Talio looked at the Blonde with a calm expression, though his mind was anything but calm.
He waited a moment before asking:
"Care to elaborate?"
The Blonde tilted his head, repeating the same odd neck movements as before, and then it dawned on Talio.
"What did I just say then?"
'This is starting to become a problem... if push comes to shove, I could probably escape from him.'
"I can't lip-read, so I've got no clue what you just said."
The Blonde chuckled.
"Like hell I buy that. And besides—I didn't move my mouth at all."
'Shit.'
Talio realized he was in a less than ideal predicament. The Blonde was dictating the flow of the conversation, leaving him to react. So, in response...
Talio yawned, rubbed his eyes, and replied lazily:
"I saw your lips move. I'm not an idiot—I could clearly see it."
The Blonde raised a brow, about to respond, but Talio cut him off before he could.
"Also, shouldn't we just head deeper into the cave? Maybe find a group to join. It's too dangerous with just us two."
He lay back, closing his eyes as if taking a quick rest. But his mind was racing, working overtime to deflect the Blonde. He knew there was no way this man would drop the subject so easily if it painted him suspicious.
The Blonde's eyes narrowed, and though Talio couldn't see it, he could feel the grin stretching across his face.
"Alright then. Let's get going."
"What?"
Talio shot upright, immediately regretting it.
'Damn it. I've just made it obvious I was suspicious of him. But I wasn't expecting him to agree that easily.'
The grin on the Blonde's face seemed to grow even wider.
"Is there a problem?"
"Are you serious? Of course there's a fucking problem."
"And that is?"
Talio forced a pained expression.
"We just fought someone around Adeptus strength, and you want to get moving right now?"
He sighed—half from relief that his acting wasn't completely awful, half to sell it further.
The Blonde looked at him, then shrugged.
"So you wouldn't mind if I interrogated you some more?"
"Fuck you."
Bro's act did not even last 20 seconds
"Huh? What was that?"
If he wasn't already smiling, Talio was certain he was now, ear to ear, enjoying himself more than he should.
Talio gritted his teeth.
"Fine, let's get going, you lightbulb. Lead the way—you can light the path for us."
He gestured down the tunnel.
"No problem. I'll lead. Maybe I'll even help you snag a girl on the way. Seems you can't find your way to a female's heart without me lighting up the way."
Damn bro he really just said you have no game.
Talio was at a loss for words. He simply followed the Blonde deeper into the cave.
Ten minutes passed, and Talio's stomach started growling.
"Hey, can we take a quick snack break?" he asked, moving to lean against the wall.
Suddenly, chains lashed out and yanked him forward, closer to the Blonde.
Normally, Talio would have taken this as a threat, but strangely enough, he didn't feel inclined to resist.
"What was that for?"
"Take a closer look at the wall, idiot."
Talio inspected the stone surface—and his stomach lurched.
Millions of moths blanketed the walls, devouring one another in a grotesque cycle, laying eggs and hatching again in endless repetition.
He shuddered at the thought of what would've happened if he'd leaned on them.
"...Thanks."
The Blonde didn't reply, only pressed on. Talio followed, though his attention was caught by faint markings carved into the walls. Ancient symbols. Each identical—simple singular lines. Oddly, the moths avoided them entirely.
Talio traced them with his eyes. Somehow, he could understand them, as if something whispered the meaning directly into his head.
"Forsaken we were, cherished his children."
Are they still salty over what happened years ago
Suddenly, guilt seized him. His chest tightened, and he felt the overwhelming urge to cry, to beg forgiveness.
He bit down hard on his tongue. His eyes watered, but the intrusive feeling faded away.
"Hey, you there?"
Talio blinked and bumped into the Blonde's back.
"Yeah, yeah. What happened?"
"It seems we've found some people. But… they're not all from the same group. Looks like they only just met up."
Talio tilted his head, silently asking for clarification.
"Mhm. Problem is, we're still in a narrow passage. No one in sight yet. Are you sure you're not schizo?"
Talio's comeback?
'Though I guess I've got no right to be asking that.'
A vein bulged on the Blonde's head, fists clenching tight. Talio smirked—finally, he'd gotten under his skin.
The Blonde exhaled sharply.
"If your Imperium's at Dominium, you can channel Vis Mundana into specific body parts. I did it with my eyes. I'm assuming your dumbass is still stuck at Disciplina?"
Nevermind...
"Tch..."
Talio kept quiet, unwilling to embarrass himself further.
After a few more minutes, they emerged into a small cavern. Around a fire sat scattered adventurers—about ten in total. With Talio and the Blonde, that made twelve.
'1, 2, 3... 10. Including us, 12.'
The atmosphere was suffocating. Even without seeing their faces, Talio could feel the distrust radiating from each of them. Broken groups, thrown together by circumstance. Probably split up by the disease.
The Blonde signaled him forward, and Talio complied without fuss.
They sat by the fire, drawing a few dirty glances from the others. Talio and the Blonde did not acknowledge them—for entirely different reasons.
Then, just as he sat down, the Blonde stood and declared:
"Hello, fellow hunters. My name is… well, confidential. But I'm here to clear this dungeon, and to do that, we first need allies."
Talio clutched his chest, struggling to keep his laughter silent. His eyes watered as his body trembled.
'There's no way... He's actually saying this with a straight face? This is too corny—it hurts to watch.'
Sometimes seeing these scenes make me wish I could just pause and do something else... huh that's actually not a bad idea maybe I should start doing that
The Blonde shot him a sharp glare Talio didn't notice, and pressed on.
"But before we gather allies, we must get rid of the rats hiding among us."
The others looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Rightfully so. But the Blonde only smiled and continued.
"Everyone here has been backstabbed by someone they trusted. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here now. Am I wrong?"
Silence.
"And some of you have realized by now—the disease spreads through open wounds, direct access to your blood."
He droned on, but Talio was too busy shaking with laughter to listen—until one line cut through.
"...I believe Talio is one of the infected. After all, he can't see the faces of others."
Talio froze. He could practically see the smug grin on the Blonde's face—figuratively, of course.
'This motherfucking son of a BITCH.'
And bro got played for like the 100th time by this Blonde guy