Six months later

Afternoon

An exhausting feeling of nervousness rose in Niko's stomach as they looked at the calendar on the wall, where the estimated dates of their friend's return had been encircled. Throughout the day so far, they'd been continuously looking around in anticipation, searching for the figure they'd seen and spoken to exactly six months ago. To no avail. The supposed god hadn't shown up anywhere as of yet.

Of course, that just meant that it took a few more days, right? It's not like it was supposed to take strictly six months for the communication link to be revived, right…? Well… That was what Niko had been constantly telling themself as the current month approached – all the while hoping that what they'd seen in the wheat field wasn't just some kind of hallucination.

A hallucination. That was another possibility – one Niko had refused to consider for the first few weeks following the encounter. After that, the thought had slowly been creeping deeper and deeper into their head, and now that the moment of truth was drawing nearer, that thought became scarier than ever.

Niko almost whimpered as they sat down on their bed. If today wasn't going to bring the god, what day was? Tomorrow? The day after that? Never?

They slowly let themself fall on their side and squeezed their eyes shut. Please… they thought. Please come back… Please be real…

Niko woke up, disoriented. Their room was dark, thanks the curtains blocking out most of the light that attempted to come in. Aside from a few noises, it was notably quiet outside.

Niko slowly forced their eyes open before sitting up in bed. They dizzily looked around. How long had they been asleep? Judging from the few sounds they heard coming from outside and the weak sliver of light that escaped from behind the curtain, they had been sleeping until next morning. And that on an empty stomach…

Speaking of which, something in their abdomen audibly growled when they realized that they hadn't had the chance to eat anything the evening before. And not just the evening; their nervousness surrounding the whole business with the god had almost completely spoiled their appetite for the entire day, leading them to eat far less than usual. Their mother had noticed this and had commented on it, trying to get her child to…well…eat more. Unfortunately, her efforts had been in vain.

Another growl made Niko snap out of their thoughts. They slowly got off their bed and groggily walked to the door, intending to get some food. Their mother wouldn't mind as long as they would be quiet.

Upon coming closer to the kitchen – removing some of their remaining sleepiness in the process – they noticed a familiar smell that hung in the air. They stopped walking and inhaled deeply, trying to identify—

That didn't take long, as they soon recognized the smell of pancakes being prepared. This caused them to pick up their pace and continue their journey towards the room they were heading for. Upon reaching it, their suspicions were confirmed.

"Mama?" they drowsily asked. In response, their mother turned to them and gave a smile.

"Niko," she greeted. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"Good morning…" Niko said with a yawn. They briefly glanced at the kitchen counter. "Are those…?"

Their mother nodded and her smile grew. "I hope you're hungry. Guess what's for breakfast?"

Niko's eyes widened, and they subconsciously opened their mouth. "Pancakes…"

"Go ahead and take a seat. I'll be right with you."

It didn't take long before the pancakes were ready, and Niko wasted no time finishing their plate once the opportunity to do so was given. Said plate was empty within minutes, after which the child looked up at their mother and gave a tired but genuine smile. "Thank you, Mama. I was…really hungry."

Their mother – who, after the day before, felt quite relieved – picked up their empty plate. "You want some more?"

Niko shook their head. "No, thank you. I'm good." They hopped off their chair. "Shall I…do the dishes?"

"No need, I got it," their mother politely said as she proceeded to return to the kitchen.

"… Mama?" Niko called after a moment of hesitation. "Is it okay if I take a walk outside?"

"Sure. Just don't go too far. And make sure to be back before lunch."

"Thank you!"

Niko wasn't exactly sure why they'd decided to go to the wheat fields after breakfast… Or, at least, that was yet another thing they told themself. They just didn't want to notice the truth that was floating around in their head, trying to catch their attention. It was hopeful and doubtful at the same time – a combination that scared them.

The truth was that they had come here to see their friend – to see if they would appear here again. They appeared in the wheat field last time, so what was to say that they weren't going to now? Who knows, maybe it was the only place where they could manifest. Their ability to communicate with Niko's world was still quite limited, after all.

Niko continued walking, reexploring several parts of the wheat field as they looked for the figure they'd seen six months ago. Minutes soon became hours and before they knew it, it was almost lunchtime. And still no god…

They sighed and proceeded to turn back to the village.

"Niko!"

Niko immediately turned to the source of the voice, and their eyes widened upon seeing them.

A smile appeared on their face, and they once again exclaimed the name of the person they had grown so fond of. Their eyes began to sting, but not because of sadness.

The person smiled as well. "Hey, Niko," they greeted. "I missed you."

"I missed you too!" Niko replied as they moved closer to their friend. The child wanted to hug them, but – knowing that that was not possible – restrained themself. "I'm so glad that you're here! I was scared you wouldn't come." Their shoulders dropped. "It's just…one minute, right?"

"Well… Actually…" the person said, making Niko's eyes widen. "The World Machine's made some upgrades to the system. We've got…five minutes to talk now." They paused. "I know it's not a lot, but at least it's something."

That made Niko perk up a bit. "Five minutes?" They hesitated. "A-and…how long do we have to wait before…you can come back?"

"That…" The person sighed. "That's…only a one month upgrade, I'm afraid."

"Five months?"

"Yeah… It's better than nothing, I guess. At least the World Machine's doing its best."

"The World Machine…" Niko pensively muttered after a brief silence. Suddenly, they remembered something. "The people in the other world… How are they…?" Do they still exist…?

"I don't really know…" the person replied. "I haven't seen them a lot myself, to be honest. I'll have to ask the World Machine about that sometime."

"R-right." Niko looked at the ground. Another moment of silence passed. "I…I actually wish you could meet my mama…"

The person looked at them. They then looked to the village in the distance and hesitated. "You think…we can make it there in time?"

Niko briefly looked over their shoulder to their home before turning back to their friend, shaking their head. "No… I-I don't…" I'm too scared of the disappointment if we're too late…

"Right…" the person softly said. "How about next time? The mechanism's going to be upgraded again before long, and we'll probably have more time when I come back."

The child quickly nodded. "O-okay. N-next time. F-five months, right?" A lump appeared in their throat and their eyes started to water as they spoke.

"Niko…" the person said, worried. "It's okay. I won't be gone forever. You know that, right?"

In response, Niko squeezed their eyes shut and let their head hang. "I-in the other world…" they said in a shaky voice. "T-the ending we eventually got…was supposed to be…the best ending. B-but…I…I-I wanted to talk to you more, and I couldn't! N-now I can, but…e-every time I say goodbye to you, it just…hurts…" A sob escaped, causing them to cover their mouth with their sleeves.

"Niko…" the person softly said. Then, their voice suddenly turned…weird. Robotlike. Glitching. "I'll…be back…as-as soo…n as I c-can, o…k-kay? Th-that's a promise."

In response, Niko looked up to see the person glancing around with a mix of sadness and annoyance on their face. They eventually turned to the child again, letting out a regretful sigh. "Sorry about that," they apologized. "The upgrades are…not perfect. It seems we don't have as much time as I'd hoped. I think…it's almost time for me to go…"

"Y-you'll come back!" Niko practically yelled. "F-five months!"

"I will." Their figure glitched again, but they showed a reassuring smile. "… I'll see you soon, Niko…"

"S-see you soon…" Niko sniffed. "B-bye…"

And then, similarly to last time, the person vanished.

Niko expected to feel a rock appear in their stomach… But, despite their sadness mere moments ago, something made them feel oddly peaceful. It wasn't a hallucination, that had been pretty much confirmed at this point. And they knew they were going to see their friend again. It was going to take a while, but it was going to happen. Someday.

After a while of aimlessly standing there, they finally turned back to their village.

I was originally going to have the god meet Niko's mother in this chapter, but I couldn't think of a good way to write it. It's more likely to happen in the next one.

Anyway, quite a bit of people wanted me to continue writing this, and I…uh…kind of found myself agreeing with that notion. I hope this chapter lives up to expectations.

Also, sorry that this was uploaded so late, yet has such few words. Aside from school's interference, I was kind of uncertain about the chapter and proofread it over and over again. I don't know how much it helped, and I'm still uncertain about some parts, but I wasn't sure how to change them. Criticism is welcome; I've never really written stories like this one.