Heart of Demise.

[23] The start of a new beginning.

The cabin was strangely nostalgic. It didn't make any sense; my whole life was spent in a small town with no cabins in sight, so what's up with this feeling?

"...Who cares?"

It didn't matter what the feeling meant. What did matter was that I was finally in. And when I got in, I made sure to take the couch right away. After taking my shoes off, of course. Though, I didn't have much shoe left to take off. Sadly, the same could be said for the rest of my clothes. With all the dirt, the fighting, and the clawing that I had to go through, these clothes have definitely seen better days. My shirt was ripped up, my pants were... fine, actually, and my jacket? I don't even know where it is anymore.

Actually, that reminded me of another thing; my gun was missing. It's been gone for a while, but I didn't think to mention it to the others. I didn't want to explain how I found a gun just lying around, it'd be pretty awkward.

It sucked, sure, but it's not like it was gonna be very useful anyway. Seriously, what's a single bullet gonna do in this place? Probably not much. If anything, the gun was a false sense of security. I'd even go so far as to say I'm glad to lose the thing–

"Oh right, Lewis, I found this in your pocket. I used the sole bullet it had, but I thought I should give it back to you."

Rivver placed the missing handgun on the stool beside me.

"..."

I quickly grabbed the thing and stuck it back into my pocket.

"In the meantime, I'll treat you two to a meal. Kyrelle, sit wherever you want."

"I-I'll sit on the carpet, then. It's so comfy."

Rivver walked to the fireplace and threw in some logs. She then went to her chest, took out a box of matches, and tried to start a fire. Tried, and succeeded.

"What are you gonna make?"

Rivver reached for her pockets, taking out a big slab of meat covered in white fur. How she even fit that inside her pants was one thing, but how she got it was a bigger mystery.

"This. I picked it up on the way."

"I-I see."

Rivver placed the meat over the fire, and I was left to my own devices. I sunk into the couch a little, just enjoying it. I felt like I earned it in some sense, y'know?

"S-So, Lewis, that was an adventure, wasn't it?"

"...An adventure. You're right, that was an adventure. I'm glad it's over now."

"Me too. I had no idea walking could be so nice."

"Right? Think of how I felt before I met you. My leg was completely torn up and I had to ride on Rupert the whole time. That reminds me–"

I showed Kyrelle my mold-covered leg.

"--What's this all about? Some of your mold latched onto me and healed my leg completely."

"...Uh, I don't really know."

"What?"

"My mold isn't listening to me right now, so I don't know why it got on your leg. But, if you're wondering why it healed, it's because my mold is good at doing that!"

"Really, huh."

"Yes! It's so handy! It's why I was able to sit in that chair for so long without starving."

"Yeah I, figured that out. All the dead trees made it obvious."

"O-Oh, I didn't know you knew."

"Not to worry. I don't know the things I know sometimes either."

"...What?"

"Nevermind."

I gazed at the ceiling. Really, the whole time my mind was focused on a single word; adventure.

Adventure.

"..."

A chill went down my spine.

"S-Say, Lewis, did you figure out why you're in the complex yet?"

"H-Huh? Oh, no, I didn't."

"I see..."

What was I gonna do? Was I just gonna ask Rivver or Kyrelle or both to go with me? Of course I couldn't do that, that'd just be stupid and selfish. They have no business in my affairs.

"..."

Though, when I thought about Kyrelle, I had a feeling I might be wrong about her.

"Hey, Kyrelle."

"Yes?"

"Remember when I said I wanted to leave the complex?"

"I don't... remember that, but–"

"Whatever. Point is, do you want to leave it with me?"

"..."

For once, I could understand the look on this girl's face. She was unsure.

"I don't know, I... I'll get to you on it later, okay?"

"Okay, that's fine with me."

A delayed response, sure, but it wasn't a "no". Thank God it wasn't a "no". My body became a lot looser.