As several events unfolded, Aren felt overwhelmed. However, something that felt even more unsettling was the odd feeling that surfaced within him, seeing the old man in person.
But, of course, the question he asked was clearly hard to understand for the old man.
'I can't even communicate properly. And how did he even save us?'
As the question roamed his mind, he started remembering what had happened before.
First, the earth started violently shaking. Then, it broke down, quickly reaching up to him and Faye.
Aren's eyes widened.
'Faye… Where's Faye?!'
Quickly turning to his left, he only saw the thick grey fog. To his right, only the old man stood at the edge of the pit, patiently waiting for Aren.
Aren searched in every direction but realized Faye was missing.
Without a moment's pause, he spun around to face the old man.
"Where is she?" asked Aren.
Aren balled his fists, staring deeply into the man's eyes with nothing but violence.
After years of enduring Long Nights and the harsh world outside of the city walls, he was able to emit a presence no one could merely achieve.
The old man opened his mouth to speak, raising his hands and putting them over Aren's shoulders. Then, he brought his face closer to Aren's.
"... Calm."
A simple word, yet it held such vitality. Echoing even throughout the fog, Aren couldn't help but feel stunned as if his words carried a touch of magic.
Being an Aberrant, he was very familiar with that feeling.
The old man released Aren's shoulders and fixed his gaze on him. He placed his hands behind his back, with his right hand resting on top of his left.
With no more words uttered, he walked into the deep fog.
Aren shook his head in disbelief. 'Ridiculous. This is ridiculous. He's making fun of me!'
He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. Opting not to rush in like he always did before, he followed the man quietly.
'I need to find Faye before she gets in trouble. She's practically powerless.' Having thought that, Aren clicked his tongue.
'And this old man... How did he even pull us from the air? Is he using the Infracta?'
Aren felt visibly annoyed by the many mysteries around him. He disliked mysteries more than anything else.
After more minutes of awkwardly walking, the old man halted.
Aren was surprised as he saw a bright light emerging from behind the thick fog. Had it not been for the fog blocking the view, he'd have known what the source was.
The man formally raised his hand and politely gestured for Aren to go first inside the shining light.
'Huh? Is this a trap?'
Narrowing his eyes, Aren didn't feel any type of mischief or misdirection coming from the man.
After weighing his options in a moment of hesitation, he ultimately decided against going first. It felt like the wiser choice — the safer option.
Doing the same as the man, he gestured with his hands for the man to enter.
The old man smiled, then slowly walked inside the bright light at the end of the fog. Aren's brows raised, watching him go so willingly.
It almost made him feel as if the old man was tired of him.
"It doesn't matter. It shouldn't.'
Aren went straight ahead and entered, following the steps of the man carefully.
He expected it to be a trap that led him to a fall, or perhaps to torture him, or even a horde of monsters waiting just ahead.
But Aren stood frozen, taking in the sight in front of him.
A path led to a town that seemed abandoned yet somehow thriving in its architecture. The buildings were shaped in extraordinary ways, but what astonished Aren even more was the structure coming down from the skies.
An inverted castle, its pointed tip plunging downward, towers above a vast, billowing sea of clouds that shrouds the rest of its magnificent structure.
The clouds swirled and played around the castle's intricate architecture, creating an ethereal scene that blurred the line between what Aren saw as reality and delusions.
The color palette of the buildings below the castle resembled the dark blue sky, sprinkled with shining stars.
As Aren was still observing, he felt the gentle, magical touch of the old man once more.
The old man patted him on the back, waking him up to reality, as well as telling him to get a move on.
Indeed, the language barrier was hard to manage, but they were still working well.
Before heading inside the weirdly organized town, Aren had to make sure of one thing.
"Is Faye here?"
He asked, this time with less violence and more respect towards the man. Not exactly respect, but he struggled to find the words after what he had just witnessed.
The old man looked at him for a few moments, trying to understand Aren's question. Finally, he ended up nodding.
'So, no.'
Aren nodded in disappointment as they both walked down the path.
'How is this even possible? I've heard of legends from the Southeastern Continent having similar designs, but nothing to this scale…'
It was truly unbelievable, but to Aren, it mattered little as he had already decided that he needed Faye to continue in the Quantum world.
Without her, he'd be lacking the knowledge to explore and understand.
Unlike him, she had read and learned many things before her exile, as she was part of the Harmony Ensemble, though he did not truly understand what that meant.
Suddenly, Aren heard the distant loud noises of children. Not far away, several children were running toward the old man beside Aren.
Unbeknownst to his arrival, they seemed a bit scared as they got to the old man and hurriedly hugged him at the same time.
"Grandpa!" One of the children spoke out loud, surprising Aren, seeing that they could speak his language.
'Huh… I feel taller…'
In the blink of an eye, Aren felt as if he was the same height as the old man next to him.
Though he didn't feel even close in comparison before. 'Was I not concentrating? No, that's impossible.'
After the old man finished hugging the children, he raised himself to look into Aren again.
He eerily smiled as he saw him, then opened his mouth to speak.
"Good. You're starting to adapt."