Brik could not carry X for too long, especially while they both were injured, so he rushed to the village as fast as he possibly could. Aqua and Trus lagged, most likely because they were not physical fighters like himself. Brik did not know much about Trus, but he did think that it was weird for him to be so slow when he had called the three of them weak just the previous day. Either way, he did respect him a little bit, since he was the one that revealed the true identity of Unknown to them.
X nodded in and out of sleep. After talking to Aqua about the thoughts in his mind, he did receive some amount of peace, but it was not enough. His mind kept wandering about, thinking about his history. X had to try and pull it back in, to try and keep his mind away from such negative thoughts. X thought about his family back in the village, his Grandfather who always helped him with such issues, and even the knights back in the village whom he considered family, although they were not as important to him as Frederick. He thought about his friends who were right beside him, or at least were right beside him. Aqua was floating behind him, but that was not what mattered. These people were also his family, people who were so close to him that sometimes he felt like he had all his memories of his childhood, not some creepy visions of himself in armor talking to giant animal shadows.
Brik's breathing rate increased quickly, and sweat started pouring down his face, making him feel like he was taking a bath right there. He stopped for a while, setting X off his shoulders. Resting on a tree, he spoke to X while panting.
'What were you talking to Aqua?'
Deciding that he did not want to depress his depressed friend anymore, X kept quiet, only answering with a "Nothing much." Brik raised his eyebrows, sighed, and spoke
'Yeah, yeah. I know you only care about Aqua nowadays. Be honest, don't-'
'Fine, I'll tell you. I was thinking of how I might be a murderer like Unknown. Like, since I don't have my memories and stuff, you know.'
'You are getting close to Aqua, aren't you? Her speech is getting reflected in yours, you know.'
Brik spoke while mocking Aqua's famous dialogue, "You know". X laughed, and by then they could hear the footsteps. Brik signaled to X with his right hand, asking him to climb on his back. Using his left hand to push off the tree, Brik ran forward, weaving through the woods, his best friend on his back. After a few minutes of running while the two of them bickered about who was stronger, they reached the village, entering through the same part of the forest they had left.
The village was the same as it was the previous day. There were two major differences though. The population of the village had tripled, and there was a giant teleportation portal in the middle of the village. It was a giant stone circle, held up by a stone base. The hole in the middle seemed transparent from a distance, but as X hobbled closer, he could see that it wasn't. Through the hole, he could see a part of the Fortress City, including the inn where he had stayed for a long time while writing the exam. Men and women were walking into the portal, their baggage and children in hand. X watched as a family of five walked into the portal, and the moment their skin touched the invisible barrier in the middle they were sucked in, and less than a second later they appeared on the other side. It looked instantaneous, but X was not sure about it so he activated Immortal Tree to look at it more carefully.
X's eyes started to bleed, red liquid running down his cheeks. A bit of it got into his mouth, and X could taste its slight metallic taste. He did not feel any pain, but he also did not feel any special. He did not have a vision of the pink world like he usually did, nor did he feel his senses get better. His senses were so useless that he could not detect Aqua and Trus walking up to him. Aqua noticed the blood and gasped quickly. That was when X realized that his eyes were bleeding, and he deactivated Immortal Tree quickly.
X screamed out so loudly that the villagers rushed up to him frantically. X closed his eyes and passed out. Brik carried him and laid him inside a kind villager's house. X slept on while his friends waited anxiously, afraid of what had happened to him. Quite a long time passed, and when X finally opened his eyes, he was shocked to see the interior of the house he was in.
'Where are we?'
He asked weakly. Brik, who was standing beside him opened his mouth, then closed it without speaking a word. There was a naughty light in his eye as he spoke.
'Guess.'
'That is not what you should say to a person who has just woken up after fainting, you know.'
'I knew it. You speak too much to Aqua. Be honest with me so I can know if I am the third wheel because-'
'Shut up and answer. The place does not look like that rusty village. The designs are way too flashy.'
'You seriously don't know, you moron?'
'I don't.'
Brik sighed before speaking.
'Fine, ok I get it, you are dumb. We are at my place.'
'Rossenberg? How did you cross the whole Apline mountains with me on your back?'
'Are you really dumb or just pretending, because I think it's the first? You idiot, there was a teleportation portal right in front of your eyes, and you are asking me if I carried you across half the continent.'
X laughed and tried to get off his bed. His weak body did not listen to him though, so instead he laid back down, turned to his side, looked at his friend, and spoke.
'So, when did we reach?'
'Two minutes ago. I did have to carry you through the teleportation portal though, so thank me.'
'Aqua and Trus?'
'I asked you to thank me?'
Brik tried to imitate the speech pattern used by the Unknown unknowingly, but X picked this up. He did not comment about it, though. He was way too tired to do that and get rid of his only source of entertainment.
'Thank you. Now for Aqua-'
'I know that you are anxious to meet your best friend-'
'You are my best friend, though.'
'You sure about that?'
X stared at Brik for almost a minute, until his injured eyes started hurting from the influx of tears. Blinking it back, he repeated his question. Finally, Brik answered.
'Aqua's fine. She went back to her dorm and said she wanted to meet the juniors. She's excited about meeting Rose and Goofy again.'
X nodded.
'As for Trus, he is speaking to the Headmaster right now. They are discussing all the events that happened while his clan was escaping from the Great Continent and about the workings of the teleportation portal.'
'I was interested in that as well. Do you know how that thing worked?'
X asked innocently.
'Obviously not, you idiot. No one knows about its working, or else the Tower Master might not have reached his current post. Mass teleportation is one of his main abilities, after all.'
X sighed as he closed his eyes, falling asleep so quickly that Brik did not even get time to say "Sweet Dreams". Brik then got up and walked out of the room. The easiest conversation was over now. He had only two more to finish.