Chapter 36: Even If It Gets Really Hard

Kairos pulled out the red prism and looked at it from an awkward angle so he didn't have to take off his glasses to look at the other status panel.

[Status]

[ID: 1/10]

[Energy: 967/1000]

[Hide]

Creating those bars with sharp ends had used up a decent amount of energy. Although there was still quite a bit of energy left, he considered this a limited resource as he wasn't sure if there was some other easy way to recharge the energy within.

Once the group got closer to the lake, Kairos let the prism float above his hand.

He first formed the base ground, making it quite large. He wanted there to be enough space for all of them to sleep relatively far from each other and also enough space to store various items that they might've needed. And as such, he made it about as large as the size of a small house.

From there, he created walls that were three meters high and closed them off.

After that, Kairos looked at the energy used up.

[Energy 740/1000]

Chase walked around the place and raised an eyebrow.

"Where is the doorway?"

Kairos clicked his tongue.

"I'm working on it, alright? It's a little finicky making this thing."

He then made a doorway on the wall that faced the lake by making that section of stone sink down. But his eyes were suddenly attracted to the status panel.

[Energy 737/1000]

It took a few points of energy to get rid of the door.

Kairos furrowed his brows. It would probably be best to not have an empty doorway, but it was best if he did not use the energy of the prism to constantly remove and restore the door.

After a bit of deliberation, he thought of something. He used the prism to create a rectangular frame within the house and made it be supported by an inclined plane. This way, they had a pseudo door they could push over to block the gap.

It wasn't exactly the ideal way to have a door, but it should be better than nothing

Kairos massaged his temple.

"Alright, let's get in finally."

The group filed into the place. However, the first thing that they noticed was that the place was really dark. And that was with the lightning that came from the door.

If they closed off the door as well, it would essentially be complete darkness.

Chase let out a soft hum.

"It somewhat feels like I am in my mother's womb. But not in a good way."

Kairos furrowed his brows.

"...If I create windows, that also creates openings where we will be vulnerable. Maybe we can try to light up torches and make tiny holes above them to get rid of the smoke?"

Chase rubbed his chin.

"I'm not going to gather the branches. Especially not after dealing with the thing you just killed."

Kairos massaged his temple with the tip of his finger.

"How about I raise the ceiling a bit and then get rid of the roof altogether."

Chase frowned.

"Then what if something like the red rain comes once more? We should either do the thing with the torches or just live in the darkness."

Kairos nodded with a sigh.

"...Let's do that tomorrow then. We can just push aside the door for light. We should be able to take a break for at least one day."

Chase shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose so."

Sydney's legs were trembling fiercely. She bent her knee in an attempt to sit down, but collapsed entirely in the process, crumpling to the floor. It seemed that while she had been standing this entire time, Sydney was actually exhausted.

She ended up falling asleep right there.

Kairos let out a soft sigh before sitting down himself. He began eating the various foods that he had brought, while Chase and Tori followed the same example. As for Nicole, she nibbled a little. It did not take Kairos long to realize that the amount he was eating was far more than normal. Perhaps by the second day, he would no longer have any food left in his bag left to eat.

...If they still had the food Harold was carrying, they would be in a much better situation.

This inevitably led to a bit of anxiety, but he decided to deal with it tomorrow. He remained firm in his decision to evolve despite the hunger it caused, especially because of the enemies they wouldn't have been able to face if not for that.

Kairos scratched the side of his head.

"...I guess I will take the first watch."

He then turned to the others.

"By the way, we should have it that Chase will accompany one person with the watch while Tori will accompany the other."

Tori raised an eyebrow.

"But-"

She cut herself off as she caught a glimpse of Nicole's trembling figure.

"...Ok."

It did not take long for the others to fall asleep. That is, everybody except for Nicole. She was still sitting upright and hugging her knees. Her eyes drifted towards the outside, towards the last bits of the evening glow.

Kairos sighed.

"You should get some sleep."

Nicole lowered her head slightly.

"...I'm not tired."

Kairos blinked a few times.

"Just try to get some sleep."

Nicole hugged her knees a little tighter.

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"I don't want to sleep."

Kairos blinked a few times.

"...Do you want to take watch then?"

Nicole lifted her head and looked towards him.

"Can't we... talk a little?"

Kairos took a deep breath.

"Alright. But you have to lay down while we do so."

Nicole swallowed.

"Ok."

She was already relatively close, but got a little closer before laying her head down against the floor.

Kairos didn't look at her, but rather the sun that was slowly setting. For quite a while they just remained there in silence. Kairos even ended up sneaking a peek at her, wondering if she had fallen asleep.

However, her eyes were very much open, and also bloodshot.

A small frown rested on Kairos' face.

"What did you want to talk about? We should get it over with quickly so that you can fall asleep."

Nicole blinked a few times, taking a few seconds to get the courage to speak up.

"I..."

She took a deep breath.

"I can't really understand. I just, how did it all happen so fast?"

Nicole was relatively composed at first, but quickly broke down.

"Why is my dad dead? I don't understand."

Kairos did not respond, mostly because he didn't know what he was supposed to say. In the end, he just kept looking out towards the setting sun, listening to her speak.

Nicole rubbed her eye with a finger as tears spilled out.

"He didn't even get to say his last words. He just... just went away."

Kairos brushed his hair back with his hand.

"He decided to save you, even though that meant he would die. While he didn't get to say his last words, he still showed what he meant through his actions."

Nicole covered her face with both hands.

"But it didn't have to be like this, right? I... I could've died instead."

Kairos gradually closed his eyes. He obviously knew that Nicole was going through a lot. After all, having someone die so close in one's life die like that was an extremely traumatic experience.

At the same time, he was wondering what kind of person Nicole would be.

From what he saw in the world, there were people that grew far stronger from the terrible experiences they went through. However, there were also people that broke down completely, no longer able to function as a person.

If Nicole truly broke down, then he would be unwilling to stay with her. Though he did want someone he trusted to watch over him, it was only to a certain extent.

Kairos was rather shaky over Chase and Tori, but would still take that over a broken glass.

It was rather cruel, but he simply saw that as normal.

Though Nicole was essentially Kairos' only friend, he still felt like he was far apart from her. Even when Nicole wrapped her arm around his shoulder, Kairos still felt like he was alone.

This started long ago when Nicole saw Kairos getting bullied.

At the time, Kairos was young and thought that he could reach out to her for help. However, Nicole was too scared to do anything but run away. She still came back to comfort him after the bullies had left.

But Kairos couldn't help but see her in a different light.

It wasn't as though he thought Nicole was obligated to protect or help him. But he used to think that they would help each other through tough times. And Nicole would do that... in a rather strange way.

Kairos could tell that Nicole liked him. He wasn't that dense.

However, he was also a little too smart for his own good.

Because he could notice a few things with how Nicole treated him. She was particularly enthusiastic to talk to him whenever he had just gone through something, comforting him.

However, Kairos could tell that while a bit of it was out of concern, Nicole was trying to take advantage of him when he felt vulnerable.

To get on his good side by using those weak moments.

While Kairos was sad at times, his judgment was hardly ever affected by them. So each time Nicole tried to comfort him, it pissed him off slightly.

It was hard not to feel angry at someone that was trying to be manipulative. Instead of caring through any kind of mood, they would only show up when they thought that one was weak.

This was part of why Kairos just couldn't bring himself to care about Nicole and the suffering she was going through.

It wasn't as though he enjoyed her suffering, but rather, he couldn't bring himself to care.

...But in the end, she was one of the only people willing to help him. And as such, he would still favor her over other people.

And because of that, Kairos thought of a way to give Nicole a little push.

"Your father wanted you to live."

He gave her a glance.

"While he didn't say it, I'm sure that he wanted you to survive with all his heart."

Nicole took a deep breath.

"Yeah... I know."

There was a lost look in her eyes.

"That's why I decided I was going to try to stay alive, even if it gets really hard."

Kairos was slightly taken aback.

"...I'm sure he would be happy to hear that."

Nicole grabbed onto Kairos' hand with both of hers and held on tightly.

"But... it's still so scary. It's all so scary...."

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