DRIVING FORCE

After returning from the dungeon, the duo discovered the others had gone to the living area a while ago. The fact that Neal had not recovered from been strangled back then, only slowed their journey back.

As the two entered the safe zone, red particles could be seen coming into Neal's injuries, causing some form of warmth to develop in them, along with a stinging feeling.

"What are they doing?" Neal asked.

"Well anytime we enter this place, our injuries are usually healed up by them. Judging by the injuries you have, it should be fully healed a few hours from now."

After a nod from Neal, the two fell in silence once again. Evans knew very well that he was still shaken from what had happened back then. The issue was what could he possibly say to him to fix everything?

"Neal, listen. I know you.." he spoke only to be interrupted.

"Don't worry about me. What happened back there was just a wake up call. It just showed me how weak and pathetic I am. It's just like Xavier said. I am useless after all," Neal expressed his thoughts with a rueful smile escaping his face. "However, I won't give up just yet. I just need to train more until I can kill a Lizard man on my own."

As the brief conservation ended, Neal left him behind, trudging all the way back home. Evans who looked on, could not help but wonder what would come of the what had happened not to long ago.

*****

Days had past since Neal's fight against the Lizard man in the cave. It had been a month since then, but during that period of time, the group rarely saw him around. When they did however, he was usually either training, heading towards the dungeon or coming out of it.

From their analysis, he did this everyday, once or twice. Even though this was the case, the rest did nothing to stop him. He did his share of his responsibilities for each day, even though it was in the secret. So they couldn't use work to hold him back.

From Evans observation, it was as if his personality had taken a complete 360. He had tried to talk to him more than once, but each time, he was ignored.

The feeling of loss and disappointment had clouded his mind. As a result of this, he never bathed and didn't bother to take care of himself. Practice and exercise brought him to the brink of exhaustion each day before he went to his room to rest.

In Evans opinion, that was the worst kind of life he was living. The proof showed itself on Neal's body each day as he returned from battle.

Cuts and bruises filled his body, as well as dirt stains to his clothes and body. From all of that, he could tell Neal always lost those fights.

The others were naturally worried about his recent behavior as well; however, they felt it was not their place to intervene.

All of this happened as a result of Xavier's reaction that day. Hence, the believe that if anyone was to talk him out of his current behavior, it should be Xavier was popular. Though, it was obvious from his ignorance of the situation that what Neal did, never really bothered him in the first place.

Even with this, they never questioned him or complained. They knew deep down that even though Xavier was a harsh leader, he was the one responsible for their survival thus far. They were nothing but indebted to him.

As each day progressed though, members of the group began to have doubts about how they were handling the situation. This arose from the fact that as each day passed, the rage in Neal's eyes burned higher and higher. But along with this was an increased amount of damage to his body.

More than a month since Neal's change in behavior, everyone except him was present in a farm nearby, harvesting what they had planted some time ago. Out of the corner of their eyes, they noticed Neal, who was heading to the dungeon as usual.

From the way he walked, they could tell straight away that he was more exhausted then ever.

"If he continues like this he will breakdown eventually," Marcus voiced out.

The others seemed to feel the same way as a troubled expression soon plagued their faces. In the end however, this only resulted in a form of awkward silence.

Out of nowhere, Xavier gave off an loud sigh, attracting the attention of everyone around him.

"Since the time I arrived in the tower, I was privileged to come across two individuals who had the Combat class, Assassin. All of which had the same look in their eyes. I don't know if it was pride or instinct; however, after finding out they couldn't perform in the field, they all acted the same. It was almost as if they had some kind of driving force calling them to their demise."

Upon hearing Xavier's words, Evans could not help but widen his eyes in shock. The sight of a entranced Neal in the distance only showed that he was right. At this rate, it was only a matter of time till he got himself killed.

"If I am being honest, I am tired of seeing Assassins die. Hmm, I wonder. If only there was someone that could talk him out of this, someone he trusts more than anyone else," Xavier said still focusing on the harvest.

Each of the group members stared at each other smiling. Just then, it hit them that they were wrong all along. The only one that could help him in his current predicament was none other than Evans. It was apparent from the stares they threw his way.

Taking the hint, Evans dashed off in the direction of his weapons and armor. Now that he was given the green light to act, there was no way he would let Neal thread down the path of pain and grief anymore.

Unlike last time, he knew exactly what he had to say in order to break him out of his current state.