"You won't need to worry about that. I will teach you."
Lowell looked at Gabriel with surprise and worry.
"But Master, you were bedridden for most of your life and can barely walk. You haven't been outside this cave in years."
What Lowell said was true. This body was extremely weak and pale. It felt as if these brittle bones were going to break at any moment.
The skin was a ghastly pale color, and the hair was an unusual white. This body was so pale it seemed to lack all color.
"Okay, okay, I get it."
If I were to try to get out of this place and figure out what was going on, I would need to be able to walk properly, at the very least.
"But first things first, I need to wash. This stench coming from my body is bothering my nose."
Lowell immediately went over to guide Gabriel to the bin to wash himself, but was coldly pushed away by him.
"Look, I can walk there by myself."
As he looked at his master's back, Lowell couldn't help but think his master had been very cold since he woke up.
Was it because he had saved him when he wanted to die? But how could he? How could he let his one and only family die?
He would protect his master, even if it meant being treated coldly for the rest of his life.
...
While Gabriel was washing himself, he couldn't help but notice how thin this body was. His arms were so bony, he had sunken cheeks, thin legs, and his ribs were poking out through his skin.
But he could worry about that later. He had something else to focus on.
"Inventory."
'Swoosh'—a holographic screen appeared in front of him.
Gabriel looked with surprise at the screen.
Nothing, there was nothing!
Not a single thing of what he had painstakingly worked for was there.
There were weapons, but only cheap, broken, old ones. 'Ding!' A chime resounded in his ears. That's when he saw it—an old-looking hand mirror.
It was old, but it was still intact.
'Swoosh' Before he could grab it, the mirror appeared in his hands.
Gabriel looked at the mirror, expecting to see his reflection, but what he saw sent a shiver down his spine.
There was nothing. The mirror stared back at him with a haunting emptiness. Desperately, he squinted, trying to pierce through the blurry void on the other side.
"Crack."
A sudden, bone-chilling sound echoed in the silence. His heart raced as he saw them—those same eyes, the eyes that had stared into his soul just before his death.
A wave of dread washed over him. His skin crawled, and in a panic, he threw the mirror away. But it was too late.
"Crack, crack."
The world around him began to fracture, the vibrant colors leeching away as if they were being devoured by an unseen force.
Gabriel's breath quickened. Something was terribly wrong. He turned to check on Lowell, but before he could move, an invisible force seized his legs and dragged him down into an abyss.
He was being pulled further and further away from the surface. Water engulfed him, cold and suffocating.
It was as if he had never been in the wooden bin to begin with. Darkness enveloped him, the world above growing distant and unreachable.
...
"Plip, plip"
It was the sound of water dropping.
'Groan' Gabriel felt as his body had been thrown off a cliff and fallen into the ocean.
He tried to get up, but his body wouldn't budge as his muscles screamed for rest. But Gabriel knew he had to get up as he wasn't alone here.
Something, something was watching him. One thing Gabriel had hated was being watched as if he were prey.
Gabriel opened his eyelids weakly. His body trembling as he sat up. He had managed to sit up, but he couldn't move after that.
"Thud, thud"- It was the steps of someone- no it was something. It's presence was terrifying.
"Gasp, gasp"- every step it took felt as if it were crushing Gabriel's soul.
'Move!, move!, move!' Gabriel pleaded with his body, but it refused to listen.
Gabriel wasn't afraid of death, he just refused to die like this without any answers.
'Thud, Thud' The footsteps had stopped at some point. But Gabriel knew it was still there , whatever it was, it was still looking at him.