Celestia stared at Ice, dumbfounded. She couldn't understand how he could even consider eating that thing. With its thick scales, jagged teeth, and foul stench, not once had she imagined it might become their next meal.
"Are you serious?" she asked, blinking in disbelief as she watched him walk toward the monster's corpse.
"Do you see any other options?" he replied without turning back.
Celestia wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. She didn't have the luxury to be picky.
This forest had no vegetation; just endless trees, no bushes, no grass, not even weeds. The chance of finding anything remotely edible was close to zero.
She sighed and stood up to follow him. Ice grabbed his sword and approached the monster. He had no idea how to skin such a creature, especially not with a sword of that size but he had to try.
Clumsily, he managed to remove its hide, hacking away until the flesh was exposed. Then he began separating the meat into pieces, cutting away anything that looked remotely edible. Surprisingly, there wasn't as much usable meat as he'd expected, considering the creature's massive size.
Still, there was enough. If they rationed it properly, it could last them a few weeks.
While he practiced his crude butchering skills, Celestia stood nearby, crouched down, watching him with an unreadable expression.
"Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of evil genius," Ice muttered. "Go prepare a fire or something."
Celestia smiled faintly and shrugged. "Can't I just admire the skills of the supreme butcher?"
Ice raised an eyebrow. "Supreme butcher… you know what, I don't even want to ask."
Once the work was done, he searched Ray's clothes for the lighter he had used to light his torch earlier. This time, he found it easily. Together, he and Celestia gathered wood, built a fire, and finally began the task of cooking the meat.
About thirty minutes later, they were ready to taste what would likely become their staple food for the foreseeable future. Ice cut two chunks of meat and handed one to Celestia, who eyed it as if it were a cursed object.
Ice, on the other hand, didn't hesitate. He bit into the meat without expecting much, especially considering how he'd cooked it. But strangely enough, it was edible. Almost... good.
Or maybe it just seemed that way because he was starving and his only reference point was Ray's disgusting, gelatinous food. Seeing him devour his portion so eagerly, Celestia reluctantly followed his lead.
"Let's hope it's not poisonous," Ice said casually, still chewing.
Celestia let out a weary sigh, already used to his bleak humor. "Did you really have to say that out loud?"
Ice let out a laugh, and the two continued talking until footsteps approached, followed by a familiar voice.
"To think he was about to kill us just a few hours ago… and now we're about to eat him."
It was Ray. He was walking toward them, holding his shoulder but otherwise moving without difficulty.
Ice smiled and began cutting a piece of meat for him. "Glad to see you back in one piece."
Ray accepted the piece she handed him and sat down with a grunt. "Yeah… I'm still trying to figure out how he didn't get us," he said, shaking his head.
Celestia placed a hand over her face and sighed dramatically. "Are all boys like this? Talking about nearly dying like it's some kind of joke?"
That only made Ice and Ray burst into laughter, which clearly irritated her even more. Noticing the way she glared at them and how she was ready to hurl her piece of meat in their direction, Ray wisely decided to change the subject.
He rolled his eyes and said, "Anyway, Ice… we've been here for hours."
Ice immediately understood what he meant. His expression grew serious.
"Yeah. And the sun hasn't moved an inch," he said, glancing up at the sky.
Ray followed his gaze, then sighed.
"Looks like we won't have night here either."
Just as there was nothing but darkness in the Paradoxal Double Moon zone, it seemed this area; the Repentant Zone would be forever trapped in daylight.
Still, this place was far less hostile. At least they could see where they were going, and the temperature was comfortable thanks to the dense canopy of trees.
But that didn't change the reality of their situation. They were no closer to escaping, and time was ticking in a very different way here. The weight of Ray's earlier words; 5,600 years was beginning to press down on all of them.
"So, when are we leaving?" Ice asked, glancing at Ray's injured arm.
Ray rotated his shoulder a few times, testing the movement.
"As soon as we've rested. We'll head back out."
Ice gave him a tired grin. "Perfect. We've got 5,600 years of history to shatter, after all."
They all chuckled faintly, though exhaustion was clearly catching up with them. This time, they chose not to set up a watch. Ray was still recovering, and Ice was far too tired. As for Celestia, she agreed to rely on her heightened hearing for the night.
None of them had truly rested since waking up in this strange world.
Leaning against the nearest trees, they slowly allowed themselves to drift into sleep.
Tomorrow, they would resume their search for freedom.