Caster frowned at Day's sudden assessment, and then responded monotonously.
"I don't really mind if you call me weird. I just want my questions answered."
Day let out a sharp breath, as if to say, 'yikes.'
"You should mind, actually. In my humble opinion, you are very off-putting."
Caster started to respond, but Day stopped him.
"Fine, Caster– If you really need to know… I don't want anything from you… In fact, I saved you because I had no choice."
"Are you trying to imply something here?" Caster said, sounding genuinely confused.
Day shook his head.
" I hold absolutely no ill-will, if that's something you are considering, so don't be so weary of me. You are the one who asked me to travel with you– and that's what I'm talking about! You act kind, but your tone is always passive aggressive. You give me armor, but then you act dismissive when I thank you. You ask me to travel with you, and then reveal not even an hour later that you are wondering what my intentions are! To top it all off, you were all smiles before, and acting like some great Legacy at the Academy– but now, you seem to be struggling to ask a question as simple as, 'What happened to your arm?' I mean, SERIOUSLY, dude. Sure, we are in the Dream Realm, but you could at least act somewhat like a normal person."
Caster, once again, was at a loss for words. It was becoming a habit between the two, that Day would end up saying something so outlandish that it would abscond any possible response from the Legacy's prickly mouth.
"You want to know what happened to my arm? It's simple. I jumped from the wall."
Caster, upon hearing Day's answer to his second question, collected himself promptly, and then continued to prod at Day.
"Who in their right mind would do that?"
"There you go again, being rude! Either way, I don't need to explain that– because I already told you about my obligations, I needed to be there fast. Anyway, I say we end this conversation here, do with the words I say as you will, but by the Spell, can you act like a normal person for, like, just a while? Hopefully, the castle has the gate home– just hold out until then, and you won't have to worry about my requests ever again, and you can be as passive aggressive as you want. You're a prince, aren't you? Surely you can do that much?"
Caster, after a few moments more of silent contemplation, shrugged.
"I have a million questions, but you know what? Fine, Day. If you think I'm such a nuisance, then I'll watch myself more closely, just for you. If you really have no ill intentions, then I say to that as well: Fine. You are right. In the end, we won't ever have to interact again, so we may as well end off on a fair note. Just know, I hold no ill-will either. I just found you…"
"Don't even say it, I don't care! You found me weird, I get it– I wouldn't say I was doing anything in particular to make myself look good. I'm just sick of all your nagging thinking that I'm too dumb to understand your subtle aggression. I'm not."
Caster, for the first time since their meeting in the Dream Realm, smiled.
"Right then, I'll take your word for it; you aren't dumb– duly noted. "
Day clicked his tongue.
"Caster, truly– You may be one of the biggest douchebags I've ever met."
"Well, I won't refute, you saved my life after all, didn't you?"
Day sighed dejectedly.
"You're welcome."
"..."
After the duo had their chat, they continued forward. Interestingly enough, Caster seemed to have lightened up a bit. He didn't seem as weary of Day, and he didn't seem to be as reluctant to ask questions.
Despite that, they didn't chat much, but they didn't need to. With Day in the lead, they were nearing the wall steadily without much tension.
Unfortunately, they were still a ways away. At a certain point in their journey, Day felt it necessary to propose something different from their original plan.
He stopped and turned to Caster. They had gained a habit thus far where they would stop completely if they wanted to speak, just as a form of precaution, and to make it obvious that they wanted a quick chat. It was weird, and possibly unnecessary, but neither of the two boys paid it any attention.
"I think it might be smart to take a break soon. We will have a long journey ahead. If we need to journey to the opposite side of the hill to find the Castle's entrance, we may as well rest up a little bit– since there's no guarantee that we will get any food or water anytime soon."
Day stretched his one arm, and then leaned against the nearest weathered stone wall.
"Unless, of course, you have some sort of magical spatial memory that has food and water– and you don't want to keep it to yourself."
Caster chuckled.
"You are a really something with how blunt you are, but truthfully-"
"Right back at you." Day whispered.
Caster continued, ignoring Day's snarky comeback, "No, I do not have a miraculous spatial memory with enough food and water for the both of us."
"Honestly," Day started, "I would say I'm surprised that the Legacy doesn't have a spatial memory, but I get it, they are pretty rare."
"There's always the future." Caster said.
Day smirked.
"I would say cheers to that, if we had alcohol, or uh… If we could drink alcohol. Actually, wait, who would stop us? Hold on, uhh, I think people can say cheers without drinks…"
Caster, as per usual, ignored Day's silly comments entirely.
"I agree with you. I think it's more than possible that we could find refuge in one of the less destroyed buildings. I don't think we should stay for long, but an hour or two of rest for both of us if your arm is hurting wouldn't be too bad."
"If my arm is hurting?" Day inquired.
"I mean– is that not why you want to rest? Because your arm hurts? I find it quite unbelievable already that you are even standing and walking so easily with a broken arm. It probably won't be that hard to correct, but it hurts, right?"
Day put his hand on his chin in thought.
"I mean, thanks for showing concern, I guess? Yeah, it hurts, but that's not why. I'm only really thinking about our energy situation, honestly."
"Well, whatever, either way, it's not a bad idea." Caster said calmly.
With that, Day nodded in understanding and pushed off the wall.
"Alright then, if we are in agreement, let's keep an eye out."
"..."
For the next hour or so, they moved purposefully towards the hill with the Castle, but also were sure to keep an eye out for buildings that could be fair game for a temporary shelter. They found a few candidates, but they both agreed that they weren't yet ready to stop, so they passed them without looking back.
Actually… Day was the only one pointing out shelters. Caster, each and every time Day pointed one out, would ask, 'do you want to stop now?' like a broken record, and each and every time Day would say no, but Day was partially bored, so he scouted buildings out to pass the time as they walked.
Eventually, Day started to grow tired from their journey, so he decided it was best to stop for a while. He didn't know the time, and it was rather difficult to tell what time of day it was– if there was even a day night cycle, but the time didn't matter. All that mattered was the rest itself.
The next time Day noticed a suitable building, he pointed it out and was sure to explicitly state that it might be a good time to take a break before Caster monotonously asked if he wanted to stop.
They walked up to it and entered it through the front door. Caster entered first with his weapon up, but quickly put it down upon seeing the empty inside.
There was a mountain of shattered stone rocks covering the first floor and creating a hill leading up to a small second floor with walls behind it and a roof above it. It seemed that three fourths of the second floor had crumbled, but for the most part, the roof and the walls all around the building were intact; so they had good cover.
The inside was actually much better than Day thought it would be, because there was also a small hole in the wall on the second floor where they could escape if something came.
All-in-all, it was perfect… But maybe Day had low standards, because Caster seemed extremely reluctant at the sight of the half-destroyed building they would possibly be camping out in.
Luckily, Caster also evidently noticed the boons, because he didn't protest to them staying here. Day traversed up the mountain of rubble and set foot on the hard, sturdy ground of the second floor. When Caster climbed up next to him, Day glanced over at him with a wide smile.
"Isn't it so perfect?"
Caster walked forward without responding and ran his hands against one of the walls, and then rubbed his fingers together to rid them of the dust that transferred to his fingertips.
"Sure…"
"So, since we are here now, prince… You wouldn't happen to have some sleeping bags or something in your arsenal of memories, would you?"
Caster turned around slowly with his brows furrowed.
"Just because I'm from a clan doesn't mean that I have a memory for every single situation."
Day chuckled.
"Well, it was worth a shot. Anyway, it's probably smarter that one of us stays up and keeps watch. Shall I take the honor, or would you like it?"
Caster sat down with a groan of discontent and then leaned his head against the back wall. He was sitting near the hole, as well.
"You can sleep for an hour or two. I'm not particularly tired just yet– not that I disagree with your choice to stop because of it or anything."
"Wow, the prince is offering to stay up first. How surprising. You aren't going to snuff me out in my sleep, are you?"
Caster frowned deeply.
"What a terrible joke to make. Day, you are such a-"
"Nope, not listening! You brought it upon yourself," Day interrupted with a grin, "deal with the consequences. It's not my fault you decided to be rude to me before. It's your fault that I'm being rude to you now. "
Caster sighed.
"You know, my father used to always say, 'two swords don't make a shield' you should probably take his advice."
"Mmmm," Day started, a smile still plastered on his face, "I think I'm fine."
"You know what… I'm not even going to argue."
Day, feeling triumphant, walked around for a moment to find a suitable spot, lowered himself to the floor slowly, and then closed his eyes.
'I think I'm going to sleep really well after that…'
"..."
"Day-"
Day felt his body jolting around rapidly.
"Day, wake-"
But he was tired. He didn't want to move.
"Day, wake up!"
"H-huh?"
Day opened his eyes slowly one by one and groggily turned over. Caster was standing over him with an annoyed gaze. When he noticed Day was awake, his anger quickly faded, but his voice was still laced with annoyance.
"I seriously wondered for a second if you were dead. How could you possibly sleep that well in the Dream Realm?"
"Whar…?"
"It's your turn to be on the lookout. It's been three hours."
"Oh."
Caster walked away, and Day, who was still lying down with his head planted uncomfortably on his arm like it was a pillow, watched him walk back to his spot near the hole, sit down, and close his eyes. Day realized quickly that Caster wasn't going to grace him with a few minutes to collect himself, so he forced himself off of the floor dispiritedly and dragged himself over to the wall. He practically slammed himself against it back first, and then he sighed.
Maybe it was partially because he just woke up, but it was nearly pitch black in the small building. There was nothing to do anyway, so it wasn't a problem that he couldn't see… but the lack of entertainment was also a problem.
After not even a minute, he was already bored.
'How did Caster deal with this for three hours?"
Eventually, when Day's gears went back to spinning and he regained his consciousness fully, he couldn't help but think.
His knowledge on the Remnants of Kindness was currently stagnant. He couldn't practice his aspect ability, since the light would more than possibly wake Caster up– which wasn't fair. So he was lost, and simply sifting through his memories lazily like they were tabs on a screen.
In the end, his thoughts landed on a question that had been present for a while, but that he never actually had the time to truly think out, because of how endless the possibilities were.
'Why was Caster a middle aged man in my vision?'
Was it a ploy to not reveal who Caster was before they met? That was possible, but why would that be the case? No, there was no way it was that purposeless, there had to be something more at play here.
'But why would Caster ever be or turn into a middle aged man?'
Day was reluctant to just up and ask. It wasn't about the visions itself, because Day didn't really see a way anyone could use an oracle-like flaw against him.
But rather, it was because Day had no idea what this could possibly mean to Caster himself.
What could be the implications behind such a possibility? Was Caster hiding himself as a young boy when he was actually a middle aged man, or…
Was Caster somebody who could, for some reason, turn into a middle aged man? Day already knew his Aspect Ability, and it certainly wasn't that, so what was it?
Day glanced over at Caster and stared at him intensely through the darkness. He didn't know why he had the urge to do this, but Day thought that maybe looking at the boy could help him peer through him.
Surprisingly enough, Day did actually gain a new development. Around Caster's neck was something new, something that wasn't there before… Or maybe it was?
It was an hourglass charm attached to a silver chain. Day felt like he had seen a chain before, but this was the first time the charm was showing itself. It seemed like Caster, in his sleep, had let the charm pour out from its hiding spot within his armor.
'An hourglass? Time?'
In Day's vision, when Caster was brutalized, he didn't have anything like that on him. There certainly wasn't an hourglass charm, and Day was near certain that he didn't even see a chain.
'I have a very, very basic idea of what may be awry… But with the way he acts, part of me is struggling to believe that he's a middle aged man disguised as a boy. Maybe I could ask him about the charm? '
Day nodded in agreement at his own choice.
'Yeah, he probably won't think much of it if I ask a seemingly harmless question about what that chain means to him. It could be a memory of some kind? I've already made multiple jokes about an arsenal of memories he doesn't have, he also probably wouldn't think anything of it if I assume it's a memory, right?
'I'll try to figure this out slowly. For now, I'll just make the educated assumption that the hourglass has something to do with the reason he looked like a middle aged man in my vision. But I refuse to let myself fall under the impression that it's a guarantee that it's either of the two possibilities, even if one is more or less favorable– I can't let my view of Caster become cloudy or uncertain, or we won't be able to travel together. Just by watching over me when I slept, he's shown himself to be trustworthy. Either way, even if he does end up being a middle aged man, it doesn't seem like he has any ill-intent towards me.'
Day hunched forward, hugged his legs with his remaining arm and leaned his head on his right knee.
'Well, time to do my duty, I guess,'
With that, Day silenced the thoughts in his mind and paid more attention to his surroundings. The darkness was certainly prominent, but they had dealt with it before, so it wasn't much of a problem for Day after his eyes had adjusted.
Day waited, and waited, and waited a little more. Caster was dead asleep still, and in the silence, Day could hear his soft breathing. Day was counting the minutes. The seconds, even, but it had only been an hour since he had first started his shift. Caster had let him sleep for three hours, so Day was going to be sure to do the same-- even if that filled him with dismay.
Day thought it would be a good time to check out the runes of the Veil of Steel. It had crossed his mind, but now that he was awake, he believed it would be the perfect time to do it.
Memory: [Veil of Steel]
Memory Rank: [Awakened]
Memory Type: [Armor]
Memory description: [This Veil of Steel was molded by incandescent flames and hammered into shape by the strength of the mightiest blacksmith of the Han Li clan. It's fiber, woven together by that same illustrious metal taken apart, is a staple of the effervescent effort put into putting together this work of art.]
'So this Memory was made by the Han Li clan? Can't say I'm surprised.'
Enchantments: [As the Rest.]
As he noticed before, there was only one enchantment on the Awakened armor. Nothing to fret about, in fact, now that he knew it was made by a Memory smith, it made sense.
He focused on the Enchantment's runes, and they changed.
[As the Rest]: The fiber this armor is made out of is just as sturdy as it's steel plates.
'Interesting. I guess whoever made this added the steel plates for fashion then? I can't say it didn't work, honestly...'
With that, the runes faded out of existence. The enchantment was useful, but it didn't do much in particular for him. In the end, it was just as much as Day wanted it to be in the first place-- so he didn't care much.
'Back to drifting until I can wake Caster up then, I guess...'
A minute more, then ten after that, and then another thirty.
The time started to become slower with each second. In his mind, Day almost felt like he could hear the quiet ticking of a clock, like he was at school again– Sitting in a silent room during the first slow, grueling period of the day, when everyone wanted nothing more than to skip the next seven hours in an instant and plant themselves into their fluffy beds.
But no, after all… The ticking wasn't ticking. It was clicking, and it was getting progressively louder.
Day sat up quickly, and got onto his knees.
'What is that?'
He stopped breathing, glanced over at Caster for a moment, and then looked back forward. His hands started shaking, and his eyes held obvious hints of fear.
'Is it a Nightmare Creature? Is it coming our way? I don't want to wake Caster yet, what if it doesn't know we are here? I can't alert it if it is a Nightmare Creature… That's even more risky than being quiet.'
He stayed silent for an unknown, uncountable amount of trickling time, waiting, wondering, hoping– that whatever it was, it wouldn't find them.
Then eventually, the clicking started to become quieter just as perpetually as it had become louder, and then eventually, it stopped.
Day took a gasp of relief and filled his lungs with air, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the door-less entrance at the front of the building.
For some reason, the darkness in the entrance felt deeper.
Day looked closer, and closer, and squinted at it– trying to rid himself of the feeling that was sinking into his chest and trying to pierce his fragile heart with a torrent of dread.
But when his intense gaze finally focused fully on the front of the small home, Day froze.
Because the darkness had an eye, and its tenebrous pupil was peering right into Day's soul.
"C-"
"CASTER!"