LOTM: Seekers

48. Give up

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.

Cassia couldn't tell if she had truly heard the words or merely imagined them—but it didn't matter. She had seen something she wasn't meant to see, and the cost of that…

"Hm, can't have others spying on me," the young man said, his voice calm but tinged with annoyance. Then he waved his hand. "Can't interfere?" he muttered, genuinely surprised.

He waved his hand again, and suddenly, Cassia's vision warped—twisting, distorting, as if reality itself were collapsing and glitching around her.

"Ah, it seems I can only seize what concerns me," he said— not disappointed, merely intrigued.

The vision morphed once more, but whatever appeared slipped from Cassia's memory like water through her fingers. An instant later she found herself in a hanging garden adrift in the sky, ivy‑draped terraces suspended among luminous clouds. Before she could absorb the splendour, the dream unraveled and darkness claimed her.

"Chris…" she murmured as she awoke, the name slipping from her lips. 'That's the name of the blond young man', she realized. Somehow, through that prophetic dream, she had come to know it.

"Did I tell you my name yesterday?" a voice replied, tinged with curiosity. "I can't remember—I was pretty out of it yesterday, to be honest. Want some?"

Cassia heard the sound of chewing and caught the savory aroma of cooked meat. He was offering her breakfast.

She tried to use her aspect again, but as expected, it was useless. Her ability only worked on those in close proximity—and they had practically been touching when he carried her like a sack of potatoes. Even then, she couldn't see his aspect at all, as if he didn't have one to begin with.

'That also means… the person I saw last night was him', she realized, a shiver running down her spine as she recalled the terrifying image of the mushrooms.

===

Puahh!

I exhaled after drinking from the cup the girl handed me. It's not like I couldn't create water myself—there's a freebie function for that. But why waste something valuable when someone offers it willingly?

I should've done this earlier, I thought as I bit into the cooked meat of that shark-like creature, grilled over Uriel's fire. If I'd gone one more day without food, I might've slipped into full-blown madness. My mind had already felt hazy yesterday—like I was drifting in and out of a waking dream.

"Thanks... What was your name again? Cassie? Cassia? Sorry—I wasn't exactly in the best state of mind yesterday."

"It's Cassia, but you can call me Cassie," she replied while munching on the meat. She didn't seem to hold a grudge about the previous day.

Still, a troubling thought lingered in her mind: 'If I had told him I didn't have any special power... would I be the one getting munched on right now?' The unease was hard to shake.

"Alright then, Cassie," I said, offering a small smile. "Let me properly introduce myself again. I'm Chris."

Trying to restart things from the beginning, I continued, "By the way, do you know anything about this place?"

Cassie shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know either. But… it might be one of the unexplored Death Zones, far from the Human Capital."

"I see. I think I heard you mention Human Capital before. But if this place is that far out, why are you here?" I asked, processing the new information. It likely wasn't her—but if the person who lit up the night yesterday was human, maybe they were her companion.

"It's my first Winter Solstice after becoming a Sleeper," she said, her expression turning grim.

Sleeper? Winter Solstice? I could only guess she was talking about something similar to incarnation or constellations—concepts that were probably common sense in her world.

"I see… That must be difficult," I replied, not fully understanding, but trying to match the tone of her feelings.

"So, what are you planning to do now?" I asked gently.

"I'm looking for the gateway," she said uncertainly, her voice lacking any real conviction. Though she appeared composed, there was a flicker of silent frustration—as if silently cursing her fate.

"I don't know where the gateway is, but I'm planning to head toward the source of that fire from last night. Maybe it's your companion. Maybe they know something about it. What do you think? Want to come along?"

I didn't have anything better to do anyway. Even after eating, I wasn't sure if I was losing my mind or not.

'The Constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire applauds your generosity.'

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a good person—so where's my reward for that?" I teased her, as I had done many times over the past week.

Cassia hesitated, then said, "Um, sorry, this is all I have," as she pushed a staff and a cup toward me.

Now I felt bad, like I was poaching from a homeless person. "I'm sorry, I wasn't talking to you," I said, pushing the staff and cup back toward her. But how had she done that? Could I do the same?

"Is there someone else?" she asked, habitually glancing left and right despite her blindness.

"No one. It's just the two of us," I replied, hoping to stop her searching. Instead, she stared at me expectantly, as if demanding an explanation.

"No one else here—I'm talking to an angel," I said, watching as she stared at me even more intensely, almost as if she were glaring.

If before Cassia had only been suspicious, now she was certain this guy who seemed to live here had one or two screws loose.

"Okay, stop looking at me like that," I said, reflexively shielding my eyes from her gaze. "If you're ready, let's go. I'll carry you down."

I paused to grab some rations, then carefully scanned the area for any high ground—just in case I needed a quick escape and couldn't return here in time.

The Constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire says she doesn't sense any change in your connection.

"Thank you," I replied, feeling at least a small measure of relief. I thought I caught Cassia looking at me again, but I chose to ignore it.