Day: 3756

Days Left: 1724

Lives Saved: 21

Taking a long and controlled breath, the fire demon tested the walls of the pit with a softer punch and scratch, relieved to find that it was not too strong to make a hole but not too soft to give way completely. Using her hardened claws and fists of rock, Alfreda make divots into the earth for herself and Rin to climb. Rin had attempted to fly out however her paper form was not perfect, the form of wings too complicated just yet but hoped to in the future in order to track down the others easier from above.

"We just have to walk all the way around The Raining Marshes." Alfreda gritted her teeth, straining from climbing, not strong enough yet for it be a breeze with her usual athleticism. "And head back to the camp."

"Yep, definitely not walking through all that rain, not ever again," said Rin, amused at watching Alfreda struggle but not anticipating her own turn, especially since neither could touch each other in order to help the other should they need it; the fire demon's touch would cause Rin's paper body to burn instantly.

After making enough handholds in the rock, Alfreda had to jump down, too exhausted to climb and took a break. Rin instead went first and scaled the pit, only just making it to the top and flopped on the ground

"All clear," she sighed. "No monsters in sight."

Once the fire demon had recovered her strength she too climbed up and out of the pit, lying next to Rin, ash flying out of her nostrils. They kept a safe distance apart, though Rin could still feel the heavy emanating from the fire demon, a proof that she was still alive.

They both eventually got back to their feet and stared down at the dark pit. It looked so small from this view. Though they both wanted to never return to the place, Rin and Alfreda needed a moment, perhaps to reflect, to say goodbye and good riddance, or to let the reality sink in that they were truly free of that tomb.

"We're not safe yet," said Rin, ready to leave. "We both lost our weapons and we're still stuck in these forms, hopefully not forever."

"I am a weapon," said Alfreda.

Rin snorted. "Pretty corny."

"You are too, give yourself some credit, pet." Alfreda followed Rin as they moved away from the pit and followed the perimeter of The Raining Marshes, trying to go around it to find the emerald forest again.

"Not currently, I'm not," said Rin. "Maybe soon I'll be able to give someone a paper cut." She paused, turning serious. "What are the chances that anyone is still at the camp?"

Alfreda hesitated to answer. "Honestly speaking, quite low. We were gone for quite some time. Who knows if everyone else came into trouble of their own or perhaps they went in search of us. If they did, they did a terrible job. We stick with the plan, return to the camp, if no one is there we search for signs for where they went, and if nothing comes up we head back to the village in Sector 38."

Rin nodded. "At the very least we know people there. Hey, maybe the others went there too. That was one of the considerations to go instead of chancing it at another unknown sector."

"Yes, it would be... just like old times." Alfreda winced.

So many years had passed since those days in the village, from its humble beginnings to the small working community that was split due to tragedy. In ways, they both had lost people, the people they had started the journey with and their close confidants had changed; Alfreda's servants had left her one by one but in turn she gained a family with Calixte and the imps. And Rin lost Sumit and in turn gained... she gained...

"We could find The Land of the Lost somewhere here," Rin suggested. "Get some weapons and supplies. We don't know how long it will take to go around this sector."

"Very well," said Alfreda.

They journeyed together, moving away from the border but keeping track of their steps in order to not get lost, though The Raining Marshes were quite easy to spot from a distance in the sky. Rin and Alfreda only spoke when posing new strategies for their survival or for discussing probabilities and likelihoods. When the silence was becoming too long, one always spoke up, offering a new conversation topic as if they had not already discussed their plan in detail whilst stuck in the pit. Rin did not want to admit that she feared their conversations would die once they were free, that the reason for them even conversing, keeping each other sane, meant they no longer needed to, that she would return to her seldom and sallow self, barely speaking to anyone. All it took would be for either of them to talk about something else unrelated as a show of weakness, to declare that they actually enjoyed each other's company instead of mild dislike and tolerance. After all of this, would they go back to being distant and barely interacting? Even if they did not have a whole city to separate them, back when they were still living in the village, the two did not interact even when in the same vicinity. At most, Alfreda would say something pompous and annoying and Rin would insult her, or at least under her breath. Sometimes Rin caused her annoyance for the fun of it, and Alfreda would retort with some scathing in turn. Would they go back to that or would things change again?

Rin hated to admit it, not because she did not believe it to be true, but because it meant that after all this time she had wasted so many opportunities judging others on initial appearances, seeing everything surface level and never delving any deeper. She saw Princess Alfreda as the spoilt narcissist, selfish, cowardly, heartless, who knew little to no hardship even when thrusted into The Eternal Abyss, dragging her servants down with her to suffer alongside her. Rin saw her manipulative and entitled. And maybe she was all those things, but she was so much more. Perhaps parts of her were a performance to hide away, to appear stronger, to push people away, to not let herself be taken advantage of, to take command and survive in the world she was born into. At the very least, none of that was the truth now. Instead a woman walked beside her, one burdened with guilt and love for others, who was prepared to fix wrongs herself, that stood on the battlefield alone if necessary, facing her enemies head on, who sacrificed her own wellbeing to save others, and bore her emotions to Rin, so openly and vulnerable, ready to be judged. And in a more shocking revelation, Alfreda completely ignored a beautiful piece of red satin amongst The Land of the Lost and opted for a wool blanket to use as sling of a backpack, instead of draping herself in finery and accessories.

They scavenged through The Land of the Lost, talking only when they found an excuse to, suggestions for supplies and optional weapons, or to take shifts in keeping an eye out for monsters. They did run into a few, however the fire demon's pissed off appearance was enough of a threat for the weaklings to scarper away and keep a safe distance. Once they had finished gathering enough supplies, they returned to their original goal in finding the emerald forest. Though they had recovered mostly, they both still lacked the stamina to make such long distance treks and needed breaks. When it grew to dusk, the sector even darker than normal, they pitched up a makeshift tent under some coverage of the trees and settled inside, a safe distance away from each other as Rin's paper body was still partial to being set on fire by Alfreda's monster mask form.

They took turns in resting, Rin first who struggled to sleep at first, perhaps knowing that she was being watched, not that she had trouble before in the pit, but it felt different now, too much focus on a task that was all she used to do before. Eventually she did sleep and then awoke for Alfreda's turn.

Alfreda too struggled to sleep, noticeably restless, the veins of fire coursing through her body dimming and brightening with her breath. Meanwhile, Rin thumbed through a book she had found, turning the pages slowly so as not to make a noise and disturb Alfreda.

"No bed time story?" Alfreda smirked.

"For the last time, I am not reading to you," Rin groaned.

"Still embarrassed?"

"Still beating a dead horse with that joke? Run out of material?"

"I was not joking, I genuinely want to hear you read, pet-"

"Don't call me that. I am not your pet. It is not an affectionate term coming from you. We all know you use it to belittle people."

"Would you rather have a different affectionate term?"

"I would rather by called by my name."

Alfreda sighed. "Very well, Miss Rin-"

"Rin," Rin corrected.

"What is wrong with Miss Rin?"

"Too formal."

"I am showing you respect-"

"Bullshit."

Alfreda chuckled.

"Again," said Rin. "We all know that you're doing it to belittle people," then added quietly, "Or maybe to distance yourself from others..."

"Calixte does it and I do not hear you complaining about him."

"When Calixte does it it's cute, and the difference is we all like Calixte. With you its mocking territory."

"You really want me to just call you 'Rin'?"

Rin shrugged. "It's either that or you can call me by my full name Corinna-"

"Absolutely not!" Alfreda huffed.

Rin grinned. "If you don't call me Rin and stop with the 'pets' I'll call you by a nickname. How about Alf?"

"No." Alfreda spat.

"Freddy? Freda?"

"Hmmm... Freda is acceptable."

"Didi? Fifi?"

"Back to Freda-"

"Dada-"

"May as well call me father-"

"Alfi?"

There was a pause.

Alfreda remained still. Even though Rin could not see Alfreda's expression with her back turned around, she could tell that the joke was gone, Alfi being a genuine nickname perhaps that she did not want to hear again.

"I think I might stick with Alf," Rin said, risking the joke in order to get the awkwardness out.

"You better not!" Alfreda grumbled, with a slight smile. "Why do you go by Rin?"

"Instead of Corinna?" Rin asked.

"Instead of anything else," Alfreda said quietly. "You learned that neither of them were your name, you could choose a new name, have a fresh start."

"Would you?"

"Do you always deflect questions onto the asker?"

"Do you?" Rin smirked, then her smile faded as she took things seriously. "I don't know... I guess I never considered it. I've been Rin for so long, even though I know that it is not my real name and I may never learn it... I... what difference does it make? A name?"

Alfreda shrugged slightly. "I suppose it depends on how much power you give it, or others give it..."

Rin wondered what power the nickname Alfi had to Alfreda. Perhaps a family nickname considered how complicated family was to her.

"I doubt anything would change if I chose something new," said Rin. "I'll still be me. But I suppose... reflecting on it, maybe it does not feel right to take the names of people I had killed as my own. It is not like I am honouring them by being Rin and Corinna. It feels as if I have stolen their identity. Maybe I should choose a new name just for that reason."

Alfreda pondered. "You look like a Mildred."

"I am not taking your suggestions-"

"Or I suppose 'Mildew' would be fitting right now in your current state," Alfreda chuckled.

Rin wanted to throw something at her. "What about yourself? Still going by Alfreda? Even though it puts a target on your back being a fake princess?"

Alfreda hesitated. "I have time to time thought about changing it, but not for that reason."

"What reason then?"

"My father chose it. I suppose that is how every name is chosen, by a parent or relative, but I have considered choosing something else. I was named after his mother, Alfreda. He said it was because she was a happy and joyful person and he wanted me to be just like her by naming me so... it did not work."

Rin chuckled. She thought of a list of names relating to rocks and fire but kept it to herself, knowing that Alfreda was opening up a little and was not the best time to joke.

Alfreda remained silent and adjusted her position in lying down.

After a pause, Rin returned to the first page of her book and began to read aloud. She told herself that she would immediately stop if Alfreda teased her about it or complained about her lack in talent at voices but Alfreda never did and she eventually fell asleep.

Day: 3757

The campsite was empty as expected. No one had returned. Sumit had left some supplies behind just in case anyone did return, alongside a message as to where they were heading but all of the supplies had been left untouched, the message unresponded. Whatever happened to Corinna, Lili, and Henry was unknown, but at least they had not stopped here.

Talon transformed, splitting into a multitude of ravens, scouring the sky for anyone nearby.

"We head to The Raining Marshes next," Sumit said solemnly, glancing over to Calixte whose arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, visibly shaking.

Kai patted his on the back, giving consolidations, but the man was unresponsive, something in his eye as if possessed by determination yet drained of feeling, a certain numbness as a means of protection to oneself.

Sumit made the suggestion to split the party, having one group just go search the forest for tracks just in case Corinna, Lili, and Henry were around, more so for Calixte's benefit, but again, the man was unresponsive, continuing to walking in the direction of The Raining marshes.

After collecting the rest of the supplies and writing a new message to update their situation, the group headed to the border. There was a sharp cut between the emerald forest and the marshlands, a clear divide of green and perpetual rain that clogged the grass, likely would have destroyed the terrain and flooded the place if it wasn't in The Eternal Abyss where nature had its own physics, though Cori gave speculation that this rain and the marshes were manipulated through magic and not a natural occurrence, the same for the emerald trees.

"The rain never stops?" asked Elis.

"The rain never stops," sighed Kai. He reached out a hand, the rain pelting against his skin. "I know none of us can die, but make sure you don't stay in there too long. Can't get a cold, but you can still get hyperthermia for awhile." Kai opened up an umbrella, as did the others or other means of protection from the rain.

"Do you remember which one?" Sumit asked Calixte hesitantly, motioning to the many dips and trenches in the marshes that had filled with rain, creating shallow or deep pools.

Calixte touched a nearby tree, closing his eyes in remembrance. Any claw marks would have been restored due to The Eternal Abyss, but he recalled a tree having lost a branch, seeing the stub of a new one growing. "It was in this direction," he said, looking around. "They came from behind, and then dragged..." He pointed forwards at the marshes. "I could see them in the distance still, I think at least it was not one of the closer ones."

Sumit nodded. "Okay." He took a deep breath, before stepping over the border and into the perpetual rain. The pelting droplets drowned out everything else, his feet slippy on the wet grass. At first he walked cautiously, getting used to the not so solid ground before picking up the pace, heading towards one of the further pools of water, with Kai and Elis following, and a few of Talon's ravens scouting above, the rest following the border of The Raining Marshes to see the other side.

Calixte and Cori remained on the edge of the emerald forest, both hesitant, bodies shaking, breaths deep. With each step the others took further, the more guilt set in, the fear of their own bodily harm. 

Calixte hands gripped tightly onto his amphibian mask, gifted such a useful monster especially for this circumstance and yet all he could was stand there at the edge of helping, trying to block out the endless drumming of rain. If he were to put it on, would he lose control again? He had been fine in the previous blood moons but there had not been rain or water.

Meanwhile, Cori was still out of breath from all the walking, having done her best to hide her exhaustion from Elis and the others. Already her body was weak, how would she fare in perpetual rain? In the cold and the wet. Would she just be a liability?

Her monster mask would surely make things worse for her with the rain. So was that it? She made it all this way, and all she could do was stand at the precipice. To watch as others tried to save her sister and not herself, who was the whole reason why she was here. She could have released her earlier instead of in panic when everything went wrong, or perhaps just trusted her more, listened to Alfreda about her concerns on breaking the memory curse on the country, on the world. Or maybe if trust could not be given, a cell in the palace was at least kinder than The Eternal Abyss.

Cori grasped hold of her skirt tightly, shaking from the cold water nearby, imagining how much more deliberating it would be to be in it, to be submerged and drowning in it, for it pelt her body like bullets, just like Alfreda must be.

She glanced over to Calixte who stood by her side, wondering if he felt the same as her, that feeling of uselessness, incapable to help and risk their health.

But then he reached out a hand, not so hesitant no longer, rain splattering onto his palm. He flinched from the sensation, hissing through his teeth, before reaching out further, his whole arm wet. And then he ran, donning his monster mask, light enveloping his body in transformation into the amphibian. He burst through the barrier into the perpetual rain, crying out in pain and fear, fighting through as he headed towards one of the ponds, and dove right in.

There was a delayed reaction on everyone's part, Elis, Sumit, and Kai froze before finally running over in concern, a few of Talon's crows circled around, the one beside Cori fretting and asking aloud if he'll be alright. And Cori's guilt plummeted further, heavy in her stomach before she gritted her teeth and braced herself for the coming cold of the rain. She held up the umbrella, and waded through the marshes, the grass slushing and slippery against her feet, her arms already straining and weak from holding up the umbrella. Elis noticed her arrival and went to her side, helping to hold the umbrella.

"Are you going to be okay like this?" he shouted over the din of the storm.

Cori nodded, trying to hold back a hacking cough.

They all peered down into the pond, seeing the glowing light of the amphibian's antenna far down in the dark depths. Then the light grew closer and the amphibian emerged from the pond, webbed hands clawing at the sides for purchase, unable to heave himself out alone and so aided by Sumit and Kai.

"Are they down there?" Sumit asked.

Calixte shook his head, the gills on his neck opening and closing, wheezing from infrequent use. "Not this one," he replied. "We search them all."

Everyone looked at each other with unwavering determination.

The amphibian walked over to another potential candidate for Rin and Princess Alfreda's whereabouts, and with no more hesitation and fear, he dove in again in search.