I don't know how long I sat there. The entire underground city had become quiet. One by one, the lights started to go out, and the whole world plunged into darkness. However, streetlights lit up, not ordinary bulbs but luminous substances that emitted a faint glow in the dark. Their yellowish glow made the underground city still appear dim, yet it brought a touch of warmth.
Slowly, I stood up, and for some reason, I started running as if I had gone mad. The only sound in the silent underground city was the "clang clang clang" of me running through the corridors.
I ran down the stairs in one breath, standing on a spacious square far larger than it appeared from above. I raised my head to look at the completely dark world above, and the dark yellow world seemed somewhat dizzy, as if I had stepped into an old yellowed black-and-white photo, surreal and unreal.
I ran around like a headless fly, as if only such a run could make me feel safe and not afraid. I ran alone in this quiet world, not knowing where I was running to. It seemed like I saw crops, and I followed the road straight ahead. The path narrowed on both sides, and an upward slope appeared. I ran uphill until I finally saw a giant door. I ran towards it, gave it a strong push, and the door opened with a heavy sound.
Immediately, the wind rushed in from outside, cutting like a knife, in the vastness of the pitch-black world.
If you were thrown into a strange city, at least you knew the direction of home...
If you were thrown into the endless sea, at least your body would float back to the shore...
If you were thrown into the Sahara Desert, at least you would die on Earth...
And now, I was thrown into an unknown, desolate world. How would I find my way home?
"Ah——————" I finally shouted out, tears streaming down instantly. I screamed into this vast unknown world, "Ah————Ah————" until my throat hurt so much that I couldn't make any more sound. I knelt in front of this expanse, hugged my own body, and after the tense nerves relaxed, I completely broke down...
What should I do? What should I do? What should I do...
"Wu~~~ Wu~~~~~" Long sobs came from beside me. I looked at the crying monster. She was chained to the side of the door, sitting on the ground with her long neck raised, sobbing just like me. Her wings seemed to have been treated and were bound with sticks.
I walked towards her, she lowered her head, tears in her bright white eyes as well.
"We... are the same... Can't we... go back home...?" I asked her with a choked voice, tilting my face upward. She lowered her head, looked at me for a moment, then lifted her face again, letting out a long, mournful wail: "Woo~~~~~ Woo~~~~~"
"I really... can't go back home..." I sat down in front of her, not knowing how dangerous she might be. But at this moment, I could feel that she was as heartbroken as I was. We had become fellow wanderers in the vast world. "Ah————I want to go home————I want to go home————" I started crying to the sky, just like her. It was as if the gateway of time and space would hear my cries and open for me. Once the seal on my chest was broken, all the panic, fear, unease, and chaos that had been accumulating in the depths of my heart surged out, turning into my cries.
"Woo~~~~~ Woo~~~~~"
"I want to go home————I swear, I will never hate the teacher again, just let me go home——————"
"Woo——Woo————"
"Please let me go home————Ah————" I howled and sobbed in her lament. Under the silent night sky, my wailing overwhelmed her mournful cries.
Gradually, I fell to the ground in tears, hugging my body tightly. The wind blew on my face, making it even colder because of the tears. In the tear-moistened sight, there were two moons, coldly telling me, "Yvette Washington, you are no longer in your own world. You can only survive in this broken and desolate world."
"Woo~~~ Woo~~~~" She also lay in front of me, wrapping her body with her wings. We wept facing each other. She glanced at me and covered me with her intact wing, bringing a trace of warmth.
Perhaps tired from crying or having vented enough, I fell into a deep sleep beside this unknown monster. In the blurry vision, the sky gradually brightened. I was going to face tomorrow in this world...
If it weren't for the incessant voices, I wouldn't have awakened.
"Now it's September, and the sunlight that reaches us is probably from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon... The angle of the sunlight on our crops is approximately forty-four point eight degrees. I need to add more mirrors, and the angle of the mirrors is..."
I woke up amidst this incessant chatter, only to find myself sleeping in the arms of the monster. She was sitting, with her long legs folded, forming a small nest, and I curled up in this nest. At this moment, she was staring ahead, seemingly not on guard, as if recognizing the owner of the voice.
I rubbed my eyes and sat up in her embrace. She didn't look at me, still staring ahead, seemingly unguarded against anyone but also wary.
Then, I saw a vast plain. The plain didn't seem as barren as the place I saw before because it had grass.
The grass was sparse, like a dog shedding its fur. The wind blew the grass, revealing one small mound after another.I lifted my face to look at the sky, which appeared unusually pale. The sunlight was obscured by thick clouds, turning the entire world into a pale blue-white hue. In that sky, faintly, I could see the crescent moon.
"So the number of mirrors I need to add is..."
I heard that incessant chatter, and lowering my face, I followed the sound to see a boy sitting about two meters away from us. He sat on a small mound, with long, gray-blue hair casually tied at the back of his head. A few strands of hair fell loosely around his face, fluttering in the breeze, perhaps brushing against his lips, giving him a somewhat delicate appearance.
He wore a linen robe similar to the one worn by Camille, who healed me. A belt was tied around his waist, and he had a large hood on his back. He also carried a big cloth bag diagonally across his body. At first glance, his attire resembled a Jedi from "Star Wars" and also seemed reminiscent of a European missionary.
At the moment, his right hand was gesturing in the air, and he continued to speak data while seemingly calculating something. Suddenly, his left hand lifted, holding a yellowed notebook, resembling a sketchbook. On the yellowed pages were words: Are you awake?
I was stunned. Was he calculating and talking to me at the same time?
☆
A massive claw shielded me in front, belonging to the monster who seemed to be protecting me like her own child.
The boy then withdrew the notebook, still looking ahead with his face lifted. He continued his calculations, but his right hand was quickly scribbling on the notebook. When he stopped, he lifted the notebook to show me: I am Edmund Myers, a synesthetic dual-brainer. I am calculating how many mirrors we need to ensure sufficient light for our crops. Please don't find me strange. Are you okay now?
I stared blankly at him. He held up the notebook, but his eyes were fixed forward, and his mouth continued to calculate as if there was a huge blackboard in front of him covered in complex, higher-level mathematical equations that I couldn't understand. Although I didn't quite grasp what he meant by being a synesthetic dual-brainer, it seemed like he was pushing multitasking to the extreme.
He once again put away the notebook, continued writing swiftly, and then showed me: Don't be afraid; Noah City won't harm girls. Our leader is Princess Asna, and she's very worried about you, so she sent me to check on you.
Princess Asna, their leader here is a girl.
Unexplainably, my heart eased a bit, but I still couldn't let my guard down. Although everything Instructor Celeste Hughes did yesterday made me feel their goodwill and kindness, I'm still afraid of being bitten by a snake...