Azrail was kneeling as he thrust his hands down into a pile of discarded brick and wood chunks. He showed no care for any scrapes or splinters that might've plagued him as he dug around inside the pile. After a while, he seemed to grow tired of searching this way, and he started to just toss pieces of rubble out from the pile and to his side.

He wasn't rushing, but he didn't seem to care enough to make sure everything stayed together as he moved it. He just haphazardly tossed it away from the pile it had been in. Every now and then he would stop and inspect something he had in his hand. But, each time he just shook his head and tossed the chunk away just like all of the others.

After he finally finished moving the entire pile into a mess across the floor, he put his hands on his knees and sighed. He looked over where the hollow king was. He still sat in the same spot that he had been in, up against the crumbled remains of a wall of the old tavern.

"I'm going to hazard a guess," said Azrail with a small smile, "that you aren't going to tell me if there's any food around here, are you?"

The hollow king just sat there, seemingly lifeless.

Azrail nodded before he pushed off of his legs and stood up. "I suppose that makes sense. It doesn't look like you eat very much, do you?"

Silence was his only response.

The man brushed a hand back through his hair as he looked up at the sky. "It's quite the storm up there, isn't it? Hasn't let up once since I showed up here."

He frowned as it looked like he paused to think about something. Then, his expression softened, and he chuckled. "Doesn't matter too much I suppose. All weather has its place after all, even a silent storm."

He walked over to the hollow king and with a small grunt, knelt down in front of him. "Well, I'm sorry to do this to you," he said with a melancholy smile, "but I think I'll have to part from you for a while. Just a little bit, I promise. I just need to see if I can find something to sustain my frail body."

He stood up with another groan, and firmly patted the still monster's shoulder. "Not all of us survive on just our willpower. And there is still so much work I have to do."

As he walked away, he turned around and smiled. "No need to wait up for me. I'll be sure to go and find you when I do return. And that will be soon, I assure you."

With a happier smile, Azrail left the ruins and walked out towards the forest.