“Be careful.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“We are here,” said Kaien. “From here, you have to walk on your own. I can’t help you anymore.”
“…Ok,” Allen nodded sadly.
…………………………………......................................……………………………………………………
Flashback
“Or. . .” Kaien said with an unclear undertone. Followed by a long silence.
Allen waited nervously and carefully. He did not want to miss any opportunities again. Not when Kaien had thrown so many at him in order to save him. Never again. He would listen carefully and choose wisely.
“Or. . .” Kaien repeated, which made Allen’s heart skip even faster. “Ask me to help you.”
“Huh?” responded Allen, looking so lost. It was an unexpected request. Or was it even an option?

Kaien laughed at Allen’s blank expression. He said, “Ask me to take you to the path. Even though I can’t really take you to the path, I still could take you to the nearest one.” He looked at Allen, trying to see if Allen had caught up with him and understood what he said. Then he said, “But you have to make a deal with me.”
“And the price?” asked Allen. Trying to make a deal with the Angel of Death, what price would be high enough for him to offer when he was on the brink of death? Allen wondered.
Kaien’s eyes lit up at Allen’s question. He answered with a smirk on his face. “Anything.” He let out a small laugh but Allen looked at him as though he was really serious. He looked serious and said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
“My life?” questioned Allen and Kaien nodded. He had no idea what Kaien was planning or suggesting him to do, but he would go along and believe in Kaien. “O-ok. . . sure. What do you want me to do?”
“After you get out of the forest, you will join the volunteer’s group,” said Kaien and Allen listened carefully. “Keep people from going into the deep forest, keep them safe. If you can’t keep everyone safe, help find their body. Return them to their family or have a proper funeral for them. Their soul would be in hell but at least their body deserves what it deserves in this world - a proper funeral. You would do this for your entire life.”
“O-ok,” stuttered Allen. “I-I think I could do that.”
“Good,” Kaien nodded. “Now, ask me.”
End of Flashback
………………………………………………………….........................................………………………
“Take off your bag,” Kaien suggested. He quickly took Allen’s backpack from Allen’s shoulder without waiting for Allen’s response. “You don’t want to carry any unnecessary burden.”
Allen nodded slowly and watched Kaien hold his bag. It was not the fact that Kaien took his bag that made him a little sad, but something else.
“Kaien. . .” Allen muttered.
“Don’t be scared. I’m right behind you,” rushed Kaien. He handed over a neon orange tape which looked like the one Kris gave him on the first day. Except Kris’s tape was yellow and Allen remembered what the tape was for. “Hold this tape. This will lead you to the path. It does not just lead you to the path, but it could lead the volunteer to the tape owner’s dead body. ”
Allen looked around to see the dead body but immediately shook his head fast. Has he not seen enough death for the past few days? He did not need to see another one now. “That’s not it. I just. . .”
“Hurm? What is it?” question Kaien, puzzled by Allen’s behavior.
“I don’t know,” Allen shook his head again and paused. “I don’t know how you are so familiar to me. Not familiar but. . . More like so dear to me. I-I hate that I don’t remember everything. . .” Allen paused, catching his breath. “I-I hate that every smile, every word brings me closer to the impossible conclusion that I. . . that I have known you before more than anyone.” Allen swallowed his saliva before he continued, “And. . . and I have loved you before. Haven’t I? In another time, in a different place. Some other existence.”
Allen waited for Kaien to respond or at least give him his famous Cheshire smile. He wanted Kaien to tell him to stay and they could make the most perfect odd lover, but instead, Kaien gave him the sweetest sincere smile he had ever seen since forever. And he thought Kaien agreed with him.
“Come with me, Kaien.” Allen offered.
“I wish I could, but I can’t leave this forest.”
“That’s part of your punishment?”
Kaien nodded.
“Then I will visit you often,” promised Allen.
Kaien smiled at the words. ‘That would be impossible. You only regain your memories when you are near me. When you leave this forest and continue your life, you won’t remember anything again.’
“Time to go,” interrupted Kaien. “We don’t have all evening. Dusk is falling quickly. And today is the last day.”
“H-huh?” Allen was confused. “Last day of what?”
Kaien did not answer. He pushed slowly and forced Allen to walk in front of him. From behind, he told Allen, “Keep walking and don’t look back. Remember what I said, whatever you hear or feel coming from behind you, don’t look back. It's just the forest.”
Allen tried to turn around to look at Kaien but Kaien pushed him to look in front of him. He guessed Kaien was serious again. He nodded and said, “Ok.”
Allen held the neon tape tightly and immediately started walking along the tape. He could pretty much remember the time when he stepped out of the path into the forest. The tape made it seem to be one main pathway. The only way. This time, it would lead the way out.
At first, Allen g saw a hint of light in the distance, but after what felt like hours, he still did not reach it or anywhere near the path. All he saw was trees, trees, trees, and more trees. But then he became fully aware that he was walking far too slow and it would take him more time to reach the path. Maybe he would miss the volunteers.
The thought made him want to give up and look back, but he remembered his promise not to. Just to make sure Kaien was still behind him, he said, “A-are you sure. . . this is the right way?”
“Yes. . .” Kaien’s hoarse voice responded from Allen’s back. Was his voice always this hoarse or it just changed? “Just keep going.”
Allen nodded without looking back. It was not Kaien’s words that he wanted to hear, but his voice. He decided to hold the neon tape tight, not wanting to let go this time and keep walking in its direction.
It was getting dark, just like on the first day here, the sound of creatures in the forest sent a shiver through his spine. But this time, those sounds, the feeling like being watched from somewhere in the forest did not scare him as much as it did on the first day.
He was not alone. Kaien was with him. But it did not mean he wanted to be there much longer.
Allen noticed it was not just getting dark, it was getting cold too in the forest. He shivered and his pace was getting slower. Panting and dizzy slowly taking away his breathing and sanity. He began to doubt he could control his body and keep walking any longer.
He stopped in his tracks. Behind his panting sound, he could barely hear people’s voices. A lot of people were shouting something. He breathed a sigh of relief but was taken back when he realized that he did not have any more energy to shout back.

“H-he. . .re. . .” Allen tried but his voice barely made it past a whisper. Forgetting about everything, he gathered all his remaining strength and began to run toward the sound. After a few steps of running, the pain shot up his leg and forced him off balance. The ground came up to meet him before he could grab something to stop it.
“A-ah. . .aaa. .” Allen groaned. He felt the pain shoot down his spine before everything went black.
‘Goodbye Allen.’