"W-why? You... you broke the Doctrine."

Both fear and confusion practically trickled from the girls eyes.

She was struggling to process any of what was happening.

At least, she's finally looking at me.

I have no idea what this doctrine was—perhaps a rule of law—but it's strange that those are her first thoughts at seeing... well... this.

I glanced at the cold corpse behind me, and a brief, inquisitive look crossed my face, but I quickly hid it—I was not supposed to be me right now; I have to play along as if her behaviour is natural.

"I saved your life."

I spoke quickly and firmly, hoping it would resonate with her somehow.

My hope is that people often throw their doubts away in the face of authority. For the most part, I saw that at the evolution ceremony.

She hesitated. Her mouth opened a few times; she was clearly trying to find the words, but none came. Apparently, they had sunk deeper than I had intended.

Just who was this girl?

In a way, she's just like me—supposedly born with the eyes of their opposite, but that's all she has, and so all she seems to face is the hatred of her own race.

Is this all a coincidence? Is there something special about her? A system?

I had to use the egg to get mine... Is there a condition? Or am I making too many assumptions about her?

After all, they're just eyes.

"Can you at least stand?"

My words broke her from her daze, and she stared at me through the thin golden locks partially obscuring her face.

Without waiting for a reply, I reached out to her.

The sound of my armour rattling made her flinch, and her head tilted back as my palm moved toward her.

How do I approach this?

I wanted to sigh, but had to maintain the façade.

Grimacing, I pulled away, lowered my hand, and rotated it upright, giving her the choice to take it.

Thankfully, she recollected herself and began looking at my arm thoughtfully.

There was an odd lucidity to her gaze, different from all those I had felt so far.

Maybe it is bias, but I can't shake the feeling that she's special in some way, and it's more than just the eyes.

Hah, I just can't place it. This sense I have has a knack for just making me more confused; there's so much to process all the time.

I found myself abruptly pulled from my thoughts—she was tentatively reaching out.

Hesitation.

So much hesitation.

Her fingers were pale white; were they trembling from the cold or fright?

She stopped in the air and relaxed her arm, choosing instead to push herself up from the ground.

I'm not quite sure how to feel, but after looking into her eyes, I can somewhat understand.

Letting it go, I lowered my palm and stood back up again.

Though, I guess... in a way, she trusts that I won't hurt her.

I looked down at her; she had a ruminating gaze, as if searching for the words or exclamation, but I spoke up first.

"We should leave here quickly."

It was impossible to stick around here anymore.

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As much as the outpost interests me, I need to get back to my body.

Trying to hide it, I stood in front of the corpse—not that I was really all that effective—and nodded my head to the side, indicating she pass by first.

Strangely, I couldn't read her expression, but she curtly responded.

"Okay."

And walked past me.

She looked calm, but both her hands were tightly clasped together instead of at her sides.

Letting out a sigh, I briskly caught up and momentarily passed her by to pull my sword up from the ground.

It wasn't damaged; I could tell that at a glance, so I resheathed the blade with only a little awkwardness before turning around.

She was a few metres away, and we looked at each other quizzically.

Shit, of course she expects me to lead.

Uhhh.

That angel did make it clear that she wasn't supposed to be here...

"However you came in would be the best way to leave..."

Yes, that sounds vague enough; it could just as easily refer to a hidden entrance or even a hole in a wall or something.

"Um, okay."

She lightly nodded.

It seemed to make sense to her.

I followed behind and watched as she peeked through the door I had practically smashed through.

For a moment, she paused before turning to look at me a little incredulously. It was the largest show of emotion I had seen from her... well, except fear.

I raised an eyebrow, as if to say "what," and she looked away awkwardly.

Perhaps she hadn't intended to convey anything to me.

After turning back, she carefully entered through into the dark storage space.

Only the quiet blue light seeping in from the library like the dim shine of the moon on a starless night, granted any sense of direction.

But it didn't look as if she needed it; masterfully, she traced around the armourous remains across the floor with practised ease.

It was a skilled silence, obviously used to slipping through equivalently crowded areas...

I, on the other hand, am too large now, and we don't have the time.

I simply began trudging through it.

However, and it was only for a moment, but she winced and moved to cover her ears, only to give up and continue forward.

Hmm...

Choosing to slow down, I began more carefully pushing through.

She paused, for not so brief a moment this time, but didn't turn around.

However, I could see she had relaxed a little.

...why do I even want to help this girl?

Maybe I feel estranged from myself here...

But why does it feel surprising to me? And is that all it takes?

Its... only been a short time, but I feel like I know myself, yet not at the same time.

Well, it's not like I need to figure out why I want to help her. I just want to, and I can, for a bit at least.

I might be able to go back into my body right now, but that might not be a good idea, as much as I want to...

I have no idea where they've put me or what they're planning. Maybe they just wanted me dead and I'll wake up somewhere, buried or something. That might be the best case.

Well, I'll have to try soon—maybe gain more strength first—and I'll have to fake being dead when I do, since I won't know if anyone will be around.

My mood grew dull as the thoughts swirled around in my mind.

Maybe... I can use this body somehow. Is this guy strong enough? Can I even make him stronger?

"It's here."

The girl's words broke me from my stupor.

She was standing in front of a normal wall, or what appeared to be a normal wall anyway.

I said nothing, but apparently I didn't need to. She stepped forward, placed her hand against the surface, and muttered what sounded like alien words under her breath.

For a split second, a web of energy fluctuated across the wall, like a light catching shattered glass as you passed by.

I waited and noticed that tiny perturbations of the air were chipping away at its surface. Microscopically, they excavated the wall, throwing particulates into the atmosphere as though it were merely dust swept from atop a shelf.

After a few moments, holes appeared, and they quickly fell away, collapsing into the ground like a sand castle that had dried in the wind.

Wait, so it is a hole in the wall huh...

"i... it will only let one through at a time, so... "

"You can go first."

I spoke swiftly, not leaving room for argument.

She paused, even glancing in my direction once or twice, but eventually she stepped through.

Soon after, the wall began reforming itself. Numerous grains of stone seemed to resist the forces of nature at play and returned to their original position as if the wall had never fallen apart.

But before it finished, another cracked pulse of light washed over, and it crumbled away again.

Quickly, I dashed through and turned around to watch it reform again with unveiled intrigue.

It's quite mesmerising.

I had all but forgotten about the little trust exercise I was implicitly trying to set up there by letting her through first.

If not for lightning, I'd certainly want whatever that was.

"Really?"

A less monotone voice slipped from her mouth.

Startled by her own words, she didn't continue, so I didn't turn my gaze to face her, even though she was within my periphery.

But I think I know what she means—she's confused at the trust I placed in her. There isn't any ulterior motive; if she ran away, I would just forget about her.

I'll purposefully misinterpret...

"Yeah, I've not seen anything like it; it's truly incredible."

I spoke casually.

"I'm only good at magic that doesn't need control..."

Her tone was self-defeating, and I couldn't help but turn my eyes towards her fully this time.

She looked away, embarrassment clear in her posture.

I get the feeling she didn't intend to speak this much.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Surprise clearly pushed itself through her mind and onto her face.

It wasn't a question she was expecting from me.

In fact, her lips quivered for a brief moment, but perhaps it was the biting cold of the outside air.

"Um, it's Rena, sir Adrian."

I ignored the address and the strange taste it left in my mouth, only focusing on her.

She had spoken while looking down.

I feel a little embarrassed.

Was I supposed to know her name or something?

Had she introduced herself to this body before?

"I... I'm sorry I didn't remember."

I tried to appear as sincere as possible.

"Let's get somewhere else."

I spoke again, unwilling to leave only silence in the void of conversation, and turned around.