Amidst a faint echo of dark, the silent plane of water held its eerie silence, conjured in the space with an unknown concern. But that silence didn't last long, as something descending, drowning like a falling stone, drifted down into the depths.
The world moved with his very presence; the surroundings shifted into something else as a bubble formed, representing a fragment of his own past. Even so, Noen just stared lifelessly at the only source of its luminance, attracting his shadow, shimmering beneath his own blood.
The ripples wavered like floating strings, gently touching his skin, though the world around him felt like a forgotten memory, like a never-ending sea.
He kept staring. The soreness screamed to just close his eyes for once, yet he didn't. His eyes turned red; small trails of blood slid down his cheek as it colored the still water in its own deep hue.
Slowly, time passed along the waves of the sea as he reached his hands towards the very faint light. His eyes contracted, and, like a hand reaching out to a god, he moved his hand closer, pointing and touching the faintness of the burning warmth.
But—
That warmth vanished; everything went dark, falling into a silence that has no end nor a start. The air thickened as the ocean turned into a pool of blood.
Slowly, it lifted him up in the air, covering his body in the foul smell of metallic stench. As he stood, looking pale at his own shadow, his eyes were lifeless; his hand had gone numb, and a small trail of blood dripped from his mouth.
A faint smile of acceptance reflected on his face as that entity, standing like a reflection of his shadow, vanished without a trace....
***
"Mister..? Mister..? Mister..?!"
Haff, haff, haff—
Noen woke up with a sudden jolt of breath, his eyes contracted from a dream that had almost felt like a nightmare to him.
A sudden surge of emotion tightened his throat, as a phantom pain ignited in his whole body; everything felt unexplainable to him, but, like an instinct, his hands moved on their own, touching the scar that should have vanished, yet it resided in the middle of his chest. A single touch of his hand reminded him of the very moment when those sharp, shiny claws tore through his chest.
"Wh-what happened?"
He questioned, though, before he could have thought of anything sera exclaimed, looking at him.
"MISTER…! You are okay!"
She jumped on him without a single thought, her hands covering his back with a slight warmth, an assurance telling him everything is alright.
Her tears slid down her cheeks, hugging tightly. Her trembling voice echoed.
"I'm glad you are alright…
I- I thought you died."
Noen, unable to do anything, just sat there, slowly hugging her tightly. He said assuringly,
"Don't worry, I'm alive.
So, stop crying…"
Even then, Sera kept crying; her fear, her worries came out in one burst, her voice faded with the silent fluttering leaves and in between the windy sky, everything fell still.
Noen stayed sitting there motionless, but something else was in his mind—a fear, a thought.
"I might put this frail girl in danger…
It's better for me to leave her in a safe place…
I cannot."
He slowly looked down upon the girl, glancing at her head as he calmly grabbed her shoulder.
"Sera… listen."
She nodded at Noen's words, sniffling, eyes glossy in the bright light as she looked at him straight in his eyes, while Noen, still in his thoughts, replied with a low voice.
"If you stay with me, I don't know but,
I think I will put you in danger."
"So… it's better for me to leave." He said, looking sadly, his hand instinctively moving behind his head, scratching as he murmured,
"That's the best I can do to repay you.
A great thanks for taking care of me.
But… It's time."
"NO!" she exclaimed, leaving Noen in utter shock, her eyes trembled from sheer determination as she affirmed further.
"I will not leave you alone."
"BUT…" he was cut short as her voice followed
"I said, I will follow you!!"
"Are you even understanding the danger of being with me?!"
"YOU ALMOST DIED!" he yelled at her with an unknown worry, because he knew, not now, but later, this girl would get in danger because of him.
"By my cursed fate," he thought.
"Please try to understand… or else I have to make a forced decision."
"Do what you want—!" Sera said poutingly, looking sideways in ignorance, whereas Noen, having no choice, replied in a frustrated tone,
"Well, you made a choice then…"
He grabbed her like a sack.
"Wait, No..!" she screamed with tears in her eyes, as he jumped high into the sky.
His strength, significantly grown from the fight, allowed him to move far distances in minutes, yet his focus on getting this girl to a safe place made him ignorant of this fact.
Soon, like a breeze, everything flew past him as he landed on Sera's house, dropping her on the ground.
And… Sera, like a child, pouted her cheeks and sat on the floor.
"Go away, why are you standing here?"
"Are you for real?" he sighed.
Noen, completely frustrated by her behaviour, asked in a low voice,
"So, why do you want to follow me?
I already said, you will get into danger, like today.
So tell me why? Why are you not understanding?
I…"
Noen's voice stuttered as his eyes started to well up in tears, his fist grip grew tighter as he asked questionably,
"Why are you giving me hope?
Just why can't you leave me?
I'm a stranger to you, to this world, so why?"
"Just tell me why!!?" he wiped his eyes, trying to calm himself down, but the anxiety from his past still followed him into this world. His voice was completely broken from the pain; yet he still forced words from his mouth. He said in a low tone,
"Sorry, I lost myself, I didn't mean—"
Sera slowly stood up, sensing the pain and worry inside Noen's heart, moving closer.
She slowly wrapped her hands around Noen's waist as she hugged him tightly with her firm grip. Her gentle voice echoed in the air; she said,
"Mister, you don't have to worry about me.
It was because of my own greed that I behaved like a child.
I- I didn't mean to hurt you." Her voice fell low, the more she said,
"I just wish to see the outside world.
So, can you please fulfil this request of mine?
I promise I will not follow you after this." She looked down, almost losing hope, but he nodded, clenching his teeth in an attempt to hold his emotions back. He said,
"Fine… I will do it.
I will take you to the outside world.
But remember, your life will be on the line with me.
So, do you still want to come?"
A bright smile slowly rose on her cheeks as she nodded in an approving gesture. She asked,
"You promise?"
Her innocence touched something deep inside him, and taking his calm, he said nonchalantly,
"Yeah, yeah, promise."
And slowly the moment came to a pause before the cold that followed the falling dark touched his back; a sudden chill went down his spine as he instinctively looked back in cold fear, but there was nothing except his confused face and the falling sunset.
Yet… far behind their backs in the distance, a shadow lurked like a predator, watching with a twisted look and an uncanny stare; its eyes glowed faintly beneath the dark shade of trees.
A smile stretched across its face.
Then, its mouth opened wide, revealing countless teeth hidden inside, following a deep cave to its throat, staring at Noen from far away with its tilted face, its eyes blackened till the light became a tiny dot of seed.
Though its smile stayed untouched, its eyes became intense; staring like an owl in the dark, its hand scratched a tree, its blood gushed out from its writhled finger as it wrote something on it before it vanished deep inside the shadows emerging from the dark forest.