How long had he been walking? He couldn't remember anymore. It must have been days. Weeks? He never bothered to stop. He never bothered to sleep. He couldn't eat or drink something even if he wanted to; there was nothing in sight.

Nothing but dust.

It was a constant reminder of everything he lost.

It was easy to tell when he was passing by a town. There were many large dust piles― about ten feet tall ― that the wind hadn't blown away yet. They were arranged in neat rows, and most of them had smaller piles of dust directly in front of them. He knew those were the townspeople.

Ban felt numb as he trudged through yet another town. He kept his eyes forward so he wouldn't see more of the casualties of the Sins' devastating attack. His mind still couldn't comprehend that this was his reality now. He'd suffered loss and he'd suffered trauma before, but nothing could compare to this. On top of losing everything he'd ever known, he now felt responsible for millions of deaths across Britannia. He felt the weight of that with every step he took.

He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know why he was walking. There was nowhere for him to go anymore. Some part of him still hoped he was wrong, and that not all of Britannia was gone. Maybe the blast only took out a few dozen miles? Was that why he was walking? Because he hoped to find something? Find someone?

It took a couple more days for the pebbles to start to appear. It was subtle. He almost missed them. He bent down to examine one. It was pretty intact.

If he was finding rocks that hadn't been destroyed, then did that mean he was starting to reach the edge of the blast zone? Was he nearing parts of Britannia that survived?

He began to feel hopeful, truly hopeful, for the first time in weeks. His pace quickened as he continued to follow the stones. Somewhere in the distance, he saw a large shadow, surrounded by many smaller shadows. He couldn't make out what it was yet, but he all but ran towards it anyway. He kept running as he passed by clumps of twigs, which eventually turned into small, charred tree stumps. He kept running as he entered a black forest, the sight eerily familiar.

Any hope he had turned to despair when he saw the Sacred Tree.

It was young and nowhere near its size twenty years ago, but it still towered over the rest of the forest easily. Along with everything else around him, the tree was charred and frail. Whatever immense magical power that used to emanate from it was now gone.

Ban had seen this sight before. Last time he wasn't as concerned about the tree as he was the fairy dying in his arms. Her dying wish was for him to plant the Sacred Tree's seed and create the Fairy Forest again. He did as she asked, and he came here periodically to provide the tree with the Fountain of Youth in his veins. This was where he would visit Elaine's body, and every time he would promise her he would find a way to revive her. For nearly twenty years, this tree had felt like a home, not because he was labeled the new Fairy King, but because this was where she was.

Now he stood before the very tree he planted and nourished for two decades and felt like history was repeating itself.

Elaine was gone. The Sacred Tree was gone. The Fairy Forest was gone.

The last time he went through this, that was all he could lose. This time, he lost so much more. It was hell trying to continue on after losing Elaine the first time, but at least he had somewhere to go. He used his arrest and subsequent executions as a distraction from the pain, but whenever he was left alone in his cell, all of it came rushing back. Joining the Seven Deadly Sins was the most effective distraction for him, but it only lasted a few years until they were framed and forced to split up.

So what was he supposed to do now? After he lost everything? Everyone?Just standing still for the first time in weeks was enough to crack some of his emotional barriers. The numbness was fading, replaced by a sharp stab of pain in his abdomen. Ban had probably experienced more physical pain in his lifetime than any other human and the majority of the other races, and he'd had his fair share of emotional trauma before.

That one stab was enough to bring him to his knees, and he couldn't stop his body from shaking. He braced his hands on the ground in front of him and tried to breathe. He couldn't. Everything around him was blurry. He felt like he was going to pass out.

He tried to move. He tried to get up just to do something, anything to distract himself from one of the worst pains in his life.

He managed to lift his head and glance to his right. A collection of large rocks and boulders sat less than twenty feet away from him. He's surprised he didn't notice them before; one of the boulders was dozens of feet tall.

He staggered to his feet and made his way towards them. The pain began to lessen as he occupied himself with studying the rocks.

There were six of them, all of various sizes. The first one he approached was about five feet tall, and the next three were just under a foot taller than the first. One was a few feet taller than Ban himself, and the last one towered over them all at about thirty feet. None of them seemed to have even been scratched by the blast.

It took him a moment to realize it, but when he did, he turned around and looked at the Sacred Tree again.

The only thing capable of burning the Fairy Forest was the flames of Purgatory. Whatever power the captain had contributed to their final attack must have been what set the forest ablaze.

But flames need time to burn.

The tree most likely had a small amount of time to use whatever magic it had left before it completely burned up. It could have made a last ditch effort to stop the flames. It could have tried to revive some of the forest or even save itself. Instead, it formed these rocks.

But why? Why would it waste its time making these? He was aware of what they represented, but he still didn't understand why the Sacred Tree would do this.

Ban knew what he had to do, and even though it would probably take him months, even years, he needed to do it. He needed the distraction.

And he wanted to do it. For his friends.

He approached the smallest of the rocks and heaved it onto his back. His steps were smaller and slower, but he walked.

Right back in the direction he came.

Elaine was within sight of her apartment building when the raindrops started to fall. She put her hand over her coffee cup and picked up her pace a bit. She all but ran when the rain started to pour. Luckily, she managed to dart inside the lobby before she was completely soaked.

She had planned to hurry to and from the coffee shop so she'd be back long before the downpour, but she had gotten distracted and completely forgot about the coming bad weather. She would never admit said distraction was a surprisingly familiar and attractive man, but she knew that was the truth.

It was out of character for her to be so taken by someone at first sight. She could recognize and appreciate if somebody was attractive, but she had never really been boy crazy. She had always felt like she had been off the market, but she always chalked it up to her brother being so overprotective. Now that she thinks about it, she's never really been interested in anyone. Never. Not even a crush.

So what the heck happened back at the coffee shop?

She shook her head as she unlocked her apartment door. A part of her wanted to see him again, but another part didn't, solely because he was somehow different from the others, which made her nervous. For the time being, she would listen to the antisocial part of her brain. He was just some guy. That's it. She opened the door and walked inside.

They had a pretty nice apartment compared to what other colleges offered. To the left of the door was the living room. They had the television set up on the opposite wall from the door, and they had a couch and a couple of cushy chairs arranged around a coffee table. The wall to the far left had two doors: the bathroom and Diane's room. To the right of the door was their kitchen and dining area. The dining room consisted of a small wooden table set up near the door, and the kitchen was in the far corner, with marble counters and a breakfast bar. Splitting the kitchen and dining area was a hallway, which led to Elizabeth and Elaine's rooms.

Elaine hung up her damp jacket on the coat hook next to the door. She set her purse and coffee cup on the kitchen island before checking Diane and Elizabeth's rooms. As she expected, neither were there. Before she left they were talking about going to hang out at Meliodas and Harlequin's apartment after unpacking a little. Elaine decided she would unpack as well until she finished her coffee, and then she would go join her friends.

Her brother's apartment was a bit different from her own. The living room was right in front of the door, with a large entryway on the back wall leading to the kitchen and dining area. Two hallways were positioned on either side of the kitchen entryway, the left leading to Harlequin's room and the bathroom, the right leading to Meliodas and their new roommate's rooms.

Her brother was talking to Diane on the couch when Elizabeth let her in, and she could hear voices coming from the kitchen. One most definitely belonged to Meliodas, and the other sounded… familiar. But still unfamiliar. She honest to god couldn't figure out what was going on with her today. It was probably just their new roommate.

"Elaine, I was about to call you. I didn't know if you were still out there in the rain. It looks like it's starting to get pretty bad out there." Elizabeth said as she closed the door behind Elaine.

"I'm fine, Elizabeth. I managed to get back right before it even started." Elaine reassured her friend. "I was just doing some unpacking before I came here."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud crash from the kitchen. Both girls turned to look in the direction of the noise.

"Don't worry, Ban is just trying to teach Meliodas how to cook a decent meal." Diane explained.

Ban…

Bandit Ban.

Elaine didn't know where the words came from, but suddenly they were at the forefront of her mind. What in the-

Her thoughts were interrupted by Meliodas emerging from the kitchen with his hands behind his head and a large grin plastered on his face.

"Oh well! Guess I can't be taught. Looks like you're our new designated cook, Ban!"

She heard a sigh and a chuckle come from the kitchen that for some reason gave her goosebumps. "Aye, aye, Captain."

The owner of the voice decided to exit the kitchen as well. As he ducked under the doorframe, her heart rate picked up.

Tall. Pale blue hair. Red eyes.

He smirked when he saw her.

Oh God.

A/N: What do you think Ban's doing with the rocks? Let me know your thoughts by reviewing the story ;)