Kaite left the warehouse without saying another word.
His footsteps faded down the long stone corridor… and then he was gone.
A heavy silence settled in the room, pressing down on William's chest, making each breath feel heavier.
He remained hanging for a while, his exhausted body swaying slightly with every inhale.
Then the door opened abruptly.
One of the followers entered without looking at him. He approached swiftly, grabbed William's head roughly, and tied a thick cloth over his eyes until everything was swallowed by complete darkness.
He didn't speak.
After that, he unshackled him from the chair, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him violently out of the room.
William stumbled multiple times.
His legs were weak, his body barely able to stand, but the follower didn't care. He continued to push and pull him through the cold corridors.
After a short while…
They stopped.
William was shoved forward with force, falling to the ground.
Then he heard footsteps moving away.
A door closed.
And silence.
He could hear nothing.
He remained lying on the floor, blindfolded, his hands still bound behind his back.
He tried to move… but his body didn't respond the way he wanted.
He began to crawl slowly, attempting to feel the floor with his shoulder or legs, but the restraints prevented him from helping himself with his hands.
He breathed with difficulty.
"Did… they leave me?"
He didn't know.
The darkness behind the blindfold was suffocating, and the accumulated pain in his body began to creep back slowly.
He tried to stand once…and fell.
He tried again…but his legs trembled.
Still, he kept struggling.
He crawled a little… then stopped.
He tried to stand… and fell again.
Long moments passed—or maybe hours. He could no longer measure time.
With each attempt, his body weakened further.
Until… finally, his strength gave out.
He surrendered, and his consciousness sank into the darkness.
He awoke slowly.
His head felt heavy, as if something pressed from inside.
He opened his eyes gradually…
This time, he could see.
The blindfold was gone.
The followers… were gone.
But his hands… still bound.
He blinked several times, trying to focus, then looked around cautiously.
The place wasn't a warehouse.
It was a small cabin.
The walls were old stone, rough and irregular, as if hastily built without care.
Dim light filtered through a small broken window, drawing long lines of dust in the air.
On the floor were piles of old, haphazardly scattered pottery, some broken, some thickly coated with dust.
In the corner stood a small wooden table, slightly tilted, with a worn chair beside it.
No one was there.
Only silence.
William sat up slowly, his back still aching from the old wound, his bound hands making movement difficult.
He looked around again, searching for any clue of his whereabouts.
But the only thing clear…was that he was no longer in that warehouse.
He breathed slowly.
William remained seated, observing the cabin cautiously.
The dust in the air shifted slightly with the faint light from the small window, and the wind outside the stone walls whispered softly in the long silence.
Then…
A wooden door creaked.
William's body froze instantly.
The door opened slowly, revealing a figure he hadn't expected.
An old man.
But "old" didn't do him justice.
His hair was pure white, almost like milk, cascading to his shoulders.
His thick white beard reached mid-chest.
But his body…
Was not weak.
Broad-shouldered, with visible arm muscles despite simple clothing, standing straight and firm like a seasoned warrior.
A strange combination.
A face of a sage…A body of a fighter.
He stepped inside the cabin and closed the door behind him.
Then he looked at William.
Not a passing glance.
A scrutinizing gaze… slow… as if reading something deeper than visible wounds.
William felt a shiver crawl up his spine.
Finally, the old man spoke in a deep, slightly rough voice:
"Boy… are you all right?"
He paused, then continued:
"Your state when I found you… was not good. What happened to you?"
His voice was calm, yet carried a strange weight.
William snapped out of his daze at the sound.
He lifted his head slowly, meeting the man's gaze with tired eyes.
Then, in a trembling voice, worn from pain and exhaustion, he said:
"Who… are you…?"
He paused, trying to catch his breath.
"And where… am I?"
The old man didn't answer.
He continued to look at him.
His gaze shifted slightly.
It wasn't angry… but it was sharp enough to make William feel as if something cold was passing through his body.
Finally, the old man spoke in a low but firm tone:
"Boy… I will not ask again."
He stepped further into the cabin.
"Answer first."
Then he added slowly:
"And do not ask… unless I permit you."
Silence fell.
William didn't speak.
He only stared at the man.
His weary eyes trying to read this strange person… while his mind attempted to understand one thing only.
Was this man…a new enemy?
Or…
Something else?
In that moment…
A strange thought flashed in William's mind.
Quick… but clear.
As if it wasn't his own.
"This boy… survived that hell… interesting."
William's eyes widened slightly.
The ability…
Still worked.
But this time…it wasn't Kaite's thoughts.
It was the old man's thoughts.
William raised his eyes slowly to meet him again.
And now…the silence between them was no longer ordinary.