LOTM: Seekers

47. Delectable

I eyed the newly appeared, human-like creature with suspicion. This was too much of a coincidence. What were the odds of someone arriving in the same peculiar manner I did—so close by—and looking like that?

Four Crab-like creatures skittered around. As expected those creatures won't stay silent with frail prey or it's because I'm rampaging my way? anyway… you won't touch mine.

Threads move from my left hand. the fake hand unraveled itself and shot itself toward the four and binding it down. then it lifted then savagely smashed it together like cracking a nut, if once didn't work you just need to do it twice, thrice, or even more. 

After I disposed of them, I circled the girl, completing two loops. Still, she made no move. What kind of steel mentality did she have? I'm amazed.

Her expression remained vacant, her blue eyes dull and unfocused, reflecting nothing—as if the world around her didn't exist. a thought came to my mind.

Is she blind? I wondered.

Using my threads, I formed a floating finger and directed it toward her. It drifted closer under my will, and I gave her arm a light poke.

In an instant, she leapt back with surprising agility and swung a staff—one that had materialized out of nowhere—toward the finger. But since it was just a small finger, her wide arc sliced through nothing but air.

A grimace twisted her face, followed by a rapid succession of emotions—desperation, anger, resignation, then back to a grimace. A whirlwind of expressions flashed across her features in mere seconds. The strong mentality she showed just now seemed like nothing. 

Then, as if drained of all resistance, she sank to the ground and sat there, shoulders slumped, as though she had accepted whatever fate awaited her.

"Can you hear me? Who are you?" I called out, projecting my voice from the opposite direction of the floating finger.

"!?" She flinched at the sudden sound and quickly turned her head toward me. After a brief moment to collect herself, she responded, "I'm Cassia, from the Awakened Academy."

"Awakened Academy?" I echoed, unsure of what that even meant—but there was no time to dwell on it. The tide could hit any second now.

"If you're not planning to fight, then put down that staff."

No sooner had I spoken than the staff vanished from her hand.

"No, not like that—don't make it disappear. Set it down properly," I clarified.

She looked confused by the instruction but gave a small nod. The staff reappeared in her grip, and this time, she placed it gently on the ground.

"Good," I said as I cautiously approached her, still keeping my guard up. When I was just a step away, I waved a hand in front of her eyes. As expected, there was no reaction.

"If you weren't from the Awakened Academy," She asked, "could you at least tell me which human capital you came from?" She subtly tried to probe me.

"I'm going to carry you for now—we don't have time," I told her. She nodded again, far too obediently.

"Ugh!" she let out a pained noise as I bound her hands and feet.

"Just a precaution," I muttered, slinging her over my shoulder like a sack of flour—or more accurately, like a kidnapper. After a moment's thought, I loosened the restraints so they wouldn't dig into her skin.

With her in tow, I made my way back toward my beloved nest.

***

"Is that water?" Cassia asked, listening closely to the sound. Unlike the first time she lost her sight, she could now distinguish things a little more clearly.

"Yes," her captor replied. "When the sun sets, the dark sea will flood this entire region." That was the reason they had to escape so quickly.

She had listened and remembered all the regions known to humans—those where sleepers typically traveled upon entering the dream realm—but none of them described a place like that.

"Um, could you please untie me now?" Cassia asked, her voice tinged with discomfort from being bound. Still, she felt far more at ease than the first time she'd found herself alone, cut off from others' voices.

"That depends," he replied, then asked, "Do you have… special powers?"

Though she couldn't see him, Cassia sensed his gaze fixed intently upon her.

"Special powers?" she echoed uncertainty. 'Was he referring to aspects?' she wondered. It felt intrusive to ask someone's opinion like that, but she had no choice—her life, in a way, was now in his hands.

"Yes, you know—like spewing fire… passing through walls… or something as simple as reading cards to glimpse someone's past or future."

'He speaks oddly,' Cassia thought, 'like he's drifting in and out of focus—quite different from the sharp impression he gave at first.'

"I'm not sure if this is what you want to hear, but I can perceive other aspects. Just like those nightmare creatures from before—they're called Carapace Scavengers, They are Awakened Beasts," she explained.

A sigh of disappointment escaped him. "Haa… so you do have one, huh? Now that I think about it, you can also make things appear and disappear. You do look rather tasty, though."

His murmured words sent a chill racing down her spine.

Cold sweat trickled down her forehead, mingling with the heavy silence that pressed around her.

Gulp.

She swallowed nervously, then took a steadying breath.

"Um, could you please untie me now?" she finally said, deciding to speak up. Staying silent wouldn't change anything, and if something bad was going to happen, it was better to face it—and end it—as quickly as possible.

"Ah, you're right. Sorry, I forgot about that. I haven't been quite in my right mind lately," he explained as he quickly untied her.

Cassia, suddenly freed, was left momentarily dumbfounded.

She fell into silence, her mind swirling with questions about what had just happened. She didn't even know him. Even after being released, she made no unnecessary movements, instead staying still as she tried to familiarize herself with her surroundings.

"By the way, do you have anything to eat?" she asked, sensing a faint but desperate hope underlying his tone.

Unfortunately, she had to shatter that hope. "I don't, but I do have some water, if you want."

"Oh, that's… fine," he murmured, disappointment clear in his voice.

A heavy silence settled between them once more.

"Oh, someone used white fire," the voice sounded, laced with both ridicule and regret. "Hopefully, they survived that."

'White fire?' Cassia tried to recall if she'd ever heard of such ability but came up empty. Still, the man's tone unsettled her.

"Is there something wrong with that fire?" she asked, feeling more at ease now that there was no immediate danger.

"Well, give me your hand and try to touch this," he instructed. Cassia obeyed, her fingers brushing against something soft and unfamiliar—yet shaped like the palm of a hand.

"...What is this?" she asked, uncertain of what he was trying to convey.

"I lost my left arm the last time I unleashed a bright light like that. This is what's left," the man said casually.

"I see." That was all Cassia could manage to say.

"You can go rest. There's not much else to do," the man said, guiding her to a somewhat soft bed. When she touched it, the material felt oddly similar to the strange hand she had felt earlier.

"I'm going to catch some fish," he added, then left her alone.

From time to time, Cassia heard him talking to himself. It wasn't the first time—throughout her time with him, there were moments when she caught him murmuring as if in conversation with someone else. She truly began to wonder if he had already lost his sanity.

The tension that had gripped her earlier faded away, replaced by a heavy weariness that overwhelmed her—fatigue from before she even entered the dream realm.

Cassia couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep, but when she came to, she realized she was dreaming—a dream within a dream, an unnerving experience.

What she saw was a man dressed in an old-fashioned suit and top hat—the kind of early Western attire she'd studied in history class long ago. He appeared young in his prime, with blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

Yet the most striking, unsettling feature was the massive, strange mushroom-like growths covering his body, obscuring much of his face—so much so that she could hardly make out the color of his eyes. It was a truly bizarre and terrifying sight.

Then, as if the world itself shattered before her eyes, the scene shifted. This time, it revealed another young man—his eyes black and intense, his hair a mass of dark curls. He wore a pointed hat and a crystal monocle over his right eye, once again dressed in old-fashioned attire.

Unlike the first young man, this one appeared perfectly composed, with clear skin and no visible blemishes. Then suddenly, Cassia felt a piercing gaze—he was staring directly at her, as if fully aware of her presence.

"Oh, this is interesting," he murmured.