"But Boran, how could you possibly be—"
"I'm sure you're wondering how I'm able to come around? I get it, Freida. I, too, believe it is a miracle because I awoke unexpectedly shortly after you left. For some reason, it felt as if I wasn't even injured at all. I was overcome by an unexplainable strength that compelled me to stand." Boran quickly explained himself while stretching his left hand to look into his palm.
For a brief moment, Freida couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was impossible for him to recover that quickly, especially in his condition. When she left him, he was as bad as a withered vegetable. So, what exactly is going on here?
"Aww, don't give me that look, Freida. Is that how you're supposed to thank me after I saved your grandmother and nearly killed myself? Just smile for me, will you?" Boran said as he got closer to Freida.
Freida was still unable to believe what she was apparently witnessing. Was she being tricked or something?
Boran could not possibly recover that quickly, especially given his injured condition. But, if her intuition was correct, then who was this Boran standing in front of her right now?
Freida became suspicious of Boran, who appeared unexpectedly from the back exit. It couldn't be helped, but because of the unexplainable phenomena and happenings that had recently occurred to her, she wasn't sure if this was indeed Boran she was dealing with.
For the time being, Freida remained silent. It would be best if she continued observing this person. If her instincts were correct, getting any closer to this guy would be dangerous. Especially in her current state, where no one would come to her aid if she needed it.
"I'm glad you're finally okay, Boran." she uttered. Freida had to remind herself to remain calm and composed. At the same time, she couldn't let her guard down while pretending to be unaware of her suspicions over Boran's behavior.
"Nice spot you got here. You could feel the breeze of the storm's aftermath from here. Aren't you cold?" Boran asked abruptly as he nudged Freida.
Freida became numb for no apparent reason. She couldn't move her limbs or even speak a single word. It was as if she had completely turned to stone and her mouth was sealed shut, preventing her from parting her lips.
Despite the cold weather, Freida's forehead began to sweat. . Her current situation put her at a distinct disadvantage. She was deemed to get into a lot of trouble if she couldn't get away from this.
"I just love the sound of rain in the darkness. It just feels so peaceful, you know. Ahh…darkness is so lovely." Boran abruptly said as he went to stand in front of Freida. He eventually lowered his head to match her height.
What he did made Freida's eyes widen. Boran's bruises were all gone. He does still wear a cast, but she wonders why all of Boran's bruises suddenly vanished.
Further observation led Freida to the conclusion that the man in front of her was not Boran, but rather an imposter posing as him. She never considered the possibility, but he could be a doppelganger. A doppelganger imitating Boran.
"Hey, Freida. Did you know that everyone has their own dark side that they've been keeping from each other? You have one for sure. But that's alright, you'll definitely be a good girl." He then patted Freida's head.
What the doppelganger of Boran did was somehow remove the seal from Freida's mouth and enable her to be able to talk once again. And the first thing that she said was, "What did you do to Boran? Who the hell are you?"
The corner of his mouth curled up slightly as he replied, "You are no fun, Freida. How were you able to know that immediately?"
"Boran would never treat me like this. Boran would never say something like that. Boran couldn't be here because his body was severely wounded. So, who exactly are you?" Freida struggled against the numbness that her body was experiencing.
It was as if a powerful yet imperceptible chain was wrapping around her entire body, causing her to go completely numb. Even though she couldn't actually see it, she could hear the chain's tugging on her skin. Her energy was being sapped as she struggled to free herself.
"What a surprise! I must have overestimated your critical thinking abilities. You are gifted, which is unfortunate because you are too naive to use it to your advantage. That's why, no matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to break free from my chain of death."
"Chain of death?"
"Yes. You must have figured out by now that your body couldn't move and that a seemingly invisible chain was encircling you as it slowly absorbed all of your mentala."
"Let me go!"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to do that."
"Damn you! Let me go!" Freida began yelling for help as she struggled to free herself from the invisible chain.
"Did you know that the harder you try, the tighter my chains become? "And the more you succumb to fear, which emits a source of mentala, the more the chain absorbs it, which eventually becomes mine."
Freida had to stop herself from crying out for help. She reasoned that if the doppelganger was telling the truth, she should just keep her cool and try to remain calm as much as she could. She should stop overwhelming him with her energy. If he's telling the truth and her fears have been transformed into what he calls mentala, she shouldn't be feeling this way anymore. According to her understanding, mentala might be comparable to her energy in some ways. She had a feeling it was the same, especially since she was already feeling a deliberate weakening of her energy.
"Fascinating! For a lowkey human girl like you, you have so much energy stored inside your body. A few more doses may be needed to extend my mental reserve for another few days." The doppelganger then burst out laughing, his voice low and raspy. Not one word or laugh resembled Boran's style of speaking or laughing in any way. The doppelganger seemed to be gradually reverting to its original form, starting with its voice.
And as the doppelganger kept absorbing Freida's mentala, she was forced to yell out in pain as her body felt sucked up and compressed. "Let me go!" She yelled once more, and this time the doppelganger's entire attention was solely on her as he continued to pursue her while consuming the last of Freida's mentala from her body.
What the doppelganger failed to notice was that an approaching blade flew out of nowhere to strike him squarely in the head. The doppelganger died instantly after the blade sliced deep into its forehead. And such a result immediately released Freida from the entanglement before it completely depleted her.
Freida collapsed into the mud while fighting for consciousness. Before passing out, she managed to keep her gaze fixed on another approaching man dressed in all black odd clothes resembling a century-old cloak, with his face wrapped in old gauze, exposing only his eyes.
He has long hair that he wore down to his thigh and silvery eyes that looked like the moon.
And as he drew closer to Freida, a powerful, terrifying aura began to permeate her entire body, sending her shivers. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to get up and run away because she was too weak. Even speaking was difficult at this point. It had to be because the doppelganger had sapped all of her energy.
The mysterious man lifted Freida from the ground and carried her away. Even though Freida desperately wanted to break free, her body was too weak to even move a finger.
The man lifted his other arm after adjusting Freida's weight into the other as he stood up in the pouring rain. He then extended his thumb's sharp nail to cut through the side of his index. An enormous ray of light was emitted by the droplets of blood that fell to the ground. It was a burst of light that appeared as if it had opened a gate.
Frieda's jaw dropped as she took it all in. Then, before anything bad could happen, she was finally able to speak. "Please let go of me. Where are you taking me?"
The mysterious man just firmly answered, "Paradexia." Without any explanation.
His voice was so powerful that Freida was unable to resist the urge to struggle or protest. And so, even if she was against it, even if she was afraid of what was going on, or even if she was scared of where the mysterious man would take her, Frieda had no other choice but to just allow the man to take her within this portal or perhaps another dimension to which he just referred to as Paradexia.