Chapter 513: A Familiar Knight

Death, it could happen at any moment in this place; you always have to be careful. It was a very important lesson that probably most people from the expedition who were still alive knew. Of course, since they had seen it firsthand, what happens when you let your guard down.

With their own eyes, they saw their fellow comrades die; with their own eyes, they watched as more and more posters disappeared. After so many months, most knew what to do, which is funny, because while the rate of deaths had slightly decreased, it was still going like crazy.

But the new people, like Isak here, the little flower man, have no idea of this rule; he knows about death, but he hasn’t seen what the Wonderland is truly like.

It was clear, at least in his eyes, since the boy hadn’t seemed worried ever since coming with them. He wondered if he thought that because they were Seekers, they could protect him.

And really, it was both true and horribly wrong. They could protect him from a Reader or Seeker, even a group of Seekers, but even then, it might be hard; outside that, they couldn’t even protect themselves.

They were playing with death each second; they knew that, which was why he never turned off Eden outside when he was sleeping; it consumed essence, but if that meant they were safe, then he wasn’t against it.

He had told the boy not to be this carefree, and he said he wasn’t going to, but the more time that passed, and the more he watched him, Aether didn’t think he was keeping that promise.

As night reigned in the sky, they reached a small town; Aether spoke up. "Let’s rest for the night; we are a lot more vulnerable at this time."

Elise nodded, and so did Isak, who looked slightly disappointed, maybe because he had a lot of energy, or because... he had gotten too caught up in the Wonderland.

Someone like him, with a weak Affinity and probably pretty bad with money, never had the chance to... or never risked entering a book. Everyone can, but not everyone can come back; most know that, and since it’s not something that is forced upon the Reader, most choose not to, saying that their lives are worth more than any story.

But they hear stories of adventures and beautiful places; after all, the human mind likes remembering the happy stuff when it comes to adventures with ups and downs, even if there are more downs.

Even he could speak well of Frozen Crown; even if he was miserable while inside, he had fun, grew strong, and had many good memories... just a lot of bad ones, and yet he tended to leave them out.

Isak was probably excited, thinking of this as his first exploration in his Reader life, and really, he couldn’t have gotten a worse place... the bad part was that he had no idea how to make him forget about this... happiness, after all, he was also really excited for his first book, but his had been a Reader Fragment, with a Seeker to protect him and help him...

His first was a place where even Breakers lived, and he was a Reader, protected by two Seekers. In no way were they the same.

He would have compared his first with Frozen Crown, but he was in no way happy or excited to be inside that place at that time, maybe because he was also just not in a good mood at all.

...He needed to find a way, for his own good and theirs.

...

Of course, there were some ways to do it, but... they weren’t that humane.

Reaching the settlement, they covered themselves in cloaks, not his own, but another, since his mantle was already well known, so it would be recognized instantly.

It was still suspicious to wear them, since most people from the Wonderland didn’t wear things like these. But since most didn’t want to cause a scene, and they couldn’t kill them without proving they were Readers, nothing really happened apart from stares.

And in his opinion, it was better than his girl disguise, since it was also more comfortable and something he was already accustomed to. Reaching the settlement, Aether didn’t pay the man at the desk; instead, he killed him. With Elise using her petals to kill all the other people inside the place...

With the door locked, no one could enter to tell on them, and no one could leave and say what had happened. This way, they got the stay for free, and all to themselves; they were able to walk without their disguises and act normally.

... And above all, they got some revenge for everything going on.

He had no mercy for anyone in this place... not a single one. After all, they were the ones being hunted; killing was self-defense, nothing else.

Was he hesitant to kill a child? Maybe a baby, but a child is already tough to kill, Readers at an early age... and really, he knew how fast a heartbroken child could grow; after all, he had been one himself.

Carrying the bodies to the main room so they wouldn’t have to sleep beside them, he waited until Elise and Isak went inside their room before taking the key and leaving the place; he wasn’t abandoning them, even if his mind was telling him to do so, but rather. He was trying to gather some information from the shadows.

Walking into an isolated place where people wouldn’t see him, Aether approached a shadow. It was already night, so it wasn’t hard to find one. They were everywhere, just wandering around. A normal human would be surprised to see so many, but this was an usual sight for him. It had been that way since he awakened.

So, quite a while now.

"Hey, you," Aether said, putting a hand on his hip. "Do you know any way out of this place?"

The shadow turned to him, tilting its head, as it stared at him for some seconds before staggering slightly. "Wait, you are talking to me?"

Aether sighed. "Yes, I am. Who else, now, answer."

The shadow lifted its hand, scratching the back of its head. "A way out... just doesn’t exist. Trust me, I’ve seen many try, and they have all failed. No matter who you ask, and how many you ask, they will say the same thing: there isn’t a way out."

Aether clenched his fists. After all, he was slowly starting to believe that too; he didn’t want to, he really didn’t. He wanted to think there was a chance, even a slim one, a one percent chance that there was a way out, and that was enough. But... it felt like even that was impossible.

So what was he supposed to do?

He sighed. "Then, do you know where we should head next? I mean, somewhere that has a chance of having any information about what’s happening, or a possible exit."

The shadow sighed, stopping for a second, almost as if a little hesitant to say what it had on its mind. "Well... east of here, there’s this old man; he’s crazy, or rather considered crazy, to the point that word travels from shadow to shadow all about his horrible imagination and stories... he claims he knows a way out. I know it’s an obvious lie... There is no way out, but you seem to still think there is a chance, which is why I was hesitant."

...

"You aren’t going to go to him, right? I mean, he’s crazy; who follows a madman."

...

Aether chuckled. "You should know, I’m probably the craziest person inside this whole place."

...

A voice came from behind. "I can see that. Normal people don’t really talk to themselves." Aether froze, clearly remembering that voice and who it belonged to... he nervously turned around, hoping with all his might that he was wrong.

But he wasn’t.

"Elpis..."

The boy’s eyes widened in surprise. "You know my name?"

Aether chuckled. "Believe me when I say this, but I know a lot of things about you, a lot more than you think..."

Elpis stared at him, trying to figure out who he was, but the mantle hid his face, so he couldn’t. "Who are you?"

...

’Sad... it seems I’m going to kill you in this universe too...’ He sighed, taking off his hood.

Elpis gripped his blade the moment his hood came off. "A Reader."

Aether chuckled. "Am I? Or is it just that I have a bounty? I mean, there is also one for you, and yet you claim not to be a Reader.

The boy gritted his teeth; he was probably really annoyed with the whole poster thing that he caused because he used his identity to do bad things.

"It’s an imposter, not me. A Reader with a very annoying power. Or relic."

...

"Is that so... it makes me wonder, if I were to bring your dead body to them, would they be able to figure out that it’s the real you, and not the imposter? Or would they just give me the reward, rip off the poster, as if nothing had happened."

..."Is that a threat?"

"Of course," Aether said, chuckling.