A couple of days have passed.
Lena has went back to carrying the heavy stuff while Octan moved with a free hand, but something that had changed about him is that he would often ask to carry some for himself. Lena would turn him down.
Some mountain out there.
"This sure is taking a while..." Octan said annoyed.
"Where are we even heading?" Lena asked from behind.
"Heaven." Octan said in an enlightened tone.
"Heaven?" Lena said as she slightly tripped while going up a mountain.
"Not in that sense!" Octan exclaimed.
"Oh."
"Lena, how much history have you studied?" Octan asked.
"Not that much really... why?"
"Well it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Lena, have you ever seen a person with a different skin tone from yours?" Octan asked a confusing question.
"Skin tone?"
"Skin colour. For example, look at your hand, what color is that?" Octan asked of Lena.
"Ahh... Human colour?" Lena answered genuinely confused.
Octan walked silent for a moment then continued.
"Then let me ask you, Lena. What is a 'Human'?" Octan asked.
"Umm... A person? Someone like me and you? What are you getting at?" Lena questioned the obvious sounding question.
Octan sighed.
"Forget it." Octan said.
Another couple of days have passed.
It's night and they are camping somewhere on a rocky mountain.
Lena's preparing dinner while Octan stares at the crackling fire.
"There's this question I've really wanted to ask you, but have been delaying for quite a bit now. Would you like to hear it?" Lena stated out of nowhere.
Octan nods while his gaze was still fixated on the fire.
"What're you?" Lena asked.
Octan didn't reply has he continued gazing.
"You sure as hell aren't human, so what are you?" Lena asked once again.
Still gazing he replied.
"Oh, I'm human alright, I'm more human than you anyway. I'm The hero." Octan said going silent.
"Well that's what I was told anyway, though I haven't been very heroic." Octan said falling on his back with his gaze no directed towards the sky.
"And what does that mean exactly? You stop aging?" Lena asked.
"Oh now that's a completely different thing!... or is it. It's confusing..." Octan said with an uncertain tone.
"Then what's that all about? How do you look the exact same after this whole time?"
"A curious one you are. That's a very long story we will leave it for later." Octan said trying to stop the conversation at its tracks.
"No, I believe I deserve this much if we will continue together." Lena said assertive.
"Chill down... never expected such a line from you... Sure then, I will answer your question under one condition." Octan said raising his arm along with a finger.
"...And what's that?" Lena agreed while being dissatisfied.
"You knowing what Evulsa is." Octan said bringing his arm back to it's original position.
Lena stopped. 'Evulsa'. The final words of a dead man. Flashing into her brain she muttered.
"The kingdom of evulsa, a kingdom which once stood at the heights of humanity, now gone reduced to nothing. The mere mentioning of it these days is considered taboo" Lena repeated The man's words.
Octan turned his head towards Lena with completely surprised face.
"Where... Where did you hear that from?" He asked calmly.
"The king, Right before his death he mentioned it. 'The kingdom of Evulsa'. He told me to Remember, to remember the word 'Evulsa.'. He told me it will be brought up again, but I hadn't expected to come from you..." Lena said remembering the old man's final moments.
"His final words huh. Sharing forbidden knowledge right before his death, now that's someone you can't trust with a secret." Octan said.
"Now, What are you?" Lena asked once again.
"Look I did make that condition myself, but now really isn't the time. I will tell you all about it some other day. How about you ask me any other question I will definitely answer it for you." Octan says apologetically.
"Really now? Then can you revive the dead?" Lena said in a smug tone.
"Yes." Octan replied instantly
"There now we are fair." Octan continued.
"Hey, at least answer honestly." Lena said annoyed.
"I answered honestly, well kind of... I can't revive the dead myself, but I do know someone who can." Octan says calmly.
It goes silent for a bit.
"You do?!" Lena screamed.
"Quiet down... yes I do." Octan said.
"You know someone who can revive the dead?! and you've never though of mentioning him before?! Where do you even meet such a person?!" Lena kept on questioning.
"From a predecessor of mine, He passed the knowledge onto me in a way. As for why I didn't mention him, I don't know. Didn't feel like their was any reason to." Octan says.
"No reason?! W-what about kouko?!" Lena questioned his actions.
Octan raised his upped body and sat straight up as he looked at Lena.
"As I said, no reason. I have already told you this before, Lena, that woman chose to leave me as such I have no reason to care about her anymore. Whether she dies, lives, gets sick, gets killed, or kills. It's none of my business. Plus reviving her would be impossible in the first place, since you need a part of the said person's body, no matter how insignificant." Octan said looking at Lena.
"But..." Lena swallowed her words.
"I'm hungryyyyyyyyyyyyy" Octan said deliberately.
"Tsk. fine." Lena continued with dinner.
It's now been a month since Lena and Octan have been moving towards Octan's goal.
"Do you even know where you are going?" Lena finally questioned Octan.
"We are almost there!" Octan said in reply.
"Are you sure you didn't lose the way?" Lena questioned the man's sense of direction.
"I did at some point... But we are here now! The final stretch!" Octan replied.
Lena sighed as she followed.
"Well would you at least share with me what this 'Heaven' is anyway?" Lena said.
"It's the heaven of any man on this earth! A place where we can let go of everything and enjoy ourselves!" Octan said excited.
"So you've been there?" Lena asked.
"You bet. I Stayed there for a while. Almost 2 years!" Octan replied.
"2 years? So it's some kind of town?" Lena asked.
"Yes, but not quite like the ones you are thinking of." Octan said.
"And why's that?" Lena asked another question.
"Hmmm... Let's go back to a question I asked you a couple of weeks ago. 'What is a Human.'" Octan said.
"ehhem." Lena nodded from behind even though Octan wouldn't see her doing so.
"You thought that my question was weird, that it was obvious, right?"
"Yes." Lena replied.
"Then let me ask you this question, Lena. What are you?" Octan asked.
"A human?" Lena questioned.
"Right, but not what I'm looking for." Octan said.
"????" Lena tilted her head in confusion.
" let me answer my question. A human is the shape you take. That humanoid shape, that form, the way it's formed from the tips of your hair strands all the way down to the tips of your toe nails. That's what makes a 'Human'." Octan claimed.
"But even monsters have shapes close to ourselves, and I definitely wouldn't call them humans." Lena said.
"That's right. But the way they act, their thought process, the way they use their body. It's completely foreign to that of a 'human'. They are more animalistic. Animals who learned to violently use their limbs." Octan claimed.
"Then why would it matter what a human is? Aren't we the only type who uses their body like this?" Lena asked.
"Now, yes. But it hasn't always been like this." Octan said.
"If so then what am I? if not human that is." Lean asked.
"You are what is know as a 'Terran', Humans who posses the highest intellect." Octan said pointing at the brain.
"And why does that matter? Is their other types of humans?"
"There was. 3 in total. The 'Terrans'--us--, The 'Zoomorns', and The 'Demons'. All 3 come from the 'Human' family." Octan Claimed.
"Zoomorns? Demons? The demon lord?" Lena questioned Octan's claims.
"The Zoomorns and Demons are different. The Demons and the demon lord are different. Each is their own." Octan Claimed.
"Then what are Zoomorns? and how are the Demons and the demon lord different? Don't they have the exact same name?" Lena questioned.
"The demon lord is a titled we Terrans had given the Superior." Octan claimed more.
"The superior?" Lena continues to get confused.
Octan sighs.
"Let's tackle this one at a time." Octan said raising his right arm while raising a finger.
"First, Humans. As I said before, Humans are merely what we call things with the same form, shape, actions, thinking, and such as us. It's kinda like felines, A cat and a tiger being the same while being completely different to the ignorant person. Anyway, I'm guessing you got the idea." Octan said now raising his second finger.
"Second, The different Humans. Terrans, Zoomorns, and Demons. Starting with Terrans they are humans who exceed in using their brain and logical thinking, the highest intellect among the humans. Then the Zoomorns, They are Humans who are the most empathetic. Being the ones who connect humans, to animals, monsters, and creatures. They tend to have animal or monster like features, such as cat ears or a tail. Some could even be confused for a monster. Now The Demons, They are Humans whom Excel in strength and combat, following the belief of attack now think later, The opposite of us Terrans. They were the ones to fall to the need for superiority first." Octan said now raising his third finger.
"Lastly, The superior, also known as The Demon Lord. Anyway he's a pretty cool guy." Octan said putting down his arm.
"He's a pretty cool guy? What are you on about? Actually this whole thing makes no sense. Animal like humans? Demons? The superior? How is it that I've never heard of it all that?" Lena questioned Octan's words.
"Because other than 'The Superior' none of them exist anymore. The demons and Zoomorns have been wiped out, to the publics knowledge at least." Octan claimed.
"Wiped out? Still if such things existed it must have been somewhere. Yet not even a hint of such a thing I have yet to pass." Lena said.
"It's because they don't want you to know. Here, another question. Have you ever heard of evulsa other from the old man?" Octan asked.
"...No..." Lena replied.
"Isn't that weird? A whole kingdom, one that used to stand at the top of this world, gone reduced to nothing, and not a single soul mentions it? Doesn't make sense right?" Octan states.
Lena says nothing.
"Do you doubt the old man's dying words too?" Octan questions Lena.
"...No... But, why... why has no one ever mentioned it?" Lena asks.
"As I said. They don't want you to know, Lena. Those using power to control information in the this world, They would be better off with the world not knowing all of this, as such none of this is known." Octan says.
"..." Lena says nothing.
Only the sound of their footstep could be heard as they continue down their path.
"And what does that have to do with where we are going?" Lena asks.
"Simple, We're going to the last Zoomorn's Town. Heaven!" Octan says shooting his fist into the air.
"What? I thought they were wiped out?" Lena asked.
"As I said, 'to the public'. This Village is completely untraceable to any Terran, and hidden with anti-detection spells. Even the strongest mages wouldn't stand a chance against them. The only way to enter it is by stumbling upon it randomly, and even then It's impossible to live through the experience to tell the tale..." Octan says.
"And why do you know about it?" Lena asks.
"Another piece of information from my predecessor handed down to me." Octan said raising a thumbs up.
"That so." Lena said sighing.
"Then tell me, why is it called 'heaven'?" Lena asked.
"Because not do they only pertain animal like features, Their 'stuff' is animal like too! Unhuman! Unterran! And alongside that, their completely clueless attitude It's just!!!!" Octan said stopping his footsteps and turning around completely excited.
"IT'S WHAT ANY MAN WOULD DREAM OF!" Octan said falling to his instincts.
Lena sighed.
"Tsk. you won't get it anyway, flatass." Octan said turning around moving again.
Lena clicks her tongue.
'So that's why he spent almost 2 years there?' Lena thought to herself.