Kisa, glancing his way, frowns slightly. Her nose scrunches. “Seokga,” she says breathlessly, “you have to look—she’s marvelous—” Her gaze catches on something over his shoulder, and her face briefly flashes with pity before she turns back to the river. Seokga barely notices, so urgent are her demands for him to lean over the rail and stare down into the currents.

The corner of his mouth twitching, he humors her request and stares into the scarlet depths below where an ineo keeps pace with the SRC Flatliner. She’s long and lean, dark tail lashing through the air as she dives and surfaces. Her long, inky hair is crusted with barnacles. As if sensing their stares, she glances up at them for a split second with a pale face and glittering black eyes. Thin lips stretch to reveal pike’s teeth before she dives back into the water.

Seokga tightens his grip on his cane, feeling strangely wary. That smile was, if he is being quite honest and lets go of his massive ego, quite terrifying.

Kisa’s mouth is agape. “They’ve never looked at me before,” she breathes. “That was—”

“—disgusting,” Seokga offers. Back when ineo on Iseung were common, they weren’t nearly as terrifying. The waters of the underworld must do something to them.

“—magical,” Kisa finishes, glaring at him.

“She was severely lacking in dental hygiene,” Seokga mutters. Kisa rolls her eyes—and he freezes. That—that, too, is so completely Hani, down to the exact fluttering of the lashes. It nearly kills him. Perhaps, he thinks, heartbeat accelerating, perhaps the ship isn’t a completely different ship.

Kisa pushes off the rail, shooting him a curious look—and he knows she heard that.

His throat dries out.

“I didn’t ask you that question to torture you,” Kisa says hesitantly, as they step into the stairwell, feet melting into the velvet carpet. “I really didn’t mean—I wasn’t think—” She cuts off a moment later, stumbling back into him, gasping so sharply that Seokga grabs her, spins her around, and frantically checks her small body for any signs of injury, any—any—

It happens so quickly that Seokga does not have time to realize that it is a hilt of a dagger—a scarlet dagger—before she is gripping his hand in hers and dragging the tip of the blade downward to her chest.

Hani guides the dagger they both hold through her heart.

“Hani,” he whispers, feeling sick, before he can stop himself. “Hani—”

Kisa flinches, but he barely notices, for he’s finally examined her face. It’s so pale, and her eyes are brimming with tears and panic. “Seokga,” she says in a wavering voice, “Seokga, I-I’m fine, but he’s—he’s—”

Slow, cold realization trickles through the god. Heart sinking in his chest, Seokga gently moves Kisa aside, not knowing whether he really wants to look, knowing that this will change everything…