For a while, there was only silence and darkness. But then, all of a sudden, I saw myself falling from the sky.

'Huh?'

My body kept falling, tumbling through a vast, empty expanse where the air felt thin and cold against my skin.

When I looked down, I saw the ground of the battlefield rushing up to meet me.

'W-what?'

In the next second, my body crashed onto the scorched earth with an impact so violent that my body crumbled.

Then, there was silence and darkness again… until all of a sudden, I saw myself falling from the sky again.

'What the hell?'

Just like before, my body tumbled through the air for a few tensed seconds before hitting the ground again with an impact that shattered my senses once more.

But before I could even process the pain, my body was already in the air again.

'What is this?'

This time, the fall was even shorter. It was faster to hit the ground, and before a second could even pass, I was up again.

The first few times were terrifying, a blur of panic and sudden pain, but as the loop continued over and over again, getting faster each time, the fear began to intensify into a cold, suffocating dread.

It felt like my mind was breaking apart in this sudden nightmare that refused to end.

At one point, I could no longer tell how many times I had been replaying my death. But just as my body was falling again, I let out a final, jagged scream, and when it hit the ground, my eyes finally snapped open.

The first thing I saw was the night sky, and I could definitely hear the crackling of fire nearby. I immediately sat upright and began touching the ground, then I also reached up and began tapping myself frantically as my mind was still heavily disoriented from the loop.

Right in that moment when I needed something to ground me, I felt hands wrap around me, pulling me close. A familiar warmth pressed against me, and a voice whispered into my ear:

"You are okay…"

I held onto Aika for a moment, and when I finally pulled away from her, I quickly tried to turn my head to take a look around, but then Aika held my cheek, forcing me to look back to face her.

"He's gone," she said softly.

I closed my eyes and exhaled a long, shaky breath in relief.

At that moment, Aika reached out the bottle of alcohol in her hand, then said in a low, comforting voice, "Let's share. Looks like you need some."

I looked at her in silence for a moment, then reached out and took the bottle from her. After taking a few long gulps, I wiped my mouth, smiled and asked lightly, "What happened to 'I don't share'?"

Aika looked away, exhaled a plume of smoke and, after a few seconds replied sheepishly, "For you, I'm willing to make a lot of exceptions."

My jaw dropped a little at that response, and a smile formed on my lips.

A few seconds passed, then Aika leaned her body on me as she turned to face me again. This time, her beautiful face was really close to mine. She seemed to be a bit drunk, but that just made her even more attractive.

Aika stared into my eyes for a moment, then finally said in the same quiet voice, "I realized today that I do not like it when you die."

'Huh?'

Aika's eyes went unsteady for a bit, and it seemed like she was looking for the right words. Eventually, she added, "It feels… painful, cold and lonely when you're not around."

Hearing that, I blinked a few times as I was completely stunned.

Aika's usually stoic exterior was suddenly beginning to crack around me, and she was being deeply vulnerable at the moment.

It was something I wasn't used to witnessing and it made me feel both overwhelmed and strangely cherished. I could feel my heart beat faster as I stared at her beautiful face in stunned silence and for some reason, the air around us felt warmer than normal.

Aika slowly looked away, running a hand through her hair as she let out a long, weary sigh. Then, as if the weight of her own words had finally exhausted her, she leaned her head against my shoulder.

For a moment, I stayed perfectly still, with my gaze still fixed on her. Then after a moment, I looked away, and as a blush creeped up my face, I quickly took a few more gulps of alcohol.

***

Several minutes later, Aika had already fallen asleep. I carefully adjusted her position, guiding her head down onto my lap so that she would be more comfortable. Then I gently stroked the soft strands of her hair occasionally.

Since I couldn't sleep due to Chrysalis, I decided to keep watch over the camp.

Everyone had already been sleeping long before I woke up. The camp was quiet, save for the crackling sounds of the fire in the fireplace and the heavy, rhythmic breathing of the others scattered around the clearing.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed from the moment I died to the time I finally woke up; I hadn't had a chance to ask Aika yet. However, I suspected that this was already the second night. It had been nearly midnight when we began our fight with Yami, and since the Chrysalis required it to be midnight for me to return to life, a full day must have slipped away while I was gone.

I glanced around the clearing. Celeste was sleeping close to my side, still clutching her sleeping ferret to her chest. Julius was sleeping beside Evelyn, and as for Dion…

I turned my head around to see him laying a short distance away, sleeping beside Ino.

The ground in front of him was uneven and dark in patches, as if people had been recently buried there.

I sighed as I looked away and began drawing in mana to expand my core.

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