Samael remained lying inside the small improvised shelter, desperately fighting against the unbearable weight pressing down on his eyelids.
His body burned with fever.
Yet the cold was still there.
Deep.
Cruel.
As if sothing were slowly freezing his bones from the inside.
Beside him, Liu sat in silence.
Rain still fell softly outside.
For several minutes, only the sound of water filled the shelter.
Then Liu spoke.
"What happened after that?"
Her voice was low.
Tired.
Samael took several seconds to answer.
Organizing his thoughts felt far too difficult in his current condition.
"My Echo... is too injured to be summoned."
His voice ca out hoarse.
Weak.
"We walked for more than a week... and the rest was just fighting Nightmare Creatures."
Liu remained silent for a few monts.
Then Samael slowly turned his head toward her.
"And you?"
Liu's red eyes lost focus slightly.
As if recalling sothing unpleasant.
"My anchor was pulled to a strange place in the Dream Realm."
She spoke slowly.
"Dark... empty... with beams of light falling from the sky."
Samael imdiately raised his gaze a little.
"The Realm of Ri..."
Liu nodded slowly.
"The Nightmare Creatures changed Rank every twelve hours."
Silence.
"And I had to survive until I found a Citadel."
Samael's eyes wavered slightly.
"Every twelve hours...?"
That was new.
Liu confird it with a small nod.
Samael remained quiet for a few seconds before replying.
"I discovered that place... is where the Daemon of Repose died."
Liu slowly turned toward him.
"How did you find that out?"
"My anchor was pulled to her cetery."
His voice sounded distant.
"There's a gravestone there."
Silence returned.
Heavy.
Awkward.
Then Samael spoke again.
"I also found out that space works strangely there."
He slowly closed his eyes.
"Walking for an entire week... is equivalent to maybe a kiloter."
Liu remained silent.
The more she listened...
The more absurd Arica seed.
And at the sa ti...
The more she understood his ntal state.
Samael took a deep breath.
Then returned to the previous subject with the sa stubbornness as always.
"I'm not going with you."
Liu simply ignored him.
Completely.
Every ti he brought up that topic, she pretended she hadn't heard him.
It irritated Samael.
And sohow left him without the strength to keep insisting.
After a few seconds, Liu suddenly spoke.
"Do you rember what you asked when we first arrived here?"
Samael frowned slightly.
His mind was moving too slowly.
"...No. What?"
Liu looked ahead as she calmly replied.
"I accept."
Samael blinked slowly.
"Accept what...?"
"I'll do it."
The confusion on his face deepened.
"What are you talking about...?"
Liu finally turned toward him.
"Figure it out yourself."
It's the first ti I've ever taught soone, Liu thought nervously.
Silence returned once more.
But this ti, there was sothing different about it.
Sothing lighter.
Morning arrived slowly.
The rain had weakened.
Liu stood up and began walking through the forest, supporting Samael over her shoulders.
She stumbled sotis.
Lost her balance.
Hesitated between roots and branches.
She still wasn't used to carrying another person like that.
She looked exactly like Samael a week ago.
Desperately trying to learn while surviving.
His condition had worsened significantly.
His golden eyes could barely remain open.
His consciousness seed to be slowly sinking away.
Noticing that, Liu decided to keep talking.
She needed to keep him awake.
"What happened in the book you were telling about?"
Samael took several seconds to answer.
"...I don't know."
His voice sounded increasingly distant.
Liu fell silent for a mont.
Then she started talking randomly.
"I like reading."
She pushed a branch out of the way.
"And rain."
A few more steps.
"...And swords."
She was answering the questions from a week ago.
"I thought it was interesting how that protagonist had to carry his sick sister through a supernatural world."
She let out a small tired breath.
"Our situation is kind of similar to his, right, Samael?"
"...I don't know."
His thoughts seed to turn sluggishly.
The forest felt increasingly distant.
So Liu kept talking.
Without stopping.
Anything was better than silence right now.
"Ah... I also like cooking."
She stepped around a massive root.
"Can you cook, Samael?"
"...No..."
His voice faltered midway.
Almost disappearing.
Liu pressed her lips together slightly before continuing.
"I'm actually a very good cook, you know?"
She tried to smile.
"It's been a long ti since I last cooked... but I think I'm still good at it."
It was strange.
Very strange.
It had been a long ti since Liu had talked so much about herself to another person.
Perhaps...
Because silence now felt frightening.
Perhaps...
Because she finally felt guilty.
As she walked, Liu lowered her gaze slightly.
"When I was a child... I didn't have many friends."
Her voice was low.
"So I ended up becoming attached to books and cooking."
Her eyes wavered for a mont.
The week before, she had refused to answer even his simplest questions.
Now, that weighed strangely on her conscience.
Samael had almost died for her.
Without truly knowing her.
Without receiving much of anything in return.
Liu took a deep breath before continuing.
"When I was a teenager, I earned a scholarship to an elite school."
She slowly moved between two trees.
"My family was struggling after my father died."
Her voice softened slightly.
"I had to make the most of that opportunity."
A few seconds of silence passed.
Then she glanced at Samael.
"Are you listening, Samael?"
Several seconds passed.
"...Yeah."
The reply ca out slurred.
Almost unintelligible.
Even so, Liu released a small sigh of relief.
Then she kept talking.
About anything.
Everything.
"I never liked that school."
"But I didn't have a choice."
"That's where I fell in love with the sword."
Her eyes lost focus slightly.
"But with so much pressure... I think I eventually stopped enjoying it."
She fell silent for a few monts before asking again.
"Are you listening, Samael?"
The answer ca a few monts later.
Weak.
Distant.
"...Yeah."
And so the two continued advancing through the forest.
Whenever possible, Liu avoided Nightmare Creatures.
She held her breath, carefully circling around them as slowly and silently as she could.
Honestly, it was incredibly stressful.
And she had only been doing it for a few hours.
Still, she kept talking without pause.
Her voice echoed softly among the rain-soaked trees.
To anyone observing from afar...
It would look like nothing more than a girl walking alone through the forest while talking to herself.
Except for one detail.
Every few minutes—
A very weak male voice would answer:
"...Yeah."
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