Soft warmth touched Ren's face, causing him to frown, opening his eyes only to be met with sunlight, making him squint, blinded.
"Agh! So bright… huh? Daylight?"
Getting used to the light, Ren took a look around and found the same never-ending forest as before, only this time, instead of the ominous, dark, and chilling wind, he was met with a soft breeze and gentle light.
The vibrant green leaves swayed in the wind, just like when he first woke up. Looking ahead, he peered into the opening where they had fought the monster the previous night, and to his surprise, there wasn't a corpse.
In fact, there weren't any signs of battle. The oddity caused him to ponder for a couple of moments before looking down; he found that his cloak was being used as a blanket.
His memory felt blurry after the fight, and he could only remember moving to a tree to rest. As he grew more and more focused, the blurry memories started to become clearer.
'Right, we were too tired to move after the fight, and since we didn't hear any monsters, we rested here.'
A soft breath from the side caught his attention.
"Aria?"
Aria was leaning on Ren's shoulder, sleeping, before squinting at his call. Letting out a "Hnng" sound, she slowly opened her eyes, meeting his that were centimeters away.
'Whoa, she's…'
'He's close.'
"Ren?"
He smiled at her, looking up to the sky.
"Look, it's daytime."
Following his gaze, she stared at the blue sky and bright sunlight, focusing on the swaying leaves for a couple of moments before nodding in slight relief.
"We actually survived?"
"Surprising, right? But we might have to prepare for the next night."
Since they were only here for a day, they didn't know if monsters appeared every night or if they were just incredibly unlucky and the monsters appeared on that specific night.
"Next night?"
As the words lingered, the two could only grimace. Although they were given a fresh chance at life, they were already near death's doorstep!
While Ren studied the sky, Aria sighed, noticing her staff lying nearby and reaching out to grab it before quickly stopping.
"Hiek! R-Ren!"
Ren's eyes focused as questions flashed. Could there have been a problem? Did she see something he didn't? Was there a monster nearby? Or worst of all, was she fatally injured?
"What is it?"
Turning, Ren found Aria with a face full of pain, but she wasn't in any danger, causing him to sigh with relief, realizing why she had that expression.
"Ren… I'm sore!"
She couldn't move, her eyes tearing up from the pain. Since Ren also couldn't move, he could only smile with sympathy a pity forming in his eyes.
"Me too, Aria, me too."
Despite the painful expression, she didn't seem to be bothered by it, massaging her hands with curiosity.
"I can only move my hands. It feels so unfamiliar."
As ranks increased, so did the capabilities of the body; muscles became stronger, and the mind grew sharper. For people like Aria and Ren, who were of a high rank, it wasn't often that they were overexerting themselves physically.
"You should get used to it, Aria, if we want to rank up again."
"I know, I know."
But soon after agreeing with Ren's words, Aria wore a forlorn expression, making him ask with concern.
"Is something wrong?"
Aria's gaze turned to his face before looking to the forest leaves and then slightly clouded blue sky.
"Ren, do we really need to rank up?"
He stared at her for a couple of moments before nodding.
"If we want to survive, we have to rank up and get stronger, right?"
"I know that, but when you said 'rank up', you mean back to our original strength, right?"
They had reached grand heights in their original lives, reaching a world affecting Rank 8. To save a world, reaching such a rank was required, yet now that their world's were saved or more specifically destroyed, they didn't have a reason to work so desperately anymore.
"Aren't you tired, Ren?"
Having known each other for decades, the two developed an understanding, and certain traits became apparent between them, some very similar.
That was their stubbornness in not showing weakness. Yet as the years went by, they started sharing more and more, using the pseudonyms Mr. Night and Ms. Star to ease the guilt of dumping their burdens on each other.
"Why do you think I am tired? "
"Ren… I know, because I'm tired as well."
After decades of fighting desperately to survive and save the world, it would be odd if they weren't tired.
Saving the world, the process was simple in its idea: kill or stop the big bad and live happily ever after, right?
That was on top of the fact that Aria and Ren understood the game they were sent to, knowing secret easter eggs and resources.
But the process was far from easy; sometimes sacrifices were made, sometimes they couldn't save a important person. They felt regret in these moments, thinking: If I were stronger or maybe braver, could things have changed?
Most of all, they were far from perfect. How could they remember every single thing from when they played the game? It wasn't as if they spent their entire lives playing the games they were sent in.
They questioned themselves about whether they were worthy of their goals and ambitions. They weren't rewarded for what they had gone through; of course, they didn't want to be rewarded, they saved because they could and wanted to.
'But there is never a perfectly heroic person.'
There was always a limit to a person's willpower, especially average earthlings like Ren and Aria. At first, the two always wondered why they transmigrated instead of someone stronger, like a soldier.
As they ranked up higher and higher, they got stronger in not just the mind but the body as well, but they also experienced more and more things that withered their psyche.
Ren understood what Aria wanted to convey, nodding.
"I guess I am tired, but I still have people to help."
"People to help? We haven't met anyone yet."
Ren smiled, looking at Aria. Sensing his gaze, she turned and stared back, narrowing her eyes.
"Ren, I don't need your concern; I can take care of myse-"
"Then what about your goal to return to Earth?"
Ren cut her off, mentioning one of the reasons she desperately saved her world. It was the desire to return home to Earth. Ren continued,
"Aria, I don't have any family left. Whether it be on the destroyed Abyss or back on Earth. But you do, right? Your parents."
Her eyes glowed at his words, turning to face the sky before shaking her head.
"But it's been nearly an entire century; they aren't alive anymore."
"Then are you giving up?"
The phrase lingered in Aria's mind, after a certain point in her journey, giving up had been something she always thought about.
The parents who always worried for her and the friends that she made after such a long time, they had probably passed away.
Yet she felt that she couldn't give up, and that was because of the person sitting next to her. Part of it was because of the emotional support his messages brought her, as well as the useless hope that maybe, just maybe, Earth hadn't changed in the slightest.
Another part was more twisted, the thought that someone else was going through the same thing as her calmed her. It was a thought that always created a feeling of guilt inside her.
'Does he think the same?'
Aria smiled bitterly before replying to his question.
"Ren, I haven't given up. I've just accepted that returning isn't possible anymore."
"Aria…"
Before Ren could say anything, Aria's hand squeezed his. It was an indication that she didn't want to talk about it anymore, causing Ren to shut his mouth. She then spoke softly.
"Plus, living a new life might not be that bad, right?"
"Living, huh? Yeah, that doesn't sound so bad."