A gentle feminine voice came from directly behind his back. The boy's face turned pale the instant he heard it, ruining the fleeting sense of comfort he had tried to convince himself of.
A small gasp escaped his lips, and his body shook in fear like the last leaf on a tree branch in autumn. In a swift motion, he rose from his crouch and spun around to look directly at the one who had spoken-only to find a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes the color of the sky.
But what froze the blood in his veins was that he could see through her, as if she were some kind of ghost.
Instinctively, Haruki stepped back, trying to put a safe distance between himself and that being. But with that movement, his foot slipped on the damp soil beside the lake.
He stumbled, losing his balance. His arms flailed rapidly in the air, but it was already too late-he fell into the water, causing the lake's surface to explode outward, scattering droplets everywhere.
The woman took a few steps back to avoid the splash, a bright smile adorning her face. She leaned her body forward to observe his state more closely, golden strands of hair falling gracefully over her shoulders.
Haruki's pants were soaked after falling into the water, and he lifted his head, looking straight at her before him, his eyes meeting hers. Fear was still gnawing at his soul, even though the woman gave no sign of danger. Yet, in this world, nothing could be predicted.
"Ah, I must have scared you, please accept my apology."
The woman was the first to break the silence between them; her voice was sweet and her manner gentle, and she didn't seem like any creature Haruki had encountered in this world.
Haruki took a few moments of tension before replying to her, trying to hide the trembling in his voice.
"No… it's fine… Are you like them?"
The transparent woman tilted her head slightly in surprise at Haruki's question, yet her delicate smile never left her lips for a moment, before she opened her mouth and said.
"Like them?… Who do you mean?"
"The monsters."
A small laugh slipped from the woman at Haruki's straightforward answer, and she didn't take it as an insult or belittlement, but instead answered him as she placed her hand on her chest.
"I am not like the monsters you have encountered. I am of a higher rank… I am called Seraphine, pleased to meet you."
Haruki stood up, water dripping from his soaked pants, and felt a comfort he hadn't tasted in a long time. He no longer even saw the woman as a threat. Running his fingers through his hair to lift it from his face, his lips parted into a wide smile showing his teeth.
"Nice to meet you too. Finally, I found someone I can talk to without drooling over me! Can I ask… what is this place?"
He said this while waving his arms in an exaggerated manner, pointing around him, while his eyes never left Seraphine, who adjusted her stance in turn, then looked around her with a gentle expression before returning her gaze to him to answer as though she knew her homeland perfectly well.
"We are in… Malvora."
"Malvora…?"
Haruki repeated the name. It sounded a little strange, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he focused on Seraphine, waiting for her to give him further clarification, so he asked her with a puzzled inquiry.
"And what is my relation to this place?"
Seraphine suddenly approached him and placed in his palm a type of gemstone with a beautiful white color, resembling a pearl, but brighter and whiter than any gem Haruki had ever seen, as if it was something that didn't exist in his world. Yet, no contact actually occurred between their hands.
Haruki felt a bit confused by the unexpected gift.
He examined it in his hand for a while, his eyes fixed on the stone in fascination, as though he were holding a precious treasure he must protect. Then another question slipped out of him.
"What is this?"
Seraphine stepped away from him again, and upon closer observation, her body seemed to become more transparent than before, as though she were vanishing before his eyes.
"Rub it several times and I will come to you, but I cannot promise to respond immediately."
"You're disappearing?! But you haven't told me yet what I'm supposed to do?!"
Haruki asked hastily, his eyes widening as he stepped out of the water toward her in panic, unwilling to lose the only thing that might help him out of his predicament, for she was fading before him.
"You must gather the fragments from the leaders of the six regions to leave this place. Don't worry, I will always be with you on your journey. Farewell, Haru."
Seraphine's voice faded along with the complete disappearance of her body. Haruki lunged forward, trying to grab hold of her, but nothing remained before him, and he shouted.
"Wait! Don't go!"
But Haruki's plea met with nothing. His shoulders dropped in helplessness, uncertain of where he should go now. As he stood there, he felt something slippery moving inside his clothes.
He opened his right sleeve, thinking some kind of rock had slipped in when he fell into the water, but with a slight shake of his arm, a fish slid out through his clothes and landed on the grass.
"Ughhh!"
Haruki screamed and jumped sideways with his whole body, holding his arms out randomly in front of him while balancing on one leg, as if in some kind of improvised defensive stance.
He kept watching it flop around on the ground until it finally stopped moving altogether.
He approached cautiously, nudging it forward a little with his foot, but it lay still and lifeless. He placed his hand on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully as he examined the state of the fish.
"Well… I guess everything's fine."
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Thank you for reading! If this moment touched you even a little , please consider adding it to your library.💐