Meanwhile, Albert immediately approached the location where Forn's body lay, followed by Liam from behind.
Their concern made their footsteps heavier but more determined. Albert slowly lifted his head and tried to wake him up.
But he failed; Forn did not regain consciousness. The four policemen approached to ask who the woman was who had turned into a strange creature.
Liam turned his head, his face filled with pity. "She is the owner of this house and also my friend," said Liam in a hoarse voice.
The police captain turned his head and ordered his men to take Forn's body to the treatment room for further action. Once she regained consciousness, she would be asked for information about the fire.
Before that, the captain asked Liam, as his acquaintance, for permission. He agreed, as did Albert. They hoped that Forn would be fine and regain consciousness as soon as possible.
Based on Albert's experience and having heard of similar cases, there was a fifty-fifty chance that Forn would fall into a coma and no one knew when he would regain consciousness. And half the time, death would come quickly.
For now, he chose not to give Liam this important information and decided it was better to wait for further news.
The police horse-drawn carriage arrived, with a cover on top and a crescent moon emblem on the back.
Two policemen hurriedly moved Forn's body into the carriage. They both gave a thumbs up, a sign of approval.
The coachman, pale-faced and wearing a pointed top hat, nodded, the sound of the whip cracking accompanied by the neighing of two horses. The carriage moved, heading towards the nearest hospital.
Meanwhile, the police captain and his men were still questioning, or more accurately interrogating, Albert. From behind, Liam could hear a little of the conversation and did not want to interfere with the police.
Firefighters were still extinguishing the remaining flames. They had also been instructed by the police not to approach the pool of blood.
Liam turned his head towards the ruins of the house and saw the remaining pieces of wooden stairs. Suddenly, he remembered the pool of blood he had seen earlier.
He immediately rushed to the location of the bloodstain, which was none other than the path leading to the stairs. Upon arriving, he was shocked to see that the bloodstain had not diminished at all.
"What the hell is this? This... This isn't ordinary blood." Liam said in a panic. He thought that ordinary blood exposed to intense heat would change colour and have a strange smell.
Strangely, his shirt slowly melted as if it had been burned by something. But Liam did not feel any heat on his body.
The three firefighters who had completed their task were about to inform the police. But one of them saw Liam sitting close to the pool of blood.
The officer took off his cloth mask and shouted, "Run... Don't stay there!"
The shout echoed around him, making it clear to anyone within earshot. Liam immediately stood up and wanted to find the source of the shout.
As he stood up, he realised, after hearing the sound of dripping and smelling burning fabric, that his white shirt had holes in it and was oozing a liquid that continued to melt and wet the tips of his shoes.
But he didn't know why his shirt was melting. Liam was shocked when he saw the pool of blood forming a floating message in front of him.
——
Broken, broken... This world is broken. Know that I will change this world even if it means becoming a criminal. Remember that my existence is very real.
——
Those words swirled in his head, making him think twice about that strange warning.
"What does that mean?" Liam murmured softly. "Is it a warning to me?" He pointed at himself, and at the same time, the writing disappeared.
Three firefighters approached him, one of whom was a woman who did not want to lose an innocent person.
"Hey, have you lost your mind?" the woman asked worriedly, thinking Liam had gone mad and didn't care about his own life.
Liam shook his head and replied with a grin, "No, I don't know anything."
Hearing that answer, the woman clenched her fists tightly, her face contorted as if she couldn't resist punching Liam in the face. However, one of her other colleagues stopped her, lowering her clenched fists.
"Enough, he wasn't told by the police about the bloodstain either," said the man softly as he removed his face mask.
The woman tried to calm down, relaxing the muscles in her face and hands. She took two steps forward and said with a gloomy expression
"I'm sorry if I got emotional with you. It's just that this isn't the first or second time I've experienced this, and I'm constantly frustrated seeing the loss of life from these incidents," said the woman, lowering her gaze to stare at the black ash on her shoes.
What did she mean? So it wasn't just Forn who had experienced this? I knew that, even Zavi had experienced it.
Liam muttered to himself.
Liam covered his face with both hands, then left without saying anything to the woman. From a distance, the female firefighter stared at his back, feeling that her words had ruined his mood.
The woman hurried over to Liam, and as soon as she reached him, she grabbed his hand tightly.
"I'm sorry if my words made you uncomfortable," the woman said, choking back tears, and she immediately started crying, remembering the incident that had traumatised her.
Her grip tightened, making Liam's eyes widen at her actions. Liam's expression turned sad, and he said with a small smile on his face.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm sorry if I did something reckless that could have endangered my life," said Liam as he tried to release the woman's grip on his hand.
Meanwhile, the police, other firefighters, and Albert witnessed the scene. They could only stand by, watching, and not interfere.
Finally, Liam walked over to Albert, put his right hand in his trouser pocket, and returned the silver revolver to him.
He patted Albert's shoulder once before continuing on his way, back to his home in the Chapena district. For some reason, he suddenly remembered his family back on Earth.
Liam continued walking, holding back his pain and sorrow, holding back his tears so they wouldn't wet his cheeks, walking with his eyes closed.
Shortly after that, a shout was heard calling out. Liam immediately turned around and saw Albert running while holding his hat.
Upon arriving, Albert gave him a silver revolver, instructing him to keep it and use it if he was in a pinch.
Liam smiled, turned around, and continued walking while raising his hand to his ear, signalling his gratitude with that gesture.