The sleeve stopped being warm.
That was the first thing Haruto noticed.
Not suddenly.
Not dramatically.
At some point while walking—
he reached up.
Touched it.
Normal.
Cold.
Nothing.
He stared for a second.
Then lowered his hand.
Belial noticed.
"…gone?"
Haruto nodded.
"…yeah."
Belial looked forward again.
"…good."
Haruto glanced at it.
"…you sound disappointed."
Belial immediately answered—
"…I'm not."
A pause.
"…I just thought it would last longer."
Haruto stared.
Belial realized what it said.
Then looked away.
Haruto narrowed his eyes.
"…that sentence had history."
Belial ignored him.
They kept walking.
The desert remained the same.
Too open.
Too quiet.
Too much sky.
After a while—
Haruto stopped.
Belial looked over.
"…what?"
Haruto looked around.
Stone.
Sand.
Dry shrubs.
Nothing.
Then—
he sat.
Belial blinked.
"…what are you doing?"
Haruto looked up.
"…resting."
Belial stared.
"…again?"
Haruto nodded.
"…yeah."
Belial looked around.
Confused.
"…but there's nothing here."
Haruto shrugged.
"…and?"
Belial stared.
Haruto looked at it.
"…I'm tired."
Belial blinked.
"…you don't usually stop for that."
Haruto looked away.
"…I know."
Silence.
Then he quietly added—
"…I think I'm starting to understand something."
Belial sat too.
"…what?"
Haruto picked up a stone.
Turned it in his hand.
Thought.
Then said—
"…if I only stop when I find shelter…"
He looked around.
"…then I'm always depending on something that already exists."
Belial stayed quiet.
Haruto nodded once.
Like confirming something to himself.
Then he stood.
Walked a few steps.
Collected stones.
Three.
Then more.
Belial watched.
Haruto stacked them.
Small.
Uneven.
Not useful.
Belial stared.
"…what are you making?"
Haruto looked at the tiny pile.
Thought.
Then shrugged.
"…nothing."
Belial stared harder.
Haruto added another stone.
"…just making this place look slightly less empty."
Belial watched.
Haruto adjusted one.
Then sat beside it.
Done.
It wasn't shelter.
Didn't block wind.
Didn't matter.
Belial looked at the tiny pile.
Then at Haruto.
"…that's stupid."
Haruto nodded.
"…yeah."
Silence.
The wind passed.
The stones stayed.
Haruto looked at them.
Then smiled slightly.
Small.
Tired.
Real.
Belial looked at him.
"…why?"
Haruto looked ahead.
Thought.
Then quietly said—
"…because if I leave…"
A pause.
"…I want there to be at least one place I chose to stop."
Belial looked at the stones.
Then quietly asked—
"…what if nobody sees it?"
Haruto shrugged.
"…then nobody sees it."
Belial stared.
Haruto looked at the pile.
"…I'll know."
Silence.
Belial looked away.
Haruto noticed.
"…what?"
Belial stayed quiet.
Long enough.
Then—
"…people don't usually do that."
Haruto blinked.
"…stack rocks?"
Belial shook its head.
"…leave things without trying to preserve them."
Haruto looked at the pile.
Thought.
Then laughed quietly.
"…Earth's full of stuff like that."
Belial looked over.
Haruto shrugged.
"…little things."
A pause.
"…notes."
Another.
"…random drawings."
Another.
"…people carving names into desks."
Belial looked at him.
Haruto looked ahead.
"…most of it disappears."
Silence.
Then:
"…that doesn't make it fake."
The wind passed.
The stones remained.
Nothing magical happened.
No warmth.
No reaction.
No strange feeling.
Just stones.
Haruto looked at them.
Satisfied.
Then stood.
Belial looked at the pile one last time.
Then stood too.
They started walking.
After a while—
Belial quietly asked—
"…you're not naming it?"
Haruto looked back.
The tiny stack sat alone.
Small.
Forgettable.
Then he smiled a little.
"…nah."
A pause.
"…if I name it, I'll start expecting it to survive."
Belial looked back too.
Then followed.
They walked.
The pile became smaller.
Smaller.
Smaller.
Until—
Haruto stopped.
Turned.
Belial stopped too.
The pile was gone.
Not faded.
Not erased.
Just too far away to see.
Haruto stared for a second.
Then nodded.
"…good."
Belial looked at him.
Haruto turned forward.
And kept walking.