Octopath Traveler II and... a girl.

Throné, the thief.

Hi people reading this, if such a thing exists. Before continuing with the story I wanted to put here the lines or quotes for Alice, in case someone was interested. There It goes:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QuPEupBcutMkTy7nkRMHVoUaQuYcSl1zV-_xX3d6gsE/edit?usp=sharing

If you can't access to It from here, you can ask me in private for It.

Anyway let's go on lol.

...

Darkness. Whispers. Lies. A nightmare.
"Ahh... This again..."- he was used to it by now. Temenos looked around; no one was there. What would be this time? Roi? The Pontiff? Crick? Lyblac? He just waited for something to happen. Then, the worst possible outcome. Crick. It was a memory.

-"Lucian! Are you there? I wish to have a word with you."- his voice was sweet and tried to be confident.
-"No reply, as I thought... Then it's come to this...! We must use brute force!"- he heard himself talk. Such happy times. The actual Temenos bit his lip.
-"What are you suggesting, Temenos- No! Stop! We need the Sacred Guard's permission!" -Temenos tried to contain his urge to go and hug him. "He's not real, he's just in your mind".

-"Says the man who tell's me we've not a moment to lose..."
-"Uh...Well...Yes, but..."- "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
-"We can beg for forgiveness later! But, for the moment, I need you to give as an...etch."- "Why did I have to insist so much..."
-"How dare you...! Ahh, there's no arguing with you, is there...?"
...
-"Ah, bravo, Crick! You're learning"- a wide smirk on his face- "Now, let's invite ourselves in."
-"Oh, Gods... Please, forgive me..."
...
...
"I wish they had forgiven you. I wish you didn't go that far. I wish I didn't push you so much. I wish you were here, with me..."
"Please, forget about this... Please come back to me... Please..."-he thought this as Crick walked further and further, leaving Temenos behind. Crick wanted to know the truth. He wanted that because of Temenos. He was just as obsessed as him. He needed something to believe. He lost hope because of him. And he risked his life when he could have lived...

-"Temenos, you did this to me. I just wanted to be a Knight that would protect everybody. I just wanted to believe. But you took everything from me. My faith. Even my life. It's your fault I died."
-"No... That's not something he would say... This is just my mind playing tricks on me... Wake up... Don't listen... Everything's fine... Wake up... WAKE UP!"

...

-"Huh?!"- He suddenly sit on his bed, waking up from the nightmare. Sweat running across his face again. His breath heavy and fast. His eyes teary.
He looked at his sides. Luckily, Alice wasn't in the tent at the moment. He would have a moment to compose himself. He let out a long sigh.

After preparing himself, he took a plate that Alice had left there for him to eat. "She's such a caring girl". She suddenly entered the tent, barely making a noise, and startling Temenos.
-"Gods, you scared me to death. Good morning, Alice. Have you slept well?"- Temenos asked politely, trying to steady his voice and thoughts from the nightmare. Alice had a big smile when she entered, but she suddenly went serious, and squinted her eyes at Temenos. "What is she doing?" Her serious look changed into a worried one.
-"Temenos... Are you alright? You don't look so well...'
"What...? How could she notice? I was sure to prepare myself before she entered. And none of my expressions could have made her think that. So why...?"- Even when he was thinking this, his expression stayed the same. He had such a built masquerade, and she had still seen through him, even if they had barely met. However, he didn't lose his composture.
-"Are you sure? Why, well, I'm perfectly fine. I've just woken up, so it's only natural for my eyes to look like they do. And my injuries from yesterday are better now, so..."- "Will she buy that?"