2 Life and Death

Mors looked at Vita, trying to observe her behavior while feeling something weird in his chest. 

His usual calm and moving heart seemed to be whispering something to him, although he could not get it. 

Looking at Vita somehow made him confused, the feeling of his heart slightly beating made him want to stand there staring at her forever.

'Is this weird feeling going to change if I did?'

If he gazes at her like that forever, will this strange feeling get stronger or fade away? 

Since the day he gained the ability to remember things, he always felt empty, serene, uncaring about his surroundings. 

Animals, creatures, and other beings were bound to meet their inevitable death whenever they came near him. 

Yet, he could not feel anything. 

People screamed in fear, some people shivered, and others lashed at him while begging for their lives. 

But what did he feel towards this all? 

Nothing at all, and while observing how other people would react, he realized he was somewhat unique. 

Now, facing this frail flower, he felt something for the first time in forever. 

"Who are you?" Mors asked softly, trying to not scare the flower in front of him as he noticed how she was trembling. 

The flower in front of him gulped and took a step back, her fear obvious to the naked eye. 

It was not the first time Mors had to face this, so he tried to call the ivies back in hope for this frail flower to calm down. 

He just wanted an answer. 

However, what happened was the complete opposite of his thoughts. 

Instead of answering, Vita stumbled and ran as fast as she could, her tears that were carried by the wind and landed on Mors' face, making him tilt his head before mumbling, "Tears are warm."

Although disappointed for not receiving any answers, Mors was not truly bothered, he just watched as that small flower escaped him desperately. 

"Vita…" 

That was the name he would never forget. 

Meanwhile for Vita, she cried silently while escaping as fast as she could, she stumbled a few times, but she swallowed her pain and pushed herself forward. 

'No, no, no! I can't be caught, what was that even?!'

She screamed in her head while trying to not look around her. She looked forward only, hoping to see the vibrant colors of the forest as soon as possible. 

Her heartbeats were still erratic as she pushed her way through the black bushes and the other withered planets. 

Hearing how loud the noise of her footsteps on the dried leaves was not helping her. 

'Just, please, get me out of here…!' 

Due to her desperation, she closed her eyes and started to move even faster despite how she could feel her body urging her to stop. 

Eventually, she ended up falling down, and as she heaved her breaths, she opened her eyes slowly. 

What greeted her was the beautiful sight of the lively forest, with the colorful leaves and the warm atmosphere. 

The tears that were falling out of fear and desperation turned into relieved tears, and Vita curled on herself while trying to calm herself down. 

"Ah… I'm safe…" She mumbled in disbelief while pressing on her chest, feeling how her heart was still beating so fast. 

Although, a question came to her immediately after, 'How did I escape from that god?'

Or, to be more specific, why was a god there? In the Forbidden Areas nonetheless. 

As much as she wanted to know these answers, she could not figure it out by herself, which made her sigh softly before trying to put herself together and stand up. 

"Umm…"

She whimpered a bit before standing up carefully while leaning on a strong tree trunk. 

She let out another breath before finding something strange. 

The usual warm wind of the forest was calmer than usual, and instead of them, she could feel a cold breeze nearing her. 

Getting goosebumps, Vita turned around, only to be shocked speechless by what she saw. 

After staring unblinkingly for a while, she opened her lips with hesitation, "...Butter?"

In front of her, a silhouette of the butterfly from before floated in front of her. Although it was clearly a mixture of its body that crumbled earlier. 

Vita's eyes shone as her lips tilted up before reaching out to touch it gently with its index finger, "Don't worry, Butter…"

She closed her eyes before opening them again, exposing her red irises turning to a silver shade along with her finger emitting a soft light, "...Me gonna fix ya."

Upon making contact with the crumbled body of the butterfly, the light slowly got stronger and a soft 'hnnn' noise sounded around. 

Vita's smile grew bigger as she watched the light slowly connecting the crumbles of her butterfly's body before the colors slowly came back as well. 

The fiery pattern, the vibrant colors, and finally, the butterfly herself fluttering her wings and twirling around Vita's head, making her chuckle happily. 

"You're alive again! Hahahah~"

As if understanding her, the butterfly landed on her nose and fluttered her wings twice, apparently showing her agreement and gratefulness. 

Vita was about to immerse herself in her newfound happiness before stopping abruptly as a question struck her, "But, weren't your body with that god…?"

So how come she could see the butterfly here? 

Vita felt that this was not a coincidence, but she also did not want to dive so deep into it, which made her shake her head and signal the butterfly to follow her. 

"Let's go back, Butter. Staying alone is becoming uncomfortable."

The butterfly obediently followed, and the little girl along with the butterfly slowly walked away from the Forbidden Area, unaware of the gaze that was following them. 

The gaze's owner was none other than Mors, who heaved a soft sigh before turning around and laying in the midst of the black and gray bushes. 

'So she can laugh too.'

Mors closed his eyes as Vita's sweet laughter kept ringing into his ears.