A pair of eyes opened in the shadow. Huge, reptilian things with three layers, a black outer layer that was darker even than the shadow was, a white circular layer surounding an inner black layer shaped in the form of a pentagram like in Gabriel’s eyes, a sign of the pale disease. Gabriel perceived the white of the shadow’s eyes turn green in real time, green like the light before it or like an apple. He perceived the shadow behind those eyes squirm and concoct, as though… as though in pain and Gabriel could just barely perceive that pain, it was muffled to whatever senses he had in this form as though he was being shielded from it but still he felt the echoes and it felt intense. The shadow shut its eyes still in pain after one last roar and Gabriel woke up startled.

  "Good morning Young master, hope you slept well?" the smile on Zhao Bing’s face tightened when he saw the expression on Gabriel’s face “What happened?”

  It took a while for Gabriel to get his bearing and register where exactly he was, he could still feel the vibrations of that last roar in his head. He noticed, it was morning, he was sitting down and moving fast through a forest and that was when he it hit him, the cab had taken them to a train station and they had boarded a train out of Koi province.

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  “I think…. I think I just had a…. bad dream?” he was already forgetting the details of the dream, the only thing that came to mind when he thought on it, was the word 'pain'.

  Zhao nodded “It happens, it must be because of what you went through. It will go in time, for now eat, we will soon get down.”

  Gabriel nodded, pushing the dream to the back of his mind, he dug in to the food that had been collected for him while he slept. Minutes later found Gabriel dumbstruck, staring after the train, as it rode away, the same train they had been on just minutes ago. They had jumped out-fairly easily-using Zhao Bing’s ice coffin.

  “We walk from here” Zhao Bing stated adjusting the traveller's bag, he had bought for this occasion, on his back and began to lead the way, he heard his nephew follow him after a moment with a bag of his own and a bit of grumbling which Zhao Bing soundly ignored.

  They walked between the train tracks and the forest till the sun made its way to the very top of the world and made it too hot to continue, only then did Zhao Bing led them into the forest proper, there they sat on some roots, underneath the shade of trees and snacked on the extra food he had packed, along with the food he brought out a letter and handed it to Gabriel.

  “Should I read it now?” Gabriel asked, clearly hesitant, his uncle shrugged in reply.