"You're the tooth?"
Borne blurted out, his mind racing to piece together the events of that night.
He vividly recalled the moment when Father Raphael had solemnly handed him the beast's tooth, telling him it might save his life.
Now, with the mention of Father Raphael from this child, everything clicked into place for Borne.
The child snorted, glancing at Borne with a smirk of disdain.
"Well, at least you've got a bit of sense.
You caught on quicker than I expected."
His tone was laced with a hint of mockery, as if Borne's realization was a disappointment.
Borne stood there, dumbfounded, unsure of how to respond.
He studied the child again—his innocent face, the peculiar black-and-white hair, and those eyes that held no trace of a child's naivety.
Everything about him felt completely out of place.
Could this seemingly innocent child really be the same beast tooth that Father Raphael had given him?
The reality of this discovery was hard to digest.
Borne's thoughts raced back to the moment when the colossal waves had erupted like a flood, consuming both the Frostfire Hyenas and himself.
He had been on the verge of death, mauled nearly to the point of no return—his legs numb, his consciousness slipping away.
Yet here he was, standing on this mysterious sea, having a conversation with a mysterious child.
A flood of questions filled his mind, and he couldn't help but ask, "That violent tidal wave just now... was that you?"
The child lifted his head, arms still crossed over his chest, a faint trace of pride appearing on his face, though his tone remained dismissive.
"Hmph, of course it was me.
Do you think a powerless kid like you could've escaped on your own luck?"
Borne's mind flashed back to the scene—those towering waves, the massive shadow in the water, and the Frostfire Hyenas desperately trying to flee, only to be swallowed up instantly...
"Everything points to this seemingly innocent child in front of me."
"So... you saved me?"
Borne asked tentatively, still finding it hard to believe.
"Saved you? I guess you could say that, but not because you're anything special,"
the child scoffed, his tone dripping with disdain and contempt.
He looked up at Borne, a faint smirk playing on his lips, his eyes filled with mockery.
"If it weren't for Raphael, I wouldn't have bothered with whether you lived or died."
Hearing this, Borne felt a slight jolt in his chest, his brow furrowing in frustration.
It was clear that being regarded so insignificantly by the child stirred a sense of defiance in him.
But faced with the undeniable power this mysterious child possessed, Borne could only suppress his feelings.
The child continued, his voice now taking on a slightly colder edge.
"You're too weak, not even at a novice level. You know that, right?
If it hadn't been for the overwhelming despair I sensed from you, I wouldn't have found your location.
You would have been dead long ago, torn apart by those Frostfire Hyenas."
Borne froze upon hearing this.
So, it was his desperate emotions at the brink of death that allowed the child to sense his situation, triggering the release of a fraction of the child's power to help him narrowly escape the Frostfire Hyenas' assault.
Seeing the look of mild shock on Borne's face, the child mercilessly continued to deal blows to his confidence.
"You couldn't handle the full extent of my power. What I used just now? That was only a tenth of it.
Anything stronger would have torn you to shreds."
Borne gazed down at the calm sea beneath his feet, his emotions swirling.
Was he truly so weak?
In the face of the magical beasts, he had no power to resist, relying entirely on the strength of others. He had barely survived a group of low-level Frostfire Hyenas, nearly losing his life.
At this moment, the vast sea stretched endlessly, with only Borne and the child standing in this infinite space.
The sea and sky melded into one, stretching out endlessly as if the entire world had been reduced to this silent ocean.
Borne stood on the calm water, gazing down at the faint ripples spreading from his feet.
Beside him, the child stood with arms crossed, wearing that same disdainful expression, far too haughty for someone so young.
The two of them remained in silence, surrounded by an unnerving stillness.
It was as if time itself had come to a halt. Borne couldn't shake a growing sense of loneliness.
Though the child appeared small and youthful, his words carried an air of authority and arrogance that made the gap between them seem insurmountable.
After a moment of contemplation, Borne lifted his head, the questions within him too pressing to keep silent.
"What is this place?
Why is it just the two of us?"
The child didn't answer right away.
Instead, he looked out into the distance, his gaze fixed on the far horizon where the sea met the sky.
There was a cold detachment in the air, as though everything around him was irrelevant.
After a brief pause, the child gave a soft snort, his tone calm but laced with impatience.
"This is your mental world."
Mental world?
Borne's mind filled with confusion as he heard those words.
The sea beneath his feet remained impossibly still, as though they weren't standing on real water but suspended in some unimaginable space.
He looked around, realizing that there truly was nothing else here.
No land, no ships, not even the slightest breeze stirred the air.
It was as though the entire world had been trapped in an eternal moment, with only Borne and this mysterious child occupying it.
Seeing the confusion in Borne's eyes, the child continued in his cold, detached voice.
"Everything here is shaped by your consciousness."
Borne glanced at the child again, this odd mix of youthful appearance and wise, almost ancient speech creating a strange tension within him.
He couldn't grasp the concept of this "mental world," nor understand how or why he had ended up here.
Everything felt beyond his comprehension, leaving him no choice but to accept this strange reality without resistance.
The water beneath Borne's feet remained calm, rippling only slightly with his movements.
Other than the faint ripples he created, the surface of the ocean was as still as ever.
"My mental world… this is my mental world?"
Borne repeated softly, his voice tinged with uncertainty and confusion.
He struggled to believe what the child had said, but there was something about the stillness and depth of this place that made it impossible to ignore.
The child, still watching him with that cold, detached expression, made no effort to elaborate.
His small figure seemed at odds with the power he clearly wielded, a stark reminder of how little Borne understood.
Looking at the strange child once more, Borne felt increasingly unsettled.
How could such a tiny, seemingly innocent figure shatter his grasp on reality and thrust him into this strange, inexplicable place?
Finally, Borne broke the silence again, his voice tinged with frustration.
"So, how do I leave here?"
The child let out a quiet, mocking laugh, his eyes gleaming with a hint of contempt.
"Leave?
This is your mental world.
It's up to you."
A shiver ran down Borne's spine. He had never imagined his mental world would be an endless ocean.
What did that even mean?
Was his heart trapped in this vast, lonely space?
Once more, he gazed into the distance, where the horizon seemed both impossibly close and unbearably distant.
The sky and sea blended together in a seamless, never-ending stretch.
Yet beneath his feet, the ocean remained calm, mirroring the isolation he felt.
"My mental world…"
Borne whispered to himself, trying to grasp the meaning behind it all.