One by one everyone left the town through the teleportation area. Eventually, I was the only one left behind in this town that always seemed too desolate…
In this empty town, with no one to distract me and nothing to disturb me, I began to rethink the recent conversations I had overheard but wasn't able to fully contemplate.
The conversation that had made me question why everyone was about to leave this area after my disappearance. Although an answer had already been given to me, I still believed that there might be more to the story.
It did not make sense for everyone except Sutow to suddenly want to do something else than to wait a few more minutes for my return. Why did they choose to disregard Sutow's suggestion to wait a bit more? Why did they become impatient so fast?!
Was I truly gone for only a few minutes? Could it be that what felt like to be a few minutes to me seemed longer to them?
Noting these questions in mind, I set them aside. Instead of coming up with theories, it would be better to put things to the test.
I rushed and hurried to grab the closest standing torch, and with it in my hand, I went to and through the teleportation area.
I encountered the void again, as I had already anticipated. It really was some kind of void, not an issue with my senses, nor an illusion. My natural senses were working just fine. It's just that the place in itself had nothing for my senses to pick up, not even a small piece of rock or surface.
"The torch is still with me; I can still feel it in my arm. Also, my senses haven't disappeared at all…" I muttered. "I can also see the light from the torch, but I can not see anything getting illuminated by it, other than the body of the torch and my hand that is holding onto it..."
I was brought into some kind of empty space, a space with no gravity, no objects, and no light. All there was, was the air that I breathed and the things with me.
"Space magic… The reason why teleportation can be possible, and the reason why I'm in this void. This s-"
Finally, my senses were loaded with information again. I was no longer in the void but in a cave that was bustling, unlike other times. Before me was a person who seemed to have tripped not too long ago, along with a few other people who were standing not too far from him. I recognised them as they were none other than my people.
'But why is this guy collecting dust in front of me? Was he trying to teleport back to the town to see what was taking me so long to arrive?' My eyes couldn't hide my curiosity.
"Ouch, ouch... Why would you push me all of a sud-" The guy turned around as he spoke his words but stopped his sentence right before its end.
"Leader, it's you!" The reason why the guy had not finished his sentence was because he saw me after he had turned around.
"Ahaha.. My bad, I arrived not too long ago, so I was still trying to figure out my surroundings. I should have moved away, knowing you would teleport after me."
Based on the guy's words, I quickly realized what had happened just now. Apparently, the guy had been standing at the teleportation point to which I had teleported, which is why this small accident happened in the first place.
'Phew…' I felt relieved that this teleportation wasn't brutal to the point that I would either suffocate in this guy's body or cause this guy's body to blow up.
Throwing away this disturbing thought of mine immediately, I turned my attention to them and realized something. Some of my people were absent…
Noticing the absence, I looked at the guy nearest to me and asked, "Where are Sutow and others?"
"They're down there," he replied.
"Show me the way."
"Yes, please follow me, Leader," was his answer. Then he guided me a few steps forward to where a cliff was revealed.
Down below where the guy was pointing, I could see, although faintly, the figures of the named ones and the few others that were behind them.
'It seems they are preparing to gather more food to eat later.
"How come you guys aren't with them?" I asked the guy, and while doing so, I looked behind me at the others with a gaze that conveyed how I was looking at them deeply to find any lies that might come out of their mouth.
"Oh, that's because when we had arrived, we saw the others already over there, so we thought we would wait for you." One of the three that I was looking at answered. This person seemed rather quite familiar… He had a broad body and appeared to be in his early teens.
'Is it the guy that was in the same prisoner area as mine?' I wondered and soon recognized, it was indeed the case.
Taking note of such a possibility, I decided that later, when we have time to rest and engage in casual conversations, I will inquire about it.
For now, my priority was to gather everyone and be with them, lest they panic again and do something that needs reprimanding.
"I see, so you were waiting for others. That is actually not too bad of an idea. Good thinking," was how I responded to the answer that the teenager had given me.
"Alright." I continued with a slight change of tone in my voice. Like a commanding officer, I then issued everyone a command. "Let's get to the others."
But then I remembered their special situation and asked before moving forward, "Do you all know how to get down, or do we still need to figure it out?"
To my question, the teenager I saw on the ground upon arrival responded while walking up to me. "Leader, I've looked into it earlier. It seems that we have to go from the right, all the way to down there."
He pointed ahead as my eyes followed his direction.
The path down that the teenager pointed at seemed to be quite a rough one. Observing the distance and the danger that we'd have to cross just to descend, I couldn't help myself from swallowing my saliva out of anxiety!