“Uh…”

Turing put a little pressure on her right hand, which was braced against the wall. Her entire wrist shattered against it, then fell away.

She stared at her fingers embedded in the ice coating the wall. Not even the tiniest drop of blood came out.

Before they knew it, the temperature around them had fallen below the lowest point at which ordinary living things could survive—especially the wall, whose temperature rivaled the coldest places at either of Earth’s poles.

The ice bees were cooling things like mad. Even from the outside, the entire smokeless zone was already coated in a thick layer of ice.

“Oh my God.”

Merka hurried over and cradled Turing’s tiny wrist in his arms, his heart aching for her.

White flames burned over Merka like water weeds drained of their color. Then they traveled along his hand to Turing’s wrist, repairing it.

“Turing, let me be the one to heal you from now on…”

“You and your angel… save your magic for now.”

“Let me… let me be your support.”

Turing lifted her eyes slightly.

She saw Merka cradling her hand, doing his best to keep his trembling body still.

He bit down on his lower lip, forcing his faintly purplish, trembling lips to stop quivering.

At that moment, Merka could almost hear the bones inside him creak and groan like machinery running out of lubricant as his body heat rapidly drained away.

But even so, he refused. He refused to spend any more magic to warm himself.

He wanted to be able to help Turing. No matter the cost.

“…………”

Turing gazed into Merka’s black eyes, lowered beneath his lashes, their dark depths shimmering like the essence of a kaleidoscope. She fell silent for a moment.

She stepped closer and gently rested her forehead against Merka’s neck.

Her body, warm and fragrant as a charcoal fire, pressed against Merka. Its heat soothed his skin and his soul, making his spirits rise.

“Merka.”

“Why did you have to choose me, of all people?”

Turing blinked her watery blue eyes, then lowered her head onto Merka’s collarbone.

The pulse beating slowly in Merka’s neck now seemed as sensual as a wolf’s throat swallowing.

Turing felt Merka’s life with every part of herself.

Secretly, she counted his heartbeat against her own.

It gave her a sense of peace that seemed to transcend everything.

“Turing… why are you still asking me this, after everything?”

“It hurts me… doesn’t the fact that I love you say enough?”

Merka lowered his voice and leaned close to Turing’s ear.

“But… but…”

“I can’t help thinking that way, can I?”

“Adam didn’t choose Eve.”

“In the end, I gave up on Elizabeth, too.”

“Even my mother, who was most like me, was rejected by Prometheus in the end.”

“I’m no better than any of them.”

“What is it about me… that you refuse to give up on, even after everything you’ve suffered?”

Turing kissed Merka’s collarbone with her cheek.

Her voice was quiet and hurt, like a kitten that had accidentally knocked over a cup, now rubbing against your feet and begging for affection.

“…You’ve got it wrong, Turing.”

“What we have isn’t just a simple romantic relationship.”

“We came to know each other, stood by each other, and fell in love. From the darkest days this country had ever known, we faced the darkness together and endured until dawn.”

“You’re not only my wife, but also my love, my confidante, my comrade-in-arms, my family—my one and only.”

“If you’re the legend I write, then I’m your poet.”

“If you’re the goddess at the bow of my ship, then I’m the ferryman who steers you across the water.”

“If you’re the scorching lamp in the night of my suffering, then I’m the moth that flies toward you without fear.”

“All those complicated, unspoken ties are like countless threads twisting together between us, binding us so we can never be parted, in this life or the next!”

“You’re my god, my faith.”

“If a god asks his believer to make a sacrifice…”

“All it takes is a sentence. A single word.”

“Do you understand?”

“Heh…”

Merka shook his head slightly.

Turing’s body, like a charcoal fire radiating endless heat, made Merka feel much better.

He pulled a stack of envelopes from his arms and waved them in front of Turing.

“Besides…”

“It’s not certain that Prometheus rejected Oedipus, you know, my dear.”

“I found his belongings in Prometheus’s office.”

“He even wrote you a letter… and it really was meant for you. After all, he even called you Turing in it.”

“W-what?”

Turing’s heart leaped. She instinctively reached for the envelopes in Merka’s hand.

But Merka deftly moved the hand holding the envelopes out of her reach, then tucked them back against his chest.

“No… these are your reward.”

“Once we’ve both made it through this alive, I’ll let you read them, okay?”

Merka pressed his lips together and smiled.

His smile was full of a man’s self-assured charm.

“If you want to read those letters… then let’s hurry to the next floor.”