"..."
"..."
The silence between them was almost tangible, a weight that seemed to press on Noah's shoulders with every step Kate took ahead of him. She walked quickly, her straight back betraying a certain tension, but she did not turn around. For Noah, the silence was unbearable, especially since he knew he was primarily to blame.
He tried to focus on something else, to divert his mind from the unease that seemed to follow him like a shadow. Yet, one image persisted in his mind, a blurry memory resurfacing against his will.
---
"(The one who wet herself…?)"
It was more a question than a statement. His memory was hazy, like a photograph damaged by time. The only light illuminating it came from the sparks still crackling at his fingertips, witnesses to the incident. He was almost certain he had seen that girl—Kate—with a telltale stain on her clothes that day. But was it real, or was his mind playing tricks on him?
He frowned, trying to organize his thoughts. Then, another image appeared, clear this time, like a punch: a detail he had no doubt he had seen.
"H-Heu…"
He raised his head and met Kate's gaze. Flushed red to her ears, she stared at him with an intensity that froze him in place. If any doubt lingered in his mind, her expression would erase it.
"Ah… er… Ahem… (Sorry, I didn't mean to… embarrass you?)"
His words stumbled awkwardly out of his mouth. He knew no one wanted to be defined by a moment of humiliation, and he already regretted letting that thought slip, even involuntarily. If he had said something that clumsy to a girl in his old life, he would probably have received a sharp slap or, worse, one of those disgusted looks that haunt you for weeks.
Kate, however, said nothing. She simply lowered her eyes, turned on her heel, and resumed walking.
"Come on. Let's hurry."
Noah nodded softly, a gesture she didn't see, too focused on moving forward. He stood there for a moment, staring at her back. She seemed distant, almost cold, but he felt something else, a vulnerability she tried to hide behind her brusque attitude.
He sighed, then started following her.
---
Navigating through the crowd was a nightmare. Noah already had trouble navigating crowded spaces in normal times, but here, with Kate sulking, he was completely lost.
People jostled him, passed in front of him without the slightest regard. It was a situation he had often experienced before: being the one gently pushed aside, the one always politely asked to step aside, the one who let others pass at the supermarket because it seemed easier.
But this time, it was different. This time, he absolutely had to follow Kate. Otherwise, he risked getting lost in this human tide.
He tried to elbow his way through but to no avail. He lacked both the build and the determination to assert himself and quickly found himself swallowed by the crowd.
Just as panic began to set in, a hand grabbed his.
Kate.
She was gently pulling him out of the crowd, her face stern and her eyes flashing.
"Follow me. It's not a complicated instruction, is it?" she murmured in an irritated tone.
Noah felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was too busy being grateful for her presence to mind her irritation.
---
After a few staircases and a passage past another checkpoint, they arrived in a room that seemed like an antechamber. Dozens of other miners crowded there, all seemingly waiting for something. At the back of the room was a gigantic portal, glowing with a scarlet light that pulsed like a beating heart.
Noah froze at the sight, his eyes widening.
"(Wow. This thing is so huge, it's almost scary.)" he thought, unable to look away.
He couldn't stay still, fascinated by the almost living aura of this artifact.
Kate, ever pragmatic, checked the clock on the wall.
"This is the portal to the fire caves," she explained calmly. "It's going to swallow everyone here at once and send us where we need to work."
Noah blinked.
"(Swallow? Like, literally?)"
He tapped Kate's shoulder to get her attention.
"(Wait, by 'swallow,' do you mean like—)"
Kate raised a hand to interrupt him, but before she could answer, a red light filled the room.
---
It felt like an explosion.
Noah felt a shockwave ripple through his body, every cell vibrating under the impact. A shrill sound tore through the air, making his eardrums scream. His vision blurred, the world around him twisting as if seen through a broken kaleidoscope.
When his perception finally stabilized, he found himself in a landscape straight out of a nightmare.
Before him rose a gigantic castle, its black steel walls coursed with veins of molten lava that pulsed like arteries. The sky above him was pitch black, an abyss that seemed to swallow all light, leaving only a sinister reddish glow emanating from the castle.
Noah was speechless, torn between awe and terror.
"Urgh…"
The landscape could have hypnotized him longer, but his stomach protested violently. He leaned forward, overcome by a wave of nausea.
"Urgh… vomiting…"
Once again, his timing was terrible.
Kate, unflappable, placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Breathe. You'll get used to it. It's always like this with newcomers."
Noah raised his head, wiping his mouth with a sleeve.
"(Always like this? You knew this would happen, and you didn't say anything?!) Urgh…"
"Don't fuss too much," Kate replied, rummaging through her bag. "Here, take a potion..."
"(No thanks)," he said, refusing the potion she was offering him.
The diluted greenish liquid didn't seem very reliable, and it wasn't as if HP potions cured nausea, right?
"As you wish," murmured his companion as she stowed the vial away.
She was already looking elsewhere, her eyes scanning the horizon as if searching for something.
"Come on, get up. We've got work to do. We need to join the others!"
Noah groaned but obeyed. If possible, he would have preferred not to risk emptying his stomach again so soon.
"Hm?"
A strange icon appeared along with his HP bar.
"(My HP bar? I took damage?)" he wondered.
He quickly realized that wasn't the case, however. He could now see his HP bar permanently, as well as Kate's beside him.
"(Huh? What's going on?)"
"Hm?" Kate raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that's right, you've never been in a mine, huh?"
She pointed toward the darkness around them. That's when Noah realized they were on a simple stone path barely wider than two cars side by side.
"Don't fall in. Mines are mostly imperfect dungeons. Things are a bit different from real dungeons—it's simpler, but the empty spaces like this are truly empty. People say they're bottomless pits, and if you fall in, it's for eternity or something like that."
"Ah…"
How reassuring. He still didn't know why his HP bar was visible, and now he was learning this. Perfect.
"Anyway, just watch where you step, and you'll be fine," said Kate with a smile.
"O-Okay..."
Fine. That story could wait for later. In fact, he had other, more important questions to ask Kate.
They were already following the path leading to the castle, with him close behind her. The chasms around him were dizzying. How could Kate move so easily in such an environment?
He intended to wait for a more suitable moment to ask questions, but he couldn't hold back anymore—if he didn't focus on something other than the darkness, he might be unable to move forward.
"(Kate. You said earlier that you knew my name?)"
"Knew your name?" she asked, checking if she understood his question.
"(Yes. And also, how can you hear me think exactly? Are you telepathic or something?)"
"Huh..."
Kate narrowed her eyes, her expression betraying some confusion.
"Are you asking… if I can read your thoughts?" she asked hesitantly.
Noah nodded. "(I hadn't really thought about it because… maybe I was confused after waking up? Anyway, I'd like to know why you also know the name Vasilisa. Have we met at the manor before?)"
"Huh… Sorry, but…"
Once again, Kate seemed not to understand.
"(Maybe she doesn't actually read minds? Or maybe I'm thinking out loud?)"
He had no idea how one "thinks out loud," however.
As he pondered the idea, Kate's eyes widened as though she sensed something.
"Watch out!!!"
She pushed him to the ground, holding him as if she intended to use her body as a shield.
An orange orb of light passed overhead before sinking into the surrounding darkness.
"(Huh? What was that?)"
As if to answer his question, Kate's next words rang in his ears.
"Cannon Slimes!!! Get ready to run as fast as you can!!!"