“Get. Up.”

Theora felt Dema shaking her shoulders in an effort to return her to the living. “Don’t wanna,” Theora mumbled in her sleepy-voice and earned herself a chuckle.

“The hell, ‘don’t wanna’? That’s, like, top ten cutest things you’ve ever said! Not that you talk a lot.” The sounds of crinkled paper issued out from near her. “Gotta take notes or I’ll forget,” she mused, and Theora could hear her pen scratching.

“There we go! This is now the top one cutest thing you’ve ever said! Let’s see how long it’s gonna take for you to top yourself.” At that, Dema giggled. “Top yourself,” she repeated. “I gotta remember this too,” she said, issuing further pen scratches.

Meanwhile, Theora was threatening to fall into empty dreams again, so Dema gently shook her once more. “Why, stay awake! The sun’s gonna set, you’ve been asleep all day. Let’s get at least a little distance done? What do you say? Ten minutes? I could carry you.”

Suddenly, Theora’s eyes went wide. “No,” she croaked in her morning voice, “I don’t think I want to be carried.”

“I think you do!”

“I’m pretty sure I don’t,” she yawned, and rose up. Bleary-eyed, she saw the sun getting closer to one of the hills at the horizon.

They had put up camp at the side of a well-trodden path slowly descending into a valley, although not much of it could yet be seen. The trees were mostly small, and they didn’t carry any leaves for now. It was early winter. Fog had descended to some of the areas between the hills, humidity was high and Theora’s clothes were a little drenched. Had it rained while she was asleep?

A slow tap on the grass beside her confirmed it.

Wait… Had they actually put up camp here at all? Or had she just decided to rest for a moment and then fallen asleep right then and there? She was too scared of the answer to ask Dema. In fact, any interaction with Dema would just risk reminding her of—

Theora closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her head, covering her temples. Oh, god. She was going to have to kill this girl.

She swallowed that thought with a deep breath, banishing it back to where she was desperately trying to keep it the whole time: A dark, hidden space in the very back of her mind, one that still loomed and exerted pressure like a shadowy figure following her through the night.

Oh, how badly she wanted to go right back to sleep.

“Come now, little rabbit,” Dema urged. “Just for a bit, alright? One little tiny step after the other. Or, hops. You can use hops! Hop, hop. You can do this.”

Theora obliged. Not because she chose to or wanted to, she just listened to the words and obeyed, because it didn’t matter anyway. Nothing mattered. Step after step, she walked down the path.

That made Dema really happy. “Good girl,” she praised, creating a bit of a game out of cheering Theora on with supportive gestures and winks.

“Why are you rushing us? Didn’t you say you don’t mind waiting?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind at all, that’s true. ’Course I don’t. Having the time of my life, not gonna lie. Am never gonna get tired of your sleeping face.”

Theora gulped. “My sleeping face? Is that something you should admit to looking at? Seems a bit…” She trailed off, because it was not like she minded. She watched Dema’s sleeping face too, after all. Or rather, she’d done so, once, shortly after they’d started travelling together.

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“Why, whatever! I am the Ancient Evil, after all.” Dema grinned. “Got an image to protect!”

“Protecting your image by watching me sleep?”

“Hey, now, not like that’s all I’m doing! I’m also scheming, non-stop. Thinking, you know?” She tapped her temple.

“Are you making progress with your scheme? Will your wish be fulfilled soon?”

“No way!” Dema shouted. “I’m only just getting started. So many more variables to consider, like, damn. Never gonna get done at this rate.”

“But then, why rush? Why can’t I sleep all day? Why can’t I sleep forever?”

“Because human lifespans are over just like that!” Dema said, snapping her fingers. “Poof, you’ll be gone. Big bummer. Don’t you wanna, like… live a little? Back then, you said this trip was gonna cost us, like, seven years. And we’ve only made like a third of that way so far. Even though we’ve already been going for so long! Because you sleep so much! Ain’t ya worried? What if we ain’t gonna make it?”

Theora shook her head gently. “The quest gives us enough time. We still have…” She opened the window to check. “Yeah. More than enough left. Don’t worry about that. It’s also not an explanation. Why do you care about my quest?”

Dema groaned. She seemed actually grumpy, in a rather sweet way. “No way we have that much time left.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, I said it already!” She snapped her fingers again. “Poof, gone! Humans are just poof, gone all the time. I guess I just wanted to get to know you a little before you withered like all the others. I am a bit lonely, after all. And also, you’re kinda…” her voice trailed off into a whisper that Theora couldn’t hear.

She threw up her arms next to her head in what seemed like exasperation, and then added, “We’ve been travelling how long now? Ten years or something? And you sleep all the time! Can hardly call it travelling. And I’m right here! Am I just gonna watch you grow old until you decide to end me right before dying and then that’s it?”

“What?” Theora asked, completely stumped, and stopped walking. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed yet?”

Dema raised her eyebrows. “Noticed what?”

Theora just shook her head. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice.”

“Noticed what!” Dema’s energy seemed to seep back into her. “Come on, tell me! You know I’m always to have for a nice mystery!”

“This should not be a mystery at all,” Theora deadpanned. “You said you watch me sleep? And you didn’t notice? This is unbelievable. Fine. No more sleeping. Let’s move on.”

“Oh, my! Did I make you angry? I kinda did, huh?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s wrong!” Dema sing-songed.

Maybe it was. Though, technically, the real reason Theora was angry was because the System forced her to travel with a cute girl and then kill her, not because Dema lacked basic observational capabilities.

They made their way down the path for a while, and eventually, it started snowing. No more sleeping, she had said. Was that something she could actually promise? Maybe. Maybe she could try.

“Damn, makes me nostalgic,” Dema hummed as she caught one of the flakes. “Always think of our first encounter during winter. We’ve come so far south, snow’s a rare occurrence now. And you can’t dote on me as much during the colder months! So it’s, like, twice as bad!”

“I’m not doting on you,” Theora mumbled. When would she be doting on her? What did that even mean? She didn’t remember doing such a thing. If anything, she treated her terribly, staying asleep all the time. Of course, in the rare moments Theora did wake up, she felt so bad that she tried to apologise. But that was hardly worth mentioning.

“Oh, you so are! But never in winter! Such a shame, but I suppose it does make sense.”

“What are you talking about?” Something she did for Dema, but never in winter? What could that possibly be?

“Oh my,” Dema let out, staring at Theora with her amber eyes. “Why, don’t tell me you didn’t notice! I can’t believe you!”

“Don’t copy me,” Theora pouted. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Come on!” Dema whined with a wide grin. “This shouldn’t be a mystery at all! Well, I suppose if you ain’t gonna sleep anymore, you’ve got enough time to figure it out. And I’ll do some hard thinking on whatever it is that I haven’t noticed, too.”

“That should require no thinking,” Theora muttered.

But, it was true. They had enough time. With her vision still slightly blurred from sleep, Theora gazed back at the side quest notification, reading through it wearily.

[New Side Quest: Kill the Devil of Truth.]

Time remaining: 89 years.

More than enough.