Birds chirped, the winds whistled, and the soothing rays of the morning sun gently pulled Ren from his tranquil slumber.

He slowly sat up, a line of saliva connecting his cheek to the bed of leaves under his body. As he let out a yawn to expel the haziness of sleep from his body, rubbing his half-open eyes—he noticed the familiar silhouette of his partner entering the cavern.

"Sirius?"

Ren asked with a yawn.

"—Morning."

Holding his gray coat under his arm, the man's appearance became clear, his cheeks puffed out, swollen and purple.

"What the hell happened to you?!"

"You should see the other guy."

It wasn't a minute before Sirius was face down against his mattress of leaves, soundly asleep as Ren was left perplexed at what had happened.

The situation brought an unexpected positive for the half-awake Ren, who saw the chance given to him.

—If I don't wake him up, he'll sleep through the entire day! Then this cruel game will be over! Ah...I really want to see Iris.

He nodded a few times in compliance with his own motives.

Although this plan of his was something mainly fueled by his own desire to do nothing, sitting in the desolate cave all day as he listened to Sirius' rugged snoring was not in his schedule.

"The beauty of nature. Can't say I ever gave Mother Nature the time of day back on Earth, hopefully Mother Gaia doesn't hold it against me."

Ren found himself talking to the forest in his endless boredom, using his blade to cut away at the protruding branches that hindered his path.

Only one thing besides boredom fueled this short journey into the unforgiving forest.

--Meat. Meat. Meat. Juicy, savory, meat. All I've had the past day are berries. Spoiled, coddles, call it what you will--I've maintained a healthy intake of meat my entire life, it's how I've retained whatever little muscle mass I gained throughout my life. I think it may have to do with my low mana right now, but I feel like I could eat a dragon right about now.

All he could find were the multi-colored insects which took sanctuary in the wet soil below, wiggling about as they tunneled through the ground.

"Freaky."

Moving on, his empty stomach guided each step he took forward, letting out a groan towards the heavens above in a whining fashion.

"Ren?"

The voice reached his ears, causing them to perk like a dog as he swiped his gaze down, meeting eye to eye with the familiar, bewitching ocean-like eyes of the maiden of his dreams.

"Iris?"

His mouth fell open as he paused, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing anything.

"Was I caught in an illusion that makes me see angels? Wait, is this heaven?"

"Stop it."

As always, his playful, yet genuine words sparked a shy pink to fill her cheeks as she looked down in the side in a futile attempt at hiding her blush.

"What're you doing here? You aren't going to jump me with Brahmi are you?"

Ren checked side to side in jest.

"Of course not! I convinced Brahmi not to get involved with the Outlander fights. You're paired with Sirius, right? He's a bit hot-headed...did he drag you into any fights?"

"Me? No? Although he came back this morning covered in welts."

He puffed his cheeks out to mimic his companion's condition, manifesting a quiet giggle from the girl as a tiny blush now took place in his cheeks.

"Well...I'm planning on sitting out this day since Sirius isn't waking up anytime soon."

"Same here…"

They both fidgeted like a pair of shy grade-schoolers, left alone in the unjudging territory of nature.

"Do you want to…"

Before he could finish his sentence, a thunderous stomp echoed through the ground, vibrating under the soles of their feet as birds fled from the trees. A horn sounded through the valley, penetrating his ears as he winced.

With each of these cataclysmic rumbles resembling footsteps, the trees groaned from the overbearing weight shifting between them.

"The hell?"

Turning back to face the direction the rumble came from, Iris' voice seemed to be sucked right out of her lungs as only a quiet gasp left her lips. He would've guessed it was impossible to grow paler, but he was proven wrong as it looked as if her blood had run cold.

"Iris? What is it?"

His question was answered with his own two eyes as he matched the direction of her gaze, watching as something colossal made its way through the dense forest of trees, its feral bloodlust being sensed even from the distance it laid.

"I...it's...it's…"

A sentence couldn't be formed from the girl's mouth as her lips trembled, holding her own hands together as they shook uncontrollably at whatever was approaching them.

"Iris? Iris! We have to get out of here!"

Whatever it was, the reaction it conjured from the girl told of the strength it likely held, and with the amount of mana he had in the tank--he didn't like his odds in a battle right now.

As he grabbed onto her shoulders, trying to convince her to flee with him--she dropped to her knees, staring past him as tears lined the edge of her eyelids.

--I don't get it, what's spawning this reaction from her? Could it be something she's run into before? Did it do something?

Fear drilled itself into his bones as he forced his quivering hands onto the handle of his sheathed sword, holding it as he stood in front Iris, preparing to confront whatever fiend showed itself.

"Mother...mother…"