want to die here again, at the hands of the same man, yet he cornered me first. The situation had turned against me.

Skyden pinned me to the wall with my back to him, twisting my arms behind me until my movements were locked.

"Let me go, you bastard!" My anger flared. The blood in my head boiled again.

"You shouldn't have touched something you shouldn't have touched," he said. His breath brushed my neck, making me struggle again, but it was futile.

"Something that shouldn't be touched? You mean the Black Lotus?" I baited him, this time stopping my struggle.

Skyden chuckled softly. "You almost woke the sleeping giant."

"Interesting," I said coldly. "I didn't know I'd been working with a traitor all this time."

"I have one question for you," he said, ignoring my remark.

"I should be the one asking you!"

"I don't mind. Let's exchange information," he said calmly.

"Don't even think about it. I'm dragging you to the interrogation room." I struggled again, until something cold wrapped around both my wrists.

Skyden turned my body to face him. Now, I could see him smiling—the same smile he always wore.

That smile. Back then… I believed it was real. Now, I know it's just a weapon.

"You should've kept your handcuffs secure," he said casually.

Damn it!

I kicked him in the stomach the moment I saw an opening.

It worked; he stumbled and crashed into a pile of cardboard boxes, but he was still laughing even though I knew it must have hurt.

"You won't be able to open them without this," Skyden said, holding up the key to my handcuffs.

"Give it to me!"

"Calm down, Linora." This time, he spoke in a cold tone; the next moment he was already standing, casually straightening his clothes, as if what had just happened was nothing.

"Don't say my name with your filthy mouth," I said, just as coldly.

His eyes fixed on me sharply. "Why? Aren't we very close partners?"

My hands clenched tightly.

"That was before you pointed a gun at me."

"Alright, let's cut to the chase—did you find any information on them? The Raven," he asked.

I tensed.

"Stop acting! You're a criminal just like them, a Black Lotus spy. Skyden… Whether it's Black Lotus or The Raven, you're all the same!"

Skyden frowned. "I've been confused ever since I overheard your conversation with Elliot about Black Lotus—why do you think I'm part of them? I was so sure my cover was airtight."

I couldn't tell him I knew because I'd died once.

"Listen, Linora, The Raven… they're mine. I'm the one who's going to kill them."

I snorted harshly. "You criminals are just protecting other criminals. I won't be fooled again, Skyden."

I really didn't want to be fooled again. I had to hurry, but he was still holding the keys to my handcuffs.

"Are you going to chase them all the way to Echelon Nine?" he asked. "I'm not lying this time. If you want to catch The Raven… you don't need the law," he said. "You need me."

Before I could say a word, he had already tossed the handcuff key near my feet—along with a plain black business card without a logo.

"What's this now?" I asked coldly.

"An invitation," he replied briefly. "Or more accurately—a proposal. Let's get married."

Something hit me in the chest.

I froze.

This should have been ridiculous… but my body didn't agree.

I regained control of myself.

"You're crazy." I glanced at the card briefly. No company name. No address. Just a small symbol faintly etched in the corner—a black bird with outstretched wings.

"Of course you'll accept my proposal. Meet me at our usual spot. Tomorrow night, nine o'clock," he said as he walked away.

"Good night, partner," he said before disappearing into the darkness.