"You ever see the people you kill?"

Long trees stretched into infinity, umbral hands causing the shadows cast by branches to extend far beyond what was natural. It reminded Howard of when he and Grigori Sokolov had gone bear hunting last year. It had actually been a year since the whole Bloodmoon Beast incident, which was insane for the admin to think about.

Yet even as the admin's well-worn hiking boots squelched into the mud, Howard felt a disconnect with this world that he had once experienced. He clenched a hand exquisitely carved and clenched it.

"Do you ever dream of them?" Howard uttered as they walked. For him, this was a mere moment of recollection. "Are you even capable of dreaming, my faithful shield, or did you discard that on your way to find enlightenment through swordsmanship?"

Faint lights flickered through the trees. Ghosts grew near.

The archaeologist was afraid, yet unconcerned. His eye fell upon Tsubame, unblinking.

---

Aoki Hana