Zenon's entire body trembled.
For the first time since that day, Zenon has lost control again. This started happening when his parents died and after Valeria's sudden disappearance. His thoughts taking hold of him started there.
Leviathan appeared in front of him and tried talking sense into Zenon, but the boy was completely unresponsive. He even tried to screech at him but seemed like his mind was still running rampant.
Suddenly three people appeared from the corner, making Leviathan hide. Two of them watched the boy in horror and the middle one looked at him indifferently.
"S-See! I told you, Aurea! He is out of his mind! He's crazy!"
Zenon raised his head and looked at the boy who said that, giving him a look that made him subconsciously take a step back.
"Aurea, I-I think it's better... it's better to leave him here. He'll become a p-problem soon."
Aurea however ignored Vera's suggestion and walked forward toward the Layer Beast's body. She eyed it for a moment before raising her head to see Zenon.
Looking behind her, she said,
"Go away and make sure that no Layer Beasts are following us."
The Unseens tried to retort but nothing that they said made Aurea change her mind, so they just grit their teeth and walked back toward the intersection.
After watching them leave, Aurea looked again at Zenon, who had his eyes fixated on her. Just before she could say anything, Zenon calmly said,
"I'm done, Aurea... I'm done with those two clowns doing whatever the hell they want, and I'm done with you ignoring everything that happened… I feel like I'm losing my mind because of this."
The boy jumped from the corpse and remained still in front of the girl. They stared at each other but seemed like Aurea had nothing to say.
Zenon chuckled and said, "I know what you said about the facade. I expected at least some cooperation from your side, but leaving me alone to handle those two it's borderline impossible."
He started walking forward but Aurea stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. Confused, Zenon looked at her and was surprised when he found an emotion other than indifference. It was almost as if she was slightly saddened.
Zenon didn't care and said,
"Think that I'm weak-minded or whatever you want, but I won't tolerate a single more day of putting up with their bullshit. I lost too much time and progress these four days, I need to regain them as soon as possible. But it's impossible to do so with them near me."
Aurea remained still for a moment before saying,
"I know everything that happened. How they stole your kills and such, I caught a glimpse of every single moment. How they treated you as well, nothing escaped my eyes."
"Then why did you remain so passive?" Zenon squinted his eyes.
However, Aurea could do nothing but remain silent. After some seconds, Zenon began chuckling as he took Aurea's hand and put it away. However, the girl stayed adamant about grabbing him.
Zenon's confusion slowly turned into annoyance.
"If this is your way of apologizing, then I'm sorry but I won't... Well, I can't accept it. You had a lot of time, Aurea. Four days are longer than you can realize when you are on constant alert for any movement of two Unseens.
You had your chance."
Zenon walked forward as he violently shoved Aurea's hand off. He started walking forward, planning to follow the Void on his own once again since it went right.
Now he had some experience fighting Layer Beasts but sadly he had to go back to eating raw meat again, so that was a problem. Perhaps he could find the tree they were talking about and use those roots as fuel?
But once again, he had to fight those three Layer Beasts in case they existed... maybe he could find another w-
'Hmm?'
Zenon stopped in his tracks as he felt a knot creating in the middle of his throat. He instantly knew what this meant and couldn't believe that his emotions went as far as this.
Leviathan appeared once again, not caring about Aurea's presence, and tried talking some sense into him, but Zenon only replied with more steps forward.
Strangely, every step seemed to be more difficult than the previous one.
'You can't be serious Zenon... Fucking hell, you've known her for a week or less! Why are you making such a scene?! Are you a damned kid?!'
*Slap!*
Zenon slapped himself as hard as he could but that sensation didn't go away, instead, it increased. No matter how many times he tried to swallow it up, it wouldn't go.
Leviathan screeched at him, and Zenon widened his eyes at the statement that he said. He looked at him for a moment before gritting his teeth and holding his head.
Maybe it was the fact that Zenon never really had a proper friendship. His life was spent all alone... by himself with no one else but his thoughts.
Sure, there were some mentors here and there but nothing compared to someone his age.
'I'm…'
His mind drifted to Valeria.
Even though she didn't care much about his age, since he was a mere fourteen boy and she was already seventeen, it was true to say that Valeria was the first friend he had.
Someone that ignored the fact that he was a Void Carrier and a potential nuisance.
Maybe the expectations of leaving Aurea and going back to traveling by himself were enough to make him reconsider that - as much as he hated her - she became his second companion and someone that saved his life.
She was someone willing to put all his bullshit aside and teach him, no matter how hard it was. Was it called dependence? Perhaps, but did Zenon have any other choice left?
Suddenly, a hand appeared on his shoulder and Zenon quickly looked backward.
"How about a second chance then?"
"What are you talking about?"
As if a spark lit a fire, Aurea's eyes shined with slim determination as she said, "Give me three days."
Zenon looked at her, confused. What the hell would she accomplish in three days? And why did she seem so confident about what was going to happen on that day?
Putting more force in her grip, Aurea said,
"I just need three days, Zenon... three days and everything will return back to normal."
Clenching his fists, Zenon muttered,
"What the hell is going to happen in three days? How can you be so sure that I'll trust you? Did you forget the Academy already? I'm a cold-blooded sociopath or whatever the hell, someone that will get in your way."
"I couldn't care less about the rumors. Anyhow, if I don't do anything by then, you are free to leave. But at least endure three more days. Trust me. It'll be worth it."
Zenon looked at her for a while. If there was something he took pride in, it was his ability to read people's thoughts... sometimes. But there was something about Aurea that he couldn't understand.
Somehow... somehow she manages to hide her intentions just enough for people not to notice but for her to play some cards. Maybe all of this was truly part of that facade.
Taking a deep breath, Zenon said,
"First of all, fuck you."
Aurea's eyes widened when she heard Zenon's words but paid no attention to them as she nodded.
"Secondly, I hope that you do something then... I'll try to, but I won't tolerate them getting more final blows on my hard-earned Layer Beasts so expect more complaints about them. I'm sick of playing the weak boy."
Nodding, Aurea let go of Zenon and walked back toward Sammie and Vera, who patiently waited in the intersection where she was cutting meat from the Layer Beasts.
Zenon watched her go and couldn't help but wonder what Aurea's true nature was. Each time a different situation was put in front of her, he managed to adopt a mentality to face it.
Back in the shelter, she appeared to be silent and indifferent - occasionally easy-going - giving the vibe of someone purely focused on learning the ropes of the Layers as fast as possible.
When he met her in this goddamn canyon this personality took a complete turn to somehow talkative and overall friendly yet extremely serious when the situation required it.
And now that Sammie and Vera appeared, her attitude changed back to that of the Academy. Once again not too talkative and was somewhat serious.
'Just what are you, Aurea… What are you trying to do?'