The man named Sam broke the awkward silence between them.

"Well, uh, what's your name? I've told you mine, so now it's your turn."

Gabby lowered her gaze, contemplating whether to reveal her real identity. As she thought, she scrutinized Sam from head to toe, analyzing him. From his casual and calm demeanor, even after being attacked, Gabby concluded he didn't pose a threat, at least for now.

Sighing loudly, she put her daggers away. "I'm Gabby. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Alright then, Gabby," Sam said with a nonchalant shrug,

"it's not nice to meet you."

Gabby flinched, a flash of anger crossing her face.

"Not nice to meet me? How so?"

"Well, you tried to kill me, remember? Not exactly a pleasant experience," Sam replied, his tone annoyingly casual.

Gabby shot him a smirk.

"How could I forget? A certain someone tried to intrude on my place, right?"

Sam shook his head.

"Alright, let's say you're in the right. But why use lethal force? Couldn't you just... subdue me or something?"

Gabby's expression darkened, seeing her frown, Sam quickly added,

"I mean if you don't want to share, that's also fine. But I do wonder, what happened to all of you? It seems like you're hiding from a ghost or something."

Gabby sighed, deciding it wouldn't hurt to tell him. She recounted the entire ordeal, from the ambush by the blank eyed man to their desperate escape. Sam listened intently, his hand resting on his chin in thought.After she finished, Sam shrugged.

"Well, we're really fucked, huh?"

Confused, Gabby asked,

"What do you mean by that? We're the ones who experienced it, not you. There's no-"

Before she could finish, Sam cut in.

"It's a long story, trust me on this. The simplest explanation is that G'rath will most likely wake up."

Even more confused, Gabby demanded, "Who will wake up now? Can you just explain and not make it sound so ambiguous?"

Sam sighed loudly, scratching his head. "Just open your objective window, if read it carefully you'll see it there. And no, I'm not trying to be ambiguous; it's just too long to explain right now."

Without another word, Gabby opened her objective window, and carefully read through it.

Be warned, excessive killing or destruction will alert the sleeping G'rath...

She saw the warning about not alerting the sleeping G'rath. Closing it, she turned to Sam.

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"So would you mind telling me what exactly this G'rath is?"

Sam sat down, pulling out a piece of beef jerky from one of his satchel.

"Oh, it's a monster that destroyed this world," he said nonchalantly, taking a bite.

Gabby stared at him, incredulous.

"Are you serious? You're telling me a monster destroyed this world, just like that?"

Sam laughed, but there was no humor in it. "I wish it were a joke, Gabby. I really fucking do. But unfortunately, it's the truth. I'll explain everything when Jason and your friend wake up. Until then, I don't want to talk about it."

Silence fell again, the weight of his words sinking in. Gabby, sensing the awkward tension, tried to change the subject. "So uh, how do you know Jason? Fellow survivor or someone you knew before the trial?"

Sam turned his head toward her.

"I knew him before the trial. He was one of my coworkers, the good one. We both worked at a fast-food place."

Gabby sighed in relief, her attempt to break the tension successful. They continued talking as time passed, getting to know each other better. Sam even offered her some beef jerky, which she initially refused but eventually accepted when her stomach growled loudly.

From this point on, Gabby and Sam began to talk about various things as time passed. Their conversation covered a wide range of topics, from survival strategies to their past experiences.

Gabby found herself slowly warming up to Sam, appreciating his straightforwardness despite the oddity of his demeanor.

Their talk was interrupted when Jason began to stir. He grunted as he tried to wake up, clutching his head with his right hand.

"What the hell happened? What even was that strike? Isn't he a damn mage?" he muttered to himself, still groggy and disoriented.

A familiar voice broke through Jason's daze.

"Well, would you look at that, our sleeping beauty is awake, eh?"

It was Sam, sitting beside Gabby with a piece of beef jerky in his hand. Jason's eyes widened in shock and relief as he recognized the voice.

"Sam?" Jason croaked, turning his head towards the source.

Seeing Sam alive and well, Jason froze for a moment before quickly trying to stand up. He stumbled but was caught by Sam, who steadied him with a firm grip.

"Whoa! Easy there, Jason. I'm not going anywhere," Sam said.

Ignoring his friend's words, Jason hugged Sam tightly, his shoulders trembling. Sam, taken aback by the sudden display of emotion, hesitated before returning the hug and patting Jason's back awkwardly.

"Hey, what happened, man? What's wrong?" Sam asked, his confusion evident.

Through his sobs, Jason managed to speak.

"I thought you were dead, Sam. I'm sorry for not being able to defend you back then when-"

Sam cut him off, patting his back more firmly.

"Hey, it's okay, man. It's already happened. We can't do anything about it now, can we? All that matters is that I'm alive, yeah?"

Jason, still sobbing, tried to speak again.

"But-"

Sam pulled back from the hug, holding Jason by the shoulders.

"Alright, man, cut it out. Stop crying. You're a grown ass man for god sake, and you're making this weird for me. I know you feel guilty and regretful about the past, but let's focus on the present, alright?" He gave Jason a reassuring smile.

"I forgive you if that makes you feel better."

Jason began to cry again, this time harder. Sam looked bewildered.

"Hey, hey, why the hell are you crying again?!"

Gabby, watching the scene unfold, chuckled to herself and smiled slightly.

Jason, hearing her chuckle and seeing her smile, quickly stopped crying. He turned to her, snot running down his nose.

"I'm sorry for showing such a sorry sight of myself, but please don't discipline me!" he pleaded.

Sam turned his head towards Gabby, confused.

"So what's the deal about this whole 'discipline' thing, Gabby?" he asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

Gabby tilted her head, trying to sound innocent. "Discipline? I don't know anything about that."

Jason's body stiffened, memories of Gabby's strict nature back at the Stormbringers' settlement flooding his mind.

Meanwhile, Sam simply looked baffled.

"What the hell? What are you trying to act innocently for?" he muttered, shaking his head.

Gabby ignored Sam and decided to break the tension.

"Jason, it's okay. I'm not going to discipline you," she said.

Jason nodded, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

"Right. I'm sorry for losing it there. It's just... seeing Sam again after everything..."

Sam patted Jason's shoulder.

"It's all good, man. Let's just focus on staying alive and kicking some ass, alright?"

Gabby nodded in agreement.

"We'll need all the strength we can muster. And Sam, you still owe me an explanation about this G'rath monster."

Sam sighed, sitting back down and taking another bite of his beef jerky.

"Yeah, yeah. I haven't forgotten. Once Kaya wakes up, I'll explain everything."