Clad in armour, he had the stature and the eyes of a valiant knight.
"Hello." He walked toward them as his armour disappeared into thin air, revealing a dark blue shirt underneath.
Kenan glared at the man whose face was now in full view. He smiled at them, showing off his clean, white teeth. "It's been a while since I've had humans around."
"A-are you human?" Jesse staggered backward, asking his favourite question.
"Only humans can use a biosync, no?" The man smiled, flashing the biosync on his wrist.
He had black hair that cascaded all the way to his shoulders, a lean and tall build, with a rather good-looking face. He seemed out of place in the Dark Lands. His clothes underneath his armour were sparkly clean and devoid of acid burns.
"You said we're the first humans you've seen in a while. Have you seen others?" Kenan asked, wary of the new character.
"Of course. I've been here for more than six months, if I'm not mistaken. All the humans I see always leave after a while." The young man turned his gaze to Kenan with a calm smile.
"Where do they go? Is there a gate? Have you found it yet?" Jesse asked hurriedly, quickly rushing to the man's side.
"I can't answer all your questions at once, but we have to leave before the beast return. Come quickly." He turned, walking back in the direction he had come from.
Jesse and Kenan exchanged glances before following behind him.
Kenan, however, maintained a certain distance, probably still paranoid due to the warning the official had given them before they entered the Dark Lands.
---
"Welcome to my humble abode," their saviour smiled.
He had led Kenan and Jesse through the forest, and after a while of nonstop travel, they finally reached a hidden cave underneath a small hill.
"Take a seat, please." He pointed toward the large leaves that were laid around a bonfire.
Kenan looked carefully around the cave. Numerous markings filled the walls, a bunch of dried wood was stacked tidily beside the bonfire, and the entire cave was properly cleaned up. Long, large monocot leaves curved around the cave's entrance like curtains.
Their knight-like saviour pulled out a green, paste-like substance from his pocket. He moved to the leaves that served as curtains for the entrance of the cave. Picking them up one after the other, he applied the paste-like substance on the leaves.
"Blooms can't see or hear, but they can sense their prey. More like, they can smell their prey." He started with a smile before adding, "I got this from grinding some body parts of the young blooms. It plays with the bloom's senses, makes it believe we are one of them."
"Cool." Jesse's eyes glistened. "My name is Jesse, and this is Kenan. Thank you again for saving us back there."
Kenan didn't bother to ask for his name as well, and Jesse decided to patiently wait for their saviour to introduce himself first.
"We have to look out for each other, yes?" The young man chuckled, pushing a lock of his hair behind his ear.
"You've been here for six months?" Jesse asked again.
"I think so." He walked to the walls and touched a few carvings on the wall—numerous tally marks stretching across the cave walls. "Every time I wake up, I add a line since I can't tell the time."
"You never tried to find a way out?" Jesse's eyes widened.
"I did... over and over again, but I found nothing."
"The other humans you've met, they must've found a way out, right?" With now shaky eyes, Jesse gulped, rubbing his palms together in nervousness.
The young man said nothing. He simply glanced at Jesse with his lips pressed into a thin line.
"I don't know if this part of the Dark Lands have a gate. Who knows? We might've been unlucky enough to end up in a gateless area."
"B-but we can't leave here without a gate. What about the others? The other humans you've met?" Panic slowly began to set in Jesse's mind.
And all Kenan did was watch quietly as he rested his back against the cave wall. His eyes scanned the warm cave from time to time. Though, he spoke out as soon as he noticed Jesse's twitching.
"Calm down, Jesse."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I saying too much? It's just that I haven't seen people in quite a long time, so I blabbered." The young man chuckled awkwardly. He moved to the bonfire and added more wood.
"You never once ran out of food?" Kenan asked. Jesse turned to the young man as well, curious and in need of an answer—anything that would give him hope of seeing the sun again.
The smile on their saviour's face cracked ever so slightly. "Pardon?"
"You never once ran out of food?" Kenan had no qualms about repeating his question.
"Well, I have a surmountable amount of nutrient bars and jerky and I am fairly good at management," he answered, walking into the dark part of the cave. "Oh, dear me. Looks like I'm out of water."
"Would you mind coming with me to get some more?" The young man turned around, glancing between Jesse and Kenan.
"There's water here?"
"Yes, a waterfall not too far from here."
"We'll both come with you, then."
"No, someone has to watch the cave," the young man said, turning his gaze to Kenan. "Do you have a weapon?" He asked, shifting his gaze back to Jesse once again.
Jesse's face paled. "I... No."
He had forgotten his weapon in the fight scene while trying to escape quickly before the fiends returned. How utterly foolish.
"Can you lend him yours, Kenan? Being weaponless would just make him a burden to me." The young man tilted his head.
"I'll just come with you instead." Kenan stood up. Jesse stood up as well.
"I want to go... please," he said.
Kenan stared at him for a while before stretching out his hand. His katana materialized, the silver blade reflecting the dancing flames as Kenan passed the weapon to Jesse.
"Thank you." Jesse bowed, happiness evident in his voice.
Kenan sat back down on the leaf as he watched the two leave the cave.
---
He waited in the cave for a long time and out of boredom, he moved toward the tally marks and began counting them carefully.