"N...a..."
"...?"
"Nao... ki." A faint voice called out his name.
Everything was bright, or so Naoki described. Was this heaven? he thought—he was at least sure that this wasn't the real world.
"Iso...?"
"Yes, it Iso—thank you..."
"Hmm...!?"
Naoki was shocked, Iso's voice seem to have somewhat become... odd. Clearly, they weren't the same monotonous voice that he had gotten used to. And although nothing had changed in her appearance, Naoki could tell that this wasn't the Iso that he knew.
"It is not a surprise to see that you are shocked... I have regained a portion of my emotions..." She pointed at the insignia on her forehead.
"It's... cracked?"
"Yes, I can speak... more livelier!" Iso both raised her arms as if to show excitement, though her face remained stagnant.
"Pft!"
Naoki couldn't help but laugh at the sight—the scene had temporarily washed away all his troubles. He didn't know what had caused it, but he didn't care, he was just glad that he was still alive—or at the very least, he felt that he was.
"It was because of that... I learned of love." Iso tried to smile, only to form an unintentional evil grin.
"What... do you mean?" Naoki timidly asked.
"That girl... she's still out there, taking care of your body. It is because of this human that you're body is still intact."
"So this was what she had meant back then..." Naoki thought.
Previously, Iso had asked Naoki to bring him out of the domain so that she can regain her emotions slowly—without damaging her soul. She had mentioned that she needed "love" in order to do so, much to Naoki's dismay.
"Wait, what exactly happened...?"
"Ah... you see—"
What Iso had used in the battle previously was a teleportation skill—but her power was already dwindling back then and time was of the essence she could only send them to a random place. If Iso was a second late, Naoki would have already kissed his otherworld adventure goodbye. Moving on, Iso told him about the situation.
The Northern Hinterlands.
Out of all the places they could have been teleported, it had to be a place where there was no civilization—and where temperatures were extremely cold. His body was knocked out cold and carried by Kaori to a small but liveable cave.
"I was waiting for your soul to wake up... which is why I am here..."
"I see... that girl, she could have abandoned me—so why...?"
Even if they came from the same world—the chances of her surviving in the harsh conditions they were in were higher if she didn't bring dead weight along. Naoki also couldn't remember forming a bond with this person—aside from that one time before he was transferred to this world.
"Why don't you ask that from herself..." she knowingly leaned her head to the side, teasing him."
"..."
"In any case... I need to rest and recuperate—my soul has almost been used up in the previous battle... I cannot protect you for the time being, be careful"
It seems that Iso was not invincible and that Naoki was left to fend on his own—after all, she had used all of her soul just to protect Naoki back then from the direct subordinate of the Supreme Goddess of Zenia, Anize.
"This is...?"
A blob of goo was left behind as Iso's figure disappeared, reflecting a person. That's right, this was the girl that had stood in front of him, the same girl that also stupidly risked her life for reasons unknown, or so he thought.
"It seems I've used Soul Seeking on instinct again..."
<<----------->>
Strong gusts of wind and ice reverberated to a particularly small but cozy cave. As if to show its defiance, a similar crackling sound resounded, providing heat to the otherwise cold environment.
As Naoki slowly opened his eyes, he was greeted by a girl poking a stick at the fire—she was sitting in a fetal position, and her eyes indicated that she was bored. But more than any of that, Naoki knew that it wasn't exactly the case—this was the same look that he had back then, after all.
"Oh...? You're awake. Welcome back." As if her worries were gone, her face showed a mature yet inviting gaze.
"ShadowFlameQueen...?"
"..!"
*Bang*
As if breaking the silence, a fire bullet from her [EX Caliber] was fired, likely with the intention to kill—as it was only half a meter from Naoki's Face.
"Haha... I was joking." Naoki could only wryly laugh.
"Hah... I had my fears, but it seems you've also seen mine..."
What Naoki had mentioned was something deep in her past, something Kaori had buried long ago—only to be unearthed now.
"..."
"..."
Both had remained silent, it seems it was still awkward. Naoki had tried to think of a way to break the ice by the statement earlier—but he didn't know that even that wouldn't be enough.
"...I'm an idiot, aren't I?" As if reflecting on everything, she said.
"Absolutely." Naoki nodded.
"...! You didn't have to put it like that." She hugged her knees.
It was as she said, she had thrown her comfortable and stable life back then—only to protect a person that doesn't even know her that much. In a sense, it was nonsensical and quite frankly, stupid. That was what Naoki thought until he had seen her soul.
"But I think... that's what matters no?"
"What do you mean...?"
"Let's say, you did just sit back, would you be able to be at peace with your decision? Even if was on impulse back then, I think you would have done the same."
"Yeah... though it annoys me that you think too highly of yourself."
"Hehe."
Seeing Kaori's soul had allowed him to be able to surmise her thought processes. Although as for other things in her memory, Naoki was still not sure about how he should feel about it.
"Ozawa-kun... how about your companions...?"
"Yeah... I know."
That was the thing that was occupying most of his mind right now. How are Astria and Dorothy right now? Naoki had seen their faces before he disappeared—and that had etched something deep inside his soul. Unable to find a conclusion, he remained silent.
And so the storm rages on, the night was at its peak—but the two remained on short or silent exchanges. There were too many things on their mind at the moment that they were not in the mood to talk about anything long-winded. For them, the silence was comforting, in a way.