Chapter 30: The Language of Secrets
Kimo handed Ren his tactical shirt and the long, high-collared trench coat. Ren slid them on, the fabric feeling like a second skin, cold yet strangely comforting.
"Go home for now," Master Kara said, cleaning his spectacles. "It's late. Tomorrow morning, you'll head out for your first official mission. Don't be late."
"Understood," Ren replied.
As Ren turned to leave, Mika leaned in. "Ren, meet me outside. We need to talk." She didn't wait for an answer before disappearing through the heavy laboratory doors.
Inside the lab, Kimo watched them leave. "So, what are you planning for him, Kara?"
Kara's eyes gleamed behind his glasses as he turned back to his monitors. "You'll find out soon enough, Kimo. You'll find out soon enough."
Outside: A Quiet Corner
Ren and Mika sat at a small, weathered table under the dim glow of a streetlamp. The night air was chilly, making the shadows dance around them.
"You're from the Real World too, aren't you?" Mika asked, her voice hushed.
Ren looked at his hands. "Look, I don't know much. These memories... they only just started coming back to me. I'm still trying to figure out who 'Ina' was."
"Do you know English?" Mika suddenly switched languages, her accent shifting.
Ren blinked. "Yes... I know it. It feels more natural than the words we're speaking now."
"That's because we're speaking Melses," Mika explained. "In this world, we can speak and understand Melses instinctively, but we can't read or write it. But English... English is our secret code. No one in Aethelard knows it except people like us."
Ren nodded. "It makes sense. I can speak Melses, but the signs on the shops look like gibberish to me."
"Listen," Mika said, leaning closer. "I've had my memories for a long time. I've been looking for others like me, and you're the first one I can actually talk to."
"Am I the only one?" Ren asked.
"No," Mika sighed. "There's a whole community, but they hide. But I can't take you there yet. You should go home; Hana is probably waiting for you."
"Hana? How do you know about her?" Ren's hand instinctively went to his holster.
"You mentioned her earlier," Mika said calmly. "But before you go, you need to see this."
She reached into her oversized hoodie and pulled out two yellowed, folded pieces of paper. "There was a man named Thomas. The people here called him a lunatic, a madman. But he was from our world. He wrote a book in English called The Truth. The pages are scattered across this island, hidden from the authorities."
Ren took the papers, his fingers brushing against the old parchment.
"If you find any more pages, read them," Mika warned. "The book contains the 'Dark Truth' about this world. It explains how everything actually works—the Vane, the Kings, and the Reincarnation."
She looked Ren straight in his one good eye, her expression hauntingly serious. "I've read enough to know one thing, Ren: Do not trust the people of this world. Not even the ones you think you love. I left my own family because I realized they weren't really 'mine.' Don't even trust your sister, Hana."
Ren stood up, the pages gripped tightly in his hand. "She's all I have, Mika. I can't just stop trusting her."
"Just read the pages," Mika said, standing up to leave. "Goodnight, Ren. Or should I say... Goodnight, Ina."