A loud thunderous boom echoed from across the bridge.
Thick smoke rose to the sky, halting the people from panicking further as each gave the white puff of unnatural clouds on the horizon.
Perhaps, this was the reason why I had never heard of The Casa during my time. It got destroyed.
If it were to be rebuilt, people would hesitate to come back. What happened tonight was too alarming.
With that in mind, I turned to Fifi. She bobbed her head up and down, confirming the theory I had in mind.
I'm not convinced she couldn't read my thoughts. Unless I could talk to someone like Riley and ask regarding the matter, my doubts would remain unless proven otherwise.
"Damn, so this was when the portal opened. But where is it?"
Fifi shrugged.
Winter looked at me and then turned to Fifi. She hadn't spoken a word ever since earlier. The look on her face told me she was feeling lost at the moment.
I would be too if I were in her place. Still, the most trivial question in my mind was left unanswered. And this wasn't the time to ask either.
[That's part of what we're supposed to do]
Fifi eyed me, shifting to telepathy. She gave Winter's shoulder a soft pat, whispering something in her ear. The latter nodded and let Fifi haul her back to her feet.
Once they were standing again, Fifi turned to me.
"We need to find a place to stay for the night," she squinted, looking at me with an unspoken threat. "Lead the way, Exo."
Fifi gritted her teeth, pronouncing Exo as clearly as she could. I internally cursed, understanding what she had implied.
I scoffed.
It almost seemed quiet now. The people who had rushed to get out of the burning building had disappeared to either their homes or someplace else.
Recalling from memory, I walked ahead, leading our trio toward the north. There would be comfortable inns to be found in that area.
My stomach grumbled, reminding me how little I had eaten for the day.
Hopefully, there will be food service available in that area. I could use a bite of anything at the moment.
Fighting that Zardik left me hungry.
The pearly stone I swallowed after the platform disappeared wasn't enough to satisfy my insatiable need for human food.
Despite the upgrade of being able to evolve, I was still one hundred percent human. I need to eat.
Glancing behind me, Fifi caught my gaze and shook her head. She made shooing motion with her hands, not looking too pleased with the way things turned out.
This revelation created another query in my mind. If this has happened before, does this mean someone else was sent back to try and change history?
Or, if not, change it, find whoever was responsible for opening the portal and creating chaos?
There were more questions than answers. It was making me question this whole Nirvana's favorite crap again.
Only bits and pieces of the conversation with Nichen remained with me. It came to my notice that the more I tried to remember., the lesser things became apparent.
But, the encounter with the mysterious persona hidden behind the burning tree stayed. His voice echoed in my thoughts like I was standing before him again.
"Tch," the thought of not being able to enter Nirvana because I wasn't good enough kind of stung.
If I had offered help instead of wishing I had helped, I could have been saved from having to suffer like this.
Still, that would have left me unable to meet Winter.
A tight grip on my arm jerked me out of my thoughts, dragging me back to the present. I expected to see Fifi upon focusing my gaze on the person responsible for holding my arm with a death grip.
But the person holding my stare was the last person I anticipated to see.
"Ysabel?" the woman's eyes blinked. Her cheeks turned a little pinkish, causing me to blush myself.
She nodded, replying to my query.
"Yes. I'm Ysabel."
The way she was still gripping my arm made me wonder what had happened. Her confidence from the previous encounters we had was missing.
"Uh, okay," I mumbled. "So, I'm Exo," I turned to Fifi and Winter. They were looking at me with utmost curiosity.
My cheeks burned, realizing I was alone with three gorgeous females. Not to mention, Ysabel's apparel was slightly distorted. Part of her dress was torn, revealing more thighs than necessary.
I'm loyal to Winter.
But, man. This was no easy feat.
I wanted to shake Ysabel away. But my perverted self couldn't afford to treat a beautiful with such rudeness.
I gulped nervously, sheepishly scratching the back of my head.
"I have some company, and we're heading to find an Inn. I don't know why you're gripping my arm right now, but if you wish to come—"
"Ehem," Fifi interfered. Her stern voice cut my nervous blabbering. "You are welcome to come along with us. But first, you must explain yourself."
Ysabel held Fifi's gaze. I could feel a rising tension between them.
'Fifi,' I warned. She stubbornly defied my warning, continuously battling with Ysabel through a staring showdown.
I knew Ysabel wouldn't stand a chance if they had a cat fight.
If it could be helped, I need to prevent it from happening.
Weirdly enough, I don't even know why they didn't seem to like each other. But then again, they were women.
I don't fully understand their kind; hence, I died single and a virgin.
"Damn," I murmured, hoping Fifi didn't read that part. It was embarrassing to admit.
I'm not sure if it was a familiar feeling. Yet whenever someone brought up getting laid, I extract myself and pretend not to listen.
In truth, I had always been curious about what that felt like.
"Hmph," Ysabel's sound of surrender saved me from falling into the land of manly paradise.
Fifi and Ysabel were no longer glaring at one another, with Ysabel folding her arms over her ample chest.
Her confidence was back.
"Fine," Ysabel turned to me, her expression softening. "I need your help."
I blinked, confused.
"My help in what exactly?"
Ysabel took one of my hands, clasping it in her soft ones. Her eyes shined with tears.
"Please help me save Bronn."
"What?"
Ysabel began to sob.
"They took Bronn. I—I couldn't do anything as they took him away."
"Who took him?"
Ysabel sniffed. She let go of my hand and looked at the horizon.
"I don't know. When the explosion happened and the fire broke out, something pushed me aside, and then Bronn was gone."
Fifi and I exchanged glances.
'Who are they?'
Fifi shrugged, letting me know she had no idea who took him.
Turning my attention back to Ysabel, I let out a low whistle.
"Why do you think I could help you?" I asked.
"Because I saw you fighting a human fish."
My eyes bulged out from their sockets. Ysabel's reply had my heart hammering in my chest.
"You saw everything?"
Ysabel nodded.
"How?" I asked.
Ysabel frowned.
"With my eyes," she huffed, flipping her hair. "Was I not supposed to see it?"
"To be honest?" I replied. "No, you shouldn't have."