Samael opened his eyes as he felt the sun on his face.
He slowly turned his head… and saw Elizabeth sleeping beside him.
She looked exhausted.
The night before, she had spent a great deal of essence. It was no surprise that she was completely out.
Samael recalled what she had said before falling asleep… and felt a flicker of curiosity.
He hadn't known it was possible for someone to be missing only certain emotions.
He had heard of psychopathy—the near-total absence of emotion—but something partial like that… it was new to him.
Was there even a name for it?
Voices coming from the tent interrupted his thoughts.
The others were waking up.
That was when he realized the situation he was in: lying on the beach, beside a sleeping girl.
Samael's heart raced.
No. Not again.
He tried to wake Elizabeth quickly.
— Damn it… this never happened with Terror-chan… — he cursed inwardly.
"Hey… Elizabeth. Wake up," he called.
No response.
She was in a deep sleep.
Samael stretched out his hand to shake her… but hesitated before touching her. His hand began to tremble.
He took a deep breath.
Just do it.
He touched her and gently shook her.
"Hey. Wake up."
Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes, revealing lavender irises still clouded with sleep.
"What…?" she muttered, clearly irritated.
"The others are waking up. It'll be awkward if they see us like this," Samael explained.
She frowned.
"Why did I sleep on the beach?"
"I don't know…" he replied. "All of a sudden, you said you were sleepy…"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Something… vanished.
As if the words that should have followed had simply disappeared from his mind.
"What are you two doing?" Henry asked.
He was accompanied by Summer, Mason, and Kevin.
Samael sensed the presence of the last one and frowned.
"Who are you?" he asked, looking directly at Kevin.
Kevin blinked, then smiled.
"What did you say, Samael?"
Samael raised a hand to his head.
"I don't know…" he replied, confused. "I don't remember."
Henry sighed, clearly losing his patience.
"So… what were you doing?" he asked again, his tone harsher.
"Nothing," Elizabeth replied, standing up.
"But—" Henry tried to protest.
"I already said it was nothing," she cut him off.
Her mood was terrible. The headache was intense.
Samael also stood up and immediately followed Elizabeth.
He could feel Henry's uncomfortable gaze on his back. He didn't like Mason, and Summer seemed glued to Henry like a tick.
As for Kevin…
Samael didn't know what to think.
He kept following Elizabeth. He was still trying to fit in, and after the conversation the night before, he felt more comfortable around her.
Even if she was taking her bad mood out on him for following her.
"Why are you following me?" Elizabeth asked, glaring at him.
"I haven't really fit in yet," Samael replied.
"So you're going to stick to me all day because of that?" she questioned.
Samael didn't answer.
Being close to the other members was extremely uncomfortable. Besides, he was injured, couldn't hunt… and there was that strange feeling.
"I've got an uncomfortable feeling," he finally said.
"So do I," Elizabeth added without hesitation.
"Hey… what are you two talking about?" Kevin asked, approaching.
"I don't know," Samael replied. "Do you?"
He looked at Elizabeth.
"No," she answered.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Something was wrong.
Samael felt a deep discomfort… but couldn't tell why.
"Hey, Summer," he called.
She was trying to strike up a conversation with Henry. She seemed oddly clingy. She hadn't given that impression the day before.
"Hi," she replied distractedly.
"Can you heal me again?" Samael asked. "Most of my body has recovered, but my arm still feels strange."
"What a pain… I was having such a good conversation," Summer complained.
Even so, she started healing him.
Samael watched her behavior.
She's strange…
"What was I thinking again…?" he suddenly wondered, unable to remember.
"All done," Summer said when she finished.
She immediately went back to pestering Henry.
Even Mason was different.
Too quiet. Isolated. He looked… depressed.
Samael didn't know him well enough to draw conclusions.
Henry was more sullen than the day before.
Elizabeth was clearly in a bad mood.
And he himself…
Samael was strange too.
More sensitive. More paranoid.
Whenever he moved away from Elizabeth, he felt uneasy.
There were only two names that didn't trigger that strange sensation when he thought of them: Layla… and Elizabeth.
His emotional dependence felt stronger.
This… is wrong.
Very wrong.
Then, a thought surfaced.
Terror-chan…
Samael frowned.
What was I thinking again…?
Suddenly, it made sense.
"Hey," he called Elizabeth.
"What?" she replied, utterly impatient.
"I want to go to my old base," Samael said.
"For what?" Elizabeth asked.
"I can make Memories from the bones of a fallen Terror," he explained. "They could be useful to the group."
Elizabeth hesitated.
"That's true…" she murmured. "What a headache…"
She pressed a hand to her temple.
"But we can't send you alone."
"Hey, Summer. Go with him," she ordered.
"I'm not going. I want to stay with Henry," Summer replied immediately.
"And Mason's depressed, with Kevin looking after him," Elizabeth added.
Samael frowned.
"Why don't you go with me?" he asked.
"Which part of 'I'm dying from a headache' didn't you understand?" Elizabeth snapped.
She took a deep breath.
"Walking might even help my head… but staying here will just make it worse."
Then she looked at him irritably.
"Fine, fine. I'll go."
She pointed at Samael.
"But shut up and walk quietly, got it?"
"Okay…" he replied.
"Why are you going with him? I'll go," Henry complained.
"No. Your hostility is written all over your face," Elizabeth replied bluntly.
"Then send Summer. It doesn't have to be you," Henry insisted, irritated.
His jealousy seemed… excessive. Amplified.
"I don't want to," Summer replied immediately.
"Shut up," Elizabeth said, raising her voice.
The group fell silent.
"I'm going," she concluded. "That's final."
Samael felt that strange sensation in his chest again.
Something was pulling at the invisible strings around them.
And he was certain of one thing:
This wasn't normal.