All this time, I don't speak to him. No matter how much he's trying to get my attention, I pretend he's not there. Even when he offers me food, I refuse it if it comes from his hand. Instead, I wait until he puts it down before picking it up. Of course, that elicits more words from him about how foolish I am, but it's safe to say I'm long used to that word by now.

It's on the second day that we finally see the complex in sight. My body is already on the verge of giving up, keenly feeling the effects of the long journey and the lack of assistance from Ze. But as the image of him carrying me on his back from before appears in my mind, I scowl.

Not worth it, remember?

As we arrive at the complex, I note the presence of other teams on the sidelines, all staring at us as we head to our apartment building. I keep my head high, ignoring the jibes I hear, the word human being spat around as if it were the worst condition in existence.

I guess Ze is not the only one who has a certain distaste for humans.

Ze trails at my back, always a few paces behind me.

Luckily, just as my legs are about to give up on me, we reach our suite. Opening the door and stepping inside the apartment, my eyebrows go up in question as we spot Thea and Cer in the living room, looking mighty cozy together on the couch.

"You're finally back!" Thea exclaims when she spots us, jumping up and hurrying to me.

"We are," I strain a smile. "How was your quest? Did you get the plants?"

"Of course. We killed some competition on the way too." She flashes me a smile. "Well, Cer did. I just told him who to kill." She chuckles.

"We got our plant too. I don't think we have much longer, so we should get the brew ready," I mention, but Thea doesn't hear me as she stops in front of Ze, her eyes going wide with shock.

"What happened to you?" she asks, pointing at his eyes. "Why are they purple?"

Cer moves stealthily, his expression worried as he stops by Ze's side.

They share a look, almost as if they're communicating without words. I wonder if it has anything to do with the demons we spotted in the forest.

"It is how they are now," Ze slowly replies.

"You mean it's permanent? But how? That's impossible. I've never heard of something like that," Thea continues.