"He woke up today?"
The moment the man uttered those words, both the woman and the middle-aged man beside her reacted in unison. Their faces were painted with disbelief, still struggling to process what they'd just heard.
"Hmm..." The man nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That's what's baffling. If he's human, how is he still alive after all that? And if he's not, how is he conversing so naturally?"
The room plunged into silence as they pondered this. Minutes passed before the old woman exhaled slowly, her hazy eyes drifting toward the room where Eldric was held. She kept tapping on her palm as if thinking about something. After a brief moment, her gaze hardened as if she had made her decision.
"I'll speak with him."
She couldn't shake the sense that something was off. Instead of sitting idly with questions, she decided it was better to face the unknown head-on. Maybe she could uncover something—anything—that made sense of this bizarre situation.
"No."
"It's too dangerous."
Both men rejected her idea immediately. Just because that thing could talk didn't mean it wasn't a threat. Who knew what tricks it might be playing? It wasn't safe—especially not for her.
"Didn't you say he's weak?" The old woman snorted, unimpressed by their concerns. Of course, she knew the risks, but they weren't enough to deter her. Even if the boy turned out to be a monster, they stood to gain valuable knowledge—at the very least, confirmation that such creatures existed.
The two men exchanged glances, intending to argue further, but the cold glare she shot their way silenced them.
"Forget it," one of them muttered. They knew her well enough to recognize that once her mind was set, nothing they said would change it. With a resigned sigh, they shrank back, looking at each other helplessly.
---------
Inside the Dark Room...
"Oh, come on."
Eldric's voice was hoarse, his throat raw from shouting for so long. The dim light barely illuminated his face as he muttered to himself, frustration and exhaustion evident in his tone.
"Don't tell me that bastard left me here..." Panic began to set in at the thought. He didn't even want to imagine what might happen if he were left to rot in this place, forgotten.
As visions of a miserable death from hunger and thirst flooded his mind, Eldric felt a wave of desperation. He was about to cry out again when the sound of footsteps echoed through the darkness.
"Are you back?" He held back his shout, straining his eyes to peer into the shadows.
"...."
There was no response. His frown deepened, and he was about to speak again when he finally saw a figure emerge from the darkness—a silhouette slowly materializing before him.
"You are...?" Eldric narrowed his eyes at the old woman standing in front of him. Her white hair framed a face etched with deep wrinkles and a long, jagged scar running down one cheek. Her eyes, though aged, gleamed with a wisdom that spoke of years of experience. Behind her, two more figures lurked in the shadows.
As Eldric wondered about their intentions, the old woman smiled—a gesture that seemed harmless enough. She dragged a chair from the corner of the room, setting it in front of Eldric with a grunt before sitting down comfortably. Despite her relaxed demeanor, her muscles were taut, ready to spring into action at the first sign of danger from the boy.
"So... how are you? Comfortable?" Her voice was calm, but her eyes never stopped scrutinizing him.
Eldric raised his head and met her gaze, narrowing his eyes. His mind raced with conflicting thoughts. From the moment he had walked out of his house, everything around him had seemed familiar—the buildings, the paths... This was the town where he'd lived his entire life. But the two people he had met after arriving here were strangers to him, and that was what gnawed at him the most.
Still, he didn't let any of this show on his face. Instead, he sneered at her question, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Thanks to you."
"Heh." The old woman chuckled, but her eyes never stopped analyzing him, searching for anything that might reveal his true nature. He looked so... normal. It made her doubt her own suspicions. But his sudden appearance in town, the odd circumstances—she couldn't afford to trust appearances.
"How about you introduce yourself?" Her tone was casual, but her eyes flickered with sharp intent.
Eldric laughed as if she'd told a joke. "How about you untie me, and then we can have a civilized conversation?"
Though his words were laced with humor, his voice betrayed his anger. After everything he had gone through—the relentless running, the near-death experiences, and now being tied up like an animal—he was furious.
*Swish.*
In his anger, he once again tried to free himself from the chains that were binding his arms. The chains rattled, and the two figures behind the old woman immediately drew their knives. From their smooth actions, it was clear that they had done this many times. Though they were ready to pounce on Eldric, at the moment, their head was dripping with sweat. They still couldn't decide whether the one in front of them was a human or a beast.
"Um." The old woman raised a hand, signaling them to stand down. Her brows furrowed.
"It seems you're still not aware of your situation," she said, her voice turning cold as she straightened her back. "Right now, you're our prisoner."
Her eyes, as dark as the abyss, locked onto Eldric's. "Here, I ask the questions, and you answer. Do you understand?"
"....."
"..."
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room as they stared each other down. The old woman waited for his response, while Eldric weighed his options, trying to decide on his next move.
He didn't want to admit it, but he had no choice—he was just a captive now. He didn't even understand what was happening in this town. The fact that he was still alive after everything..... It felt like a small miracle.
"Sigh."
Eldric closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the anger and false bravado were gone. The old woman noticed the change, though she could still see the unwillingness and helplessness in his eyes. But at least he seemed willing to cooperate now.
"Can you tell me about yourself?" she asked, relaxing her tense posture. After this brief exchange, she was almost certain he was human. But she needed to be sure—she needed to confirm that he was telling the truth.
"The name's Eldric," he said without hesitation, aware of the precariousness of his situation.
"Like I told the man behind you," he continued, glancing at the shadowy figure in the corner, "I don't know what's going on."
"I remember going to bed on the twenty-first, and when I woke up, it was the twenty-fifth. Everything around me had changed. I walked outside to figure out what was happening, and that's when I was chased by that thing."
He paused briefly, letting out a hollow chuckle as if mocking his own misfortune. "I tried to escape, but when I got to the festival, I couldn't move. The last thing I remember is that creature dragging me into the darkness. And when I woke up, I was tied up here."
As Eldric recounted his story, his eyes remained locked on the old woman, hoping to glean some clues from her expression. But the more he observed her frowning face, the more lost he felt.
When he finished, the old woman sat in silence, deep in thought. Nearly ten minutes passed before she finally looked at him again.
"I need to check something."
Without another word, she turned and left the room.
"Huh!?" Her abrupt departure stunned all three of them. One moment, she had been calmly interrogating Eldric, and the next, she was gone. Even the two men in the shadows seemed bewildered, taking a moment to react before hurrying after her.
"....."
"..."
"Oh, come on!" Eldric, who had just barely managed to regain his composure, couldn't help but curse loudly again. The more he observed their behavior, the more convinced he became that something was seriously wrong with these people.
-----------
"What are you doing?"
In another dimly lit room, the usually calm middle-aged man couldn't hide his frown as he watched the old woman rummage through old boxes. He couldn't understand what had prompted this sudden frenzy.
"...." The old woman paused briefly before resuming her search. The two men exchanged puzzled glances but said nothing. Despite their dissatisfaction, they kept quiet. Instead, they crouched down and began opening other boxes, though they had no idea what they were looking for.
"Found it." The old woman's sudden declaration interrupted their thoughts.
"This is...?" The men narrowed their eyes as she held up a long book and a small leather pouch.
"Isn't this..." The middle-aged man began to speak, but the old woman had already opened the pouch and was extracting a small memory card with trembling hands.
She rushed to another room, the two men following silently, and inserted the card into a television.
Neither of them spoke as she fiddled with the controls until the contents of the memory card appeared on the screen.
Without hesitation, the old woman played the first video.
At first, the two men didn't understand her urgency. But as the video played, their faces drained of color, going from red to ashen white.
"This... This... This..." The man's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the screen. He opened his mouth to scream, but words seemed to be missing.
When the video ended five minutes later, leaving the screen blank, none of them dared to speak. They stood there, frozen, as if the life had been sucked out of them, staring at the screen in silent terror.