After entering the cave, he found a boulder and slowly lowered himself onto it. It was cold and hard, but sitting there and relaxing filled him with a subtle calmness.
Without any light, he was forced to use his hands to find it, but in doing so, he understood that there were two of these sitting boulders, directly opposite one another.
A quiet relief washed over him.
At least where he was now, he did not have to hide.
For the meantime, at least, he could relax.
He did not have to run anymore. Nothing demanded his immediate attention.
Yet the relief did not last long. Oren was stranded, and could only think about how cold it was, the frigid air biting against his pale skin.
His breath billowed into the darkness, pale mist vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared.
For a moment, it felt as though he was back, trapped in the weaker sections of the Wall of Fog, from what he could recall.
Leaning forward slightly, he rested his elbows on his knees, interlacing his fingers as he stared ahead, deep in thought.
Oren gradually came to withstand the temperature and was immersed in his inexorable thoughts.
'Will Selvar even find this place? He needs to hurry up. The faster he comes, the faster we can leave and beat the Trial...'
Oren's breath halted as he mulled over the thought.
'Beat the Trial... with Selvar?'
'Yes.' He had never pondered on it before, but... Selvar was another candidate, he must've been.
If so, the Trial surely malfunctioned and wrongly forced two candidates into undergoing the same one.
But it didn't seem fair, since that would mean they both had to understand what they longed for in order to succeed, given what little time they had left.
Well, there was also a chance that each day in Erdream was a day in the real world.
Alternatively, a week could also equate to that of a day in the real world.
If Oren's observations were correct, he either had a few hours to a day left. If it was the latter, time-wise, then certainly they had already failed.
But he pleaded for there to be weeks left, so that he had time to understand his own wants and desires.
Unfortunately, he lacked such optimism and only found himself believing there were a few hours left, and that he arduously needed to understand the Trial and its workings.
With that information, he would understand what he longed for. The Trial was forged around longing after all.
Oren's thoughts lingered, ruminating on the solution.
Within the Immortal Demon's memories, he remembered only a little of the Trial since most of it was fake. The predominant ideas and memories had only been forced into his mind to make the world feel real.
To keep him there longer.
The Trial was a whole world after all, formed around the Unison Mountains. It seemed to be of the past, but a distorted version of the past.
However, it was not that alone that made the world terrifyingly real.
There were people who initiated conversations and were assigned organised housing. They had lives, plans and pasts.
There were events, festivals and celebrations.
Even if this Trial was individually for him and each was different for every other candidate, just made it even more fascinating.
Everything in it felt so... so true.
That was probably one of the reasons he had remembered his real past so late.
Understanding this, it became easy, far too easy for Oren to despise the Trial.
To hate it, to want it just to be over, to beat it.
Either way, through Enlightenment or failure, as long as it ended.
'I can't handle this anymore. I don't want to bear this, these, these vast feelings.'
Oren's vision blurred as his heart raced fiercely, resounding with each emotion.
His thinking eventually made it to a dead end, unable to form a cogent and insightful path of thought.
Nevertheless, he continued thinking, and as he passively waited there in the cold, his gaze crossed the craggy and rugose stone walls and froze...
Engraved into the rock were several marks, which he eventually dismissed.
'It's only another thing to immerse me in this world.'
To make it feel real.
'I need to become detached, to let go.'
So Oren asked himself again.
'What do I long for...?'
Still, he was clueless.
From where Oren was, he watched the view from outside the cave. The sun fell, then rose slowly above the horizon, and still Selvar had not returned.
Hours passed, and with it, the inevitability of death lingered in the air.
The conundrum of how he was meant to escape filled Oren's tattered mind again.
He knew Selvar was fine, and assumed he would be there soon, just as they had agreed.
From far away came a familiar soft voice, unusually calm.
"Oren, are you in there...?"
Oren's eyes twitched.
He didn't need to face the entrance to know who it was.
Nonetheless, Oren turned towards the archer, who stood at the cave's entrance.
"Ahh, demon. You are here, as you said you would be. I thought you ran away, but it is not like a Demon to run away..."
Selvar smiled, sitting down in front of him as he continued.
"We are free from those people at last. Hopefully, though, they will calm down soon. It would be trouble if they don't?"
Oren nodded, whispering calmly.
"Yes, that would be a problem."
Selvar glanced at the marked walls, then the ground, shivering subtly before huddling against the cold.
"Though the crimson sun is quite miraculous, and is shining awfully beautifully today, it is quite cold in here, isn't it?"
"I thought so too," Oren sighed, "but after a while you kind of get used to it. Do try and ignore it."
Avoiding Oren's eyes, Selvar's focus landed on his battered body. He looked up and down with a wry expression.
"How are your injuries holding up? You did jump from a balcony after all. If I can help, I will, just tell me what I need to do."
"Don't worry, trust me, I've dealt with much worse."
Observing Selvar, Oren mused.
'What is he thinking about?'
The archer seemed scatty in a way. Even as he watched him, Oren couldn't find the answer in his eyes.
Waiting a moment, he spoke calmly, judging how he should act towards the youth.
"There's not much I can tell you. There are many ways to recover, and even more to be injured. Actually, you might be injured too, in the future."
Selvar's gaze stilled, as Oren added.
"Do remember, when we finally find the Erol you seek and when you eventually use it, that it is trial and error. It can result in pain or loss, and you only have one shot before the Erol is unusable."
That was a valuable piece of information Oren wanted to remember. But staring at Selvar's perplexed expression, he said, trying to lighten the mood, "Don't worry about me breaking our deal this time around. I have already killed so much. It is quite boring, quite unfulfilling.
I feel as though I am wasting life by living this way. It's pointless, the same old cycle. And by repeating it, is no different than giving up on life."
Although he meant it partially, Oren said that, trying to lighten the mood, but for some reason, it did the complete opposite.
'Maybe I should have worded it better.'
Selvar frowned, then chuckled.
"That is good... very good, but morality looks ugly on you, it is not befitting of a demon... then again, as long as you don't harm the people, I am fine."
'Ugly? What...?' Oren thought as Selvar looked at the marks engraved across the cave dismissively, speaking aloud.
"Still, I don't understand how you came to be a demon.
Truthfully, even if I were the one repulsed by humans, even if they were to condemn my name as they do you, even if they turned my name into a myth born from the cruelty and selfishness of humankind, I would still stand against needless harm toward them."
He laughed.
"Had they burned me down whilst I watched myself in the mirror, chased me through a forest and past a border, shouting curses at my name, I would still choose not to harm them."
His gaze landed back on Oren.
"That is not just true for them, but for you too, Demon. This is something I would uphold for anyone. I would not permit unnecessary harm toward you either.
...That is why I am here with you now. And I think it's amazing you finally understand this."
He raised his hands, gesturing passionately.
"Yet it is not that I wanted to make you righteous, but perhaps to understand where I come from and the people of Erdream."
'Righteous?'
"I want to live. To have a peaceful time within Erdream before I obtain the Erol, and begin my proper life."
'Proper life? He knows!' Oren frowned, before finally replying.
"So you do know that we are in a Trial? Yes, luckily, well, if we are lucky, our proper life will start after we beat it."
Selvar's smile slowly slipped away from his face.
"Did I leave you alone for too long? Demon, have you gone insane? You know," Selvar grinned, "you are meant to be wise. So stop spouting such nonsense. It doesn't suit you."
Oren's fingers curled slightly as his jaw tightened.
'Suit me? Why has everything suddenly become so conforming with him.'
Staring at him blankly, his temper rising from nothing, anger, doubt and annoyance stirring within him without cause.
'Why is he smiling so much? Why is he looking at me like that? Why is he talking so much all the fucking time?!'
Before he knew it, he became impatient. Simultaneously, relief and regret flushed his mind as he thought.
'I, I dont know.'
He felt dazed.
As though the world could pass him and he wouldn't notice.
'The Trial really is affecting me.'
Oren shook his head.
"We need to leave, now! We need to escape the Trial. Have you forgotten? You're a candidate in the academy, as I am too. We both need to succeed. We both need to become Enlightened."
Oren began to stand, gesturing for Selvar to follow him.
But all Selvar did was sigh and laugh.
"Academy? What academy? Neither of us belong to such a thing."
He paused.
"No matter. We won't leave. We will return to Everdream later today and apologize for whatever you did. After that, we will continue our stay."
Oren froze.
'Has he really not got his memories back yet? Has he gone insane?'
Were there really two people in the Trial? Or did the Trial of Longing make me think that was possible...?
"Oh," Selvar added matter-of-factly.
"We don't have a place there to stay in, do we? The manor burned down, so we will just have to find another benevolent soul, who will house us."
'What is he talking about?'
Oren tried to read Selvar's expression, but quickly realized there was no point in doing so. Instead, he sat back down.
'I've got to think, think!'
Before he could ask anything else, Selvar's eyes flickered with an unknown emotion, and his skin trembled faintly.
When he spoke, his voice was sincerely calm.
"You still have that Erol, don't you? Could I use it? You did it for me, after all, and it is in our wager..."
"Of course, of course, here you go..."
Oren's expression darkened as he thought, placing his hands in his robes, and Selvar reached his hand out gently.
CHK!
A disturbing sound echoed throughout the cave.
Selvar's pale skin stiffened.
His face turned pale, and his eyes screamed with unspoken emotion, unable to get away from Oren as he leaned forward.
He looked down slowly.
There, an emerald dagger had plunged into his heart.
It was fatal, painful, and being Enlightened would not help in this situation.
Oren's heart pounded against his ribcage.
Golden liquid spilled past the blade embedded in his chest.
"Wh... what are you doing, what have you done...?" He froze in horror, staring into Oren's merciless eyes.
"We made a deal. We helped each other, we still need one another. I still need to rid myself of this fate. Overcome this burden... this cur—"
His body trembled.
His two grey eyes blurred, as something changed within them.
Oren inhaled deeply, keeping a calm front.
"I never told you my name..."
He steadied his vision.
"You once asked me a question... did the prince die because he placed too much reliance upon O'resen?
Or was O'resen at fault for his failure, because the serpent was the one who proposed the bargain that bound the two of them together?
In the tale, the prince held onto the Serpent too tightly, resulting in his own pitiful death.
His last words were bitter: "Deceitful beast... you promised not to bite me. Now we will both die...!"
"You remembered..." Selvar exhaled slowly.
"I did, and you may think we are both doomed, but I am not the serpent, I have outgrown my cursed nature."
But here, you are no different from the prince, and I, the serpent." He said lightly.
"However, you requested this wager. Just look at you now. You failed yourself and died because of yourself."
Selvar coughed, falling forward with a crooked smile.
His fragile head pushed against Oren's chest.
...As he looked down at Selvar coldly, Oren twisted the bloody dagger.
Blood trickled down from Selvar's mouth. With his last remaining strength, he raised his hands and gripped Oren's robes.
His expression slowly crumbling into sadness as torment twisted his delicate features, but as the tension of pain left his face, a quiet peace seemed to settle over him.
Despite the vast and abundant feelings selvar felt at that moment, his friend spoke his final words, and some speck of the youth he had came to known returned for a split second, making Oren's world tremble.
"Yo... you are not a dem... demon..."
He struggled to speak.
"You... are kind, th... thank... you, Ore—"