Ark opened his eyes in an endless space with a crimson sky. Beneath his feet, a cold, black stream of water was flowing silently. In this quiet scene, there was only him and the cold space. And he walked. He followed the flowing water to an unknown place. With each step he took, white flowers grew one by one, sprouting and blossoming, spreading out their pure white petals.
Not long after, a large tree grew in front of him. Behind the large tree trunk was the figure of a woman in a white two-strap dress standing next to the tree, her body faintly emitting a gentle light. He looked around, all around him was a field of white flowers.
The person stroked her long, pink-platinum hair behind her back. And she turned to look at him and gave a gentle smile.
"Hello."
He looked at Alice, not knowing what to say, just watching her gently, slowly walking towards him. Her feet parted the black water, shaking the white flowers around.
"Hello, you." She squinted, smiling slightly. "How's your life lately?"
He felt his lips move, "Good-good, I'm taking care of that boy."
"Ah, the boy you got from recycling my body, right? Ark is really good, I always knew that you would become a great mage." She grabbed his hand, held it lightly, and kissed it.
The black water also dried up, the flowers and ancient trees gradually withered and rotted.
"I know that you killed me, Archie." Alice squinted and smiled.
A foul-smelling mud gradually surrounded her, strangling her and causing a pool of blood to pour out from her body. He tried to pull her hand but was helpless against the grip of the mud. Seeing her distorted to the point of deformity, he dug his nails deep inside to dig her out, but she was completely surrounded.
Right at the deformed mouth were giggles, "Stop pretending, murderer."
Then the ground split in two, the mud carrying her body pulled deep into the soil, leaving an arrow next to him.
Ark jumped up, trying to gasp for air.
Sitting on the sofa, his whole body curled up, his head bowed down, hugging his knees. He had already calmed down after the nightmare, but the lingering aftertaste made his mood chaotic. After that, all the memories and sins rushed in like tsunamis, drowning his consciousness.
Not knowing how much time had passed, he struggled to move to the kitchen table to prepare a cup of hot tea. Through the window, the sky was gradually getting brighter. In the distance, Yvette's blacksmith shop was already lit. He leaned his hands on the kitchen wall, thinking absentmindedly.
Yvette was probably wearing thick gloves right now, laughing and joking with her colleagues around her while preparing her tools. Ark gently closed his heavy eyelids. In the past, he had laughed and joked with his friends like that.
The first rays of sunlight shone through the cup of tea. A new day had come. Ark thought about a few things. Then he opened the door and walked to his warehouse.
***
Knock, knock.
Al woke up to the sound of knocking on the door in front of the house. Outside, he heard Yvette looking for Ark. And contrary to usual, Ark was home today and came out to greet Yvette.
After waiting for both of them for a long time, Al sat boredly on the dining chair, swinging his legs back and forth. He lazily glanced around the kitchen, then the fireplace in the living room. He stretched out on the table, and his gaze stopped on the giant tree in the garden.
Al had an idea.
Jumping down from the chair, Al stealthily walked out of the wide open door in front of the house. In front of the fence, Yvette was talking to Ark about something, their backs facing where Al was standing. Al jumped forward, just in time to roll to the base of the tree.
At the place where the base of the tree just hid his body, Al raised his claws and clung to the dry wood of the tree trunk and climbed up. In no time, he was near the top of the giant tree. Holding on to the concave and convex part of the wood, he looked around for the sturdy treetop that was sticking out to sit on and jumped up. Before he could settle down, the moss on the tree made him slip. Without hesitation, Al jumped forward. And his fingers slipped off the branch a bit before he could grab on. The slip made the whole tree shake. But he was lucky to hide on the branch before they both turned their heads towards the noise. Al sighed in relief, he had to be careful of that moss.
Al thought that if he reenacted the scene in his dream, he might remember something more. But when he looked down at the tall tree, he didn't feel anything. So maybe his hypothesis about his past was wrong. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
On the branch, he sat swinging and listened to the conversation between the two.
"In the caves?" Ark asked.
"Yes, a few kilometers from the edge of the forest in front of the village," Yvette replied. She sighed, "I know you don't want to go anywhere else. I've asked all the people here, but everyone is afraid to go into the forest. Because Mom's knee is hurting these days, otherwise she would have gone to work like usual. But isn't that just to pick herbs for Anna's cough?"
Yvette quickly continued, "But you don't have to go anywhere. I can still go to Miss Orm's pharmacy on Aleph. It'll only take two days to go to the city and back, don't worry."
"I'll go," Ark replied.
"But... okay. But are you sure you'll be safe?"
"Okay. Then I'll ask you to look after Al for me tomorrow, okay?"
"Of course, he's cute!" Yvette smiled back at him.
"Oh, and, Yvette." Ark took Yvette's hand and asked softly, "Do you have any ideas for giving a gift to... a child?"
***
When Yvette left, Ark turned back to close the fence of his house. While he was lost in thought, Al spoke up.
"You're finally done." The little rabbit sat dangling on the big tree. Seeing Ark looking at him, Al waved his hand happily. "Hello, it's fun up here, wanna come sit with me?"
Ark's face immediately changed color, his voice became serious, unable to contain his composure, he shouted, "Al, come down now! It's dangerous up there!" And quickly walked towards him.
Al waved his hand, interrupting him, "Okay, okay, I know. There's nothing to be afraid of." Al said as he clung to the tree trunk and climbed down. Not remembering the moss, his feet slipped off the tree trunk. And the dry wood he was holding onto cracked because of the fall. Al fell freely down.
Time stopped. The sound of wind blew past his ears, images of the past continuously overlapped with reality. The pink hair fluttered in the wind and the rough hand covered in scars and mud reached out to Ark. And he saw him in a cloak and a big hat. He desperately reached out to grab him. He tried to run, screaming in the tearing wind. But what was the truth that he was seeing. Before he could think, his whole body slammed into the ground.
The shockwave hit his lungs. Al gasped and stared blankly at the sky. His hands tried to claw at his chest but absolutely no air could enter his lungs. From afar, Ark ran over in panic. His hands reached out to grab Al but his legs slammed together. Ark fell down, his arms crossed to support the pain. He struggled to crawl to him. Arriving in front of Al, Ark looked at his wide eyes, his face pale. As if remembering something, he clumsily reached out to hug him tightly.
Where Ark leaned his head on Al's shoulder, he could feel hot breaths and small sobs. Al tried to catch his breath by struggling to get out of Ark's embrace. As soon as he could breathe again, he pushed the other away, angry. But before he could say anything, the other's trembling arms quickly bound him. Ark hugged himself tightly and curled up like a turtle in its shell.
Al's anger and shame for his mistake quickly disappeared, replaced by confusion. He frowned and approached Ark, flusteredly placing his hand on his hat.
"Ark, I'm fine," Al said.
In response, the hat stirred. And the sobs grew louder. Through the thick fabric of the hat, he heard the man's whispers mixed with sobs, "But everyone else isn't. No one's alive anymore."
"But I'm still here," Al replied.
"No. You're not Alice."
Al closed his eyes and thought. It was a complicated question that he often asked himself. Although he had inherited the memories of a rabbit and the person Ark had always longed for; he still hoped that he was a complete existence of himself. Although if it was Alice, things might be better not only for him and Ark. However, he couldn't be sure of everything before knowing the full story of the past between the two, otherwise the consequences could be very unpredictable. Ark couldn't know that he was holding Alice's memories. He had to accept that Alice had really disappeared. And he, Al. As if he had thought of something, he smiled. If his guess was true…
Al knelt down and hugged Ark.
"Then aren't you afraid that this Al kid won't be alive anymore?" Al asked.
"…" Ark paused, seeming to have realized his mistake, "Yes."
"Then what about Yvette? Or Aunt and Uncle March? Are you afraid of losing everyone?" Al asked.
"Yes..." Ark replied.
The figure gradually relaxed under his embrace. Al remembered what Yvette had told him that Ark treasured his relationships. And for someone who had lost important people in that adventure, he must have felt miserable thinking that he had lost everything.
"What if I leave?" Al grabbed the brim of Ark's hat and lifted it up. Under the sunlight, his handsome face and bright blue eyes were revealed from his slightly curly black hair, looking at him. The other's long, curved eyelashes were filled with tears. Hearing his question, the other felt pain.
"No, don't" Ark shook his head repeatedly. Tears continuously fell. "Please don't. I'm sorry."
"I'll leave if you still think of me as Alice. Okay?" Al asked.
"Okay," Ark continued, the sadness still etched on his face.
"So who are you?"
"Al. I'm Al. Not Alice."
"Okay. And I have a few more requests." Al smiled.
"Go ahead," Ark said, nodding.
"Let me go into the woods with you tomorrow," Al said.
The other party immediately opened his eyes wide and looked at him in disbelief. He frowned, then pursed his lips and wanted to shake his head. Al continued, "If I'm going to be confined here forever, I'd rather run into the forest myself."
"No, no." Ark shook his head, clasping his hands together and taking his hand.
"Then can you go with me tomorrow?" Al asked.
"..." Ark looked at him and lowered his eyes. "... Okay."
After adjusting his clothes and taking his hat back from Al's hesitant hand, Ark wiped away his tears and snot with the hem of his cloak, silently blaming himself for the tiring day. Before entering the house, he looked at the little rabbit who was sitting and playing nonchalantly on the lawn as if nothing had happened, and hesitated: "Al... Let's go have breakfast together."
***
That night.
Wham!
Al took his eyes off the book Yvette gave him. He watched Ark place a stone on the table. On the table was a stone about two spans tall and half as wide as Ark's, with the natural rough shape of... a teddy bear?
Al frowned at Ark, saying, "Where did you get this?"
Noticing his expression, Ark avoided Al's gaze. "I... picked it up on the street. It's a gift for you. Yvette said that children love to have cute things to guard their sleep, in case they have nightmares, for example."
Al was confused. So Ark had gone into the warehouse today to make this item. It turned out that was why he saw strange lights coming from the warehouse today and Ark's curses, and how his fingertips were covered in black coal and dirt. He had been busy all day molding this statue for him.
Al had many questions, but he chose to thank Ark for the gift. Seeing his smile brighten, he immediately felt that his choice was right. Al then hugged the rock without noticing its weight, almost being dragged down to the floor by the weight. The rock was then kept carefully on his bedside table.
And Ark named this kid's rock - Kidni Stone.