"Hey, kid, wake up," a voice spoke. It came from the blackness in front of me, from nothing at all. I felt like I was sitting in a swamp. Something pushed me, but my eyes still wouldn't open. "We can't both be blind. Wake up." A stick hit me in the chest, and I sputtered, covering the spot it hit.
My eyes opened, and I saw we were surrounded by rock walls. A fire was lit in front of us, although I couldn't see more than five meters away. "Damn it, woman!" I spat, though I kept my voice low. The sound of something dripping slowly echoed from far away in the direction we were headed. "Do that again, and I'll-!"
"You'll do nothing, coward." I looked at the woman I hated with all of my heart. She wore a thick coat around her body, though it did nothing to hide her untamed golden mane that went from head to naked toe, covering her face. She stood up, using her stick as a helper. "Come on. We need to move."
"Already? Christ, but we've barely slept. Are you sure your..."
"Yes," she interrupted. Like usual, she wasted no time in heading towards the dripping sound, using her stick to check for bumps and walls. "Hurry up."
"Fine." I stood, packing up the camp, suffocating the fire before taking what firewood was still usable. Everything was gone in three minutes. My stomach rumbled. With a thought, a small spark of flame flew in front of us, lighting the way.
"Are they still after us?" I asked.
She sighed, not stopping as we came to an intersection. "Of course they are. Just like Helios circles this world, they follow us. Any other dumb questions?"
"What happens if you're wrong?"
She stopped, and turned around. Her face flashed for a second, the grey covering her eyes scarring what could've been a beautiful face. "I'm not. This is necessary. Now, will you keep moving, you insolent child?"
"Stop calling me a child," I shot back. "You're only a year older than me."
"How about you stop acting like one?"
"You first!"
"Bastard!"
"Don't you dare call me that!" My voice rose louder than I had intended, and I cursed myself for being so loud. But it was her fault.
I could hear the crunch of her dried lips as she bit them, holding back a retort. "We need to keep moving." She turned back around, moving her feet again.
"Fine." I followed, huffing and crossing my arms. My heart swelled, and I could feel the pulsing increase. At least she was good for yelling at, if only that.
We walked twenty more paces before she made a quiet sound.
"Excuse me?" I leaned forwards, trying to hear her this time.
She placed a hand on the muddy wall, sighing. "I'm sorry for calling you a bastard. It was uncalled for. We're both just upset over our lack of sleep and hunger."
"You got one thing wrong. It's not 'both'. It's just you that's upset."
"The gods were cruel for bringing us together," she muttered.
"Finally, something we agree on."
She tapped her stick against the ground, three times, before speaking again. "What do you call me in your head?"
I fumbled a step, catching myself on the wall. My hand caught in the same groove she made when she apologised. Grimacing, I shook my hand, refusing to get it on my torn clothes. "Woman. You never gave me your name, even though I've asked multiple times."
"See? In your head, you admit I'm not a child, too." She laughed, keeping it down to a level that didn't grate on my ears. "You won't be needing my name. It's almost funny how I've been delaying it. What a useless thing I've done."
We came to the entrance of a large, open room, from what the spark could show me. I made it do a brief scan of the area, and I didn't notice any Demons around. Thank the gods.
"It wasn't nice knowing you these last few weeks, but... my name is-"
Her voice cut off. The spark blew out as something launched down from the ceiling, chomping her upper body in half. Or, at least, it would. It froze in the air, its maw just above her head.
She turned around to face me, and for the first time I'd ever seen her, the hair covering her face was parted, revealing a woman with a soft chin, hollow cheeks, and a face that was covered in grey above her lips. The next words she said were gentle, yet firm. My heart pounded, aching, as her lips cracked apart.
"Don't be sad, Atlas. It's like I never even existed. Move on."
I couldn't open my mouth. My thoughts had stopped, as I felt something cracking.
"You've rested long enough. You need to wake up."