After days of walking on the verge of collapse, Samael's body finally gave in.
The fever burned across his skin.
But at the same time, a terrible cold seemed to freeze his bones from within.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
His breathing was heavy.
His eyelids weighed like lead.
And for the first time since arriving in America…
Samael simply could not stay awake any longer.
His eyes slowly closed.
Then reality began to distort.
The smell of the wet forest disappeared.
The pain disappeared.
The cold disappeared.
And in a single instant, the world changed.
When Samael opened his eyes again, he was sitting among the white flowers of Rime's Cemetery.
The Dream Realm.
His body there remained unharmed.
Without fever.
Without wounds.
Without blood.
But his mind…
His mind was still at its limit.
The silence of that place immediately embraced him.
The white flowers swayed softly around the enormous solitary gravestone.
In the distance, the gigantic golden tree still stood tall within the eternal darkness of that impossible realm.
Samael remained seated for a few seconds, staring at the gravestone.
Then he let out a small tired sigh.
— You know, Rime… it's so hard.
His voice echoed quietly among the flowers.
He was genuinely venting to a gravestone.
And at that moment…
It felt completely normal.
Samael slowly lowered his gaze.
— Was it hard for you too?
Silence.
— When they tore your body apart… when they tried to force you to remain dead…
The wind blew gently through the cemetery.
— I wish I were strong like you.
His voice came out bitter.
— Strong enough to change my world however I want… strong enough to deny even death itself.
His fingers slowly tightened around the white grass.
— But even with all that power… you were destroyed.
His gaze wavered slightly.
— So what's left for me?
Silence answered once more.
But strangely…
Samael did not feel alone there.
He remained quiet for a few seconds before speaking again.
— On Snake King Island… I was alone at first.
His voice was distant.
As though reliving those memories.
— And it was horrible.
He let out a weak little laugh.
— Then Liz appeared… and the others.
His golden eyes lost focus.
— After that, I stopped making choices.
The flowers continued swaying softly around the gigantic gravestone.
— I got used to following other people's decisions.
Samael lowered his head.
— The funny thing is that I promised I'd improve after that.
Silence.
Then a tired little laugh escaped his lips.
— I guess this is punishment for not improving.
His voice turned melancholic.
— Now I'm responsible for someone helpless… all because of my own stubbornness.
The image of Liu unconscious immediately surfaced in his mind.
Samael closed his eyes.
His body felt light in that realm.
But his mind was still exhausted.
— I need to go back.
His voice was low.
— After all… I have to deal with the consequences of my own stupidity.
He remained silent for a few more seconds.
Then slowly began to stand.
His legs trembled slightly.
Even there.
Even without pain.
Even without injuries.
They still trembled.
Samael slowly walked through the white flowers until he stopped before the silent portal.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at it.
Then he slightly turned his face toward the gravestone.
— Thanks for listening, Rime… Daemon of Repose.
Then he stepped through the portal.
Reality distorted instantly.
And the pain returned.
The cold returned.
The fever returned.
The smell of the wet forest invaded his nostrils.
His body seemed to sink back into its own suffering.
Samael slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was blurry.
Heavy.
But he immediately noticed something strange.
After sleeping…
His condition had worsened.
A lot.
Awakened rarely became sick.
Their bodies were absurdly resilient.
But constant injuries, extreme exhaustion, hunger, stress, and neglect had finally shattered Samael's defenses.
Now the snowball effect was crushing him completely.
He was helpless.
Then something white appeared before his eyes.
Strands of hair.
Samael blinked slowly.
And turned his face.
Liu was sitting beside him.
Her body trembled slightly.
Her expression looked tired.
Exhausted.
She too had gone through something terrible in the Dream Realm to return.
More than a week had passed.
One week and two days.
Her eyes hidden behind the blindfold finally focused on him.
— Samael…
Her voice came out low.
Weak.
Confused.
Samael tried to smile.
The result was miserable.
— Good morning…
Liu slowly looked around the small improvised shelter.
The dark forest.
The bandages.
The dried blood.
His deplorable state.
Then she looked back at Samael.
— Where are we?
— In the forest.
— …Why?
Samael immediately understood what she truly wanted to ask.
Why was he still there?
Why hadn't he abandoned her?
Why did he look like a corpse?
He slowly closed his eyes for a moment.
— Stubbornness.
Liu fell silent.
It simply made no sense to her.
Every Awakened learned from an early age:
Survival came first.
Abandoning others was necessary.
Natural.
Normal.
But then she looked once more at Samael's ruined body.
The countless wounds.
The deep dark circles under his eyes.
The trembling hands.
And realized something else.
She herself had very few injuries.
Far too few.
Her expression changed slightly.
— You should have abandoned me.
Samael let out a small hoarse laugh.
— I know.
His voice sounded tired.
— And I tried to.
That made Liu remain silent for a few seconds.
Then she took a deep breath.
— Which direction is Elizabeth?
Samael slowly raised a hand and pointed somewhere into the forest.
— Right… probably somewhere in that direction.
Liu slowly nodded.
Then she began standing up.
Her body wavered slightly.
But she managed to remain upright.
— Let's go.
She tried to pull Samael to his feet.
But he immediately refused.
— No.
This time, his voice came out firmer.
— It's impossible to survive while carrying someone here.
His golden eyes met hers.
— Believe me.
But Liu simply ignored him.
She passed his arm over her shoulders and slowly lifted him up.
Samael was bigger than her.
Far too heavy to carry on her back.
So that was the only possible way.
Even so, Liu insisted.
Samael watched her silently for a few seconds.
Then sighed tiredly.
— Stop… it's already getting dark.
He looked toward the dark forest outside.
— It's better to spend the night here.
Liu hesitated.
Then slowly sat him back down on the ground.
She remained beside him in silence.
Rain fell softly outside.
Samael slowly turned his face toward her.
— Give up.
His voice came out low.
— This is suicide.
He took a deep breath.
— You're going to die.
His eyes partially closed again.
— Besides… you don't even know me.
Silence.
— I'll survive alone.
A lie.
Both of them knew it.
— So leave.
Samael continued insisting.
Trying to convince her.
Trying to push her away.
But then he stopped halfway through the sentence.
Because he finally realized something.
It was exactly what he had done.
The same stupidity.
The same insistence.
The same irrationality.
His eyes slowly met hers.
— …Why?
Liu remained silent for a few seconds.
Then calmly answered:
— Stubbornness.
The same answer he had given.
And for the first time, the chains forged from Liu's loneliness received cracks.