Time Holders: The World of Balance

”Huff... W-We did it...” Aldrus muttered.

”Aldrus!”

Alice and Aiden bolted toward the black-haired boy.

”A-Are you okay?!”

”... Ah... Y-Yeah, I’m fine now,” he said, glancing at his arm.

His friends looked at him with complicated expressions, not entirely convinced, but they decided not to press the matter further—after all, Aldrus surely would need time to process the situation.

The three looked over at Cedric, who soon approached them.

”Hey, Aldrus...” he said. ”Uh... would you mind giving my shirt back...?”

Ah...

Now that his arm had effectively never been injured, the laws of cause and effect reasserted themselves, leaving the blond boy’s shirt without a single drop of blood. Aldrus quickly unwrapped it from his forearm and handed it back.

The four stood in silence for a while, still shaking. Not all of them had been injured, but the sole sight of what could’ve happened to each of them was enough to darken the mood. The Paradise had proven to be unbelievably deceptive.

”H-Hey,” Alice called. ”Where do you think those beasts came from?”

The rest turned to her, considering her question. After a moment, Aiden spoke. ”There’s a large forest not far to the west from here, if I’m not mistaken. It’s a dangerous zone, so I assume that’s where an Orange-class beast would come from. However...” his brow furrowed. ”I didn’t expect them to get out of there, never mind wandering all the way here...”

”I see...” the girl said. ”Oh, and... what did you do with the black wolf?”

”Ah... I threw it... Might as well use it as dinner,” Aiden said.

Cedric crossed his arms. ”We can’t stay here. Let’s go find somewhere to spend the night. Alice and Aldrus need to rest, too.”

”Hey, I’m okay, Cedric,” Aldrus said.

”No. You’re not. I don’t care how much Perspective you have; after exerting your powers to the degree you just did, even you won’t last much longer.”

The black-haired boy stood up. ”Are you trying to say I’m a burden?”

Cedric shook his head. ”No, Aldrus. I’m not saying that.”

”Then explain yourself! Did you fucking see that earlier, man? If we stay longer than needed, we’ll get killed!”

”H-Hey, guys, relax...” Aiden tried to interject, but it was no use.

”Answer me! Cedric, please! We cannot afford a single night here; we’ll die!” Aldrus insisted.

”Come on, Aldrus. We can’t keep going like this. You need to re—”

”What we need is to LIVE! Are you listening?! It doesn’t matter whether we’re tired or not!” he cut him off. ”What are we doing here?! We barely managed to kill a pathetic dog; who knows what will come for us at nightfall?!”

”Aldrus...”

Aldrus turned to the others with pleading eyes. ”Isn’t that right?! Look at us! We thought we’d be safe after leaving that cell; it hasn’t even been a month since then!”

”...”

”Hey, please! Talk to me!”

”No,” Alice broke the silence.

”What...?”

The blonde girl glared at him, her eyes welling up. ”No.”

Aldrus’s throat sank. He’d never seen her like that. Alice had always been reserved and supportive...

He should’ve known better—she wasn’t his comfort doll; she was her own person.

”What do you mean, ’no’?” he asked, bewildered.

The girl hesitated, then said, ”...Aldrus, it’s not only you who doesn’t want to die. We’re terrified as well; can’t you see that?! I’m sorry about what happened to you; I really am. But you need to understand that we can’t just keep going blindly forward!”

What...

”She’s right, Aldrus. You need to rest. I understand how you feel, but we need you to take better care of yourself. This is not only for you; it’s for us as well; if you die, we’re done for. We can’t afford a single loss, even if it means hiding for a night,” Cedric added.

The black-haired boy gripped the edge of his clothes. ”But... But what should we do if another one of those things shows up...?”

The others went silent.

Those words were all they needed. It was clear now, Aldrus didn’t really care whether he rested or not. Nor did he actually think pushing further in their current condition was a good idea. He was just terrified. That monster had left an irreparable impression on him.

Being captured, threatened, escaping alive, and defeating a villain—all of those things paled in comparison to the face of death itself. They had learned they were alone, standing in a wasteland with no morals, no mercy, no pity. The dangers no longer mattered, for if anything wished them harm, they would truly die and rot, and no one would ever find them.

It was a burden they hadn’t been trained to carry. Right now, their only option was to adapt or die.

”If that happens...” Aiden suddenly spoke. ”...We’ll win again.”

Aldrus’s eyes widened upon hearing those words. It sounded so simple, so ridiculous. But it was the truth. It was the only answer to keep hope burning in his heart. ’We’ll win again.’ It wasn’t courage or empty nonsense—it was faith.

The boy went silent. As much as he wanted to laugh, he could only bring himself to the verge of tears.

”Mmn.” He nodded, wiping his face.

***

It didn’t take long for the night to fall upon the world. In that hellish paradise, the stars told stories of the past.

The four young friends lay wearily upon the surface of cold stone. They hadn’t found a good place to spend the night; a perfect place also had its flaws. Thus, they had to dig and make a shelter for themselves. They dug and dug, as deep as they could, and made themselves a place resembling the cave where they had spent their happiest days.

”...Cedric,” Aldrus whispered. He was lying on his back, staring at the sky.

”Yes?” the blond boy answered with care, not to wake his comrades by their side.

”I’m sorry.”

Cedric didn’t answer immediately; he went silent, looking at the same night sky. He let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of his neck. After a minute, he simply nodded. ”Mmn.”