Arriving at the village, Aurolana smiled brightly and asked "What's wrong?"
"You don't seem that torn up after losing all our friends," Zeel stated.
"You don't either,"
"I am unable to care about them, but you are not like me. You started acting strangely after the explosion," Zeel said nonchalantly.
"I have seen it too many times to care anymore," Aurolana whispered her answer.
Zeel wanted to ask about her meaning but paused suddenly when he heard a dog barking.
The noise placed him in a trance as he cut through several paths to find an old dilapidated house surrounded by three individuals.
Inside he could hear a dog barking and it sounded eerily familiar.
Zeel walked over and peeked inside, he was too scared to fully look inside. Something about this memory made him dread.
Aurolana watched from the side, interested to see if Zeel would finally acknowledge his first-ever mistake.
At least, the first-ever mistake he cared about. Zeel walked into the house from a crack and silently approached the three men that were beating a dog.
The dog tried to fight desperately, it wanted to protect the sick ten-year-old girl coughing on the bed.
For some reason, Zeel's body moved on its own, almost as if it was replaying the same steps he had taken at the time.
One, Two, Three – three heads fell in an instant, then Zeel stared at the dog and killed it as well.
"First mistake," Aurolana's voice whispered in Zeel's ear.
Zeel stared at the sick girl on the bed, she also stared at Zeel. They stared at each other for a while as Zeel's body started to shrink into an 8-year-old.
"Do you want the embrace of death," Zeel asked.
The girl's eyes sparkled, then she quickly nodded her head.
Zeel placed the knife on her neck and just as he was about to slit her neck cleanly. The girl managed to squeeze out a phrase "My name is E********,"
Zeel's eyes widened, he reached for the feather that floated past his shoulder and held it up to observe in detail.
Feathers had been occasionally drifting near his body for years now, but never once had he thought this strange.
Zeel stared at Aurolana approaching in the distance and whispered "Break!"
The world before Zeel's eyes dissolved and what was revealed was a large expanse of ocean.
The purple skies added to the beautiful scenery of the red, setting sun. Zeel recognized this scenery immediately, he was very familiar with this Dimension.
It was his ultimate escape plan for when he died because people like him would rather not spend eternity burning in hell.
Glancing at his shoulder, Zeel saw a small creature that resembled a weasel, only this weasel had deep green eyes and golden antlers on its head.
Zeel smiled faintly as he brushed the smooth white fur of the creature.
The creature hopped from his shoulder and darted towards the small shed near the sea.
There, Zeel saw Aurolana but unlike the one from his memories.
This Aurolana seemed eighteen years old and infinitely more mature like she had seen the vicissitudes of life.
