Orange light filtered through the porous wooden roof, casting a dim ambience in Chloe's room. The air was stale, as if time in this place had never changed. There was no day or night, just the endless ticking of seconds, hanging like a perpetual shadow.
Suddenly, a knock on the door broke the silence.
Chloe, who had been pensive on her shabby bed, gasped.
Slowly, she stood up and stepped towards the door, the creaking of the wooden floor adding to the eerie silence.
When the door opened, Bill stood in the threshold with a serious look. Behind him, Henri leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.
Chloe smiled slightly, tilting her head. "What's wrong?" she asked, her soft voice sweeping the silence.
Bill gave her a sharp look. "Come on out. Let's get some more information," she said matter-of-factly. "Rather than staying in your room."
Chloe nodded slowly, then picked up her cloak and followed them out of the cold and deserted inn.
Outside, the air was heavy, like it was shrouded in an invisible fog. The orange light hanging in the sky seemed reluctant to change.
Chloe held up a hand, letting her fingers filter the light. "It's never night here, is it?" she asked, astonished.
There was something unnatural about this place, as if the world refused to let time move.
Bill just shrugged his shoulders. "It seems so."
Chloe glanced at him, hesitant. "If it's suddenly night, what do you think will happen?"
Henri, who had been silent all along, finally opened his eyes. "Something bad, maybe," he answered flatly, but there was something in his tone that made Chloe shudder.
"Like?" Chloe frowned, trying to catch Henri's meaning.
Bill turned his head and smiled faintly. "Monsters become active... like in Minecraft. If you play that game, you'll know what I mean."
Chloe chuckled. "I don't play games, Bill."
They continued walking, travelling down the deserted cobbled streets. Before long, they saw a few residents who looked like humans... or something resembling humans. Their bodies were rigid, their eyes were blank, and their steps staggered, like puppets that had run out of steam.
"Zombies?" Chloe asked, half-joking, half-frightened. "Should we ask them?"
Bill nods. "Who wants to ask questions?"
Henri let out a long sigh, about to raise his hand, but Bill held him back. "It's better to ask the question together. We don't know what will happen if just one person asks. Let's play it safe."
"Yeah, right, but I was thinking of splitting up anyway" Chloe agreed, though a strange feeling started to creep over her. There was something wrong with this place, something that could not be explained with logic alone. "But it looks dangerous."
Chloe glanced at Henri, who had been listening to them in silence.
"I agree with you guys."
"Seriously?
"If you have an opinion, just express it," she said.
Henri shook his head. "I agree with Bill."
Chloe let out a sigh. "Then let's ask them together."
They approached the inhabitants one by one. Chloe was hesitant to talk to the creatures at first, but after a few tries that didn't yield any answers, she got the hang of it. However, even though they asked patiently, none of the creatures answered. Only blank and mute stares were all they got.
"It's pointless," Chloe muttered. "They don't even understand what we're talking about, I think."
Bill sighs heavily. "So what do we do? Go home?"
Chloe glanced at the bar down the road. "Try one more time there," she suggested. "After that, we can go home."
The three of them entered the dimly lit bar, the smell of stale alcohol mixed with the humid air. There, the atmosphere is the same—mute, empty, and dreary. An elderly bartender stood behind the counter, staring at them with the same blank stare as the rest of the residents.
"It's useless," Bill finally let out a long sigh. "We've travelled all over, but there's not a single clue we can find."
"It's like talking to them is impossible," Chloe said. "They're already... dead. There's no way dead people can talk, right?"
Henri said nothing, but his eyes fell on an old man sitting in the corner of the bar, near a cracked window. His back was stooped, his hair was white, and his old hands held an almost brittle wooden stick.
"You guys go ahead," Henri said suddenly, his voice quiet but firm.
Bill turned his head with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Henri looked at the old man for a moment before replying. "I have a little business. It won't take long."
"Business?" Chloe looked at Henri with a suspicious look. "Affairs? In a place like this?"
What kind of business is it in a place like this... there's no way he has any contacts.
Bill squinted. Want to poop?
Not more than five seconds later, Bill shrugged. "Don't take long."
Henri nodded his head. "I'll be back as soon as my business is done."
After Bill and Chloe left, Henri walked towards the old man. His steps were slow and cautious, as if he was approaching something fragile. When he got to the old man, Henri hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say.
There was something different about this old man compared to the other residents—something that made Henri feel the need to approach!
"Hi, sir," Henri greeted finally, his voice sounding awkward. He scratched his head clumsily, feeling strange talking to someone who probably wouldn't answer.
The old man slowly looked up. His old eyes glinted faintly in the shadows. Wordlessly, he got up with difficulty, picked up his cane, and walked away, leaving Henri in confusion.
Henri looked at the old man's retreating back, feeling that something was left behind. Where the old man sat, he saw a piece of paper. Henri grabbed the paper and unfolded it—blank.
Henri gazed around, looking for the old man, but there were only empty shadows and the silence that returned to envelop the room.
"What does this mean?" he muttered, feeling something was off. The blank paper looked ordinary, but something was nagging at Henri's mind. "Why did he leave this?"
"For what?"
...
A/N: If you want to read the 7 advanced chapters with a faster update frequency than the webnovel, you can read it on my patreon whose link is below:
https://www.pâtreon.com/Junxt
Replace "â" with "a" and search for it in your browser.
By the way, don't forget to throw a power stone and leave a review to motivate me :)
...