Aksa followed Kael's instructions and went to sleep immediately after he finished eating, or so he likes to believe. Once he finished the bowl of soup, his vision instantly blackened. The soup was much more than what his body was used to eating, so he collapsed, falling into a food coma.
By the time Aksa woke up again, Kael hadn't returned yet, as the bowl was still held between his hands. He tried to stand up to put the bowl back on the counter which Kael pulled it from, but he couldn't move anything past his upper body.
He sighed as he leaned slightly, trying to put the bowl on the ground. Once his back straightened again, Aksa slowly turned his head around, looking at the place. This time, he made sure to look more carefully, studying the place.
Although the wood that the hut was made of was starting to wear off, with small cracks scattered on the walls, and some missing pieces of wood, the place was well maintained. Everything was clean and organized, though Aksa imagined that it wouldn't be hard to keep this place clean, as Kael didn't own a lot of things.
Other than the bed and some wooden cutlery, a cup, and a plate, there was nothing worth mentioning. However, something else drew Aksa's attention. Not so far away from the bed, a large wooden chest was placed. It was closed with three locks that were visible from the front.
Aksa's curiosity got the best of him, and he started wondering what could be inside it. It was obvious that Kael is an isolated person, so Aksa didn't expect him to have something that he guards this much. However, Aksa quickly shook his head, telling himself that it was none of his business.
Then, Aksa remembered the question that Kael had asked him about how he reached this place. He remained silent for a while, pondering the question and trying to reach his memories.
After a while, Aksa suddenly spoke up. "Z-Zephyr..."
His voice was barely audible as he called Zephyr's name. He remained silent, waiting for him to somehow respond, but he heard nothing. Aksa tried again, this time louder, but it was the same result. No response.
After the incident with Zephyr last time, he expected him to answer his call somehow. He lowered his head in disappointment, but then he heard something in his head.
"Yes, my child. Did you call for me?"
Aksa's head jolted upwards, panicking as he heard Zephyr's voice coming from somewhere. He rapidly turned his head left and right, searching for him inside the hut.
"Wh-where are you?" Aksa blurted out as he couldn't find him anywhere he looked.
"I'm not where you are currently at, my child. I'm just speaking to you through your mind." Zephyr answered calmly.
"Ah, I see." Although he was still confused, Aksa didn't pursue the matter further. "I have a question..." He added.
"Ask, my child. And I shall answer you."
"Are you the one who led me here?"
"Hooh? What makes you think so?" Amused, Zephyr asks.
"Kael said that a barrier was supposed to keep this place hidden or something, so I can't really think of any other way that I could've reached this place," Aksa explained.
"I see," Zephyr replied, "My answer is no. I didn't have any hand in you reaching that place. In fact, I believe you reached that place alone."
"Huh? That doesn't make any sense." Aksa exclaimed as he scratched his head. "How could I reach this place when Kael said that the barrier keeps anything out other than animals?"
"I believe the man himself could answer that question of yours," Zephyr said.
Suddenly, Aksa heard a thud noise coming from outside. Once he turned his head to face the door, he heard Zephyr speaking again. "Now then, my child. It seems that our conversation is coming to an end."
"Wait, Zephyr! I have other questions to ask you." Aksa quickly called for him.
"I apologize, my child. But I must cut our time short." As Zephyr said those words, the door suddenly opened, with Kael entering as he lifted the body of a dead deer on his back.
As he came inside, he saw Aksa stretching his arm forward with his arms wide open as if trying to reach for something.
"What's wrong, kid?" Kael immediately asked, his eyebrow moving slightly up in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"U-uh, no, n-nothing," Aksa quickly answered, clearly flustered as he swiftly lowered his arm and tried to straighten his back.
Kael stared at him in silence for a while, his eyes clearly skeptical. "Did you go back to sleep like I told you? because it looks like your brain still needs to rest." Kael finally broke his silence.
"No, no. I'm fine, really."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am. Trust me."
"Fine, do as you please." Kael shrugged his shoulders as he let out a sigh before he walked over to the corner, where he put down the deer's body.
As Kael proceeded to skin the deer, silence filled the place. Even though both of them felt extremely awkward, neither of them knew what to say. Rather, neither of them knew how to strike up a conversation, so Aksa kept watching from afar while Kael worked in silence.
Then he remembered what Zephyr told him about Kael answering his question. He hesitated for a while, thinking about how he could bring up the subject, and Kael noticed that, as he suddenly spoke up, "What is it, kid?"
"I-uh, I just wanted to ask, how does this barrier you talked about work?" Aksa asked.
"It detects the blood moon essence within the body." Kael hesitated for a moment before answering, "Since wild animals don't have any flowing in their bodies, they can pass through-." Suddenly he stopped as a realization dawned on him.
His head immediately turned, facing Aksa who looked to be still oblivious before asking, "Don't tell me, you..."
Aksa tilted his head slightly as he looked at Kael, who had a surprised look on his face. Kael immediately stood up before walking closer to the boy. He gently put his hand on Aksa's head before saying with his eyes closed, "Don't move, okay."
Aksa looked at Kael, hesitant and confused, but he complied. After a while, Kael finally let go of him. He then grabbed his beard, talking to himself as he stroked it. "I see. This explains a lot..."
"Mr. Kael?" Aksa asked in confusion.
"You have no blood moon essence flowing in your body, kid. This is why you passed the barrier," Kael explained, "This also explains why you weren't affected by the rot."
"W-what does that mean?"
"It means that, more or less, either you are dead, which is ridiculous, or you are not normal."
Aksa remained silent. He stared at Kael as he remembered Zephyr telling him that he is no longer alive nor is he dead. He tried to match it with what Kael said, but it didn't make sense.
Seeing as the boy looked even more confused than before, Kael explained further, "This means that you can't draw any power from the blood moon like everyone else, but it looks like that won't cause any problems for you anyway."
"What do you mean?" Although he didn't fully understand what Kael said, Aksa still wanted him to clarify things more.
"I feel a weird power flowing inside your body. It's very unstable right now so I don't really know what it is," Kael added. "Do you know what it is?"
Aksa feels silent again. He knew that Zephyr was somehow the cause of this power that Kael was talking about, but he still wasn't sure, so he just shook his head.
Kael stared at him for a moment. He then gave a small nod as he grabbed the bowl that was on the ground before playing with the boy's hair, "That's fine. Anyway, can you move now?"
"I-I think so," Aksa twisted his body, turning it around to face Kael before pushing himself up. He felt his knees weak as he stood up next to Kael, but he persisted.
"Good. Come help me carry the deer skin," Kael tilted his head slightly, pointing at the deer.
"Are you gonna throw it away?" Aksa asked.
"That would've been the plan on any other day, but not today," Kael added, "I need to put it near the fire to let it dry."
"Why?"
"To turn it into a cover. For you"
"Huh?"
"I'm not gonna let you leave when you are in this condition, but it might get cold around here, so we need an additional cover." Kael answered as he looked at Aksa, "Now then, follow me."