Leon woke up to the sound of crackling fire. Shadows danced along the uneven wall.
"You're awake."
Leon glared at the old man sitting by the bonfire, tending to it with a small stick. He pushed himself up and noticed the bandages wrapped around his body.
"You shouldn't move too much. The Life Essence I used may have worked through the surface, but I don't know about your internal organs."
Leon flinched at the old man's words. His eyes opened wide.
"Life Essence," he repeated.
Leon's gaze changed. He had heard about those before back on earth. Life Essence, a miracle medicine used by Hex bearers inside the Hollow. It created a massive wave of criticism towards Hex bearers because they couldn't take it out into reality.
"You look surprised. Can't believe I used a valuable Life Essence on you?" The old man chuckled, but Leon couldn't trust the small smile on his face.
"Who are you? And where are we?"
He studied the cave they were in. The dirt walls were made of the same gray color as the forest. And at the innermost corner of the room was a packed bag. However, what caught his attention more was the ragged clothes so familiar to him. It looked the same as the echo stalker's clothes.
A small hill of those rags was stacked beside the bag, at least that was what Leon could make out from the small amount of light the fire could reach in that corner.
The wind whispered from the cave's entrance. Outside, an impenetrable darkness greeted him. A gray fog swayed by the entrance and hit the light from the fire.
"No! Please!"
The hair on his forearms raised. Leon was reminded of the horror he faced earlier.
"Don't worry. We're safe here. As for me, I'm Del, a Hollow Hex bearer and your senior."
The shadows from the fire danced on Del's face. The small smile he had hid the viciousness under it. And Leon didn't have to think hard to realize that fact.
"You don't seem to trust me," Del stated, and his smile widened.
Leon had to hide his emotions. Nothing comes out of making an enemy of Del, for now at least.
"Life Essence is a price I can't match in spades, not even with my full trust."
Del chuckled, the old man that he was; he knew how Leon buttered his tongue just to utter those words.
"Well, consider it an investment."
"How could I be happy with an investment given by a no-name man?"
Leon had never heard of the name Del back in reality. But having a Life Essence would mean that he should be someone powerful enough to own it. And someone as powerful as him should have made a name for himself back on Earth.
'But not a single newspaper, news, or even hearsay mentioned the name, Del.'
"Well, my clan was destroyed years ago. And I destroyed everything that contributed to our downfall."
Del's smile fell, and for the first time, his true emotions reflected on his face. A man of no emotion. Someone who had lost everything and had given up, but was still breathing.
But something dark hid behind his stoic face. And Leon couldn't fathom Del's past with it.
"What am I supposed to do with your investment if you've done your revenge?"
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't need someone as weak as you for revenge. But I did need to plant a seed back on Earth, before I lose all of my legacy."
Leon couldn't understand. What was the legacy Del spoke of if he'd already burned everything and left with nothing but a void? What would a slumrat like him have to catch Del's attention?
"You still look confused," Del mentioned.
Leon didn't realize that he'd been wearing his emotions on his face. He didn't like the fact that he could become so confused and agitated by something like this, even after everything he had experienced back in the slums.
"Don't worry, you'll understand everything at the right time. Rest, for now. We'll take turns on the watch."
Del didn't give him any room to retaliate.
'I guess getting some rest would be better than arguing.' In the end, Leon surrendered to his suggestion.
He lay back down and turned towards the cave wall, watching the shadows dance from the fire. He had already made up his mind about surviving in the Hollow. He decided to cooperate for now. Surely, someone who used Life Essence on someone like him wouldn't kill him at the next opportune moment.
However, Leon couldn't find it in him to get even a wink of sleep. Fortunately for him, Hex bearers are sturdier than ordinary humans. Higher-ranked hex bearers could go on days without sleep and still be kicking monsters on the back.
Just then, something popped into his mind.
With a single thought, white runes reflected in his eyes.
[Name: Leon]
[Hex Rank: ???]
[Ability: ???]
[Description: You have the ___. Follow the Hollow's voice.]
[Blight: None]
[Resonance: 0.0001%]
A frown made its way on Leon's forehead. The crease deepened as his eyes scanned the runes. It looked both familiar and unfamiliar to him.
Having access to discarded confidential information from both the government and military, Leon knew how the Hollow communicates, at least he knew the gist of it.
'Those reports might not be as accurate as these ones, but they sure do look far too different.' Leon thought to himself.
He had never seen a Hex Rank that was unidentified, more so for an unknown ability that had a description.
'Well, it's not like the description really tells me anything.'
Conflicted by the fact that his former knowledge was rendered useless in the face of the sudden anomalous runes, Leon couldn't help but glare. His eyes skimmed through the runes once more before they stopped at the last one.
'Resonance.' He thought inwardly.
Resonance was a word unfamiliar not only to him, but maybe to everyone back in reality. Such a thing has never been mentioned in Hollow educational books, news, and even fictional novels and dramas.
It was either something insignificant or something unknowingly important.
'I should be able to know what it is in the future.'
Leon decided to put it aside for now. There was nothing he could do, even if he contemplated it.
It didn't take very long for his turn to watch. He needn't pretend to sleep because he knew someone like Del wouldn't fall for such an act.
Unlike him, who was tense the entire time, Del managed to get a proper sleep. Leon couldn't help but admire the fact that it didn't take even a minute for Del to fall into a deep sleep right after he lay down.
And as the darkness outside became lighter, a new day greeted them. Leon didn't need to wake Del as he stood like it was clockwork.
"We need to move if we want to reach the next destination." Del grabbed the packed bag at the far corner of the cave.
Leon couldn't look away. But as much as he wanted what the bag contained, he couldn't bring himself to ask. He had no idea how powerful Del was, but it was clear as water that he was stronger than him.
They had no problems navigating the ashen field. And it was all thanks to Del. The gray canvas stretched into the horizon as if it were never-ending. It reminded him of the forest.
Although the surroundings were quiet, Leon couldn't shake off the occasional sound distortions of voices through the passing wind.
As they traveled farther away from the cave they came from, another forest came into his line of sight.
"It's not the same forest where you came from," Del stated after noticing a small crease had appeared in his forehead.
However, Leon already knew that it wasn't the same forest.
'Those trees are very much alive.'
The forest in the distance had lush, albeit gray, leaves. It looked as if snow was covering the leaves, but Leon knew that pristine white snow would shine even from far away.
'It must be some kind of ash.' He deduced.
"We need to get there before it gets dark," Del informed.
Leon looked up at the sky. Throughout the entire day of their travel, the sky remained the same. The light gray clouds swayed everywhere but showed no sun above them. It was the same for the snake-looking silhouette above the dust-like clouds.
"Are you curious as to what that is?"
He looked at Del, who was looking at him with a small smile on his face. He took another peek at the creature above the clouds and nodded his head slightly.
"I don't know, either." The small smile on Del's face became a little bitter.
Leon felt a little irked by his words, but the feeling disappeared just as fast after seeing the bitterness plastered on his face.
"No one knows what's sleeping above those god-forsaken clouds." Del' face returned to its usual stoic expression as he turned back to where their destination was. "I'm still looking for the key." He whispered to himself.
Leon couldn't hear what he said. The sound distortion occurred once again. But this time, they couldn't ignore it the same way they did with the others.
"We should move." Something grim flashed through Del's face as they picked up the pace.
Their trip to the forest was smooth sailing, but Leon's guts screamed that something felt wrong. Something about the recurring sound distortions and the frequency jumped by a lot as they neared the forest.
Soon, Leon found out why.
With a swift turn, Del grabbed him by the arm and pushed him to the ground. A cloud of gray dust rose as his body thudded loudly from the force he couldn't fight. He shot daggers towards Del, curses at the tip of his tongue, ready to burst at the old man.
But that old man plopped down right beside him. His gaze focused, and the aura around him completely changed. Leon felt his chest tighten.
'What is this feeling?' His hand flew to his heart and pressed hard on it, but the pressure from his movements was nothing compared to the one coming from Del.
He followed his line of sight, and soon, whatever color remained in his usual pallor dropped. A few hundred meters away from them was a group of echo stalkers.
The swaying of the hem of their ragged clothing and the dust rising with each of their steps made them look like they were floating.
Soon, the terrifying voices reached him once more. His eyes shut tight, and his hands flew to his ears. His breathing hitched, and it made it harder for his heart.
"No!!!"
"Help!"
"Please, don't kill me!"
"Mom!"
"I'm sorry."
[It's fine.]
Leon's shut eyes opened wide. The breath he's been holding left his lips.
It was that whisper again. The same one every time.