They talked for a while longer, not yet about anything serious—just meaningless conversation between friends that they both had missed having so much. The simple exchange of words without the constant pressure of survival felt like a luxury they'd forgotten could exist. They reminisced about the academy, laughed about stories, and for brief moments, almost forgot the deadly realm that surrounded them.
Soon, however, the casual conversation began to fade, and Arthur's real questions started forcing their way through. The comfortable bubble of normalcy could only last so long when surrounded by such danger.
"So where did you get teleported, and if you got no abilities, how have you been surviving?" Arthur asked, shifting slightly to ease the ache in his back from days of constant movement.
Luke giggled and looked from his friend to the ground where he sat, drawing absent patterns in the dust on the stone with his finger. "I was actually teleported here inside this temple but was driven out by the monster that dwells inside—and not without suffering these injuries either." He gestured to the healing wounds visible through the tears in his uniform.
"Thankfully, while I might not have any abilities, I still have the basic enhancements all Chosen get, so my wounds have been healing fast." His voice carried a note of resignation—the one small blessing in an otherwise cruel twist of fate.
Arthur's body immediately tensed as he completely forgot about the danger just on the other side of the wall from them. His muscles contracted, and he almost jumped up, but Luke put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Don't worry, it never leaves the temple for whatever reason... only reason I'm alive." Luke's voice was calm, suggesting he'd come to terms with his precarious sanctuary. "That, and for some reason, nothing ever comes near it either. Some nights I'll see creatures flying in the sky circling me, but they never come down as long as I'm close to these temple walls."
Arthur slowly relaxed, but not completely. He rested back against the wall, the stone cool against his sweat-soaked back. "So you've just been hanging out here this whole time?"
Luke shrugged his shoulders, a gesture that seemed to carry the weight of his helplessness. "I mean, yeah. I got no powers, and besides that, I'm already weak and a coward, so I wasn't gonna leave this temporary safety just to die out there." There was no self-pity in his voice—just a pragmatic assessment of his situation.
Arthur sighed, his exhale carrying the exhaustion of his journey. 'I can't blame him. I'd be lying if I said I didn't just think about staying in the safety of the first temple and slowly withering away.'
"I get it. I've been pretty scared too," Arthur admitted, the confession somehow easier now that they were sharing this moment of respite.
Silence fell over them like a drape, heavy with unspoken fears and shared understanding. The distant sound of the rose field rustling in the evening breeze was the only sound for several long moments.
Finally, Luke spoke again, his voice tinged with curiosity. "Tell me about your experience. Where did you start? How did you get here?"
Arthur looked at him with a sly smile and told him everything that happened from the moment he teleported here until now. He recounted the first temple, the endless field of roses with their insidious whispers, the night battles with the Nightreaves, and his desperate race against the dawn. With every passing word, Luke's eyes grew wider and wider, and the sparkle in them shined brighter.
"T-that's... that's amazing, Arthur. Y-you're amazing," Luke stammered when Arthur finished his tale. "I just sat here like a scared boy while you crossed the field of roses and battled terrifying monsters." The admiration in his voice was palpable.
Arthur's face hung lightly, uncomfortable with the praise. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You did more than most others would in your shoes by merely surviving out here." The words were genuine—survival alone in this realm was a victory, powers or not.
Luke smiled, squinting his eyes closed and scratching the back of his neck in that familiar gesture Arthur remembered from their academy days. "Yeah, thanks, Arthur."
Arthur smiled in return when suddenly something crucial occurred to him, his eyes lighting up with realization. "Oh, that's right—you must be thirsty, huh?"
Luke looked at him in shock as Arthur let a ball of darkness appear in his hand, swirling like liquid shadow before slowly fading away, leaving nothing but a jar of water behind. The manifestation was smooth, controlled—evidence of Arthur's growing command of his strange power.
He handed it to Luke, who was still staring in amazement as he gently grabbed it and put it to his lips, gulping down his first sip of water in probably over a week. His eyes lit up, and he looked back at Arthur with astonishment. "This is water... h-how?"
Arthur grinned, pleased by his friend's reaction. "It's one of my abilities. I got some more, so drink up, but don't finish the whole thing—it's all we've got." The warning was unnecessary; both knew the value of conservation in this place.
Luke smiled wildly and sipped the water until his thirst was quenched before handing it back to Arthur and wiping the excess water off his mouth with the back of his hand. "That's a neat power."
Arthur laughed, the sound strange after so many days of tense silence. "Yeah, I think so too."
Then Arthur unexpectedly let out a massive yawn, his body finally acknowledging the safety it now felt. Luke's smile disappeared, replaced by concern. "Oh, that's right—you haven't slept since you got here, huh? Well, it's getting late, and it's safe to sleep here, trust me. I've been doing it since I got here, so by all means, snooze away. You deserve it."
Arthur smiled at the thought of finally succumbing to the tiredness that hung over him like a physical weight. The prospect of sleep—real, unguarded sleep—was almost too good to be true.
"Yeah, I think I will. We'll figure out our next steps tomorrow." His words were already slurring with encroaching sleep.
Luke nodded with a smile on his face, and Arthur let his body relax as he closed his eyes. The tension of constant vigilance slowly drained from his limbs, and finally, for the first time in a week, he fell into unconsciousness.