Samael looked at Elizabeth.
Behind her, a Nightmare forest stretched across the ruins of a forgotten city.
Seated atop a rock that seemed strangely familiar to her, Elizabeth let her long black hair sway gently in the wind.
Her lavender eyes remained fixed on Samael's golden ones.
"Well... where should I start?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.
His gaze drifted across the small mountain. For a brief moment, it stopped at the entrance of the cave.
Involuntarily, he remembered Vanitas's blue eyes.
Eyes that reminded him of the sea.
"I landed on a beach together with Liu," Samael began as the wind tousled his hair.
"That's where I discovered that the anchor of my Dream Realm had been pulled somewhere strange."
"Oh, I found that out too, Sam," Elizabeth commented.
"Really?"
"My anchor is currently inside a skeleton."
Samael blinked.
"Mine is in a cemetery."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"That's strangely appropriate."
Samael laughed.
"It really is."
He brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes and looked back toward the horizon.
"I spent some time in the Dream Realm, but I came back pretty quickly. Liu took an entire week to return."
His expression darkened.
"In the meantime, I took care of her and kept wandering through the forest."
"That's when I discovered something interesting."
His face lit up with pride.
"The space here is weird. Every thousand steps seem to equal only one. Distances are completely irregular."
So even space itself has been affected..., Elizabeth thought.
As she listened, her eyes wandered over the tattered clothes covering Samael.
He must have been through a lot...
"After that, I ran into a few people. One of them is Bel, and the others..."
Samael paused dramatically.
On purpose.
It was his way of staying sane in that absurd world.
With humor.
With drama.
"There are natives in America," he announced proudly.
Elizabeth stared at him for several seconds.
Processing.
Then she quickly stood and walked toward him.
Her hands gripped Samael's shoulders as their faces drew close.
"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically.
"I am."
Golden eyes met lavender ones.
Elizabeth remained silent.
Humans...
Does the government know?
Or are they hiding this from us?
In the end, she simply sighed.
I have no idea.
"You weren't the only one making discoveries, you know," she said, crossing her arms. "The Nightmare Creatures in this region have evolved to run away and hide."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"That's why they're weaker than usual."
There was a hint of pride in her voice.
After all, simply listening to Samael's stories and being impressed by them didn't suit her.
Above all, it wounded her pride.
"What about you, Liz? How have your last few days been?" Samael asked.
"I climbed this mountain."
"And?"
"I stayed here."
Samael blinked.
"That's it?"
Curious, he leaned closer to her face.
Elizabeth held his gaze without backing away.
"That's it."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"You sat on that rock for days?"
"Yes."
"Without doing anything?"
"I was observing the scenery."
"That counts as doing nothing."
"It doesn't."
"It does."
"It doesn't."
Samael fell silent for a moment.
His gaze rested on Elizabeth, yet strangely, the words seemed trapped in his throat.
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Then closed it once more.
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"You're acting strange."
Samael looked away for a brief moment.
"Liz..."
His voice came out quieter than usual.
"Yeah?" she asked, watching the unusual hesitation on his face.
Samael took a deep breath.
"I want to challenge the Second Nightmare."
Elizabeth froze.
Her lavender eyes locked onto his golden ones.
She searched his face for even the slightest hint that he was joking.
She found none.
Samael was completely serious.
The wind swept between them, causing Elizabeth's black hair to flutter.
She remained silent for several seconds.
"I need to think about it," she finally replied.
"...Yeah. I understand," Samael said with a faint smile.
After that, an awkward silence settled between them.
Elizabeth sat back down on the rock, staring at the horizon.
But in reality, her mind was far away.
To challenge the Second Nightmare...
That wasn't something that could be decided lightly.
Samael watched her profile for a few moments.
Then he decided to break the silence.
"Oh, by the way... something strange happened while I was coming here."
Elizabeth looked up.
"How strange?"
"A Nightmare Creature missed an attack in a way that was completely unnatural. It was so ridiculous that it looked like it had tripped over itself."
"That was me."
The answer came immediately.
Elizabeth didn't even take her eyes off the horizon.
She still seemed lost in thought.
Samael blinked.
"Huh?"
"That was me," she repeated calmly. "That creature was about to hit you. So I made it miss."
Samael remained silent.
Just wanted to make sure, he thought.
Because deep down...
He had already suspected it.