It's almost sunrise. The blimp was still floating above the clouds. Dryad stared outside the window as the sky turned from a beautiful shade of dark blue into a pinkish hue of dawn. The sun began peeking from behind the horizon.

"Why not sleep?" Alexey approached her from behind, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Hey, Brill... I mean.. Alexey..," Dryad corrected. Smiled sheepishly.

Alexey chuckled at her slip of tongue.
"You may call me Brilliant as always. I don't mind," he placed a hand on top of her head and ruffled it playfully. "Anyway, you've been staying here all night?

Dryad shrugged, "I... I can't sleep," she answered, her voice soft and shaky.
There's a reason behind those dark circles around her eyes. She was happy and sad at the same time.

She was overjoyed to find out the truth about Brilliant a.k.a Alexey so that she could not even sleep! But despite her happiness, she could not shake off the thought about Sir Alvard. No matter how much she tried not to worry about him too much, her mind told her that Sir Alvard might be in a grave situation. These contradictory feelings kept her awake.

Alexey moved closer to her, resting his arms against the windows and leaned forward, gazing at the sight.
"You look troubled, though. Rest your little head, Dryad."

"What about you? Shouldn't you rest?" Dryad asked, "You need it more than me. They said you just woke up from a coma? You see.. normal people would need time to recover and regain strength. But you..."
She glanced at him confusedly. He looked fine. Very much fine as if never injured at all. Dryad frowned as she saw Brilliant's wrist where there's a slight bruise, a mark of the infusion needle still barely visible. "How are you feeling exactly?"

"Wait a sec... Normal people, you said? You think I'm not normal, then?" Alexey laughed a bit. "I am good. Even better. Only... well.. I was confused at first when I woke up. I thought I was dead. Until suddenly I came back alive. I feel... a strange feeling that I can't explain. But, other than that, I am fine. Really."

Dryad's gaze softened. She sighed in relief, "That's good to hear."
She nodded, placing a hand over his and tapped it gently.

Alexey turned his head to her and smiled softly at her simple gesture.

For a moment, they both fell silent. Only enjoying each other presence. They looked out at the scenery with the same relaxed expression.

Dryad took a very deep breath.
"It's been a while since I had a quiet moment like this," Dryad said, breaking the silence. "It's nice to relax for a change."

Alexey nodded, small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He could feel a sense of comfort and warmth in her presence.

"Yeah," he said, "you can tell that I've been through a lot. And it's good to have someone to relax with."

"You know, we should probably enjoy these moments while we can. Who knows when we'll get another chance like this again?" Dryad said softly.

Alexey's gaze fixated on the clouds, almost distant. But then he glanced over at Dryad and noticed her looking at him.

"What?" he asked, a hint of a smile on his face. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Huh?" Dryad chuckled then looked away to the clouds again. "Nothing."

Alexey chuckled too. Amused by her response.

"Sure, sure," he said, not buying it for a second. "You're definitely staring at me."

Dryad sighed, "Just.. glad that you are here. Save and sound."

A hint of tenderness appeared in Alexey's piercing-blue eyes as he heard her words. He smiled softly, feeling a warmth in his chest.

"Me too," he said. "Glad to be here with you." He reached out and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Her cheek blushed, he quickly looked to the sky again and changed the topic as to hide it.
"The sky looks like an ocean! Don't you think?"

Alexey pulled out his hand and looked at the sky again, taking in the vast expanse of blue in front of them.

"Yeah," he said, his voice full of wonder. His eyes sparkling with excitement, almost matched with the color of the nature. "You're right. The sky does look like an ocean. It's so endless and vast. A sight to behold..."

"And that cloud looks like a whale!" Dryad pointed her finger to some point.

Alexey bursted into laughter at her observation. It was a little strange, but he found it amusing nonetheless.
"A whale? Really? That's a new one. I've never seen a whale swimming in the sky before."

She couldn't help but chuckled at her own thought, too.
"That cloud is called Cumulus. And the towering one there, called... um... cumulus castellanus? If I remember it correctly..."

"It's actually Cumulus Congestus.
Castellanus is not an official name," Alexey corrected her. "And what I love the most is that cloud... the Cirrus. It's made of ice crystal so that they looks like that."
Alexey pointed to the higher clouds which appeared delicate and wispy with white strands. Much resembled the silky feather of angel's wings.

"Oh? You know? I'm surprised," Dryad said.

"Well, Of course. I'm not that stupid." Alexey frowned a bit, not sure how did that knowledge come to his mind.
"Hey, by the way... Have any idea what exactly happened to me?" his smile faded. "Why did we met when I was actually in coma?"

"Hm... Have you ever heard about OBE? Out of Body Experience..."

"Hum..." Alexey hummed, felt that he had heard that term somehow, but didn't really pay it heed and shook his head, dismissing the idea. Nevertheless, he tried to answer,
"Out of Body Experience? Like... when you're not dead yet but your soul, somehow, comes out from your physical body?"

"M-hm," Dryad nodded in approval. "Or in other words.. you became a Wandering soul, as we called it."

Alexey laughed a bit, but there's a hint of disbelief in his tone, "I thought it's some kind of fictional theory! Never thought that I would experience it firsthand!" Alexey said, running his fingers through his silvery-ash hair.

Dryad nodded and smiled, "Yeah, me too. Never expected that I would witness such a phenomenon before my own eyes!"
They laughed along softly before Dryad spoke again,

"Anyway, Brilliant... You seriously don't remember about your brothers?"

He sighed, "brothers, huh? You mean, that red-haired guy over there?"

They turned a moment at Haze who was dozing off on the couch.

"He's the guy who was with us in Another World, yes?" Alexey asked again.

"Yes! You remember!"

"Well, I only remember our last adventure. But I don't recall if I have that deep relationship with this guy. My memory starts from our first encounter, Dryad. But about my past... I don't remember anything."

"I see.. Maybe it will take some time for you to recollect your memories."

"So, he's my brother or something?" Alexey asked.

"Not a sibling by blood. But he said that you were very close with him. He even looked up after you."

"Really?"

Dryad nodded and continued, "But... you do remember all that happened in Another World. Right?

Alexey smiled faintly "Of course! In fact, I thought at first it was only a long dream. But, then, I was woken up by Dervin's voice. That's when I realized that everything was real."

"Dervin the cat?!" Dryad's eyes widened. "He's here? Where?"

"He was here, yes. But now, I don't know. I think he went somewhere. He's a demon, after all. He can come and go whenever he wants," Alexey said.

"What did he say?" Dryad asked.

"Dervin told me about everything. About the mansion, that cult people, and reminded me about our agreement... said that he came to collect the payment. Dervin said that you and Haze might be in danger, so he urged me to save you both," Alexey explained.

"Huh? So that's why you ordered the mercs to come rescue us?"

"Yeah," Alexey answered shortly.

"It's almost unbelievable, That demon..." Dryad trailed off, "Dervin really worried about us?"

Alexey chuckled amusingly, "More precisely, worried about himself. Remember our contract? He must make sure that we -me, Alvard, you and that red-haired guy- out of harm's way. Because if something happens to us, then the contract will be broken. He will be the one who violates the agreement and so that he will turn into dust."

"Ah! Right... I remember it now! It was Dervin himself who determined the punishment for violators of the contract," Dryad said.

Alexey nodded and smiled slyly, "That's what he said. Anyway, what happened to the guy we rescued from Another World?"

"You mean.. Sir Alvard?" Dryad glanced at Alexey, "So you also don't remember him at all? He's your older brother, Brilliant."

Alexey raised his eyebrows, "my.. brother?" He sighed in frustration, "Gosh.. I feel like a newborn fool! I don't remember anything."

He tried hard to recall anything, but that attempt only made his head throbbing. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths, rubbing his forehead to ease his pain.
"Uh...damn..."

"Hey?" Dryad looked at him worriedly, seeing that he looked quite stressed, "Brilliant? You're overexerting yourself. I think you need to rest. Take it easy," she said soflty, grabbing his forearm firmly. "Don't rush..."

He remained silent for a while until he decided to take her advice, "right... You're right. I'll try to sleep a bit. See ya 'round, then..."

Dryad watched him leave with a concerned expression. Hoping he would be fine. Silently prayed that someday, soon enough, his memories would flood back into his mind.