"I'm fine, really; it's nothing that you have to concern yourself over," Calista tried to convince him in a trembling voice, as if it were not a big deal, while her body shook like a leaf.

"That's what you call fine?!" he retorted, slightly frustrated that she was trying to deny that she wasn't suffering.

"Do you take me for a fool and honestly expect me to believe that what you're saying is true?" he said in a slightly irritated tone.

"Tsk, you're a terrible liar, just so you know," he said, his tone hardening. "You can keep pretending all you want that you're not suffering now when I can tell you clearly aren't telling the truth."

Calista fell silent and bit her lower lip as The Forgotten One held her in his arms. She couldn't disagree with what he said.

"I may not be human, but I know it's dangerous for one to be as cold as you are right now. At this very second, I bet your body is numb, and the impact of tumbling down here is taking its toll on you," The Forgotten One mildly chided.

"You know, right now, you're not making any sense. Honestly, it almost sounds like you're genuinely concerned about me. I don't understand you," Calista said, weakly trying to prevent her teeth from chattering from the bitter cold consuming her body. Her gaze drifted aimlessly into the darkness surrounding them.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," The Forgotten One said, listening intently to hear what she had to say next.

"I don't understand why you care so much about what happens to me. I'm a human, remember?" she scoffed.

"For a god who supposedly admitted earlier that they despise humans, you seem to care an awful lot about whether I'm okay or not. It just doesn't add up if you ask me," she said in a low tone.

Upon hearing her words, his demeanor shifted into one that was colder. "Me, actually care about anyone, especially a human? Hah, you've got it all wrong. Don't make me laugh," he sarcastically said.

"You're mistaken. Believe me. My hatred for humans hasn't changed. You ended up winning the bet fair and square. I'm just making sure that I hold up my end of the bargain. And just because of this doesn't mean I suddenly love humans," he said in an uncaring tone.

"If you despise me that much, then you shouldn't care about my well-being and ask me how I am!" she suddenly blurted out into the darkness without a care in the world.

"As much as I hate humans, I'm not all that interested in having one dying in my arms," he said while looking down at her from within the darkness.

"Either I have a really strong headache from the cold, or you're starting to contradict yourself now," she said, weakly chuckling.

"I'm really starting to regret not taking the chance to save myself. I can't do that with you weighing me down," he said, his tone becoming more annoyed with each passing second.

"Liar, as soon as I pulled out that sword and removed the chains, you could've easily left me, yet you're still here," Calista said with a hint of smugness in her tone.

"Honestly, that should be the last thing on your mind. The main thing we should be concerned about right now is getting out of here," The Forgotten One exclaimed.

"We? You're the one who can see in the dark. So shouldn't you be able to get us out of here easily, or are you just buying time as an excuse so that you can spend more time with the human you despise so much?" Calista said weakly.

Even with Calista nearly freezing to death, she still had that same snarky attitude she had before the cold penetrated her bones, and her injuries caught up to her.

At that moment, he felt his right eyebrow twitch in annoyance after hearing her comment and couldn't stop a grin from forming on his lips.

"All right, then, I'll get us out of here. But be sure to hold on tight because it would be an absolute tragedy if you accidentally just so happened to fall out of my arms," he said in a low, dark tone.

"Wait, what do you mean by that---" Calista started before she gasped loudly. She felt her body weight shift downward when the strength of his wings quickly thrust them upward, causing her to feel uneasily weightless.

"Hey, what're you doing? You weren't supposed to take off just yet; I wasn't ready," Calista whined, squeezing her eyes shut as she could feel the muscles in her body tensing up.

Ba-bump, Ba-bump

Calista's heart pounded in her chest. A sudden rush of adrenaline flowed through her veins from a mixture of exhilaration and fear as they continued rising further and further into the air.

His uncontrollably playful laughter filled the air, bouncing off the walls lining the cave. He stopped mid-air while beating his wings to keep them suspended not far from the bottom of the hole they were trapped in.

"Tell me, dove, how does it feel to finally do what you're naturally meant to do and take flight and feel the air rustling through your feathers? I have to say this is the most fun I've had in a long time," The Forgotten One playfully said with an amused grin before letting out a lighthearted laugh.

"Hey, cut it out already. You and I have two completely different versions of fun. I'm being serious with you right now; it's not funny," Calista complained.

"Wait, who are you? Where has my fearless little dove gone? I could have sworn I was holding her in my arms just a second ago," he said teasingly.

Calista huffed in frustration as she could feel the blood bubbling within her. She was annoyed that he continued calling her by a nickname rather than her actual name. "Ugh, stop calling me that! How many times do I tell you it's C-a-l-i-s-t-a, remember?"

"Oh wait, there she is. You worried me. I thought I had lost you for a moment. Whatever you say, D-o-v-e," The Forgotten One snickered.

"Also, relax and stop worrying; you're hurting my feelings. There's no need for you to be so tense. I was just teasing you earlier. Honestly, I promise you that I'm not going to let you fall," The Forgotten One said reassuringly.

"Sure, like I believe that one. I mean, how am I supposed to even trust you or take you seriously when you're like an on-and-off switch? Why are you stalling anyway? Shouldn't we be out of here by now? Weren't you the same one who wanted to get out of here so badly?" Calista said sarcastically.

"It's because I wanted to show you something very intriguing. Aren't you curious? Before I fly any further upward, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?" he asked with curiosity lacing his tone.

"Quit joking around and trying to play tricks on me. There's nothing peculiar to be found," Calista protested.

"Sshh, listen carefully; you'll hear it. It must've been because you were too distracted by our conversation to notice it earlier," he whispered.

She lifted her head, straining her eyes in the darkness. She listened intently for any sound. At that moment, her eyes widened in shock when she heard it. "How is that even possible?" she mumbled under her breath.

To her, it sounded almost as if rain was pounding against a glass window above their heads, yet there was nothing there but the hole that she had fallen through.

"As you can see, not even the rain can enter this cave since, as I said before, only a god can. It's almost as if some invisible barrier is shielding us from it and keeping us dry," The Forgotten One said, interrupting the brief silence between them.

Calista's lips tightened. Her mind raced to think of some excuse to tell him, but she couldn't think of anything believable and only ended up empty-handed.

"I'm still quite baffled as to how you were able to do it and managed to wind up in here in the first place, Dove. But you don't have to tell me now. There'll always be another time," he said in a tone filled with a desire to learn more about her.

"Anyways, the real reason I'm telling you this is because I want you to brace yourself. I have no idea what we'll encounter once we pass through the barrier into the open night air. We'll have nothing protecting us from the rain," The Forgotten One said.

"My main priority is finding a way to warm you up since I fear something unfortunate will happen to you if I fail to do that," he said, letting a loud sigh escape his lips.

"Listen, Dove, there should still be a hot spring close by where I remember it to be. That is where I plan on taking you, so you're just going to have to trust me on this one," he said.