Their morning went by smoothly for the most part. The duo packed up and headed down for breakfast, where Natsuki's mom had dressed the table up with a feast for a king— eggs, bacon, pancakes, fruit and more. It looked mouthwatering, and the two of them were just about ready to dive in. But one thing restrained them from doing that, and it was the empty seat at the table nearby— Natsuki's seat.

"Oh no worries. He always sleeps in on this day of the week," His mom said sensing their anxiety.

The two were relieved. For a second, they actually thought he did... the unthinkable! That would have been bad. But of course, Natsuki was a good kid, so he couldn't do that!

About two hours passed. It was almost midday, and he still hadn't appeared even after they finished their meals. Did Natsuki really sleep in that late? The two prolonged their leave to say their goodbyes to the boy, but he hadn't woken yet.

"I'll wake him," his mom told the two. "He's probably sad you two are leaving today. Can't get himself out of bed today because of it, you know?" The smile graced upon her face was reassuring to the two that everything was alright.

The two patiently waited in the kitchen, discussing the next town— the town was a full day of time away from this town, so it was good that they packed plenty. Natsuki's dad sipped some coffee in a mug while reading a newspaper that looked like it had been written outside of the castle walls.

The boy's name was heard being called out by his mother from the bottom of the staircase. At first, the tone suggested something calm, "Sweetie, wake up," and caring, "you'be been sleeping for too long."

... But the sudden affliction in her words caught everybody's attentions. "Sweetie? Are you there? Why aren't you answering me?" She stepped daintily on each step, her feet hitting against the wood floor.

Within moments, Natsuki's mom was running down the stairs with a freaked-out look on her face— she was as pale as a ghost. The duo could tacitly tell what happened, and so could the dad. "Natsuki... He isn't..."

Everyone was rushing out the door soon enough. No time to tell what order they left the house; the situation was too urgent! The minute they came out onto the porch, however, they knew for sure something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong.

The townspeople were carefully crowded around the open gates speculating the sight before them. The gates weren't supposed to be open.

The gentle tinkering of Elsword's hammer was accompanied by the songs of the birds— sure, it sounds like a happy sentence, but after what happened, there was no joyful mood between Elsword or Aisha as they proceeded to maintaining the plane.

"Natsuki..." Aisha was in near tears. She was leaned against the plane, her arms crossed and head lowered in shame. She just had to remain strong. As strong as she could be for Natsuki.

Elsword remained silent Aisha's sobs being the only other sound besides the birds and the hammer. Being rejected by a lovely town, banned for life; that was a depressing way to end their stay.

... But who was he kidding, pretending that was the worst thing that occurred... There wasn't anything that could express the pain he felt welling up in his heart, begging to be released from the agony.

Natsuki's mom and dad picked up the letter dropped by the gate, hands trembling so violently that one might think the. We're being overtaken by some supernatural force. Accompanying the note was the shriveled and bony corpse of a boy, with faded red hair, on the other side of the melting snow where the grass was greener. Within five seconds into the letter, Natsuki's mom's eyes poured, the sadness from her heart expressed through action. These were the last words from her poor child, a gone being from this world. She screamed at the top of her lungs; what more could she possibly do in a situation like this? Stripped of her only child the day before his big day. It felt as if she was the one who was actually disappearing, suffering the searing heat burning her until she was nothing.

"This is all your fault! None of this would have happened if you people of the devil hadn't come!" Natsuki's mother cried in anger. She never wanted to see their cursed faces! How evil they were, placing dark thoughts into her son's mind and exploiting his innocence! "I want you two gone! Leave! Get out of here and never come back!"

Chief Lot, in full support, agreed with the lost boy's mother. They would be banned.

Nothing could be done now. The two were to leave right away.

"The plane is ready." Elsword tried to keep a steady voice, but it cracked. His emotions were getting the best of him now. He wasn't going to let himself cry over this. Not in front of his best friend who needed him.

Elsword hoisted Aisha up into the plane. As he began to bring himself up, a large rock caught his attention. Well, what was on it caught his attention. It was a white piece of paper with a red stamp on it, deliberately placed somewhere visible from all spots in the clearing. Elsword jumped down from his position on the plane and picked up the piece of paper. What was it?

... After two minutes of reading, he lowered his head so his bangs covered his eyes. The words on this paper... they were the last from a little boy who was just like him in every way. Every way except in the mind— the little boy was much more mature and deeper than him, even now. The words only pressed his heart down even more. Drops of water trailed down his cheeks, his mouth grimacing.

"Elsword...?"

When Aisha called, the red-haired Elsword lifted his eyes up, gritting his teeth together. He had to keep going. Natsuki would want him to do his very best, to not stop and cry.

It was time to continue their journey.

The redhead dropped the paper on the ground, the note fluttering away, and made his way to the plane, starting it up. It quietly hummed as it lifted off the ground and into the sky, heading to the next town and leaving the event in the past.

Dear Elsword and Aisha,

If your reading this, then you successfully found my letter. I made sure to put it in the most visible spot possible.

Anyways, as you well know now, I am dead.

... I hope I haven't caused too much trouble for you two. I planned on doing this anyways the morning of my entrance ceremony. Truth is, I'd been thinking about going out of the town limits long before you two had come. When you two came, however, I just knew that I had to do it today. Somebody needed to know what life was really for me behind the walls, a mean world of lifelessness. I'd always dreamed about going out to see the world before I died.

Hey, I guess I've achieved that dream, haven't I?

So, I hope the best comes on you two's journey to complete that test. I bet you guys will do great, and I just know you'll get what you deserve Elsword! You too Aisha!

From your friend,

Natsuki

P.S. Don't worry and don't cry. We'll meet again on the other side!