It's Been A While

"Where am I?"

Upon opening his eyes, Saber saw that he was in a different place. Initially confused, he decided to pinch his cheeks to test reality.

It's not painful, he thought to himself.

While taking in his new surroundings, he noticed a man standing in front of the flower fields.

"Who are you?" Saber called out, hesitantly approaching.

The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties, bearing a striking resemblance to Saber but with noticeable differences: white hair contrasting with golden eyes.

He was holding the hilt of a black sword, sheathed at his side.

Suddenly, white figures emerged from the distance, startling Saber. The man remained calm, awaiting their approach.

In an instant, the man vanished, leaving behind a trail of blossoming flowers.

Beautiful.

Was the only thing he could think of inside his mind.

[Bloom]

Reappearing behind the figures, the man's swift movement caused them to halt abruptly.

Before they could react, their upper bodies were severed, falling to the ground a moment later as their lower halves followed.

Before Saber could inquire further, the man slightly turned, catching his eye.

"Your sword..."

He silently mouthed.

...

..

.

"Ah...?"

It was then, Saber woke up.

***

(Saber POV)

Two days had passed since we escaped the city. Luckily, we remained unrecognized and untracked after the incident with the sword, opting to flee to a town on horseback. While exploring, a poster caught my eye—it was my face, marking me as wanted.

This development led us to camp in the forest, avoiding the risk of staying in an inn.

Lost in thought, I was brought back to reality by Reaper's voice.

"So why is she with us?"

"Mmm?"

Yuki, catching the question, turned with a gentle smile. "I'm just following my boyfriend," she responded.

Reaper's gaze shifted back to me, her eyes conveying a clear message without words.

I chose to ignore her questioning look and glanced around, noticing Solis collecting sticks by herself. Seeing an opportunity to be useful, I got up to assist her.

"...?"

She acknowledged my approach with a glance but remained quiet.

What should I say...? I thought for a bit before coming up with a topic.

"I'm sorry," I began, breaking the silence. Solis glanced at me, puzzled.

"...What are you sorry for?" Solis's confusion was evident, prompting me to clarify.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you the other night," I offered, trying to ease the situation with a gesture of assistance.

Her silence lingered, stretching into seconds that felt longer. "I'm sorry for slapping you too," she finally admitted, her gaze averted in an awkward attempt to escape the moment.

A light chuckle escaped me, aiming to further dissipate the lingering awkwardness. "You don't have to be sorry. It's my fault for mentioning that on a sensitive topic."

"...right," she conceded, though not wholeheartedly. Yet, a subtle smile raised on her lips.

"Still... Thank you."

Her words caused me to stop walking to ask what she meant. "What are you even thank—Ouch!?" But Solis abruptly interrupted by her stepping on my shoes, abruptly cutting my sentence short.

"What was that for...?" I raised my heels, rubbing the pain away from my foot.

"Mmm~ That's for bringing another woman along with us," she retorted playfully.

"Is that right... Well, sorry," I murmured quietly. "But can you please not use violence like that hot-headed cardboard over there?"

"Hey, I heard that!" Reaper slammed the ground, feeling pissed.

Choosing to overlook her, Solis and I shared a moment of laughter. "Can you stop calling her flat? Although it's true, calling someone flat in front of their faces even though they are is disrespectful."

"Oy!" Reaper's protest was noted but swiftly moved past.

"Beside, only I have the rights to do that."

Saying so, Solis eyes met mine and we both stared at each other. She didn't say anything, but raised a gentle smile on her face.

As she walked away, I remained stationary, caught in a whirlwind of emotions.

"...Weird."

I couldn't exactly tell what the weird part is, however, I feel something is stirring up within me.

I don't know how to explain it—I knew for sure it's not that I'm catching feelings for her, it was something else.

It's was a weird feeling describable in a word of me not exactly looking at Solis, but another person back there.

Despite my confusion, I decided to set it aside for the time being.

...

..

.

[Welcome back to the "Labyrinth of Calamity".]

Staring at the familiar panel in front of me, cracked both my knuckles and sighed deeply in contempt.

"It's been a while."