Though his footwork was a little clumsy, Amias managed to dodge an apparition's attack before exorcising it afterwards. Soft pants escaped his lips and he took a moment to catch his breath, a part of him wishing he had a bottle of water to quench his thirst. Having to deal with countless apparitions nonstop was starting to take a toll on his body. At least the one he just exorcised was the last of them.

Having to experience battle in a life or death scenario was a lot different from training in the AEI. What Amias lacked most was experience, so he hoped that the SF trial would be a good chance to improve on that. After all, before he joined the AEI, he lived his entire life confined.

A yellow holographic screen summoned in front of him, displaying text.

"Level up? What does that mean?"

Ever since he left his home, he had access to this screen. There were no instructions or explanations on the strange device; it was just there. Not to mention, no one else notices it but himself. Amias had been doing his best to get accustomed to it, but it seemed like every time he thought he had gotten the hang of it, another new feature was added.

Amias touched the screen and it showed a map of the area of the SF trial. There were grey spaces that obscured the details of certain sections. The only parts that displayed the overview in detail were areas he had already been to. It wasn't different from when he received a map of the AEI layout. It was awfully convenient and he felt bad that he was the only one who could use it. If only there was a way to lend this to others.

Amias's gold eyes fluttered in confusion at an odd triangle symbol on the map. "Teleport points...? What are those?"

There was also a new button and he selected it without knowing what it was. His eyes widened.

Ah, there are more things.

"Inventory... skills level up..."

If only there were descriptions of what these things were. He was completely lost.

Amias sighed. "I wish someone could guide me."

He then heard a low rumbling that came from the sky, it resembled the start of a storm. He took it as a cue to end his little break.

"I think it's coming from over there..."



===



With an exasperated huff, you stopped running. Taking a look around the area, you recognised familiar structures and quickly calculated how much further you needed to go.

"Shoot, at this rate I won't make it."

You didn't think that you were this far away from the location. If you burned through your energy, then you'd be able to make it. However, your presence would be useless if you were too exhausted to utter a word. But you also couldn't afford to be late because it defeated the purpose of coming there in the first place.

You tapped your foot on the ground, staring at it in immense concentration. "What to do, what to do..."

"(Y/n)! Is that––that is you."

Ah, you'd recognise that voice anywhere. You turned to the source of the voice and saw Amias approaching you. "Amias? What a coincidence!"

A relieved smile graced his lips. "I was worried, but you seem to be okay. I'm glad."

Best not to tell him what happened between you and Lyle. "It's good to see that you're fine as well. Anyway I need to get going––"

Amias gave you a confused look when you suddenly stopped speaking. Hold on a second. Since Amias was here, there might be a way for you to reach your destination fast and without using too much energy. Though, you hesitated for a fraction of a second with how suspicious and odd you were going to appear to Amias. Well, if it's a necessary step to save Caleb, then you'd take it.

"Amias, do you trust me?"

He responded without hesitation, an innocent smile on his face. "Of course. Why?"

"..."

Okay, I vow to myself I will never betray that smile.

"Okay, I promise times three million I will explain everything to you later. You can ask as many questions as you want," you said frantically. You were surprised Amias understood every word. "Can you please do as I say for the time being? The situation is urgent."

Amias nodded, albeit a little startled by your hurried tone. "Okay. What do you need me to do?"

You took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Can you summon uh, a holographic screen? It's a pale yellow colour, right?"

Amias was silent, eyes slightly wide in surprise. He looked like he wanted to question you, but he refrained himself from doing so. The holographic screen was summoned and his gaze instantly flickered to you, observing your reaction. You didn't think too much about his look and tested to see if you could use the screen. Your hand phased right through it. Ah, well. It was worth a try.

"You can see it..." Amias mumbled.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

He shook his head. "No, don't worry."

If there was more time, you'd ask him again. "Okay, Amias. Can you tap over there, then enter here––oh careful, it's sometimes easy to confuse those two parts––select that, then zoom in on this section?"

Though his movements were clumsy and you needed to repeat a few instructions, he did as you asked.

You leaned in closer and observed the digital map. Okay, he unlocked the teleport points just like according to the game. Now does he have one over here...

You silently cheered to yourself. Yes, he does! The teleport points were essentially fast travel. Certain areas Amias has been to, he can unlock instant teleportation to the place. Thankfully, luck was on your side and the nearest teleport point was only a few metres away from the location you needed to get to.

"Can you hold my hand?" You weren't sure if Amias could teleport with you, but it was worth a try. "Once you tap on 'teleport' you'll be taken to that location. I'm not sure if you can take me with you, but if it doesn't work I need you to do a few things for me."

You told him the instructions if you were unable to teleport with Amias. He dutifully nodded and you smiled at his cooperation.

"Okay, press enter."

The world around you momentarily melted into a bright yellow light, causing you to shut your eyes and use your free hand to shield yourself from the luminosity. Barely a second had passed before you opened your eyes to find yourself standing in an entirely new location.

"Wow..."

Experiencing teleportation in real life? You were going to add that to your bucket list for the sake of ticking it off.

You glanced over to Amias. "You okay?"

He was a little dazed, but your voice captured his attention. "H-huh? Oh, I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm good. Let's get going."

It didn't take long to find what you were looking for. The first structure that came into view was an abandoned fence that stretched widely, encompassing a space that had only debris and rubble. Though the fences looked worn out and rusty, the height still greatly exceeded yours.

Underneath the rubble––if you looked hard enough––you could faintly make out the presence of an apparition. You could barely make out the details, but you already felt greatly disturbed. It felt like it was watching your every movement like how a predator would observe its prey. According to the game, it was an irregular apparition; one more powerful than the ones you've encountered prior.

"Do you see it, too?" Amias asked.

"The apparition? Yeah, gave me chills."

"These fences aren't really secure. Why is it not attacking us?"

"Well..." There was a wide gap between the fences and you placed your hand through it. As expected, a pale green barrier suddenly appeared, acting as a wall. "Because of this."

"An exorcist's barrier? It reminds me of Caleb's––"

"Miss Support! Ah, and the stranger as well. Are you two here to sightsee as well?"

Caleb's voice elicited a flinch out of you. One would've never suspected anything serious to go down judging from his cheerful tone and carefree choice of words. With a light skip in his steps, Caleb squeezed in between you and Amias and tried putting his hand through the gaps of the fence. Again, a barrier appeared.

"Still sturdy even after all these years..." he mumbled. "You really are something else."

Amias gave Caleb a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing~ Anyways, that ugly thing over there." He gestured to the apparition. "It gives off a different vibe compared to the rest of the apparitions, huh?"

"It seems dangerous, but it's not attacking us. Should we just leave it alone?" Amias asked.

"Leave it alone? If you want to, then be my guest." Caleb laughed. "It looks like a nice challenge to me, so why not have some fun? Things are going to get messy, you two should shoo while you can."

Amias looked at Caleb in concern. "You're going to go up against it? Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Obviously, who do you think I am?"

Knowing fully well what his true intentions were, you couldn't suppress the look of doubt on your face.

"Aw, don't give me that look." Caleb laughed and ruffled your hair. "It'll be fine! I'm strong, remember?"

It's not your strength that I'm worried about... "Can you make sure you keep your gloves on? You have a habit of taking them off."

Caleb was silent for a moment. "C'mon, this apparition is an easy exorcism. No need for silly precaution. If anything, these gloves are way too stuffy." He was silent for a moment. "I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

"Make it up to me? What do you––"

You were suddenly pushed back and Amias caught you before you landed on the ground. Too frantic to thank him, your sights immediately searched for Caleb. Your breath hitched, Caleb had already broken the protection barrier. You quickly got up, but he sealed up the crack he made, trapping himself inside before you could stop him.

"There we go!" He winked. "You can watch the show from a safe distance."

As he was saying that, he was sliding his gloves out of his hands.

You panicked. "Caleb, don't take those off please. What if something happens?"

Ignoring your plea, Caleb threw his gloves onto the ground. He whistled joyfully, the tune carrying a malicious undertone to it, as he casually approached the apparition. Caleb's actions didn't throw you off guard, but there was still a naive side of you that hoped he would at least hesitate because of your words. You were incredibly reluctant to go forth with your actual plan.

Here was the thing. You knew what Caleb's internal conflicts were and you had a good idea on the right things to tell him. The issue was that you were not close enough to him to say anything. Maybe if you had met him a couple of years earlier, but definitely not as someone he met a few months ago. Imagine someone you just met somehow knew about the issues your struggled with and decided to suddenly be some sort of therapist? Yeah, you'd be more unsettled than comforted.

The sad reality was that you needed to do something else to stop him and it involved using your knowledge for something that struck a mountain of guilt in you. You were going to have to use Caleb's weakness against him. You were going to create a scenario where he had to use his gloves.

But first things first, you needed to get past the barrier.

"Amias, I know I'm ordering you around a lot but––"

"Don't worry about it." Amias gave you the most sweetest and understanding look ever. "If you need me to do something, don't hesitate to tell me. I can tell something is going on. I won't ask questions."

You spilled a million thank yous. Seriously, you were going to make sure you repay him after all of this. "Okay, I need you to run away from here––not too far, but enough so that it's hard to spot you and defend the area around here. Also, for the first few minutes, purposefully direct apparitions over to this barrier. Don't worry about me, I'm going to head inside."

He was caught off guard by your words. You could tell he wanted to ask why you were throwing yourself in a dangerous situation. "Okay, you've got it."

You summoned Mochi as soon as Amias left your sights. The wolf barked happily, which helped calm your nerves a little.

"Mochi, I'm going to need you to do a little favour for me." You pointed at the part of the barrier Caleb broke and sealed up. One would assume that space would be sturdier, but in actuality it wasn't. You weren't sure of the logistics behind that as it was never explained, but it didn't matter right now. "Can you break through it and immediately return to my book, please?"

Seems like Mochi was a little too excited in following your orders. He crashed right through the barrier and fence, leaving a gap much wider than you initially anticipated. Then, just as you said, Mochi went back into your book. The page torn off the book was now back in one piece. You stepped through the shattered barrier; how it looked reminded you of thin glass.

Spotting Caleb, you began running towards him and also picked up his gloves up on the way. With every second that passed with you executing this plan, guilt plagued you like slow spreading poison.

So, what was the situation where Caleb would have to use his gloves regardless of his internal conflict?

A situation where he needed to protect someone.

You had established this before. Caleb had a carefree attitude even in the most perilous situations, was the type to joke around even when the tension was thick, was the type to wear a smile even when the odds weren't on his side, and was the type to come off as reckless and thoughtless during operations. Of course, Caleb knew the repercussions of not wearing his gloves; but he didn't care if he was the one facing the repercussions. But, if someone else's safety was in the picture, it becomes a different story.

Meaning, if you placed yourself in danger...

I hate myself for doing this. But I seriously can't think of another way. It's not like I can talk no jutsu him.

By the time you closed the distance between you and Caleb, the irregular apparition was already in action. Stretching it's mouth unnaturally wide, it let out an earthquake inducing bellow. The volume was loud, but the pitch wasn't an issue––unlike abnormal apparitions––so covering your ears was sufficient protection. Though, your head did spin a little afterwards.

The apparition resembled a beast on all fours and it's agile movements resembled a spider. Momentarily, your body froze in fear, but you snapped out of it when Caleb turned to you.

His eyes widened. "Miss support? Why––no, that's not important right now. You need to get out––"

He was cut off when the irregular apparition crawled towards you, it's legs moving disturbingly fast. With speed your eyes struggled to follow, Caleb rushed to protect you. Extending one arm out to shield your body, the other sent a blast that stunned the apparition. You gulped, heart racing at the intensity of the situation. If things truly went south, then you'd bring Mochi out. However, you'd like to avoid that as much as possible since you would need a very grandiose explanation as to why you didn't use Mochi earlier and got Caleb to protect you instead.

"Miss Support, you need to escape," Caleb said. "I'll hold the apparition off so just run, okay? It'll be nice and easy."

Caleb not wearing his gloves now catalyses his death in the future. You kept repeating that over and over again in your head to push yourself to deceive Caleb.

"I can't, there are more apparitions blocking the exit. A lot of them suddenly appeared and that's how the barrier was broken. Things got messy, Amias went the other direction and I ran in here without a thought."

"So that's how it went..." He looked at your hands. "Picked up my gloves for me, huh?"

"I kind of did it instinctively..."

Caleb stared at the gloves, expression unreadable. The apparition began moving again and he let out a strained chuckle. He took the gloves, whispered a thanks, and put them on. The apparition locked onto Caleb and went to attack him. It's speed was so fast that it became a blurred straight line. Unfazed by it's advances, Caleb sent another explosion at it.

"Aw, did it hurt?" He laughed. "Attacking head on... you're not so smart, huh?"

As if responding to Caleb's taunts, the apparition stretched its mouth open again. This time, you could see a liquid substance dribbling from its teeth and it's jaw stretched so far you were sure it dislocated it.

Caleb looked unamused and a quiet scoff left him. "This was what I lost to?" When Caleb made a move to crack his knuckles, he paused when he looked at his gloves. His fingers glazed over the tips, tempted to pull the fabric off, but stopped himself. "Let's play for a while, shall we?"

You wanted to tell Caleb to just kill the apparition in one go, but you knew that was futile. At least he had his gloves on, that was a step in the right direction. You recalled the events of the game. Specifically, what happened after Caleb exorcised the apparition.

"Alright, that's the last apparition down. I'm getting pretty good at this." You looked at Amias on the screen and smiled. "Good job, you worked hard. Now, let's go find Caleb."

When Amias approached the scene, Caleb's back was turned to him. He was unnaturally quiet and seemed to be focused on something.

A selection of dialogues appeared and you choose the first one.

"Caleb are you okay?" Amias asked.

"Oh, you're back. Impeccable timing if I do say so myself."

Then, the game entered an animated cutscene. The screen directed to Caleb's hands and you almost let out a gasp. A faint sizzling sound and streams of smoke came from Caleb's hands; his palms looked like they had experienced third degree burn.

"Caleb! What happened? Where are your gloves?" Amias frantically looked around, but he couldn't find them. "Here, take mine for now."

"Hm, I might've gone too far..." Caleb shrugged. "But it was fun."

"Caleb?"

"Oh, were you saying something?"

"Yes! Your hands––"

"Don't worry, don't worry. They're just a lil beaten up. A few minutes of rest and they'll be good as new."

Amias was doubtful of Caleb's words. "They're not fine, Caleb. Please wear my gloves for now. Your hands need cooling as soon as possible."

Caleb shrugged and took the gloves. "Sure, I guess." He gestured up ahead. "My gloves are over there, by the way."

The animated cutscene ended and you were in control of Amias again. As you hurried to retrieve Caleb's gloves, the game forced you to stop moving when it showed the destruction caused by Caleb's fight with the apparition. The ground was split apart and there was also a large crater in the centre. There laid the irregular apparition; it's body had several portions blown off and disjointed, but it was still alive. Weak and croaked screams escaped it.

"Beautiful, right?" Caleb laughed.

Amias looked disturbed. "Why... didn't you finish it off in one..."

"Whoops, are you squeamish? Sorry, sorry. I'll do it now."

Caleb gathered his ability in his palm, but his movements suddenly stopped and he let out a quiet groan. A stinging sensation ran up his entire arm and he felt it slightly going numb. Ah... he expected something like this to happen, but to experience it was something else.

"You're hurt," Amias said. "Don't worry, I'll do it––"

"No." Caleb's voice was uncharacteristically stern. "I started it and I'll end it as well."

Caleb ignored the pain in his arm clearing warning him that he was surpassing his limits, and exorcised the apparition. His attempt in masking his pained grunt with a chuckle was unsuccessful, but he still managed to smile at Amias.

"C'mon! We're done here."

The issue wasn't Caleb's lack of strength that caused him to overexert himself, the issue was the fact that he kept dealing consecutive blows at the apparition without the intent to kill it immediately. He played around with it, rationale drowned by his frustrations and mind overridden with the past.

Since he had his gloves on, the repercussions should be minimised. Right?

"..."

It's not enough.

It wasn't that easy or else you wouldn't have felt so restless. It was only a matter of time until Caleb ditched the gloves, he'll figure out a way to protect you even without it. You were just standing here as Caleb fought the apparition. You felt so... useless.

Is this the best I can do for him?

His past, his motivations, his values––you knew them all. Yet, is this the only thing you could do for him? You bit the inside of your cheek in frustration. To you, Caleb was a character you've come to love after long hours of gameplay. To him, you were a girl he met a few months ago.

All of a sudden, Caleb stopped attacking. His gaze glossed over his hands before he turned his back on the apparition and looked directly at you. He looked tired, but not physically.

"Miss support, can I ask you a question?"

Sparing no room for Caleb to continue his small talk, the apparition dashed towards him. Without glancing back, Caleb snapped his fingers and summoned a protective barrier. The apparition collided violently against it, a screech ripping from it as the ground shook at the heavy impact. Momentarily, your attention was stolen by the angered apparition trying to break down Caleb's barrier.

"Have you ever felt so much guilt that you wanted to die?" He tapped his finger on his chin. "Hm...maybe that wasn't the best way to put it. More like, so much guilt you'd die trying to get rid of it?"

Words were caught in your throat. You had so much you wanted to say, but so little you could say. It was as if someone was chained up and you had a wide assortment of keys that could free them, but you couldn't use any of it.

He laughed softly under his breath. "Am I even making sense?"

Cracks began forming on the barrier due to the apparition's repeated attacks. A small fragment flew and cut Caleb's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.

Time was ticking.

Think, (Y/n)! If you mess up here, it's really all over.

Were you doing the right thing here? In fact, what would the right thing look like here?

Desperate, you almost allowed yourself to tell Caleb that you knew about his backstory and that you were, in fact, not from this world. But that would do you a lot more harm than good. Should you use force to stop him? No, you were far far weaker than him. Exorcise the apparition yourself? No, if Caleb doesn't do it himself, then his mind would truly never be at rest.

"You'll be safe even if I don't use my gloves. So..."

Caleb showed you a strained smile. His green eyes were cheerful, but the way his eyebrows subtly furrowed together conveyed sorrow rather than happiness. His voice was light and ebullient, but the slight crack at the end slipped in a sense of hurt.

"...I'm going to act a little childish, okay?"

Caleb's death immediately surfaced in your mind. Back when you played Anomalous, there was a distinct barrier between you and Caleb. That barrier was the fact that Anomalous was a digital world; a video game. Now it wasn't just a video game. The ground you stood on was real, the apparitions you dealt with would lead to death and not just a 'retry' button, and Caleb was a living and breathing person in front of you.

Before you had a chance to say anything, Caleb removed the barrier, took off his gloves, and sent a huge explosion towards the apparition within a split second. The apparition screamed in pain and Caleb's eyes narrowed in satisfaction as a grin crept upon his lips.

You yelled at him to stop, but the sound of your voice was drowned out with the apparition's screams and attacks. Though, even if Caleb had heard you, you were certain he wouldn't listen. You rushed to get his gloves, but the wind generating from the apparition and Caleb's abilities was pushing you back. The ground began breaking underneath and you had to bring up an arm to shield your face from the debris flying your way.

You cursed under your breath. Should you bring out Mochi? No, that would only unnecessarily drain your energy. Could you gather strength from the apparitions surrounding you? No as well, they were caught in Caleb's cross fire and were all exorcised. Bring out the irregular apparition you recently grabbed a hold of? Definitely not. That was asking for another stresser in an already highly stressful situation.

Where... where did you go wrong?

Should you have talked to Caleb more? But what could you have said that wasn't stepping out of line or would further deter him from listening to you?

Could you have talked to Elias or Sara about your worries? No. Not only would they be suspicious of your words, but it wasn't a guarantee you could get them here at the right time and place.

You didn't want to admit it, but...were you naive to think you could change something that was a result of years of unresolved conflict?

Was... was this a hopeless situation from the start?



===



It was pretty easy.

Caleb's footwork was perfect in dodging the apparition's every attack, the timing of his blows effectively stunned it every time, and his movements were light and agile. The more damage Caleb did to the apparition, the desire to increase the intensity of his blows increased.

Doing consecutive shots would recklessly burn his energy as his ability was primarily reliant on ending things with one powerful move.

But, he didn't care.

Caleb felt his hands heat up to where it began to stung; a clear indicator that he was approaching his limit.

Again, he didn't care.

Every scream the apparition let out made Caleb's smile widen further and made the pain building up in his arms meaningless. He was elated to have his opportunity.

But...why do you keep appearing in his mind?

Miss Support doesn't know much about me and I don't know much about her.

The apparition charged at him and he dodged it this time without following up with an attack.

So, why does she look at me like that?

His hands began to tremble from the strenuous use of his ability and he clenched his hands tightly into a fist as if to scold his body. "Why am I hesitating?"

I don't want anyone to know anything about me. I don't need anyone to feel anything for me.

Caleb raised his hand to deal another blow, but something caused him to dodge the apparition again without attacking.

Why do I...

Caleb's eyes briefly glanced over to you. Seeing your distressed expression, his hands moved on their own and dealt a powerful blow, one he did not intend to do. A blinding flash of green light engulfed the entire apparition. When the smoke cleared up, there was nothing of it.

Ah, he had exorcised the apparition.



===



Though you didn't want to leave your sights off Caleb, you had to shut your eyes when a blinding explosion was set off. Opening your eyes, you automatically searched for Caleb. When you spotted him, you rushed over to his side whilst also almost tripping over the cracks in the ground when you bent down to pick up his gloves.

Caleb was barely able to turn around before you grabbed his hands. The male fluttered his eyes in surprise at your advance, but made no efforts to resist. Instead, he observed you curiously while you were busy checking the state of his hands. Thin wisps of smoke came from the tips of his fingers, his skin was lightly coloured red, and you could feel the heat from his palms. It wasn't as bad as what was shown in the game.

"Caleb, can you make a fist with your hands?"

You were so worried for him that you didn't notice that Caleb was uncharacteristically quiet. He did as you asked without any issues.

"Hm, there's a little bit of trembling in them, but not at a concerning level..." you mumbled.

You were surprised that Caleb exorcised the apparition so soon. You didn't know why, but you were thankful for it nonetheless.

I think his hands should be fine, but if he were to push himself too hard again... Well, there shouldn't be any other encounters Caleb had any emotional strings attached to. But, what if something were to happen? What if––

"Miss Support, no need to look so serious." Caleb playfully flicked your forehead before taking the gloves you were holding. He slipped them on and showed it off to you. "See? It turned out fine. Now, give me a smile!"

Stunned by his sudden cheerful behaviour, you clumsily gave him an awkward smile, to which he laughed at.

"Oh, by the way. Not that I'm complaining, but..." He grinned. "You're still holding my hand."

"Wh–you just let go of them to show the gloves and then you held them again."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

You turned around with a sigh, letting go of his hands. "We should get going. Amias is by himself fighting apparitions."

"Aw, you let go." He pouted. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything."

You and Caleb began leaving the area. Though, before you completely left it behind, you snuck one last glance at the place where Caleb exorcised the apparition. There was nothing left of its presence besides a small crater, an indicator of Caleb's terrifying firepower.

Things progressed differently and had a much more favourable outcome compared to the original plot. Caleb exorcised the apparition and didn't do irreversible damages to his hands.

You should be relieved, you should be at least a little proud of yourself for changing the plot.

But , honesty, you felt more uncertain if anything.

Caleb suddenly spoke up. "Are you wondering why I suddenly decided to stop?"

His words caught you off guard. "Do you mean––"

"I was planning to have a lot more fun with that... thing. But I accidentally ended it all in one go."

You were silent for a moment. "...Why?"

Caleb stopped walking and smiled; it was a cheerful smile and it unsettled you how you couldn't tell how he was truly feeling under it.

"It was because you looked sad."