(Bonus scene for no more tension)
Jein was walking in the street and searching for the carriage that brought him to the castle but he didn't find it because the carriage apparently abandoned him in this situation.
And also, Dern returned to his normal personality and he was likely making fun of Jein a bit.
But currently, in the meantime...
At a nearby place of the manor of Dern, Kayle and Eden were doing a training session and Kayle didn't actually know what happened to Jein at the castle because... during training with Eden at a forest, Kayle ended up hanging upside down from a tree and it's already been 4 hours since Kayle was tied there but Rhun can't untie him.
For someone with such good training as a former knight, it was humiliating but Kayle could endure that. After all, Kayle can cut off Eden's head later.
To make a long story short, Kayle and Eden were mostly lost in the forest and after a few minutes, they sat down on a tree trunk. And then, Kayle stood up and was going to look at the horizons with Eden but after a few more steps in the forest, Kayle was trapped by a trap that looked like it was meant to capture a monster or something like that.
And of course, they didn't bring anything useful. There were just some wooden swords, a book, and a photo of Dern that Kayle had taken from under his pillow in his room.
And because of the trap, Kayle couldn't use magic because his hands were tied, and the only thing— or perhaps more simply put, "person" that remained was Eden. But unlike the super-strong hero who is a royal knight of the Royal Legion of the kingdom, Eden is the complete opposite. It was just the start of the story, of course he didn't know how to use his magic and was still a little weak.
But at this point? From Kayle's point of view, Eden doesn't even know how to untie a knot. It's true the knot looks difficult to undo, but it's already been 4 LONG F— HOURS and Kayle couldn't take it anymore.
Kayle looked at Eden who was still trying to do something to undo the knot and he said in an irritated tone, "You're such a useless person, I'm even asking myself why I'm your master. Sigh..."
After Kayle said that, Eden stood up and looked at him straight in his eyes, they were really close as Kayle was still tied up. "You should at least be grateful that I'm helping you. Maybe instead, I would have tried to kill you, so it's okay."
A long, awkward silence ensued. And Kayle began to think that Eden's way of speaking or thinking was a little too familiar (Dern) but alright, Kayle was already used to this, already, after only a few days.
* * *
I was walking aimlessly down the street. And of course, I got lost; just because I know the story of The Hope For A Better World doesn't mean I know the area. I still can hear Dern's voice inside my head, he was giggling at me.
'Are you done now?'
[Yeah, yeah..]
I rolled my eyes, a little exasperated with Dern, but well, at least after everything that happened a few minutes ago, the situation calmed down. And as I was still talking to Dern in my head, I asked him.
'Where is Kayle? Do you have any idea what he's doing right now? I thought he would be there after I finished my visit.'
[Uhm... I don't know, I'm just with you and I'm not a ghost so I don't know what he's doing right now. Maybe, he's probably torturing your precious protagonist, huh?]
Dern said that teasingly. He already wanted to make me worry about Rhun when I already don't trust his beloved sweetheart love Kayle.
And yeah, that's it. Dern calls Kayle like that, It's a denial, but well... I'm not complaining, they're together after all. At least, I think so... But still, Dern hasn't told me anything about his relationship with Kayle.
'I don't have feelings like that for Eden.'
[What do you mean? I didn't mention anything about feelings.]
'...'
'Okay, just shut up. Please.'
My mind was so messy that I said something as such stupid as that I have feelings for Rhun. It was just that, nothing else.
Rhun was just a character I loved in THFABW, he was very well-written and I cried so much because he suffered so much. And seeing him now that I'm in this story, it feels as if I saw my childhood dreams becoming true. He was just a favorite character for me before but now, he was just someone I appreciate. I love him so much, I don't even know what I feel but somehow I think I definitely would sacrifice myself for his story.
...
'Why am I even explaining myself? It feels like I'm in a stage of denial or something but I'm not.'
And when I told Dern to shut up, he really stopped talking altogether. Not even a comment or any flirty teasing. Maybe he was more kind than I thought. Or maybe, he was just pouting.
Since Dern had stopped talking altogether, I decided to continue walking down the street.
Of course, I was slightly hiding my face because I was in Dern's body after all; if anyone saw me, I'd be done for. I was wearing a hooded coat; the clothes I was wearing weren't really very important or were very extravagant. It was just casual clothes, which is a bit strange to me because almost everything in Dern's wardrobe was clothes that shimmered like crystals but this was useful. And I also wore a black face mask.
Maybe I looked like a criminal like that but it was half-truth after all, Dern was actually a terrorist.
As I walked at the crossroads, I didn't turn left and I walked straight to the right. I was lost but I didn't have a good feeling of turning left, maybe it was just my instincts as a reader.
I walked for a few minutes before finally stopping at a street corner and slightly removing my mask to breathe a little. I then looked at the time on the clock in front of an antique shop. It was already 3 p.m.
And Kayle didn't even search for me.. 'Perhaps he is doing something important at home.' But surely, even if he was busy, he would run a marathon for Dern. So, maybe he's in trouble.
"Uh..." Because I was distracted thinking about what might have happened to Kayle, I didn't see a figure walking silently behind me. And I wasn't wearing my mask and Dern wasn't there, so...
I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and as soon as I turned around to see that person, the person grabbed my face and suffocated me with a cloth. I couldn't even have a second to react before slowly fainting.
'What the hell was this journey? I was just traumatized by Klir and now, I'm being kidnapped.'
_ _
[6:54 p.m.]
I finally opened my eyes after long hours of unconsciousness, my head was a little dizzy but I was fine. The place where I was was rather dark, so I couldn't really see anything that wasn't close to me.
And I was lying on the ground but I couldn't get up, it was like there was something on top of me. I looked at what it was and My eyes froze when I saw what it was. There was a person's head on my chest, but it was just a head, it wasn't a person.
I lifted my head away from myself and stepped back slightly as I stood up. I almost felt like throwing up when I saw that; it was the head of a dead person. There was even some fresh blood left. I sat in the ground to calm myself down.
"Why was this on me...?"
I was still a little shocked by this extravagant arrival I received as a welcome as a kidnapping victim, but after a few minutes, I recovered, trying to figure out where I was for now.
I looked around the room and saw a small door on the roof and some stairs. I was definitely trapped in a basement.
I went up the stairs, but when I tried to open the door, it wouldn't open. It wasn't that impressive, it was probably locked since I'd been kidnapped. I went back downstairs, my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and I could clearly see what was there. There wasn't anything very useful for escaping, but before I could search for anything else, I saw a cage. There were some bones of people inside, people who were already dead, and the closer I got, the more I saw a living person inside.
This person was writing on the wall with a human bone; it freaked me out a little, but I approached the cage anyway. And after a few moments, I heard that the person was humming some kind of song. I didn't really see what this person was written in but it was like coded letters, I didn't know this language or anything like that but I was slightly confused.
It was written :
- .... . / -.- .. -. --. / .. ... / - .... . .-. . / ..-. --- .-. / --- ..- .-. / ... --- ..- .-.. ... // .-.. . .- ...- . / -... . ..-. --- .-. . / - .... . / -.. .. ... .- ... - . .-. / .- .--. .--. . .- .-. ...
'What does that even mean?' I wasn't really good at coding and I wasn't learning stuff like that, even though this code seems somewhat familiar to me.
I was now right in front of the cage; the person inside was still humming and writing on the wall as if they couldn't hear me. The person had rather long hair and was wearing just a black t-shirt and grey shorts and that was a little damaged.
I gently touched the cage barriers; luckily, they weren't electrified or anything like that, and also, it looked like the cage wasn't even closed. Out of curiosity, I opened the cage door and went inside. The person finally reacted, they froze slightly at the sound of the metal and they stopped writing and humming.
And after a long minute, the person started to turn around to look at me. I was slightly surprised by the person's appearance, it looked like a man, but his face was really pretty. But there were a few injuries in his arms.
After a few awkward moments of silence as we just looked at each other, I tried to talk to him. "Uh... Are you alright?"
The guy didn't answer, he was still staring at me in the eyes. It felt as if he was reading my soul but I didn't really care about that, I'm not really important. And this guy, he wasn't part of the THFABW storyline, it must have been some random character who died early on but...
It seems like he was in this basement for a long time and all those people who are dead.. they were probably with him before.
As I was thinking about something that I could try to tell him, he spoke to me. "You're new here, huh?"
I was a bit surprised by his cold tone but I answered immediately. "Yeah, I think I was kidnapped and I don't know where I am but do you know how to escape this place?"
"Do you think I would be here if I knew how to escape this place?" This sentence was ironic, I felt a little stupid because of his answer but at least, he talked to me so maybe I can make him my companion and escape this place with him.
It sounds a little insane but I don't have time to stay here.
"You are the only person remaining here, right? If you want, we can try to escape this place. I'm not really intelligent but I know how to survive." I said in a sincere voice, and I smiled at him. I don't really have to trust him, I just met him but I can convince him to guide me at least and I want to save him. He's a victim like me after all.
He sighed in an annoying way before talking again. "Okay, I'll help you but I already tried to do that multiple times and I couldn't escape from here. So.. if you don't want to die, don't do anything but I would help you though."
This person was a little annoying but he was kind. I already like him.
In a soft tone with a little joy and a bright smile, I said. "Okay then, I will find a way to leave from here and you'll help me!"
I helped the guy to stand up because his legs were a little weak, he hasn't gotten up in a long time, according to what he told me.
And out of curiosity, I asked the guy. "By the way, what is your name?"
"My name is Zhertva Aur and you?"
I froze slightly; after all, I couldn't say I was Dern, otherwise Dern and I would be in trouble. I don't even understand why people would want to kidnap Dern while he is or at least, was Klir's ally.
So, I decided to give my real name even if I would have a lot of problems after but that's nothing. It's later, not now.
"My name is Seo Jein, you can call me Jein."
As I said that, I saw a slight smirk from Zhertva. "Nice to meet you then, Jein." As he said that, Zhertva winked at me.
...
What?