Day 1.

The wind gently passes through the forest as the soft breeze dances with the leaves. A group of squirrels jump from tree to tree as they run along the branches. An owl watches them from afar with it's glowing eyes as it continues to hoot in the safety of a tree's hole.

Alice walks as she hums a lovely tune while having her hands behind her head. With Axel, not too far behind.

Unlike the one in front of him, he continues to walk with a blank expression as he constantly watches his footing.

They left the safety of the dirt pathway and ventured off into the unknown forest as Alice insisted that this was the shortest way to arrive at Southrade town, not to mention the forest provided the much needed shade from the harsh sun. She apparently knows these woods like the back of her hand, and judging by how relaxed she is, she isn't lying. But he keeps his eyes on her nevertheless, staring at her intensively while readying himself for any kind of movement she or his surroundings might do.

The two haven't spoken ever since departing from their campsite. The only sound that fills the silence are the rustling of the leaves, the grass getting stepped on, and the frogs ribbiting in their small little puddles of water. The two keep their distance as they don't dare to utter a single word.

But then, from amidst the awkward silence. Alice subtly glances over her shoulder to peak at Axel, before quickly turning back and facing forward. She's been doing this for at least about an hour now, Axel paid no mind at first, but she would constantly glance over at him from time to time which ate away at his patience.

She takes another glance which causes the string of patience to snap!

"What!! Do I have something on my face!!" Axel shouts angrily as a vein pops up on his forehead.

She squeals as her body jumps up! Her tail stiffens up as she turns around with one hand rubbing her head, laughing awkwardly.

"Haha, no. . . Sorry, I'm just not used to having someone walking behind me. On the contrary, I'm more used to having people walking in front of me, but hey, if it's that unsettling, come walk beside me. That way our minds will be at ease."

Axel stops in his tracks. . .

Staring at her intensely with those soul crushing eyes of his in complete silence . .

All the ants on the ground that are walking together in a certain direction, suddenly scatter as they run in the opposite direction. The gentle flow of the air around them disappears without a trace as the atmosphere stiffens. He isn't doing this intentionally, but just by his sudden change in tone, mayhem starts to break loose in the forest.

Alice, however, doesn't flinch at all. She stands her ground with a smile and stares right back at him with no traces of hidden intentions. Just the fact that Alice is able to be under his gaze without flinching at all is a feat on its own. He sighs before walking once more, letting Alice walk beside him. Either way, her words are rational and even if she tries to do anything to him, being on his side wouldn't give her any kind of advantage, so long he keeps his guard up.

Half a day later.

The overall journey has been uneventful between the two to say the least. They have left the forest and are currently walking through a valley while the sun is setting in the background. They walk along the mountains with a gentle river flow at the very bottom of the valley, traveling as far as the eye can see. Their clothes sway in one direction as the harsh winds push the two in a certain direction. However, despite the heavy currents the valley provided, the entire landscape is breathtaking.

The mountains are big enough to reach the clouds. At the very tips of the mountains lies the whitest snow Axel has ever seen, the cold breeze from atop the mountains travels down through the valley and welcomes the two with some nice, cool air. Refreshing the two as they breathe in the nice air. A flock of birds soar across the sky as they venture off into the horizon, disappearing into the sunset. There's also a light fog above the greenery down below, giving the trees and wildlife an almost mystic aura as a group of deers, ranging from elderly to younglings, walk over to the crystal clear river in an elegant manner. They drink upon the waters before turning their heads up above to the travelling duo, watching over them in curiosity.

From the fluffy clouds up above, to the sun setting in the horizon, to the sea of trees down below, everywhere their eyes glanced, there's always something to witness in this magical landscape.

Late at night.

The stars litter the sky in a spectacle of different colors. Darkness surrounds the two as it circles around them, waiting for Alice's self made torch to burn it's last embers.

They are now in a grass field, with the grass reaching to the knees, covering the entire landscape. Although Alice wanted to keep on going to a more safe spot to call it a night, since this place was home to many robbery incidents, her absence of sleep is clearly showing. Her body threatens to tip over while she tries her best to mask all of her uncontrollable yawns. Her walking speed becomes slow, painstakingly slow, so much that Axel becomes fed up with it and stops at the nearest tree. Despite Alice's best efforts to get him to move, Axel refuses to budge until she receives proper sleep, with the battle not tipping in her favor, she tries her best to take over the night shift since she's a knight, but the one who needs sleep is obvious.

It's a losing battle as her own body sides with Axel, she lets out an exhausted sigh, but in the end, she smiles with gratitude. She begins to cushion the hard ground with the grass around her while Axel stays quiet and stares at the night sky with his back against the tree. The sound of crickets disturb the silence in a peaceful way as the grass gently moves based on the direction of the wind.

The stars shine above him, ranging from big to small, pink to blue, they add so much color into the night sky, it's a sight to behold, and it actually puts a minor dent into Axel's stone cold face. Throughout the whole day, the world around him is distant to him. Unlike Alice who enjoyed the sceneries, Axel wasn't fazed at all, he could not see the beauty in the landscapes, almost like if the whole world was black and white. This has been happening to him ever since execution day, and as the sinking feeling in his heart grows, so does his humanity by each counting day. He already isn't human, he can't empathise, he lost his emotions, and he can't connect with the world around him. However, there's still one thing that made him human. He's still able to reason. He's still able to make choices, but as time goes on. He quickly realizes that he's racing against the clock . . .

Axel places his hand over his head as he begins to ponder something with a great discomfort on his face.

The punishment of God still has one last surprise instored for Axel. His heart begins to quiver as something starts preventing him from breathing.

The Eternal Death Maiden has placed a curse on him. . .

Memories of his reincarnation flash before him, that's when the curse manifested within him.

And the second time the curse activated was just three days ago in Northrade town.

Each time the curse activates, Axel loses all his sense of reasoning and becomes a monster. A monster, with an unquenching thirst for blood. He can't control it, he tries desperately every day to contain it, but with each passing day . . . . It builds up inside of him . . . Until one day . . . It explodes into an uncontrollable outrage!

And each time he does, it slowly takes away a piece of the last bit of remaining sanity he has left, his sense of reasoning.

He's slowly turning into a soulless, brainless killing machine, a literal monster without a consciousness. The label the world placed on him is slowly becoming reality. . Axel, the human, is going to die soon. .

He begins to tremble as he clutches his heart, afraid . . . that he'll break. .

The odds are stacked against him, he's likely going die before he even gets a chance to get his revenge.

Pain swell in his eyes, as he realises,
his death is imminent . . . .

There's no way to stop the curse, all he can do is resist it before it ends up taking over his body completely. . There's no point in starting a new life, no reason to make friends, there is no point in getting attached to the world or it's people. All he can do is wait, await the day until he disappears completely from existence. . . He'll most likely won't be visiting his friends in the afterlife, he'll just vanish off the surface of the world.

. . Like if he never existed in the first place . .

The stars are like bubbles to him, bubbles of memories of his life up till now. They sparkle a little sense of nostalgia in him as he recalls the life he had in the orphanage. The silly pranks they would play on each other. Daisy and her sassy attitude. The jar of money they would save to go to Wonder Land, and the bond they formed together. His empty heart felt a little bit of gratitude.

At least, he's going to die with all his fond memories of the three growing up. His life's treasures.

Tom is right . . . . You can form a family without being blood related . .

But as he self reflects upon his life like if it's his last day, Axel is left at a loss. His brows narrow as something begins to tug at his brain.

He doesn't know what to make of it. If his life is destined to end up like this. Then what purpose does he have for living? Why give him the gift of life, if his life has no meaning whatsoever. Perhaps his entire life is just some stepping stone for Blake to succeed in life?

The question sinks even further into his brain, but before his head can fully wrap around it. A voice calls out to him, causing him to snap into reality, and turns to the direction of the voice.

"Josh . . . ." Alice calls out to him.

She's her bed of grass. Gazing upon the stars as well, but something is immediately off. Her signature happy expression is gone without a trace. An uncomfortable aura surrounds her as she holds onto her sword, before turning to him.

They glance into each other, noticing the same disturbance radiating from within their eyes.

Time itself appears to take a pause as the environment around them becomes nothing more than a simple background.

She shifts uncomfortably as she has difficulty uttering the words she's trying to tell to him.

" . . I . . . I just wanted to t-tell you . . . that I get nightmares when I sleep," she says with an embarrassed voice.

The crickets in the background become mute, he stares at her with his emotionless expression as a gust of wind swirls around them. She turns her face around, unable to see his eyes directly. Although for her, it's like exposing a big secret of hers, he doesn't appear mildly interested in the information she revealed.

" . . So what? . . . ."

She lets out a surprise " huh" before turning to face him. She's left at a loss for words as true to his response, he doesn't seem to care at all. She is about to ask why, but she ultimately cuts herself off and gives him a smile.

"Thank you, Josh. . . Anyways, I'll be going to sleep now. . . You better not try anything funny, I won't hesitate to cut you down," responds Alice as she places her sword on top of her, ready for anything that might be happening that night.

Axel just shrugs in response, not really taking her warning seriously.

"You may kill me right now if you'd like. I won't fight back."

Alice shakes her head. The reassurance painted on her face contrasts the tightened grip on her sword. Axel knows she's entrusting her life to him, but by how much is another matter entirely.

Alice has plenty of experience dealing with criminals. People often associate them with scary looking people they have never met before, but in reality, criminals are much closer to you than you think. Whether it be in family, your groups of friends, neighbors, work partners, you'll likely encounter a criminal in the form of someone you already know.

To Alice, the most dangerous people to have your back turn against are the ones who are always cheery. Because most likely than not, they have something to hide.

Although Axel is a mysterious person. She doesn't find him all too concerning or untrustworthy. Throughout the whole journey, he has never pretended to act like a welcoming person, he's always been brutally honest and speaks without any reservation. So when she listened to his words and saw no traces of lying in his body language, she feels at ease, as she can trust his words.

With her eyelids becoming unbearable to keep open, and with her mind drifting in and out of consciousness. She relaxes her body, with her tail coiling one of her legs.

" . . Goodnight . . ." She says with a drowsy and soft voice

Axel turns to face her, but he sees her already out like a candle. Almost like an on and off switch. She isn't faking it, as Axel is able to hear her heart slowing down.

(Enhanced senses: Upon obtaining, allows the user to enhance their senses to an extreme degree upon command.)

She really is crazy enough to intrust her life to him, well, that doesn't matter to him. Why bother? He isn't going to meet her again after this trip, and if by chance she does, he'll probably be already dead . . .

Day 2.

Axel is intensely staring at his necklace in the dark, with his hands trembling. But then, a noise erupts from the silence, making him close the watch and turning his focus onto the noise.

The sun isn't up yet, but Alice is yawning with her arms stretching widely. She rubs the drowsiness off her eyes as she turns to face Axel, who's exactly in the same spot from when she went to sleep. Her hair is a complete mess with baggy eyes, probably a position most girls don't want anyone to see them in, but she pays no mind and gives him a happy go lucky smile.

" . . Morning Josh! . ." She waves at him.

Axel continues to stare at her with a dull expression. He still can't believe she really did place her life under his hands. Did she just have a keen judgement over people? Or is she really stupid? Either way, Axel wouldn't even place his own life with an unstable man such as himself. Moreover, why would she wake up at this time? It's currently 6 o'clock in the morning with the sky dark purple, she hasn't even slept for 4 hours.

Alice struggles to get off her bed, she clearly isn't a morning person with her body still yearning for a few extra hours of sleep.

She stifles one last big yawn as she stretches her arms and back, before getting up and grabbing her sword.

"Did something happen last night? Any raiders?" She asks.

Axel gently shakes his head. Nothing noteworthy happened last night, just a few monsters appeared here and there, but Axel took care of them without breaking a sweat. The only ability worth talking about that he received was the (Heat resistance [ I ]). True to its name, this will help him against fire base spells and overall environmental sources of heat such as the scorching sun. After realising this, Axel specifically hunted down the monsters that carried this ability and raised it up to (Heat resistance [VII]) before the monster disappeared by the approaching morning.

(Heat resistance [VII]: Allows the user to absorb heat more efficiently and release back while protecting the user's body from any form of heat. Currently up to 70%.)

" I'll be doing a bit of training not too far from here. We'll leave once the sun rises up on the horizon, ok?" She tells Axel as she attaches her sword onto her waist.

He simply gives her a nod for an answer before she ventures off into the tall grass. With absolutely nothing to do at camp, he closes his eyes to let the time pass.

An hour later.

She hasn't returned yet, the sun is already up, the only thing that keeps him from thinking that she ditched him are the strange noises that arise from the direction she went off to, but they aren't from her voice. Curiosity begins to crawl on Axel's back as he jumps onto one of the tree's branches. He takes the time to get cozy by putting his legs on the branch and crossing them, laying his back on the log, and putting his hands behind his head, before scouting the area Alice went off too.

"102 . . . . .103 . . . . .104 . . . . . 105," Alice takes a deep breath in between her words as she grunts with pain swelling in her voice.

To Axel's surprise, she's still working out. She's carrying a giant boulder, easily twice the size of her, and holds it above her, doing squats.

Sweat drips off her chin as her legs shake out of control, they're in the bring of death as they appear to be on the edge of their mercy.

She grits her teeth with an anguished expression as her ears and tail twitch. Her arms appear to nearly snap off as her entire body struggles to lift the shoulder. Even though Axel isn't the one exercising, his body is undergoing some pain just by watching her. He can literally feel her pain from on top of a tree. She's pushing her body to the absolute limit, even when her entire body is about to break, she pulls the boulder up with nothing but sheer willpower. Each time she would go down, her legs and arms scream in pain as she grunts in agony! Just as when she has reached her maximum, she manages to lift the boulder up using every inch of muscle her body. She stares straight ahead, completely focused to lift the rock once more. The raw pain in her body is indescribable, but the pure determination she has in her eyes is even stronger!

His eyes widened slightly in amusement. Even though she has called it training, this is clearly more than just excising, she's deliberating pushing herself above and beyond, almost like if it's life or death situation. He has never seen someone so determined as her before. She clearly lives up to the title as a knight, unlike the cowards Axel has faced before who throw their fake titles around for their pleasure. And on top of that, she's a girl. The fact that she's a girl doesn't surprise him at all, but what does, is that she's the only female knight he has encountered thus far. Even in the palace, all the knights are exclusively male, for what he's seen so far. The women in this world take up lesser job ranks compared to the men, and in general, are seen as the inferior gender.

So for her to be a knight, well, it peaked his interest to know why. For what Axel can tell, she's clearly stronger than the Grand knight he encountered earlier on, and yet, she dawns the normal knight rank attire.

His pondering abruptly stops however, as with a large thud, the boulder comes crashing down as Alice flops onto the ground, exhausted and in pain beyond belief. What's her reason to train so hard? Axel questions himself as he hops down the tree.

Half a day later.

A hawk soars the dry sky as it scouts for any prey down below. Rattlesnakes take refuge under the bushes, escaping the unforgiving heat of the sun. Coiling themselves in a swirl as they rattle whenever something gets too close. Wild goats climb the extremely steep mountains, they aren't as tall or girthy as the mountains from the valley, but they're much sharper and practically has no horizontal surface. Rocks fall down to the endless void as a goat carefully places it's hoof down onto an unstable stone, one little gentle gust of wind would be enough to knock the goats over the cliff. Heart wrenching wouldn't even begin to describe it, one little miscalculation or slip up would mean their instant death. They practically defy gravity as they step from rock to rock, heading to the top of the mountain.

Axel and Alice walk on a trail that hugs the mountains. Today is hotter than any other day they've encountered thus far. So much so, that Alice who has been unbothered by the sun these past few days. Starts detaching her armor into small enough pieces to put in her bag she's carrying. Placing her hands over her head to block her face from getting burned.

Axel however, is less affected by the sun thanks to his newly acquired ability.

Since yesterday, the two have been engaging in some small talk, with Alice being the one who always initiates it, and Axel being the one who ends it with as few words as possible. The only thing that keeps him from closing his mouth shut was the long journey ahead, to kill some time and to mask the pain in his legs, he answers a few questions Alice throws at him.

"Why are you going to Southrade town?" She asks him.

Axel continues to walk without batting an eye.

"I have family in that town," Axel quickly says the first lie that comes to mind. Admitting the truth would be a fool's errand.

Alice's eyes brighten up as her tail begins to wag from side to side, Axel notices this and immediately regrets giving her that answer.

" No way! I'm going over to Southrade for that very same reason too! I have a sister that lives there, how about you?"

He sighs in the back of his head as his mind goes over the chances of this coincidence. Perhaps he should give more unique responses.

"I have two brothers that I'm visiting, that's all," he replies.

"How are they like?" She asks.

Silence soon follows as Axel stays quiet. He seems to be done with talking . .

Alice gets the hint and doesn't ask again, she walks straight on as her smile shrinks by the second. Her ears slowly droop down as the movement of her tail slows down. Axel continues to stare ahead with his cold gaze, in his own little world. .

Alice's eyes become bittersweet as her hand tightened, she isn't oblivious to him. Everytime she would glance at him, thorns would prick her heart. Even though he doesn't show a single ounce of emotion, there's a sense of sadness looming over him. It follows him everywhere he goes, constantly eating away at his body. A great tragedy must have occurred to him for his shoulders to carry such a burden. Could it have been his life? Or an event he suffered? She doesn't know why, and yet, empathy fills her eyes.

Her pondering soon comes to a close however, as the duo stumble upon a ravine blocking their way. It's extremely wide, with the bottom of it not even having an end to it. With an endless void of darkness down below, reminding Axel of the giant hole he escaped from.

The only way to get across is a tiny, narrow, wooden bridge that swings from side to side by the wind passing by. A true nightmare for those who fear heights.

Alice laughs awkwardly as she rubs her head as if saying "whoops". Appearing as if she had totally forgotten about this part of her "shortcut".

"Ahh lord . . . . well, I promise it's perfectly safe, you'll just have to take my word on it. Look, I'll go first, then you can g-" her words are cut off as Axel steps onto the bridge and proceeds to walk across it. Leaving Alice, at a loss for words.

"Are we going or not?" Says Axel as he turns around, reality hits her like a sledgehammer as she closes her mouth and shakes her head, before walking on the unstable bridge.

"Wait for me!"

Late at night.

They call it a day once they reach a forest. They set up a fire with the sticks and branches they've collected in the forest.

Tiny sparks fly into the night sky as the two continue to eat a rabbit they've caught in the forest.

Something shines amidst his clothing like a blinding light which catches her eye.

"What is that?" Asks Alice as she points towards Axel's necklace. His body tenses up as his face bursts in an outrage when she gets too close. His face becomes possessed as his inner demons run loose!

"Stay away from them!!" Axel shouts as he swats away her finger in a fit of anger!

She shrieks as her arms flail around, and she falls down! Grasping her head as the sharp pain of the fall courses through it.

After realising what he has done, he tries his hardest to take control of himself as he calms his breathing. The tension in his body relaxes as his stone cold expression returns back to him.

He clings onto the necklace as a sharp knife begins to twist his heart. For a brief second, grief swells in his eyes. .

" . . . This is . . . very important
to me . ." he speaks with his terrifyingly deep voice, but this time, it has a small sense of sadness within it. .

Alice stands up with her cheeks puffed; still rubbing the part of her head that smacked against the hard ground.

"That was very mean of you! I was just asking a simple question," says Alice as she sits back down next to the fire. Axel stays quiet as the crackling of the fire fills the awkward silence.

Alice sighs, not knowing what to do. She comes clean with Axel as she glances over to him.

"I noticed throughout our journey, that you never smile. Now, I'm not trying to pry into your personal life, but you should smile more often," she lets out a small smile as a demonstration, but Axel turns his head and gets up. Walking next to a tree before gazing into the darkest of the forest.

"I'll take the night shift again . . . You can go rest up," says Axel.

Alice's eyes widen as she gets up and shakes her head profusely.

"No way! I can't let you do that twice in a role! It's a knight's job to guard it's people! Civilians always take priority! Not to mention I'm also a --" she stumbles back as she realises what she's about to say, her tongue gets stuck, unable to utter a single word.

Axel's eyes shift over to Alice as he tilts his body to face her directly. He slowly begins to walk to her as his eyes start to glow even brighter, with an eerie aura radiating from within them.

"You're also what . . . a slave? Is that what you're trying to say? That I should have priority because you're a slave?" He speaks with a cold voice as he gestures over to her slave collar, her body shrinks as her hands instinctively try to hide her metal collar. Annoyance grows in his eyes as each step he takes becomes more terrifying than the last.

"Look, I don't give a damn whether you're a knight, or a slave. A navigator is useless if she ends up fainting in the middle of the day. I guard you at night, and you guide me in the day, so long you're willing to do your end of the deal, I'll complete mine, do I make myself clear," Axel says as he walks past Alice and into the darkness of the forest.

She isn't able to utter a single word, almost as he didn't allow her too, but once he's gone. Air returns back into her lungs as she breathes heavily, she turns around to find him gone. Her face expressed many emotions, shock, confusion, terror, wonder, and many more. She's in disbelief with the words Axel spoke, a few seconds pass as she slowly starts to recollect herself, a tinge of joy and sadness fill her eyes before she blinks, and moments later, her eyes show pure determination.

" . . . Josh . . . ." She utters his "name".

Although she does not know his story, she wants to at least brighten his day, even if it's only for the briefest of moments. She wants to help him from his despair. She cracks a smile while gazing into the abyss.

That's her goal, from now on till they reach Southrade. .

Day 3.

Monkeys jump from tree to tree, communicating with one another as they watch on with curiosity upon the unwelcome guest down below. Alice steps forward as she makes a path across the thick jungle using her sword.

Silence doesn't exist in this biome as plenty of monkeys, birds, frogs, insects, and more were there to fill the air with their noises. They can't even walk 10 steps before having to turn to another direction. The trees are so tall, they can practically touch the sky, with their leaves clouding the sky. Hardly any light shines upon the ground as the competition in the jungle is intense, trees grow on top of other trees while a single leaf contains countless of different species of bugs.

Witnessing this jungle fill to the brim with life, this is a good opportunity to train his hunting skills for the later future, Axel attempts to hunt and catch something for dinner. Alice sits down on a tree root that bursted out the ground as Axel lunges into the jungle as he chases anything he sees! After an hour of hunting.

All of his attempts resulted in nothing but failure.

Although he's faster, he has difficulty navigating throughout the slim leeways and has zero hunting skills. Alice nevertheless encourages him to keep going, believing in the small chance Axel has to catch anything, he keeps going for another 30 minutes before he gets irritated and decides to move on.

A few moments later, the two end up running into a big, harsh flowing river. Unable to jump or walk around it. Alice takes the lead by jumping into the water first, and carefully walks across it. Axel soon follows her and uses any boulders to block the water currents.

Alice nearly reaches the other side, but she recalls the depths up ahead and turns to Axel to warn him.

"Be careful here, I suggest you lunge at those vines over there, given the opp-" she cuts herself off upon noticing Axel's disappearance.

Her eyes naturally drift down the river, and spots a floating Axel getting pulled even further into the current. His face expressed no emotions whatsoever as he put no resistance to fight the current, almost like if he's a leaf getting dragged by the river.

"Josh!!" Alice yells as she goes to rescue Axel.

10 minutes later.

They both make it to the other side, exhausted by all the swimming, but nevertheless they made it. Water continues to fall onto the ground as Alice gasps while having her hand on her knees, taking some time to gather up some energy.

"Are you ok Josh?" She asks as she turns to him.

Axel shrugs, but then notices that something caught Alice's eyes. Almost like moths to a flame, Alice's eyes almost appear magnetized by Axel. She closes her mouth with her hand as snickers escape from her mouth. She then bursts out laughing as she falls to the ground, Axel tilts his head in curiosity.

"What's so funny?" He asks, Alice then points above him.

Axel's eyes widen as he spots a fish flopping around with it's body impaled by his horn. He seamlessly caught them food without him realising it. Axel grunts as he realises his horns did a better job at catching food than he did.

Later that dusk.

As night is vastly approaching them, they set up camp in the jungle, and roasted the fish Axel "caught". Alice enjoys the meal by her evident smile while Axel quietly munches on the fish, not even showing whether it's good or bad.

She glances over to Axel, there he sits, quiet and reserved. She can't help but sense that same sorrow filled aura around him. It's like watching a plant slowly decay over time.

A man who is cursed with the black plague. . .

" Hey Josh," she calls out to him.

His eyes drift over to her, she cracks a smile as she points over to the jungle.

"I want to show you this, I hope you like it," she says as her smile turns bittersweet. Just on cue, once night fully settles, the jungle starts taking life of its own. One by one, light starts to surround the two in the form of bioluminescence. The atmosphere changes as the mushrooms and plants start to glow amidst the darkness. Fireflies come out of hiding and flutter around in the air, entrancing the whole sky with their glowing lights. The clear rivers start to glow as well, boasting the different types of marine life within it. With the whole jungle bursting with light, entrancing wouldn't even describe it . . it was magical. .

Nostalgia fills her eyes as her eyes become slightly watery. Her light smile becomes bigger as she watches the forest in awe.

"Mother nature can be scary at times; but she also has her beauty. . . . . Just like life . . ."

Her words resonate in his mind as he glances over to her. She continues to stare off into the jungle with a bright smile, but then, from amidst the dim light, he notices a tear roll down her face. Her eyes have the same sadness as his . . .

She doesn't just say those words to cheer him up, she clearly resonates with them . . .

She knows what it's like. . to suffer . . .

Perhaps the nightmares she's been encountering every night is a living testament to that.

Later that night.

Axel lays on top of a tree, overseeing the whole jungle and guarding a sleeping Alice.

Silence erupts as his body is in tranquility, and yet, his mind is not. It's an ordinary night, just like the rest of the nights he's been so far, but, something keeps bothering him.

He glances over to Alice who's trembling with an anguished expression, he has never paid any mind to it, but now, he's noticing her nightmares consume her.

No emotions arise within him upon watching her suffer, but his body hops down the branch without his command.

He grows curious as he walks closer to her.

The wind cries as it passes Axel, he stands in front of Alice with his poker face. He continues to stare into Alice as he watches her nightmares continuously haunt her. Without uttering a single word, he gently taps Alice on her forehead, and ominous smoke starts to arise from within her body, going inside of Axel.

He then turns around, and leaves her. Her anguished expression slowly disappears as her body starts to finally calm down.