Astel watched from across the cabin as Sev impatiently rummaged through the tall pile of stuff.
Wood struck against each other. Metal clanged. Boxes fell.
He turned to his side, keeping his eyes on Sev.
"How long has this been happening?" he whispered.
A childish voice responded after a moment, "Basically since he sent you on that hunt."
Astel thought for a second. "Any idea what he's looking for?"
Max responded in a condescending tone, "Don't know. He doesn't tell me much."
Astel raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you like brothers?"
Max turned to him, eyes slightly tired. "Emphasis on 'like.' Actually, I'm not sure he would even talk to his real siblings… if he has any."
They briefly made eye contact before Astel's attention drifted back to Sev.
"What does he tell you?"
"Only what's necessary, usually. He doesn't share much apart from that—at least not with me."
He took a long breath, exhaling slowly.
"He does spend a lot of time with Astrid, so she probably knows more."
Astel asked, his voice stiff, "Have you asked her?"
"Yeah."
"And? What'd she say?"
Max slowly turned back to look at Sev. "The same as him... Why do you want to know anyway?"
Astel quickly blurted out, "I was just curious."
He thought for a moment and swallowed his pride before adding, "We haven't talked much either."
Max didn't respond, only nodding.
At this point, Sev had already given up on his search and started walking toward Astel and Max, ignoring the occasional odd look from the lost souls.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Astel asked jokingly.
"Huh?" Sev responded in a confused tone.
"Ah—No, I wasn't really looking for anything in particular," he added.
"Yeah, right."
Astel mumbled under his breath, catching a suspicious look from Sev.
"Are they ready?" Sev turned his head to Max, who looked past him at the survivors.
He thought for a moment before responding, "They should be able to make it if we leave right now."
Sev switched his attention to Astel, whose eyes jumped from one to the other.
"No way, I'm not going back there for another one of those pigs…" His body shivered as he held himself at his sides.
"Do you think you can protect them?" Sev asked, ignoring Astel's remark.
A smirk formed on Astel's lips. "Of course."
He reached for his notions, carefully feeling both.
'I have just two uses left—if only that idiot didn't waste such a precious thing.'
The smile slowly dissolved, forming itself into more of a frown.
Noticing it, he contorted his face to show a neutral expression, hoping that Sev didn't notice.
Sev nodded and turned around to face the people.
"Alright, pack your things, put on your new woolly clothes, and get ready. We're leaving soon."
The cabin was quiet except for the sound of burning wood cracking.
Then people started moving, talking, hurrying to leave.
He turned back to the two.
"Make sure none of them lag behind or get lost. We can't afford to slow down."
He said, looking down at Max, who nodded in acknowledgement.
"And you… just make sure nothing gets close to us. I'll signal to you if needed."
Astel nodded, his blood pumping.
The fireplace was empty. The room cold. Wind blew in through the small gaps in the wooden structure, blowing dust everywhere.
Astel was the last to step out of the cabin. He stood in the doorframe, looking back and thinking about the past few days.
Scoffing, he turned around and shut the door behind him.
The others had already departed in the opposite direction of the cave.
Astel walked calmly as if in no hurry to catch up.
The weather was nice. The wind lightly caressed his exposed feet, barely strong enough to feel—but the haze was still present.
It felt like there was a reason for it. It didn't feel natural.
But that didn't concern him. His job was to be the group's lookout and protector, and he was dedicated to fulfilling his duties.
Slowly, the ground below them grew into an incline.
People were slowing down, but Max took care of the slowest of them, helping them in any way he could, while Sev shouted every so often:
"Don't give up! Your journey is almost over! Safety waits on the other side; all you have to do is keep walking!"
Every time he heard it, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
He wasn't looking for safety—but a fight.
It had been too long since his last one, and even then, the most dangerous thing was the weather.
'This goddamn weather… Why couldn't it have been this nice when I went on that hunt.'
He thought grumpily, kicking the snow under his feet.
The snow was soft, almost like powder. It was both pleasant and scary to walk on. If you weren't careful, you could easily sink through it and become unable to be found.
Astel shivered at the thought of it.
'I hate the cold. The desert was much nicer.'
His gaze drifted to Sev's back. He watched his body move through the rough terrain as his thoughts drifted.
'I wonder how this guy managed to survive. He doesn't seem that strong… physically at least.'
He tried focusing on the movement of Sev's muscles but stopped himself midway through, shaking his head.
'Why did we even agree to come with him in the first place? Life back there was much simpler.'
He thought about the original Astel and the many times he almost died.
But instead of feeling pity, he felt… contempt.
He was angry just thinking about how the other him lived and how he let himself be captured and swayed.
He stopped himself before growing too mad—since, in a way, he was also swayed by Sev.
There were many opportunities to leave, yet he never did.
It was like there was something pulling him toward Sev, as if he would be missing out by not coming with him.
He shook his head and slapped his cheeks, turning his attention back to the path ahead.
Almost immediately, he was bored, so to help himself, he started counting the people in front of him.
His eyes widened slightly.
'Weren't there more of them when we left?'
Immediately, he recounted, his eyes opening wider each time.
"I'm not going crazy, am I?" he mumbled, confused, the wind hiding his voice.
Blocking out the noise, he focused on his surroundings, carefully scanning the land around them.
Looking back, he noticed something.
A few paces behind them, hidden by the fog and deep in the soft snow, was a trail—like something had been dragged through it.
Astel frowned, feeling a slight pain in his chest.
He moved his hand and placed it above his heart.
'Could we not do this right now?'
This pain had been growing ever since he woke up in the desert.
He reached into his small reserves of energy and flushed the pain out.
Immediately, he felt more tired, but the stinging disappeared.
He reached back into his mind and summoned his spear.
He glanced over his shoulder, seeing everyone slowly becoming more distant.
He had to make a choice.
He stood there, staring at the snow, thinking.
White sparks surrounded his hand as the spear disappeared back into his mind.
Astel turned and continued walking—his pace faster, his entire self on guard.