I took another moment studying the hand reaching out to me before placing my own hand into theirs. Their grasp was gentle as well as how they helped me up. The stranger was almost half a head taller than myself. I could see that even with their ethereal like eyes he was looking at me. Strangely enough, it seemed as though it was a look of sympathy even though there were no means for any real showing of emotion. The fears and thoughts of doubt I had only moments before seemed to ease. I no longer had any feelings of distrust since it seemed that even though they look vastly different from myself, they were nearly no different than I am. When I was able to collect myself, I asked them who they were and what they were doing here.

    The figure took a moment before answering, "I am Sel, I know who I was and well who I am now but at times...well most of the time I wonder why I am how I am. I was here to visit the graves of people I once knew. Something happened here. Something devastating. I saw you from where I was and I could see your pain. This cathedral once was a place of peace and reflection. In its better days, you could feel the power of all the people that came here to reflect and meditate to find peace and answers in their lives; as well those that were laid to rest here. From seeing you, I can tell that we both feel that same feeling even though everything is long gone. I could also see that you too must have suffered such tragedy."

    Taking in all that he said, I can feel the sincerity. Because of that, I felt that I could at the moment trust that he would not do anything wrong. I honestly felt a bit more comfortable with him because he did not do anything to me while I was at my most vulnerable. I could sense the despair in his tone as he told me more about the cathedral. I of course asked him more about what happened, hoping to gather more information on what happened here and how far the reach of this devastation was.

    "This here is only a glimpse of the devastation. Everything outside these walls and much further have become a victim to what happened." he says confidently yet hints of sorrow echo behind the words. "I've been down to the river at the very edge of town. Well what once was the river. I traveled further of course, but not too far though. With all this time that I have now, exploring and surviving are mostly the only things that I can do. Luckily I don't need to eat unless I really want to just enjoy the experience. Sleep however is not too much different from that although resting does keep me alert and at my best." he adds.

    From all that he said, it raised more questions and made me even more curious to not only what happened in this world, but also how he came to be. In my world I have only read stories about living suits of armor. I never expected to see one right before my very eyes. I guess from travelling through the gate as I did, things like this are to be expected. Before I could ask the stranger anything more, he asked if I had a camp or shelter. I was a bit hesitant at first to answer but I told him I didn't. He told me that he has his shelter that's located a little bit away from where we are now.

    He told me that where he lives is safe and that the town in general was safe from any dangers. He said that it was like some mysterious force kept the area safe. However, he said that traveling too far from the outside of the town area was not safe because of dangerous wildlife and other strange creatures that might do harm. He stood in silence after telling me all of this. He looked at a few of the graves with the slight turns of his head before asking me if I wanted to stay at his shelter since I did not have one of my own. The more I stood here with him, the more I was "alright" with the idea. Honestly if he was going to rob me or do anything to me, I think he would have already done it. Given him looking at the graves as he did before we met, and our conversation now, I think the offer was an offer of help. I agreed to join him, which he gave a nod before we set out from the cathedral. What lies ahead for my new friend and myself, is a new chapter in these first steps of my journey.