Darkness enveloped his surroundings. Something tall. Something glaring stood in that darkness. After it had almost slipped his mind, he found himself confronted by it. It stood tall and leered down at him from above.

It was an enormous pale pillar.

"Where am I?"

It was the same as the pillar he had observed while traversing the dreadful cold zone. The dark void surrounding him was the same, too. Only one thing had changed.

"My body... is here? I must have blacked out then..."

He could see his hands and feet now. His body, all of it, was present in this other world. Rising to his feet in silence, Rowan looked up and stared. But he found himself short of words, with nothing left to occupy him. He approached the daunting white column.

But it proved difficult.

No matter how far he walked or for how long. He could not quite traverse the ineffable distance between him and that blaring white beacon.

Any attempt to do so was useless. It had been hours of walking, and soon, he found himself on his knees.

He felt no fatigue here, yet his mind did. It was both heavy and strained. This was nothing like being asleep. That itch, that yearning for rest, was still there in his brain, and the void was no substitute.

All he could do now was curl into a ball and wait for his drowsiness to overcome him.

'...'

Time continued to pass unimpeded. He couldn't quite grasp how long he had been in the darkness. Hours? Days? With nothing but emptiness around, he lost all bearings on time.

Rising from the dark floor. Rowan sat up and looked towards the tall, radiant spire looming over him. Soon, he was overcome with frustration.

"What do you want from me?"

Despite all his anger, the only outburst he could manage was a pitiful yell. He struck the ground with his hand, but it was like his fist hadn't landed at all. He stood on the darkness beneath... yet he couldn't touch it?

Despondent, Rowan spent more time with his gaze lost in the dark world. But then, he heard a slight rumble. He gazed up at the pillar as it exuded a soft, melancholic growl. Then, it vanished, taking the dark, overwhelming void with it.

"Huh?"

He was in a bed, and his grey uniform was still on. The dark fur hide that made up the blanket had been left under him as if someone had just dropped him on top.

The room was spacious. Far smaller than his room in Civilia had been but nicer. The wooden interior was rustic and rural in design. Far cosier than a building in the world beyond the Mist should have been.

"What the...?"

He raised his hands and scrutinised them. A faint pinkness lingered on his brittle hands. Now that he was awake, they had reversed to their damaged state, but by now, they were mostly healed anyway. He used them to grab his head in pain. His mind really hadn't been given one inch of rest.

With his hands gripping his face, he attempted to piece together what had happened and what the void and the pillar had all meant. But he was interrupted.

A loud noise clanged as a man entered. Too tall to fit, he ducked beneath the door frame. As he closed the door behind him, he noticed Rowan sitting on his bed with a bewildered expression.

"Oh, great timing. You're awake. Can you move aside?"

Rowan stared up at Hector, dazed and uncertain.

"Hurry up. I'm tired. I'll be awake in a couple hours, maybe. In the meantime... I don't know. Do whatever you want."

Rowan stepped aside as Hector approached, not wishing to get in the strange Defected's way. Rowan moved towards the door while Hector lay down on the bed. He stayed so still Rowan thought he'd fallen asleep right then and there, but then he raised his inky Defect-ridden face.

"You can leave now."

Those final words escaped him before his head fell back.

Then he began to snore.

Stunned, Rowan spent a moment observing Hector sleep. After hours upon hours of nothing, he found himself short of patience. Besides the deep intervals of snores, the room was quiet and placid.

'He sleeps so easily with himself. It doesn't matter. I should... leave already.'

Scrunching his eyebrows, he shook his head, turned, and left through the bold wooden door.

As he stepped outside, his senses were assaulted with activity. After escaping the futile, vapid void, the change was jarring yet welcome.

The camp was in full swing as Defected cluttered around, yelled and raced between buildings like ants. There were some stares at Rowan. But they were not as expressive or persistent as yesterday's.

The morning rays decorated the camp. Its members were all concerned with wherever they were going or whatever they were doing.

Standing in the doorway to Hector's home, he watched them for a while. For the first time, Rowan found himself clueless about where to go and what to do. Rather than leave the building behind and venture into the warmth. He slumped onto Hector's stone doorstep.

'Now what?'

If he wandered around, he'd be sure to find Nero. Right now, he might have even been doing the same as himself. Sitting somewhere, doing nothing at all.

As he watched the crowd manoeuvre, he noticed a familiar face within them. Their eyes darted around as they walked, surveying the many Defected.

For a moment, Rowan assumed they were looking for him.

With a flick of her head, Alicia threw the long red locks from her face. As she did, he caught sight of her ruby-red eyes. Their light tone from the night before was replaced with a deeper, hellish hue. Those driven pupils pierced his own as she noticed him even amidst the thick masses of the crowd.

As if aware of her visceral demeanour, she forced a light smile and advanced towards him. The Defected were careful to avoid her as she marched through them.

"Hey, Rowan. Did you sleep well?"

"Um, yeah, sure. Something like that."

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Relieving him from her stern aura, she looked up at the building behind him and sent Rowan a strange look as she loomed over him.

"Ummm, so you slept at Hector's house last night? I was sure he had a thing for the Boss, but Ah, who am I to judge? He isn't my type, but you do you, Rowan.

Rowan blinked. Then, he snapped his head up from his daze. "What? No, no, it's not. What?"

Watching him splutter, the girl laughed and twirled her finger in her vibrant, flowing red hair.

"I'm just kidding. Gosh, you're so easy. But I suppose I feel a little better now."

The raging of her pupils seemed to dim as she stared down at him with a smile.

"I'm looking for Nero. Have you seen him?"

Rowan shuffled. "No, I haven't seen him. Not since yesterday."

Listening to his murmurs, she pursed her lips and said, "You neither, huh. I sort of expected to find you two together, but I suppose not."

She turned her head away from Rowan and watched over the crowds. "Dam freeloader has too many hiding spots. Chasing around after him is a dam waste of time. I honestly don't know where he runs off to most days."

Rowan heard her murmurs but found himself short of anything to say. Now that her attention was elsewhere, he took a moment to admire her figure. Her toned muscles were impressive, and her sleek arms and legs were revealed. Her physicality looked to be beyond that of most Defected. Compared to builds like his, there was no competition.

"I could have used his help for this. I know he's not as weak as he lets on... he proves it every night, after all."

Rowan paused. "What is wrong with you!" He yelled as the girl turned to him with a wicked grin.

Laughing off his words, she slipped to the floor beside him with a smile. Head in his arms, he sought refuge from the degenerate Defected, but she paid him no mind and continued to laugh.

Perhaps feeling sorry for him, Alicia shifted the topic as she watched the camp with a snicker.

"Well, running around after him isn't going to help me. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't. I'm better off laying an ambush here and waiting for him to come to you."

Smiling, her gaze remained aloof. "Well, that won't work. Not unless you really plan to sit here all day with me. Rowan, don't you have anything else to go and do?"

He shuffled on the stone step as he attempted to refute her. But he found himself lost for words.

"I don't know."

Rather than interrupt, she watched him with a simple smile. She continued to wait in silence till Rowan felt compelled to answer.

"Am I supposed to be doing something? Like what? What do I have to do? Shouldn't somebody else be telling me how to help around? If they even need my help."

Her gaze remained fixed on him. She leaned against Hector's wooden door and crossed one leg over the other.

"Well, sorry, but I really can't help you. I'm not going to tell you what to do. It doesn't suit me."

As Rowan watched her lean back, Alicia closed her eyes and basked in the light. Her demeanour reminded him of his friend Andrea, the leader of his school's protestors. However, Alicia's striking red hair and toned muscular figure differed greatly from Andrea's. They gave her a more mature air.

Even now, her eyelids never seemed to relax. Soaking in the golden rays. A small part of her loose posture was rigid, prompting Rowan to ask.

"Why? Why are you looking for Nero? What is it you want to do?"

Rowan's words stirred her as she opened her eyes, pulling herself back into a sitting position and gazing at her spear. Then she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and paused.

"That Vile... I'm going to kill it."

Rowan didn't flinch or gasp. Maybe he was still disoriented from his sleepless night. Or maybe he'd guessed already.

"Why? It let us escape once. It doesn't make sense. What's the point in going after it?"

She was motionless, yet her red eyes deepened, almost swirling.

"It's a Vile. It's too intelligent to let roam. It will probably kill a lot of us before someone takes it down. You don't have the experience with the Devoured. So you wouldn't know."

Rowan felt compelled to nod and admit to his ignorance. But as he examined her red, hateful eyes, he felt an urge.

"But it's more dangerous now than before-"

"All the more reason to kill it."

Interrupting him, she stood to her feet and picked up her spear. Her tall, lithe figure was irate and tense. Alicia loomed over him as Rowan shrunk into himself.

He murmured. "If you fail to kill it, though. Won't it only get stronger? And kill more-"

"It's injured! If we let it heal, then someone is certain to die. I can't just sit around and wait for that to happen."

Her harsh words intercepted his again as she turned to face him head-on. He glanced down at his feet and noticed the grip on her spear tighten as she stared down at him.

"Look, Rowan. If anything truly bad occurred, the Boss would have no choice but to have warned us. I tell them we're stupid not to use our greatest weapon every time, but even she will be forced to act if someone ends up dying. You went to talk with her last night, right? So you must understand by now."

Rowan paused. He'd been tired and disoriented, and he could not understand Alicia's words. He shook his head without meeting her eyes.

Alicia pursed her lips. "She can hear tomorrow. That's her Defect Rowan. The more important of the two."

His eyebrows furrowed, and his forehead scrunched as he glanced at the redhead.

"Alicia, you're saying?-"

She nodded. "Even this conversation now, she's been listening. No, it's more accurate to say she's already heard it."

A scornful sigh escaped her as she raised her head towards the sky, curling her lips.

"But she's weak, afraid and most of all... pathetic. I can manage this all on my own. I'll do her job for her. I'll force her to use her ability and save her camp for her."

The empty blue sky fell victim to Alicia's piercing red eyes. Those words were not directed at himself, yet he still shuddered. She turned back to Rowan, her eyes a hellish red hue.

"With all your meandering and mumbling, you're really just like him. But there's more to both of you than meets the eye. So what do you say, Rowan? Will you join me? Come commit yourself to something?"

Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was something else. But as her forceful figure reached her hand out for him. He felt a familiar pang resonate within. Accepting her hand, she pulled him to his feet.

############################

"Umm, where are we going? You know, I'm still really not sure about this."

Strong, purposeful strides were followed by the hurried steps of the boy behind. In front, the redhead spared him a glance before her eyes locked back onto the path ahead.

"You said you didn't know how to help around? Well, maybe this is your answer. We have a guarantee that we won't lose our lives, so I can even bring someone like you along."

"Um, you didn't answer my question. Where are we going?"

The redhead turned and examined his apprehensive figure, then grinned.

"We're going to steal you one of these puppies.

At that, she thrust her spear into the ground, then shifted her grip and span it as it became an incredible whir. That metal spear turned into an unrecognisable violent blur that seemed to sever the air before him. She performed that act without slowing for a moment. The flowers stemming from the ground were shredded.

With a proud smile, she glanced back at him.

Rowan murmured. "That was, how did you?... wait, hold on, did you say steal just now? Why do we have to steal one?"

The redhead scratched her chin and looked away from Rowan with a laugh.

"Lighten up, I'm sure it will be fine. Oh, but yes, we'll steal one if we have to."

She stopped just short of a modest birch building. She grabbed the door's protruding wooden handle, swinging it wide. Inside, the logs that made up the interior were symmetrical like every other building and home. The stellar architecture was something he only noticed right then.

'I suppose hundreds of unique Defects can make anything possible.'

The single-roomed building was completely different to Hector's. It was full of stuff. Hector had a simple bed then, not much else, but there were contraptions of all kinds in this building.

They looked primitive, though. The core material of each machine was always wood, with rare metal segments. The one that stood out the most to Rowan was a bench affixed with a jagged, rotary blade. Its metallic surface had been ebbed away, and cracks lined the sharp, circular instrument.

However, he had been drawn to the machine not by its macabre appearance but by the sprawled Defected over it. Her head rested on the wooden counter inches from the saw-like disc. Disturbed by their intrusion, she craned her dazed head up, almost splitting her forehead on the blade.

"Tchh, hello Marie, it's nice to see you." Alicia clicked her tongue, noticing the girl stir.

The Defected Marie smiled weakly and went to wiggle her shoulder.

"Ah, Alicia, good morning. Or is it afternoon?"

To Rowan, it looked like she'd tried to wave. Noticing something was off, Marie looked down towards her left arm, but it wasn't there. Only a metal stubb ejected from her left shoulder.

"Oh, right. Hehe."

Then she waved her normal right arm, unperturbed by her missing limb. Alicia's eyes scanned the room before returning to Marie's soft, closed eyes.

"We didn't mean to wake you up. This is the new guy at camp, by the way."

Alicia gestured at Rowan with a bored expression. Marie blinked, surprised, as she finally noticed the other visitor and titled her head sideways.

"New guy? You mean someone new. As in someone from outside of camp?"

Alicia frowned as the corners of her mouth rose into a smirk.

"Yeah... He's the first in forever? Straight from the real world? It's kind of a big deal. When was the last time you spoke to someone Marie?"

Marie pressed a gentle finger against her chin as she looked up at the roof, dazed. Her blonde curls ended neatly at her neck.

"Oh, yesterday, I assume. It was when Hector told me one of his hunters, Lux, lost his spear. I've been busy ever since. It makes me happy to be useful like this, but I really wish I could be like you, Alicia."

Alicia rolled her eyes until they snapped onto something on the floor. A spear had fallen below the work desk, where they had found Marie sleeping, and it stole every inch of Alicia's attention.

"It was so nice of him. Hector always asks if I'm ok with making them. He's the only one who's visited me this month, and he always double-checks that the process doesn't hurt me. He's so silly like that. Why would I lie? Everyone is always so nice to me, especially you, Alicia."

Rowan watched the redhead's mouth twitch as she leered over at the spear, paying Marie's words no mind.

'What was I thinking following her of all people? She's evil.'

Marie turned her back and clutched her chest with a smile. Alicia didn't hesitate as she bent down and picked up the spear, holding one in each hand. But then Marie twirled back whilst lost in a rant.

"Oh, you use two spears, Alicia? I didn't remember. Have you always?"

Rowan squinted further as Alicia stuck with her smile without a flicker of shame.

"Yep. I've had two for a while, remember?"

Marie froze for a moment as the room grew quiet. Before she clasped her hands.

"Yep, I must have forgotten. I should have guessed someone amazing like you would dual-wield. So cool! You never ask me for spares, so you must take really good care of them.

Alicia continued nodding as the Defected spilt her heart out while attending to the machinery around her. At some point, Alicia tapped Rowan's shoulder and pointed her finger towards the door.

'Wow. Heartless.'

Noticing his glare, she shrugged her shoulders with a smile and headed outside.

"I hate to condemn my fellow campmates, but I've had quite a few of the spears go missing over the last month. It's still a little painful to have to cut off my arm every time, then work for days on them with only one hand. Crafting them isn't easy... ah, where did I put it? I worked all night to make it. How could I have lost it already?-"

Rowan followed Alicia outside, closing the workshop door quietly. Inside, he could still make out the faint rambles of the Defected within. He sighed.

"What's taking you so long?" Alicia grinned.

Rowan frowned but said nothing more as she thrust a spear out for him.

"This is yours now. It makes you one of us, you know? So take good care of it. Oh, and I did the work, so I'll be keeping the new one."

Rowan took it in his hand. But soon, he was holding it with both. 'It's heavy.' Alicia watched him as her smile faded.

"Before we go, Rowan, I have to ask. Are you afraid of dying?"

He didn't know how to respond to that. Usually, no, he didn't fear it. But that time with the Vile. Fresh in his mind with its maw right there. Filled with rows of long, razor teeth pushed right up to his face.

Rowan winced. "Maybe. But I have to go. Because there are scarier things. Ones I'd rather not think about."