Ax walked up to his bed and crawled u.

  "What the hell are you doing!?!," asked Ace, still fused.

  Ax pulled aside his own dagger, his sword, and his gun.

  "You're fug with me, right?" Ace asked Ax with a baffled look.

  "About that... when I first went through the door, I thought the same thing really; turns out it's real," Ax answered.

  "And I didn't eveion the elves and dwarves iher world," Ax finished.

  Ace was staring at Ax's ons on the ground when he looked back up at Ax.

  "I'm sorry, what?" Ace asked him, his voice going an octave deeper.

  "Oh boy... you might o sit down for this," Ax gently asked Ace.

  ***

  Half an hour has passed since

  "So... you're telling me a Welsh guy called you Indian?" Ace asked Ax, with a slight hint e in his voice.

  "Why is that what you focus on?" asked Ax."Anyway, so what now? Do we tell the rest of the band?" asked Ace.

  "No, I'm against that idea," Ax said sternly.

  "Why not?" Ace asked Ax.

  "Well, it turns out I'm the only one who e back after dying. I throw myself at the monsters over and ain. You, however, most likely 't, sidering that you have perfect aim all of a sudden, just like how I'm basically immortal all of a sudden," Ax expined, his voice wavering.

  "So, now what do you want to do?" Ace asked Ax with a curious tone.

  "I want to go back to 'Nexus.' I don't know why, but I want to keep going, explore the other world, and see what I find," he said.

  "For example, in that drawer is a golden apple—do it. In that drawer is a golden apple that heals all injuries and fills you up when you eat it; it apparently never spoils. Something about being 'Ieunn's golden apple,'" Ax finished.

  "Wait, wait, wait, Ieunn? That's a Noddess, Ax!" Ace excimed to Ax.

  Ax's eyes widened; why didn't he think of looking it up?

  "Wait... I was—Nods are real? No, no way, right? That's impossible," Ax muttered as he was grasping his , thinking about it deeply.

  "I just saw my best friend die and e back to life, killing a small army of undead skeletons," Ace expined.

  "Though I 't firm it... for obvious reasons, but that would expin why there were dwarves and elves in 'Nexus.' The word nexus itself just means a e between things..." Ace expined as he was sitting down on the floor, lost in thought.

  "It would also expin the... 'Oni'-looking monster and the... samurai, right? Maybe there are more myths and pantheons behind these doors," Ace finished.

  "You have a point, Ace. I'm going to go back to the doors tomorrow," Ax told him."Yoing in there alone? Let me e with you," Ace asked Ax.

  "Of course I'm going alone! You're not ing with me." Ax raised his voi a anding tone.

  "I already dragged you into this; sidering how many times I died, I'm not letting you die along with me. I actually afford to lose a few lives!" Ax excimed to Ace.

  "I know it hurts every time you die; it has to! Let me help you; you already saw how helpful I was even though I was scared shitless. It'll be faster, and you'll reaexus that much faster," Ace expio Ax, trying to entice him into letting Ace tag along.

  "Absolutely not!" Ax deed his offer.

  "What do you even have to gain from this?" Ax asked Ace."What do you have to gain from this? Ax?" Ace asked Ax, gagging him.

  "You yourself don't have any valid reason as to why you want to keep going; you said it yourself. Let me help you; my power may not make me immortal, but it does make me a hell of a lot more lethal, and it's not like you don't have ons to spare." Ace was adamant in going through the doors with him.

  "I'll... do it on one dition," Ax started tain with Ace.

  "Yeah? Anything." Ace was ready for any dition."If I see you get hurt et in my way, I'm kig you out of the doors," Ax expio Ace.

  "That's... actually perfect!" Ace excimed excitedly.

  "Why are you so happy?" asked Ax, fused at his excitement.

  "No reason," Ace replied.

  "That's a half-assed answer." Ax looked at Aamused.

  "But whatever," Ax said as he threw a b and a pillow at Ace.

  "Get some sleep; long day tomorrow," Ax grumbled.

  "And put the gear bader the bed," Ax finished.

  "Alright, sure," Ax plied, noting Ax's amusement.

  Ace kicked the guns and swords and daggers uhe bed.

  Ace then wi the realization that he kicked loaded guns.

  "Hey! Watch it!" Ax excimed, noting the loud thud.

  "Oops', Ace apologized as he set the b dout the pillow over it.

  To finally sleep the night off, after the first opening gig in a while, and whatever the hell was behind that door.

  ***

  It was m.

  "I'm pizza," Ax said as he was brushing his teeth.

  "First thing in the m? Really?" Ace asked him, making fun of him a bit.

  Ax turo stare at him, leaning his head out of the doorframe of the bathroom.

  "..." Ax stared at him.

  "Yeah... I'll have pepperoni and cheese," Ace replied to him.

  Ax went back to brushing his teeth, going through his phoh his free hand.

  ***

  "Ready?" Ax asked Ace.

  Ace fastened a katana, a dagger, and a gun to his belt loops.

  "Don't bother using your phone in there; there's no signal," Ax informed Ace, who was now wearing his boots, leather jacket, and the aforementioned gear.

  "Alright, sure," Ace replied to him.

  Ax turned around and faced the apartment door. "Oh, and before we go in, don't die." Ax gave Ace a final warning.

  A bck door appeared in front of Ax.

  Ace walked up to the bck door and tried opening it.

  "Yeah, yeah, I'll try not to," Ace replied to Ax.

  The door wasn't opening. "The fuck?" Ace cursed at himself as he was struggling to open the door.

  "Wait, scoot over; let me try." Ax walked up to the door.

  It opened.

  "Ace, it's open. Follow me," Ax anded Ace.

  Ax walked in through the door; Ace followed suit. As they closed the door behind them, it slowly vanished from the Ax's room.