Chapter 319: Deep Sleep

Leon and Selene trekked a long distance for several hours, not pausing in the slightest. After all, they had no idea where the next possible shelter would be.

Thankfully, they found one before nightfall. It was a small village directly on their path, and they were glad to find one.

"Looks like we’re in luck." Leon grinned.

Selene immediately stopped, staring at the village warily.

He turned around to face her, boots digging into the soil. "What’s wrong? Why did you stop?"

Selene folded her arms, caution in her eyes. "Well, bad things always happen whenever you talk about luck. I can’t help but be cautious."

Leon’s lips twitched. "Tsk. Stay outside, then let some eagle monster carry you off."

Selene immediately followed him into the village, not wanting to be actually carried away by some aerial monster.

Choosing one of the old houses in the village, they settled in it. To Leon’s surprise, there was even a bed there.

"Looks like this village was abandoned recently. Probably just a few years ago."

Selene agreed with him.

After cleaning the house and making it more livable, they sat down to eat again. Leon handed Selene and the cat their own portions, and they all began to eat.

"By the way, we never named this cat," Selene suddenly said.

Leon blinked and turned to it. "Hm, that’s true. What name should we give it? Roy?"

"Hell no." Selene rejected it immediately. "I want something unique. Not some random name like Kitty or something."

"Hmm..." Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing. "How about... Loki?"

"Loki?" Selene blinked, glancing at the cat. "Yeah, this one definitely doesn’t seem like a Loki."

"Hmm. Maybe Ash?" Leon suggested again.

Selene thought about it, then shook her head. "It only has white and gold fur. It doesn’t fit."

"Ugh." He grunted. "What’s so complicated about naming a cat? Let’s just call it Rune or Moon or something."

"Rune..." Selene let the name roll off her tongue, then smiled. "That could work."

Leon blinked. "Oh, really? Nice!"

He patted the cat’s head and said, "Little guy, your name is now Rune. Wait. Rune Wayne or Rune White?"

Selene blinked, baffled. "Does it need a surname?"

Leon nodded, convinced. "What if someone asks in the future? We can’t just say it’s Rune. It needs a proper surname."

"Is that so?" Selene frowned. "Let it have your surname, then. I don’t like mine."

"You don’t like yours? Then change it." He shrugged and turned to the cat. "Rune Wayne. What a nice combination of names."

Rolling her eyes, Selene retorted. "I was born into the White Family. I can’t change my name just because I want to."

Leon shot her a look that made her feel dumb. "What do you mean you can’t change it? Just get married to someone. Maybe Reymond. Then, you’ll be called Selene—"

"Don’t." She stopped him. "Reymond and I are close friends. Not that."

Leon snorted. ’Girls like you are the worst to simp for.’

He didn’t voice his thoughts, though. After all, he didn’t want to have ice spikes shoved through him.

After the meal, they simply sat around the campfire, staring at it blankly.

"We’ll probably reach the Dome tomorrow," Selene suddenly said. "What are you going to do?"

Leon raised his head and met her gaze. He stared into her icy blue eyes, then smiled.

"Well, I just have to observe first. If I can catch a wandering adventurer and torture them into telling me about the heart. Then, I’ll think of my next course of actions."

Selene narrowed her eyes at his harmless smile, then nodded. "Alright. Let’s see how it’ll go tomorrow."

As the sky darkened outside, they quickly put out the lights and went to sleep. Selene quickly fell asleep, but Leon didn’t.

He slipped away from the bed without disturbing her, and went outside. The moon hadn’t switched off today, so he quickly navigated his way through the village, arriving at a designated spot.

Once he was sure of it, he took out his shovel and began to dig.

The next morning, they woke up together and quickly had breakfast again. Even though they were Evolvers and didn’t need food regularly, old habits died hard.

Leon accepted Selene’s empty plate and kept it in his storage ring.

"Let’s go," She said as she stood up.

Leon nodded and followed with Rune trailing behind them. They quickly got to the outer perimeter of the village, then stopped.

"Is that... it?" Selene gasped, awed.

Leon felt the same. He hadn’t expected them to find the Dome this soon.

It was still far away, but its immense size was imposing and grand. A light blue dome covered the large city, protecting it from anything that wanted to get in.

Leon’s eyes narrowed. ’Hmm...’

Beside him, Selene finally snapped out of her awe and yawned. She covered her lips in surprise. Why was she yawning? Was she actually tired?

Shaking her head, she said, "Well, let’s get going. We should reach it before nightfall."

Leon didn’t move.

As she took a step forward, she suddenly swayed, almost falling. However, he quickly caught her like he had been expecting it.

Selene’s brows furrowed as her eyelids grew heavy. "What the hell...? Why am I sleepy?"

Raising her head, she saw Leon’s calm expression. He didn’t seem surprised by the situation.

"You...?" She managed to ask, already succumbing to the overwhelming urge to sleep.

"Don’t worry, I won’t be harming you," Leon said with a shake of his head. "I’m only keeping you out of what’s to come."

Selene’s eyes widened, then closed. Her body relaxed, and her breathing grew even. She was already asleep.

Staring at her face, Leon hesitated for a moment. Then, he shook his head. His choice had already been made. There was no backing down.

He carried her in his arms and went back into the village, to the exact spot he had dug at midnight.

Kicking away the fake sand door, he quickly got inside the underground bunker that had been prepared there. It was old too, but he had taken care of the place and cleaned it up. Carrying Selene inside, he lay her on the bed and stood by her side.

"Well, goodbye for now. You’ve carried me enough. I’ll handle the rest from here."

Carrying the cat, he placed it beside her. Rune looked confused, but still curled up and closed its eyes.

Leon gave them one last glance, then turned around and left the bunker, locking the door behind him.