Aurea was the first one to reach both Unseens. Ignoring the boy with curly brown hair, she focused on the girl, the one who shot the arrow. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and some freckles.
Coincidentally, the boy and she were wearing the same armor as Aurea. Perhaps it was something the shelter gave?
'I wonder why they didn't give me one.'
Standing in front of her, Aurea said, "Why did you shoot?"
"Huh?" The girl began mumbling incoherent words that even Aurea couldn't comprehend and continued talking.
"If I recall correctly, I told you not to interfere and focus on treating your friend. Then why did you ignore him, and shoot the arrow?"
Zenon quickly reached her side and stared at both Unseens with squinted eyes. After some seconds he realized that they were from the shelter as well, average in ranking.
The girl put her bow down, which then transformed into a… small mouse.
'What the… a Familiar can change its size to match the weapon? That's something new.'
She nervously played with her fingers and said,
"I-I thought I could be of s-some help... I mean, w-we took the Layer Beast down r-rig...?"
"We took?" Aurea took a step forward, making the girl lower her head, "I think you forgot how Zenon almost died twice."
Zenon was surprised by Aurea's sudden statement. I mean, he didn't really almost die? He had everything under control as he was slowly getting used to unexpected situations.
Was she just trying to make them feel bad?
'Girls sure are scary.'
Without giving a chance for her to argue back, Aurea continued, "For how weak he is, stalling a Second-Rank is a world of his own. Don't you feel bad for stealing his hard-earned kill?"
"I-I..." The girl switched her view between the girl and the boy. She already stored her bow inside her soul and was playing with her fingers, seemingly shocked.
Before she could talk again, the boy shouted,
"Could you please stop fucking around and help me here?!" Sammie shouted as he tried putting as much pressure as he could on the Unseen's arm.
His arm was completely pierced, the brachial artery was cut in half and the boy was taking shallow breaths, balancing between the thin string of life and death. Not only that, but his veins were green as an emerald, which caught Aurea's attention.
Standing in front of him, she said,
"What Layer Beasts did you encounter?"
The boy looked at her while trying to stop his friend's bleeding and quickly replied, "We came across a big spider. Phyr tried to stall it and got bit, but managed to send it down the river and we ran away."
Zenon's eyes widened when he heard the word bit, and so did Aurea's. She slightly turned his head toward Zenon and shook her head, confirming his thoughts.
The girl however noticed this and said, "Why are you shaking your head? What does that mean?! Is it something that bad?!"
Aurea took a deep breath and asked, "When did he get bit?"
"I don't know! Like... like m-maybe two hours ago? He suddenly fainted and the b-big butterfly appeared out of nowhere!"
Zenon sighed, recalling the intensity of that poison. After all, not even the void was enough to stop all of its effects and managed to send him to sleep for a long time. If the boy has already fainted, then it can only mean one thing.
Not wanting to beat around the bush Zenon said,
"Your friend is pretty much dead at this point. Nothing can stop that venom, and I mean it."
The ambiance dropped dead cold as Zenon told what was in everyone's mind. Even if they wanted to deny that their friend was dying after spending three days inside the Layers, it was still a possibility that had to be taken into account.
Both the girl and the boy stopped treating their friend due to the initial shock and could hear for the first time the shallow breathing and the slow heartbeat.
Zenon took a deep breath and walked towards Aurea's side. The girl peeked at him and gave him a small nod. After some seconds of silence, the breathing stopped... sending goosebumps all over Zenon's body.
'Damn... I think it's the first time I saw someone die this way in front of me.'
Not wasting a second, Aurea said,
"I won't interrupt your grief, but we need to get moving… I'll give you both a second chance. It's up to you whether to come with us or not. If you do then make sure to follow my rules."
Zenon watched as she turned around and walked where that Emperor came from. After all, the void was also going that way, so there was no other choice. He also turned around and followed Aurea's steps.
No other sound but steps and water flowing filled the ravine, along with an occasional sob. Zenon quickly reached Aurea and said,
"Do you think it is a good idea to threaten them that way?"
"I explicitly told them not to kill the Layer Beast and that girl did anyway. There's no point in helping those who can't listen but I'm known for giving second chances. If they do want to work with us, then they better listen or I won't hesitate to kick them to the river."
Zenon blinked twice and muttered, "You are stone cold, Aurea."
After some more seconds of walking, they started hearing running sounds. Both of them turned around and saw both the guy and the girl approaching them.
Before Aurea could say anything, the girl told them,
"We saw something coming here. They were like the roots of some sort of tree."
Both Unseens' eyes widened as they peeked at each other, confirming that they heard the same thing.
Roots of a tree? The real question is, what the hell is a tree doing inside such a violent canyon? Any living thing that dared to set up in this place would either end up crushed or drowned.
"But, there were too many Layer Beasts and we had to go to any other place but that one. We counted at least three of them guarding the entrance."
"Three what. Emperors, Tarantulas?" Aurea said.
"That's the thing... They were rock-like creatures guarding a big and long ravine. That's all we managed to see."
Zenon looked at the Unseens while Aurea took her notebook out. There was something off about them.
Well, he always found something off with everyone but... that's how humans are? Maybe he was just being paranoid.
He looked behind them to see if they did anything to their friend's corpse as the people of the outskirts did each time someone died by either laying them with their favorite object or something similar.
Strangely, he found nothing.
"Where is your friend? Did you leave him inside the cave?" He said while pointing towards their back.
Both Unseens were disturbed by the sudden question and Sammie said, "We... threw him to the river to prevent Layer Beasts from following us."
Zenon's eyes widened as his mind drifted away from reality the moment they replied. Memories of a certain day started reappearing without time to hold them back...
---
"You were lucky not to get caught. I told you that a medical facility is not that easy to enter and steal but who am I to stop a teenager."
Inside a closed bar, an old man sat beside a younger one, treating a wound on his left ear. There was a cut going from the inside which almost cut the lobule in half.
"Agh! It stings, be a little more careful!" He shouted.
"Haha, we all went through this so you have to as well."
The boy, Zenon, clicked his tongue while emptying his backpack on the table. He didn't manage to get much out of it, some antibiotics, disinfectant, and a lot of bandages in case he did something crazy again.
He took a pack of antibiotics and gave them to the old man, who gladly accepted them.
"So, turning sixteen in a month right?"
"Yeah... it's been hard without her around as well. I wonder how she's doing."
The old man smiled with a pained expression as he ended up treating Zenon's ear. He took care of him as well as he could since he lost his parents, but he was far from being an exceptional parent.
Zenon could say that he was the first mentor he had, teaching him all the tricks for stealing or running away. Taught him lessons that only a lifetime would have taught you in a year or so.
"Hey." Zenon said as he looked at the man, "You promised to tell me what happened to Valeria after the riot... since you were there as well."
The old man's body got stiff for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,
"You should let go of her. It happened two years ago Zenon, and if you remember correctly, you weren't on the best terms with her."
"I know I fucked up, old man." Zenon sighed, "I know I was a kid back then, but no matter how much we hated each other's guts, we still cared. So please."
The old man stopped treating Zenon's ear and took a deep breath.
"Don't tell me I didn't warn you... When the Enlighteneds stopped the riot, they let those that survived to go back to the outskirts. After all, they were wounded enough to die in the outskirts' poor conditions. Those who died rioting, however...
Those who died got thrown under the path of a new road they were building, the road that left outside the city. Loaded into a dump truck and then used as the foundation for asphalt.
I followed them and managed to find Valeria, still alive. She was playing dead and I tried to convince her to come back…"
He stopped talking, making Zenon look at him confused. After some seconds of silence, the old man continued,
"She Awakened on the journey to that road and her wounds were severe enough for her to die. She had to jump inside a Rift to heal her body. I helped her get there.
She's in the First Layer, Zenon. That's all I know."
He listened to the truth with widened eyes, wanting to cover up his ears and run away. Instead, he remained still and carefully listened. The old man looked at the boy, waiting for a reaction.
Unexpectedly, Zenon smiled and muttered,
"You should have told me, Valeria. You should have told me…"