I take a seat on a boulder at the peak of the cliff, unpacking some of our remaining snacks in front of me. Ze's a few meters away, standing tall and mighty and doing his best not to glance my way as I munch on a nut bar. His attention is focused on the forest, and I assume he's trying to be alert in case of an attack.

Clearing my throat, I call out to him.

"Ze? You should come and eat something."

He turns sharply to me, his lips compressed into a thin line.

Does this man ever get hungry? I can count on one hand the times I've seen him eat, and we've been by each other's side for days in a row.

"I am not hungry," he replies in a dry tone before turning his back to me.

"You've barely eaten anything. You must be hungry."

"I am not hungry, human," he grits out.

"Come eat something." I put on a hesitant smile as I beckon him closer, waving the bar in my hand at him.

He half turns, his brow raised as he looks from me to the nut bar.

"Pretty please? I'll give you an extra point."

He blinks, his ears suddenly perking up.

"An extra point?" he repeats, already walking toward me. Without saying another word, he takes the bar from my hand, peels the wrapper, and bites into it.

"Tell me you're not mad at me," I say as I lean into him, rubbing my shoulder against him playfully.

He frowns.

"What are you on about with this nonsense again, human? Why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know." I shrug. "You've been ignoring me for the last few hours. If I did something wrong, please tell me so I can fix it," I add hesitantly.

"I was not ignoring you," he states, and I detect no falsehood. "I was just ruminating."

"Oh." I gulp. "About what?"

"About our conversation. About our friendship." His face screws up in disgust as he utters the word.

"And?" I ask anxiously. I can't help but think that I did or said something wrong.

He's about to answer when something else grabs his attention. Eyes flashing with determination, he grabs my hand, pulling me into his arms right as a static noise permeates the air.

"Quiet," he whispers in my hair, keeping me close as he glances at the bottom of the canyon. I follow his gaze to a bluish swirling mass of air in the shape of a sphere. The color becomes increasingly more pronounced, and as a loud thud echoes through the valley, a mangled foot steps out of it. Soon after, the owner of that foot makes its appearance—a monstrous demon like the one we encountered at the theatre. And he's not alone.

He steps out of the portal, leaving way for another demon to come after him. And another.