X woke up, rubbed his eyes, and sat up. He did not know when he slept, but thinking about it it felt like he did not sleep as much as he fainted. Everyone else was lying there, crashed out. It was understandable though, they had been through a lot. X stood up, then stumbled back down to the floor, realizing that his feet could not carry his weight yet. Although he felt no pain, he knew his body was not in a good condition, especially since he did not feel his arms. X spent some time tending to them while his friends slept. His left arm was barely movable, so he used it to wrap his right arm with his ripped-apart tunic. Then he laid back down, and dozed off once more, his mind unable to fight back against the exhaustion.
When he woke up again, everyone else was up, including Trus. They were talking softly, not moving much since they had not completely healed from the fight. Aqua was ecstatic, her voice filled with an innocent joy that was hard to find in their current scenario. X was initially surprised by her unexpected reaction, till he understood that she was happy because it was a proven fact that she did not kill a person. Brik on the other hand was a lot sadder, his voice deep and grave. X was partially afraid for him since he did have the habit of stockpiling his negative emotions within himself, and then letting them go at unwanted moments. Coupled with his high temper, this made him hard to work with, which was why X had to ensure that he did not fill his mind with negative thoughts about being a murderer.
X got up to his feet, and unlike a few hours ago he succeeded in doing so. Pain shot up in his feet, a feeling similar to having a hot poker being shoved up your feet. X was not sure if he should try walking, but after a bit of internal discussion, he decided to do it. X took one step forward, and stumbled down to the ground, unable to feel his legs. Brik noticed this and got up from his place without a word, walking up to X and helping him to get up and walk. X continued limping forward, his right arm hooked over Brik's neck. The makeshift bandages helped increase the rate of healing, and by now that hand had completely healed and was as good as new.
Sitting down on the floor between Trus and Aqua, X spoke out to them in an artificially modified cheerful voice, asking them how they were. Trus was now somewhat close to them, but X still did not feel comfortable speaking to him, so he ignored his existence and some only to Aqua. Brik wandered into the forest while the three of them continued with their conversation.
'You know, I wish to go back to the Capital now I do not even care about visiting Nevice, I just want to go back and meet Rose.'
Aqua spoke, reminiscing about the times she spent with her only female friend. And one of two human friends. No, one of her two friends, period. Aqua continued speaking, while X added in some minor sentences while allowing her to take over the conversation. There seemed to be something that was bothering him, but he did not tell it out. This hurt Aqua's ego as his friend, so she quickly asked him what it was.
'You feel odd nowadays. Especially after yesterday, you know. What happened?'
Aqua asked while using her hands to order Trus to leave. The older individual left the two teenagers to continue with their conversation while he went searching for Brik. After a moment of silence, X replied
'I feel like the more memories I receive through vision, the more blood I see. Is it because my true identity is a murderer almost as bad as Unknown?'
'X there are a lot of things I do not know about you. Heck, there are a lot of things that you don't know about yourself. But if there's one thing I know about you, now thing that I can guarantee, that is that you are a good person. Your virtues shine almost as bright as the Lord of Light.'
Aqua spoke while referencing one of the most popular mythical figures just to give him an idea about what she was talking about. It backfired, though. X did not know who the Lord of Light was, and he was assertive in asking that.
'Who is this Lord?'
Aqua was thoroughly shocked by this. Even the most illiterate person in Europe or any of the other continents should know about him. He is more well-known than anyone, even the Emporer of Atlantis himself. Still, she had to say something, so she spoke.
'It does not matter who he is. All that matters is that you are a good person deep within, and even if you try to hide it, you cannot become evil. Most villains turn into villains from normal kind people, but just because they are villains does not mean that they are evil, you know.'
Aqua spoke, hoping that X would know enough of the common tongue for him to understand what a villain was. For the first time in a while, Auqa felt pity on someone. She just could not imagine living a life like this, a life where she did not know anything about herself. Did not know her family name, did not know her favorite dish, did not know all her friend's identities, nothing. This was the sad life of X, and as she sympathized with him, she tentatively grabbed his left shoulder. His skin was warm and very soft. She knew that these were muscles, and just like herself and mostly Brik, X could use these as deadly weapons, strengthening them on will. But so far, X's skin was the smoothest softest thing ever after the sand on the seafloor and the voice of Unknown.
'I feel like, I might be a murderer, or something else. I might not even be a human. Maybe I am a demon.'
Aqua suddenly had a stupid but funny idea, and although it was not appropriate, she could not hold herself back.
'I shall serve you for the rest of my life, Demon King X.'
Aqua spoke in the deepest voice she could create. X cracked up and started smiling, the two of them continuing the scenario by acting as a Demon King and a Demon servant. X started laughing out loud, Aqua following suit. X had forgotten about the conflict he had just gone through, and this was the way she liked him. Just then, a tall shadow fell on her. Aqua froze, thinking that maybe Unknown had returned. But when she turned around, she realized that it was just Brik.
'What are you two monkeys laughing about?'
Aqua told him about the whole scenario, although she ignored the first few parts of the exchange, not telling him X's current emotional state. If X wanted to tell him, he would do it himself. After hearing the whole thing, Brik cracked up as well. Aqua was surprised since the joke was not even that funny but in their current condition it was necessary to laugh.
'Anyway, did you meet Trus? He went searching for you, you know.'
'I did not see him. Don't worry, he is probably a seasoned adventurer. And managed to survive in this forest while escaping an army of demons.'
Brik spoke. The three of them heard a loud cracking noise and turned their heads. Brik's claws were unleashed, and X's hatchet was removed from his old belt and gripped tightly in his less injured left palm while five Tridents circled them. But it was just Turs, who had stepped on a branch by mistake.
'There is good news. There is a teleportation portal in the village, ancient and therefore unusable. Till yesterday. Some of our men worked together with villages, exchanging techniques and information and fixing it, so now it should be usable. The survivors were sent to Rossenberg this way, so it should also be possible for us to go that way.'
'Sure. Let's go, guys.'
X spoke silently, before struggling to get up. He managed to walk till the end of the clearing, but the uneven forest terrain proved too hard for his injured body. Ultimately, Brik had to pick X up and carry him to the village. But it was fine since they would be going back home soon. A bath in his own house would heal any physical injury on himself, this was Brik's greatest childhood belief which he somehow carried on to this day. Now he can return.