Catalyst of Enigma

Back in the dark forest, chewing sounds could be heard.

"Ah... ah... I really can't thank you enough, young man," a husky voice could be heard as the man continued eating.

"Hehehe..." a young man's voice could be heard as he replied.

"No need to thank me, old man. Isn't it human nature to help people in distress?

I mean, we are all human in the end."

Hearing this, the old man chuckled.

"Yes, you're right. Indeed, lending a hand in dire situations is human nature," the old man replied.

[Hm, seems like those large fruits I found earlier weren't poisonous,] he thought as he continued watching the old man.

Yes although his gesture looked kind. in reality the boy was only using the man as a test dummy to check whether the giant fruit he saw was poisonous or not. And what better way to check than using and unsuspecting bystander as a test dummy?

The boy might have been really hungry but he wasn't going to let that feeling cloud his judgement. He would only do so if he had no other options.

Looking at the old man, the boy asked curiously, "Hey, old man, how's the fruit taste?

[It's been more than a day since I gave those to him, and it doesn't look like those fruits have any adverse effects...]

"Great! It tastes really good.

Cough

J-just where did you get this?"

"Nowhere special, I just had some spare on me so when i saw you i thought of shearing."

Hearing this the old man felt moved for a moment. [Sigh why aren't there more kind people like this in the world?] he thought to himself as he savoured the fruits taste.

Thinking for a moment, the boy asked, "Hey, old man, do you know where we are?"

"Where we are?"

"Yes. While I was on my way home, a flash of light suddenly appeared, blinding me, and the next thing I knew, I found myself here," he said as he watched the old man's face, looking to find any changes in his expression.

Looking in front of him, the old man let out a regret-filled sigh.

"Apologies, young man, but I haven't the slightest idea either.

Just like you, this old man was just walking around the market, then a bright light suddenly appeared, and the next thing I knew, I was here."

The boy listened to this as his thoughts continued to churn.

[So it turns out I'm not the only one who got transported here. Hmm... I wonder where the others are? Maybe if I find someone, they might know a way out of here,] he pondered as he scratched his chin.

"Ermm... excuse me, young man..." Hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Are you perhaps a shaman?"

Hearing this, the boy's ears perked up.

[Shaman? What's this old fool talking about? Why would I be a shaman?]

Thinking for a moment, he replied, "No, I'm not a shaman. Why?" he asked curiously.

"Ahh... apologies, young man," the old man said awkwardly. "I-I just thought you were a shaman because you look like you can see in the dark."

[Huh? Shamans can see in the dark? Wait... shamans exist in this world as well?]

Unperturbed by the silence, the old man continued his ramblings.

"You see, before I found myself here, I was in the market with a friend of mine who happened to be a shaman. I remember him talking about completing this mission that he was assigned to.

He talked about how he could only find his target in the night. And although I was worried for his safety, he reassured me, saying that shamans have the ability to see in the dark."

Finishing what he was saying, the old man stared into the darkness in front of him.

The boy watched him, his expression hidden behind the cloak of darkness.

[If this old man was sent here, then his friend must have been sent here as well.

A shaman, huh... should I go find him? He might know where we are,] he thought as he scratched his chin.

[Ahh, whatever... I'll think about this later.

First, I need to go get some more of that fruit I found yesterday.

I only have half an apple left. And that fruit looks big enough to last me a month.]

"Young man... young man, are you still there?"

An old, withered voice sounded out as the old man continued calling to no avail.

"Did he leave again?" he muttered to himself as he stroked his beard.

Sigh "He did this the first time we met..." he said as a memory flashed through his mind.

Aizer, who was watching the old man ramble on, slowly walked away, his expression indifferent.

Ever since Aizer had manipulated the surrounding shadows to cover his hands and feet, the control he had over his ability had significantly improved.

It had improved to the point where he could cover his entire body in a thin veil of shadows if he wanted to.

This was the benefit of having the darkness ability. What could take a shadow user weeks or months to achieve, a darkness user could do in just a few days.

All Aizer had to do now was to gain better control over the elkris in his body. The more control he had over that, the longer he could use his ability for.

As he continued walking, he suddenly heard the shouts coming from the old man he had been with earlier.

"Ah... heaven truly isn't blind. Sending people to rescue this old man," he exclaimed as he suddenly stood up, running.

Aizer, who heard this, turned around only to see the old man frantically running towards a light.

Unlike Aizer, who could see in this darkness, the old man was completely blind in this forest. So the moment he saw a light, he suddenly lost all composure, running towards the source.

He had been in this forest for days on end, practically living his life as a blind man, and although he had Aizer to keep him company, the boy would always disappear without a word, leaving him alone in an unknown place where he couldn't see.

Now that he had finally seen something after days of being blinded, how could he not rush towards it?

Sure, he did have some reservations about just running towards a source of light in a place shrouded in utter darkness. Who wouldn't find that suspicious?

But once he heard human speech coming from the light while three other sources of light lit up, all the hesitation vanished as he dashed towards the light, fearing it would suddenly disappear.

Aizer, who could see what was going on, frowned. [I don't remember seeing those people there before... did they just appear here? Were they teleported here like me?

No, looking at their expression, it doesn't seem like they're the least bit surprised that they're here.

Looking at their gear also proves my point.

They have weapons on them and torches as if they knew something like this was going to happen.]

Aizer made his deductions as he observed them from afar. After Aizer had turned his soul into a soul core, fuelling it with elkris, he noticed two things.

The first one being his vision. After creating a core, he noticed that the surroundings didn't seem as dark as they once were.

He even noticed that the range of his vision had increased, allowing him to see further distances.

And the second one... well, he was still working on that.

Looking at them, his thoughts continued to race, not showing any signs of stopping. [Should I meet up with them? No, let's stay here and observe for now.

If what that old man said was true, I should be the only one able to see here.

Well, unless there's a shaman among their group or a darkness/shadow user.]

Leaning against the tree bark, he observed the old man's interaction with the group.

A/n: it's a Christmas miracle I'm finally back after hours of grinding and farming. Mery Christmas as well.