I grew confused when I heard what he had said. So much that I turned to him with a frown.
’I shouldn’t give myself away so easily.’
"I don’t think I understand what you an..."
His eyes t mine and a small smile spread across his lips. He raised his chin slightly, looking at from a little bit of an elevated point of view.
"Oh really now, Lady White, no need for you to play pretend with . I have no intention to inform anyone of your escape."
He turned to the busy settlent beneath us. "Like I said, all these people are like you... I have helped them overco Undefinition."
His gaze ca back to , those shiny green eyes sitting on for a mont, his smile still remaining and completely unreadable.
"I can help you too, if you let ." He extended a hand towards .
I stared down at the hand for a few monts, then withdrew my hands to my back, clasping them there.
"I will only allow you to help on one condition."
He raised a brow, looking at with small surprise.
"I’m very sure I should be the one stating demands here."
"Where is Axel?"
"I’m... not sure who that is."
"Red hair, fat."
He shook his head.
"Nope, didn’t get to et soone like that."
He looked at and explained further.
"When we got there the place was devastated. Most of the Enforcers were slain and the others had run. The Undefined were advancing against you and the rest of the wounded humans. We intercepted and brought you because you’re like the people here. This Axel person you speak of may be a part of the people that were killed, I don’t know."
Sothing cold slid through my stomach at the thought of Axel being among them.
"Axel won’t die so easily..." I kept my voice level, but my fingers tightened behind my back. "Show the way out of here. I need to find him."
He continued to stare at for a couple of seconds, then sighed and scratched his temple. "Do you know the reason why your transport vehicle was attacked?"
I turned to him with a scowl as he continued.
"The Enforcers have done this several tis, over and over. They never get attacked by the Undefined. But this ti they were."
"What are you getting at?"
His hand rose forward, and he pointed a finger at .
"It is because of you. You’re the cause for the death of all those people, all those Enforcers, those Mundane Defineds. The only reason why the Undefined from hundreds of kiloters began to make their way to your transport is because your Undefined soul was loud, announcing its presence. The catalyst the Enforcers were using to mask the scent of their soul from the Undefined was rendered ineffective."
My scowl deepened.
"You... you’re lying."
He folded his hands and gave a cold glare.
"Why would I? I couldn’t care less about the Mundane Defined or the Enforcers, to be honest. But do you understand the weight of your own selfishness? You chose to escape with a mass of people who were only struggling to survive another day. People who were responsible for others. Who strived to make sense of their mundane lives. Because of a single decision from you, all of that was thrown away."
My hands unclasped behind my back. I didn’t know when they did, they just hung at my sides now, and I could feel the trembling starting at my fingertips, creeping inward.
’No, no, he can’t be right. He’s trying to...’
But trying to what? He had nothing to gain from lying.
I thought about when the transports were collapsing, the weight I had felt pressing down around , the way everything had gone wrong so fast and so suddenly. It all connected and made sense now, and that made my chest feel even colder.
I clenched my hands and teeth, forcing the shaking to stay beneath the surface. Then I lowered my face, letting my bangs fall over my eyes.
"My reason for saying this to you is for you to be self-aware," he continued. His tone hadn’t softened. "I intend to help you, but I despise selfish people, because they always put the safety of others in jeopardy. We are a community of people who live a life away from the knowledge of the NEGI, and I want to keep it that way. I don’t know who you are and I’m not interested, but sothing about you tells you’re going to be quite a ton."
The words landed on like stones dropped into still water, each one sank and settled.
I could still see the first transport collapsing and then the second, and the jolt of everything going sideways. And now there was a reason for it. And that reason was .
’Axel could be dead because of .’
I squeezed my fists tighter until my nails bit into my palms.
"Please..."
My voice ca out quieter than I intended.
"Can I go find Axel."
He studied for a mont. I did not raise my head, but I could feel his gaze sitting heavy on .
"He could be dead."
"He’s not." I replied calmly, still keeping my face lowered. "He’s not one to die easily. All I need to do is go back there. He’ll co back to get ."
His gaze persisted. Then he sighed again.
"Fine then. If you insist that he will co back to find you, then I will find him for you. But for now, you stay here. I won’t force you to stay. After this Axel person cos, you can make your decision..."
His mouth opened slightly, but nothing ca out. Then it did, a few monts after.
"But for now, how about you stay here and get to know the people." His expression brightened. "Oh, food! You must be really hungry. How about you let Ayesha cook sothing nice for you. Goodness, I love her soup. I already ate earlier but thinking about it already has my stomach growling again."
He spoke rubbing his stomach, and it really was growling again.
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