The night passed slowly, and Valerie lay awake in the stone clearing, staring up at the stars that glimmered faintly above her. The air was cold, but her thoughts were colder.
She tried to make sense of the events that had led her here—far from the Sanctum, far from everything she had once known—and yet still, something kept her tethered to this place, this demon who had saved her life.
He hadn't spoken much. He hadn't shown any true care for her well-being, but he hadn't left either. She couldn't help but wonder why.
The unsettling silence stretched on, and as the hours ticked by, Valerie grew frustrated.
The demon was there, somewhere in the shadows, watching her. She could feel his eyes on her—always there, always present—but never once had he offered anything but silence.
Her heart pounded as she sat up, her eyes scanning the darkened corners of the clearing. She couldn't stay in this oppressive quiet any longer. She needed answers.
She needed to know what he wanted from her, why he was keeping his distance, why he hadn't just left her to fend for herself.
Finally, the stillness broke.
"Hey Demon!" she called out, her voice firm but trembling slightly with uncertainty.
"Stop hiding! Show yourself!"
The air around her seemed to grow heavier, as though the very shadows held their breath. She stood, clenching her fists at her sides, trying to steady her racing thoughts.
A rustle in the trees behind her made her spin around. For a brief moment, she thought it was him, but nothing emerged. Then, she heard it again, this time closer.
The demon stepped out from the shadows with his usual fluid grace, his crimson eyes meeting hers as if he had been waiting for her to ask. His expression was unreadable, and his presence felt like an immovable force.
"You called for me?" His voice was low, cold, like a distant storm.
Valerie squared her shoulders, holding her ground despite the unease creeping into her chest.
"I need to know why you're following me. Why you're still here."
The demon didn't move, his gaze unwavering.
"You asked for help. I gave it. There is no obligation beyond that."
Her frustration flared.
"But you haven't left. You keep watching me from the shadows. Why?"
For a moment, he said nothing, his eyes studying her with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine.
Then, with a slight tilt of his head, he replied, "I don't know. I don't care for your survival. But I do not let things die without purpose."
Valerie's heart twisted.
"So I'm just a... a thing to you? A survival project?"
The demon's gaze softened ever so slightly, but it was fleeting.
"You are not a thing, I know. You are a human. And you are foolish to think you can survive out here without protection. But I will not offer you anything more than what you need to stay alive."
She stepped closer to him, feeling the tension between them tighten like a rope drawn too thin.
"Then why are you still here? Why not just leave me to fend for myself? Why not let me die the way I was supposed to?"
The words hung in the air, heavy with unsaid things. He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes unreadable.
Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he stepped closer, his form towering over her.
"I do not let things die... without purpose," he repeated, this time with more finality in his tone.
"But I do not do this for you. I do this because I choose to."
Valerie blinked, trying to understand the meaning behind his words.
"You choose to protect me? Why? What's the reason?"
For the first time since she had met him, the demon looked away, his eyes momentarily clouded with something—regret? Confusion? Something that made Valerie hesitate.
"Because I can," he answered quietly, his voice nearly lost to the wind.
"And because, in a world like this, you should not face death alone."
The admission left Valerie speechless. She wasn't sure if it was the answer she had wanted, but it was the one she had gotten.
She swallowed hard, the weight of the night pressing down on her shoulders. The coldness of his words didn't match the vulnerability she thought she had seen in his eyes. Or was she imagining it?
"But...I'm nothing to you, I'm just a stranger in your world," she murmured, the vulnerability creeping into her own voice.
The demon stood still for a long moment, as if considering her words carefully. When he finally spoke, it was softer than before, but still distant.
"You are not nothing. But you are also not mine to care for. If I stay, it is for my own reasons. If I leave, you will die, and it will not matter to anyone. Not even to you."
He took a step back, the distance between them stretching once more, and said,
"I cannot show you more than this. I will not."
Valerie's mind swirled with questions, doubts, and uncertainties. She had no idea what kind of creature this demon was, what kind of bond they shared—or if they shared one at all.
But she knew one thing for sure: he hadn't abandoned her. And perhaps that was enough.
For now, it had to be.
"I... I guess that's all I can ask for," Valerie said, her voice barely above a whisper.
The demon didn't answer. Instead, he turned his back to her and walked silently toward the stone structure in the clearing, leaving Valerie to her thoughts.
But this time, she didn't feel entirely alone. The presence of the demon—unpredictable and cold though he was—lingered in the air around her, keeping her grounded in the strange reality she found herself in.
Maybe there was a purpose to all this. Maybe she wasn't entirely lost.
But one thing was certain: she was not the same person who had stepped into this realm all those days ago. Something had changed. And whether it was for better or worse, she wasn't sure.
All she knew was that the demon's silence felt like a strange kind of company, and that she wasn't ready to walk away from it just yet.