He closed his eyes for a while and thought of a place he can find more information about the pocket watch. Antricist... of course only the antricist can know the worth of this watch. But in the same time an uncertainty started to be felt in his chest. "What if they try to deceive me?" he thought. As someone who was raised on the streets, he was conversant with these kind of con attempt.
While his fingers continued to hold on to the watch, his eyelids began to get heavier. His body started to become overwhelming with the fatigue of the running away. "I must... rest for a while." he murmured but before even being able to continue his sentence he pressed hismhead against the wall and his eyes closed involuntarily.
...
When Ryu opened his eyes the sky was darkened. The pale yellow light of the street lamps illuminated the decaying walls of the street. He scrubbed his eyes and got up, took a trembling breath. As the fog in his mind cleared, he took a quick look around himself.
"Time moved that fast?" he muttered Ryu himself. He touched the watch in his pocket and paused for a second. "Fuck! I have to go right away." he shouted. Even thought he was overwhelmed with fatigue, he managed to quickly gather his strenght, compose himself, and set out towards the antricist without wasting any time.
Ryu left the depths of the street and headed towards the main streets. The stone paths illuminated by dim lights left a slight burning sensation under their tired feet.The air was thick with a mixture of humidity and dirt left over from the day. Water flowing down the wall had formed small puddles on the floor, and each step in the water echoed down the street.
The surroundings gradually revealed the night face of the city, with its dimly lit streets, scattered lights in the distance, and the quiet atmosphere that belonged only to the hours after dusk. The streetlights, shining brightly in the streets, cast a pale yellow light. Low-voiced conversation, laughter, and sometimes a muffled argument echoed from the half-open windows. The sky was completely dark; the stars were hidden by the smog that had settled over the city.
The shop windows lining the narrow streets reflected a shabby squalor outside, contrasting with the wealth displayed within. Jewelers, fabric sellers, incense shops—their windows were almost deceptively rich. A few places still tried to attract customers. In the quieter corners of the street, under the flickering candlelight near the walls, a man was kneeling, perhaps suffering from hunger.A young boy with unkempt hair and torn clothes sat in a corner, staring at Ryu from afar but saying nothing.
Without caring to any of these things Ryu he quickened his steps. These scenarios wasn't new to him at all. As someone who was raised in the streets he always saw this sharp contrast between wealth and poverty. But with every step there was a feeling growing inside him. The weight of the watch was giving not only physical but also mental load at the same time.
At one point, the laughter of a group of drunks caught his attention. Men emerging from a tavern in the corner were leaning on each other, struggling to stand, muttering incoherent things.A bottle fell from someone's hand, and the sound of breaking glass filled the night. Ryu quickly changed his path, thinking the noise might attract attention.
"I need to reach the broker as soon as possible." he thought. His mind was focused on the watchs worth and to unravel the potential mysteries of it.
He turned a corner and entered a narrower alley. Things were darker here. Ahead, an old man leaned against a wall, wiping his face with an old handkerchief. Coins were lined up on a small stool beside him. The man noticed Ryu passing, but his gaze was lost in a hopeless emptiness.
A short distance away stood an old fountain. The stones were covered in moss, and the water inside was almost black. A woman stood beside her, carefully filling a copper bucket. When their eyes met, she glanced at Ryu for a moment, then bowed her head.
"This city..." Ryu muttered without helping. "...is like the grave of those who carry no hope in it."
As Ryu emerged from the dark and chaotic alleys and reached a larger area, he noticed that it was a bit more organized than the others. However, this order was merely a facade, shrouded in a gray cast by poverty and deprivation. The streets were still paved with stone, but the cracks and unevenness were fewer than elsewhere. This difference was enough to make this place seem "better."
The stone walls of the houses lined up left and right presented a solid, solid appearance, but the cracks and grimy surfaces had succumbed to time and neglect. Faint lights flickered behind the rusted windows, their glass stained with grime. Some houses' doors appeared locked, seemingly never to be opened. Others stood wide open, The wide-openness of the others indicated the indifference or helplessness of those living inside.
The stands that was placed in the middle of the streets was catching attention. All kind of junk, pieces of fabric, and stuff trying to sell some stale bread. He was watching everyone around him like they were potential customers.
A head a group of kids was sitting on the ground playing a primitive game. The children's faces carried a pure joy that seemed independent of the harsh conditions of life. But his old, patched clothes and bare feet betrayed the desperation hidden behind this joy. A child's voice rose:
"No, it's my turn now! You just placed!"
The others responded with laughter. While this laughter momentarily dispersed the gray air in the street, it couldn't change the truths echoing in Ryu's mind.
A little further on, she noticed a kaf leaning against a stone wall. The small bag in the woman's hand appeared to contain a few pieces of dry bread. Her long, frayed skirt trailed along the ground, her face wrinkled with age.As she passed Ryu, the woman turned her head to look at him. Ryu tried to read her gaze, but the woman quickly nodded and continued on her way.
Even though life around him felt like poverty at every turn, Ryu couldn't help but think that this place was relatively "better." If the rest of Blight was wallowing in misery, this was the least muddy part of it on the surface, but that didn't mean anything to Ryu.
At the end of the narrow streets, he saw a small shop marked with a faded sign. The sign read in almost faded gold letters, "Golden Age Antique Dealer."The lack of signage and the name seemed to indicate that the shop did not belong in the Blight district.. But Ryu didn't care. After a few hesitations, he walked toward the shop.
Stepping into the Golden Age Antique Shop, Ryu was startled by the sound of the bell hanging above the door. The moment he stepped inside, a strong smell of dampness and dust filled his nose. In the dim light, he scanned the contents of the shop. It was strikingly dense with old bones, rusty helmets, cracked paintings, and faded books. Among the shelves stood a suit of armor that had once been magnificent, but was now dilapidated from neglect. The symbols carved into the armor's chest had faded to the point of being unreadable. Old, meaningless maps and scrolls hung from the walls, further adding to the chaotic atmosphere of the shop.
Behind the counter stood an overweight man in his sixties. His bald head gleamed like oil in the dim light, and he pushed up the round glasses that had fallen down his nose. His face held a serpentine composure.
Ryu approached the counter with heavy steps. The old man, without looking up, was examining a dusty scroll in his hand. But when Ryu stopped in front of the counter, he glanced briefly over his glasses. He frowned, as if the presence of the boy before him were a disturbing detail, and spoke:
"What do you want kid?" he said with a voice both thick and indifferent.
Ryu took the watch out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. "I want to sell it," he said simply and clearly.
The man's eyes carefully scanned the clock first then Ryu. Then, with a forced smile on his face, he said:
"Hmm... An interesting items. But this worth nothing. İt looks like an old junk."
Ryu was watching the mas movements carefully. He noticed a slight tremor in the man's long, slender fingers as they grasped the watch. His pupils dilated momentarily through the glass lenses, then returned to their normal composure. Something inside Ryu told him this wasn't an ordinary reaction.
"Is that so?" He said with a light mockery in his voice. "But you looked so carefully for such a junk like this."
The man laughed annoyingly as he took off his glasses and set them aside. "Yes, I looked carefully because I collect all sorts of useless things here." He took his hand off the clock. "I can give you a bronze coin... at most."
Ryu tried to control his anger inside him. Having lived on the streets, he could easily understand how people lied and how they manipulated. The man's eyes narrowed slightly as he examined the watch once more. At that moment, Ryu realized the man's true intentions. This watch was indeed valuable, but the man thought he didn't know.
"A bronze coin?" Ryu said trying to hide the anger in this voice. "Is this really the worth of this watch?"
The man shrugged. He said sarcastically: "Kid, you're a little young to be talking so much. I'm the expert here, not you. Besides, who would buy such trash?"
Ryu paused for a moment before the man. Then he let out a thin smile. "Okay," he said, "I'll take him to another witch doctor then. Maybe he has a better eye, who knows?"
The man's eyes flashed with concern for a moment. That was a good sign for him. "Come on," he said quickly. "You can't sell something this small anywhere else. My offer of a bronze coin still stands."
Ryu looked into the man's eyes and spoke:
"You know, this watch is worth much more. You're trying to lie, aren't you?
The man's face suddenly became serious. "Careful, kid," he said, his voice taking on a threatening tone. "This isn't the street. I make the rules here. I offered you a chance, but you... apparently, are just a stupid kid."
Ryu took a step back.But he kept the defiant tone in his voice. "And you're a stupid schemer who doesn't know how to take advantage of opportunities. I'll sell this watch somewhere else and you'll just stare at it."
The man gritted his teeth in frustration. For a moment, he looked like he was going to get up, but then he sat back down. Putting his glasses back on, he said, "You're a tough bargainer, kid. But that watch won't get you anywhere." Then he turned away.
Ryu took the pocket watch from the stand and returned it to his pocket. He walked with a sarcastic smirk on his face. "You lost." hemsaid while getting out of the door. He turned back into the narrow streets of Blight, ignoring the muffled grunts behind him.