Dante and Rane continued to walk away from the church. It was difficult to see in the dark, so they had almost fallen countless times. They could make out a few details of the village, but not many. It got increasingly difficult for the two of them to continue.
"Should we head back to the church?" Dante had asked Rane, seeing she was at her limit.
"N-No, I-I can s-still make i-it", Rane said, fading in and out of consciousness.
Dante did not question her. He was still afraid to do anything without being told.
Rane had collapsed on the side of a dirt path. There were no houses nearby, at least, none that they could see. Dante was cold; he had hardly any clothing on. Rane was far from warm, either; she was cold to the touch. By now, Dante had laid her down.
She's cold. I should try to warm her.
He lay down beside her, staring up at the night sky. He rolled her onto himself so that they could share body heat. Rane had begun to drool on Dante's chest. He didn't pay it any mind. He looked down at Rane sleeping.
She looks comfortable.
He wrapped his right arm around Rane, holding her closer to him.
She is still so cold.
It's just then that he notices the markings on his arm start to fade away slowly, like a dying flame.
He looked up at the stars once again. He admired their elegance. It was a nice change from the environment he was familiar with. Dante had also noticed how different the air felt. It was cold and crisp - refreshing. It made him happy to experience so many things. It made him even happier that he was doing it without Rane, although he was also saddened because she was not sharing this moment with him. This mix of emotions also puzzled him. It also made him happy. He felt free.
"ha, haha, hahaha, HaHaHaHaHa", he laughed to himself, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA".
It was as if he was laughing at the funniest joke in the world; in truth, however, he didn't know why he was laughing. He simply laughed and laughed until he ran out of breath.
When he calmed down, he wrapped his other arm around Rane. He fell asleep.
Dante was woken up when he was pushed heavily. It was Rane. She had woken up and found herself in his arms. She had given a look of disgust and resentment before covering them with a smile, before Dante had turned around to face her. Dante had smiled back at her, a genuine, sweet smile.
"Within this desert plain, the monolith stands," Rane repeats to herself quietly.
"Maybe it's in the wasteland", Dante responds, lacking confidence.
Rane believes that he could be right. They agree that they should set off as soon as they get some supplies.
"We might have to steal from the villagers.", Rane says coldly.
Dante looks at her, not to judge her for her words, however. He has a bad feeling.
They both stand. Dante notices a large satchel with what appears to be the church symbol on it. He opens it to find lots of bread and water.
"Rane, look!" he says ecstatically, "We won't have to steal after all".
Inside the satchel is a letter.
"Please take these, and let your wits guide you to the truth.
Pastor Nicholand,"
Dante grabs the satchel as Rane reaches to pick it up, hoping to ease her journey. Rane looks at him for a moment, showing no emotion.
They can now see their surroundings clearly. The village is not far from where they had fallen asleep. Rane begins walking. Dante hesitates but follows. They set off on their journey to find the Monolith of Solitude.
They walk side by side away from the village. As they walk, their hands brush against each other. Rane glances towards Dante, who, as always, is clueless. She reaches out for his hand with her pinky finger and grabs his ring finger. Dante looks surprised; he stares at their hands. A breeze blows gently, carrying with it the scent of salt. They headed North towards the sea.
Out of the blue, Dante asks a question, "What is your favourite colour?".
Rane thinks for a moment before answering, " I would have to say yellow suits me best, so it's my favourite. What's yours?".
"Blue, it makes me feel safe," Dante replies.
They continue to walk without saying another word to each other, still holding each other's fingers.
The sun now starts to set. Dante and Rane are in the wasteland now, so they collect sticks from underneath the ash. They have managed to collect enough sticks before the sun has set completely. They light the fire and sit beside each other.
"What does love feel like?" Dante asks Rane.
Rane is taken aback by this question. It was very unexpected. Rane doesn't know what to say.
"I hear it's when you would do anything for someone, when you care about someone so much that you would give your life to make them happy." Rane says, "I wouldn't know, I've never loved anyone."
Rane looks away from Dante, trying to hide her expression. Dante thinks for a while.
"I believe that love isn't the emotion people believe it to be. It is a form of greed masked as affection. You would do anything for someone because it makes you feel better. Of course, I don't deny that people can be selfless; it's just that in most cases, they aren't."
Rane was surprised by Dante. Not just by what he said, but also because he said it. He had never said anything thoughtful to this extent.
Dante picked up a handful of ash from beside him and let it run between his fingers as it fell.
Rane had leaned over towards Dante and whispered something in his ear. All of a sudden, his hair turned white as snow. It nearly glowed in the moonlight.
The boy looked at Rane and smiled. It was a terrifying smile. He ran his hand along her cheek before leaning in towards her. His other hand slowly made its way up from her thigh to her chest and finally her throat. He tightened his grip around her throat. It wasn't enough to strangle her, but it was enough to scare Rane. The boy bit her earlobe seductively and then whispered,
"Next time I'll kill you, you understand?"
After that, his hair turned black once again, and he returned to how he was before, sitting beside Rane. He had no recollection of what had happened or what Rane had said. Dante held his head, trying to recall.
He couldn't remember. No one said a thing after that, and they both fell asleep. Tonight, however, they fell asleep facing away from each other.