Key, is what he heard, and it made him afraid to think about it.
What could it be? Will they have to find it somewhere dangerous, like a dungeon or maze?
Azreal felt the need to know, and so he asked timidly -
"What key?"
Raphae seemed to ignore his question for a few seconds, but eventually she answered -
"The key to the tower..."
She faced him while still walking forward -
"When we meet the others, we'll retrieve the key."
She then turned her head forward, intentionally trying to avoid the subject.
Azreal was slowly getting nervous, so he asked -
"... Retrieve it from where?"
His tone was growing more anxious by the second.
She sighed, then she spoke, her tone more serious, reflecting the dangerous world for the first time -
"Do not worry about that, not yet at least.
... believe me, you'll be wasting your nerves on that."
Her tone grew resigned at the end, sighing again.
Azreal hated the atmosphere, for many reasons in fact, it was cold, it was dim, gloomy, and heavy.
He hated his companion as well, while she felt like a lake in the middle of the desert, she also seemed controlling and mysterious.
Azreal felt truly powerless, from the unimaginably agony of death to the cold hand of his savior.
He was being led like cattle...
He looked around, and there in the distance he started to see black objects littering the white expanse.
They almost looked like squared and rectangles... or buildings?!
But they were so far apart from each other that it felt like he was just having problems with his eyes.
The black buildings were far away in many directions, and there were more of them in the direction of the black stark pillar.
The black building contrasting with the red line of the horizon, between the white earth and the gray heaven.
He looked up at the bleak sky, and there the black unmoving sun, right above the pillar that they almost looked like they were connected.
It felt like a gate... couldn't be, could it?
He was about to ask Raphae about it but then he changed his mind for whatever reason.
A few minutes later, Raphae spoke, her voice light and friendly -
"Hey... well... could you tell me your star sign? If you don't mind, of course..."
Azreal couldn't be any more repulsed by the question, but he still answered -
"I don't know, I don't care about such things."
Raphae flashed a disappointed expression, then she spoke almost timidly -
"Then... when were you born?"
She thought for a second, then continued -
"If you don't mind telling me"
Azreal sighed, and then he spoke -
"I was born at December eleventh."
He sounded too sincere, more than he intended.
Raphae thought, then she smiled -
"... I wonder which star sign you have."
Azreal almost chuckled at that, but he held... mostly because he had a broken sense of humor.
Raphae stared at him for a few seconds, her lips parted, then she turned away, resuming her walk.
Azreal felt like she was about to say something, but then she changed her mind... weird?
A question came to his mind, actually, many questions came to his mind about her, but he asked none.
He walked behind her, never looking at her, instead, looking anywhere else.
Then he spoke -
"... Do you see black buildings far away, too?"
Raphae replied without turning her head -
"Ah those... you'll see them later anyway.
... But, from what we know, those buildings mimic human buildings."
He replied with slight confusion -
"Is that all? Nothing else about them?"
She took a couple of seconds before she replied, her voice slightly weaker -
"You see... those buildings don't just mimic the building, but also mimic what's inside it.
In those buildings you'll be saf-...
In those buildings... there is a different kind of agony and danger."
Her words were understood clearly by Azreal.
Safe... but filled with agony... he has his guesses.
She continued after a few seconds -
"There is more I should tell you...
You shouldn't stay still in one spot, for too long; otherwise a monster will appear..."
She lingered for a second, then she continued -
"You shouldn't go to the edges, or you'll die...
If you want to go to the black pillar, there are six safe roads that leads to the tower. We are heading towards one.
The monsters don't attack you when you are on the road... as long as you don't stay still."
She sighed, then she continued -
"Don't get inside a building, or you'll face a trial.
And by the way...
When you die here, don't say Yes; if you do, you'll be recreated near the beast, but answering with No will keep you far enough."
Azreal looked at her with a somber expression... 'she really threw a lot at me at once.'
He thought about one in particular then he spoke -
"... Will we be attacked on our way?"
- "Yeah, most definitely."
Her response was immediate and doubt-less, kind of... but the question, is when.
After a few seconds, she spoke, her tone more friendly -
"Can I ask you something personal?"
- "... Go for it, I might even answer."
She didn't hesitate to ask -
"Why... why did you suicide?
What was your life like?"
Her tone strangely sympathetic.
Azreal suddenly stopped, for a few seconds, shadows veiled his eyes, but then he resumed his steps.
He lingered for a few seconds, but then finally spoke -
"... I killed someone"
It was now her turn to stop, but not for long, a second of silence and then she continued to walk.
She spoke -
"Why did you kill the person?"
Her tone strangely understanding.
Azreal didn't want to talk about it, but he spoke -
"It's a long story... a very long story."
She spoke with some enthusiasm -
"Give me the synopsis then."
Azreal sighed before he spoke -
"I had a very bad relationship with my neighbors that escalated quickly... but my family took their side.
I slowly was drivin mad because it felt like everyone was against me..."
Azreal grew silent before he resumed -
"Eventually, I killed someone... with my gun."
She grew silent, looking at Azreal with a somber expression... then, suddenly, half of her body disappeared with a spray of blood—