The next morning, Asher found out how long he had slept, 12 hours without disturbance. It was truly an astonishing feat, at least for him. He was sure there would be people outside who could surpass this amount quite easily, maybe even skipping days without waking up even once.

  Such an enviable power to have. Asher, lost in thought, couldn’t help but nod his head. Secretly in his heart he found himself getting a new goal in life: to have an even longer sleep, which will make him feel more refreshed than now.

  Yes, let's do that one day.

  Having such luxurious thoughts, Asher found his body relaxing.

  Yesterday had been quite stressful for him after all. The sudden fights and then sudden bursts of emotions have made his heart heavy and his mind light like a leaf. While that sounded nice, Asher found himself in quite a predicament later on.

  His mind had truly turned chaotic yesterday; one thought after another kept appearing. The small semblance he had over them was starting to waver—until he couldn’t do anything. That was not an experience he would like to have again and again.

  In any case, Asher felt he would lose control, drowning even in his own thoughts.

  If just by having two threads of thought he was suffering this much, how many problems would occur when more came?

  Letting out another sigh, Asher left his room.

  ‘I will think about this later.’

  There were more important matters pressing on his mind. He pushed aside everything else at back of his mind and continued moving toward the room Enzo and he had been talking in.

  The space was oddly spacious enough for him to not see anyone else even while moving. He looked around to see the empty hallways. His breathing felt short as Asher started to walk faster than before. His fist was clenching and unclenching as if trying to grab the air.

  When he reached the room, his face relaxed instantly.

  Enzo, who had been sitting quietly, turned his head toward him, his mouth full of something as he continued to eat his food.

  Asher's gaze went up and down—from the plate in his hand to his chubby face, as if judging him. Then he frowned as his brows raised up.

  ‘Is he always eating? ’

  From the looks of it, Asher was the only one suffering. The more he thought, the more that seemed to be the case; the corner of his lips twitched, and a finger tapped his thighs repeatedly trying to calm down.

  But—

  It's really unfair!

  I have been starving, running and what not!

  Sleep was a blessing and survival a gift from fate.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Asher protested in his heart and gave Enzo a quick smile, masking his feelings swiftly before they leaked outside.

  “Good evening?”

  Enzo gulped and said with a confused look.

  ‘If you don’t know it’s evening or morning, why say it?’

  In here, just like in Klaista, time was of no use; the concepts of day and night were twisted so much that time was useless to many. Though unlike Kalista's grey sky, here only the sun and the stars existed. Dawn and the moon were nowhere to be seen.

  Asher thought with a small chuckle. Such rapid changes in thoughts—he was still adjusting even after weeks had passed.

  “Good afternoon,” Asher greeted back, settling on a nearby seat and not commenting on whose greeting was correct.

  After a moment of silence and watching Enzo continuously eat, Asher looked around and found no one else in their quarters.

  “Where are the others?”

  Asher questioned with an even voice.

  “They are out to scout and bring back the supplies we had placed somewhere else before meeting you.”

  “Why did you not go then?”

  With Enzo’s set of skills it would have been far easier for him to have gone instead of everyone. He could have easily gone, concealing his presence, and come back early.

  “It’s my holiday.”

  “I see, it’s your holiday…. Huh?” Asher nodded before turning to face him again.

  ‘Did I hear him wrong?’

  “What holiday?” Asher asked just in case.

  “We take turns resting one after another. Today was my turn.” Enzo spoke with a relaxed tone and leaned back on his seat with a faint smile.

  “Oh.”

  Asher didn’t know what to say for that. He could only let out an involuntary groan and keep his lips shut.

  They had even made a schedule… Scary.

  Asher shuddered and shook his head. He sighed and placed his hand over his head and leaned toward it. The silence was not as comfortable as Asher thought it would be; they both were not speaking, as if waiting for something to happen.

  Enzo, meanwhile, just ate without looking up, ignoring Asher’s presence.

  “Hey, when are you going to tell me about the lost city?”

  In the end Asher couldn’t contain his questions anymore. Right now, he had his mind in a stable state; delaying this matter would only be more troublesome in the future. After all, he still needed time to get a grip on the threads of his mind. He was trying to suppress one and let the other work—suppressing them, however, was not the answer. Asher was keenly aware of that.

  Enzo finally looked up, his dark eyes staring at him with no emotions present behind them. Asher didn’t think much and stared back with an odd expression.

  “Are you not going to tell me?”

  “No, I am just thinking about where to start.” Enzo said, shaking his head.

  “When you do that, try not to stare daggers at the onlookers. I am fine with it, but others might think you are going to stab them in their sleep,” Asher exclaimed, as if making a joke. His eyes softened as he leaned back with a faint smile.

  “Alright, I will try not to.”

  Enzo replied without changing his expression. He didn’t take any offense over Asher’s words, much to his disappointment. And if he actually did and hid this perfectly, Asher might need to up his game.

  “Hmm, try as you want. Though there’s no need to force yourself if you can’t.”

  Asher followed naturally, giving his own piece of wisdom.

  “Hmm, okay.”

  Asher hummed in satisfaction and summoned his bag of water before taking a long sip.

  “How do you guys get water here?”

  He asked, tilting his head.

  “There are sources in every building, just like a tap. Though it looks entirely different from what we are used to. Water comes out with just a slight touch, sometimes bad, sometimes good. We purify it with the ritual you taught us. We only found it because the bathrooms here looked similar to what we have.”

  “I see… You all had it quite easy,” Asher muttered with a frown.

  “In any case… I really don’t know what to say about this city condition. It’s very hard to explain.”

  ‘Hmm, how hard could it be?’

  Asher felt a sense of foreboding.

  Yes, Enzo's expression screamed trouble!

  “This city, Asher, is a fortress, a place made for war. The more time we spent here, the more certain we became of it. And upholding that purpose, the city is in war.”

  ‘War?’

  Asher's eyes widened, and before he could speak, Enzo added.

  “All the creatures of beyond here are soldiers, generals, and vicious killers.” Enzo paused before adding under his breath. “And we are in the middle of it all.”