Chapter 117: The Face on the Wall

Drip.

Drip.

Cold water landed on my forehead and trickled over my brow to my eyelid. I grimaced and turned my head.

Another drop hit my cheek.

I slowly opened my eyes.

At first, all I could see was darkness. Then I began to make out the uneven surface above me and the deep cracks between the rocks. The air smelled of damp stone and wet earth.

It was cold.

"Where am I?"

My voice bounced off a nearby wall.

A cave?

As I blinked, the last thing I remembered came back to me.

White eyes. That face looking at me from beneath a worn hood.

"I’ve found you... Chosen One."

The hand I’d reached out before turning to Rose had still been in the air. When I looked back at the old man, his fingers had closed around it.

I couldn’t remember anything after that.

I tried to straighten up.

But my arms wouldn’t move.

Lowering my head, I looked down at myself. Chains ran from thick metal rings around my wrists to the wood behind me. My arms were spread to either side, and my back rested against a hard post.

I tried to move again, straining my shoulders.

The chains pulled taut. A sharp pain ran through my wrists.

I was bound to a cross.

For a few seconds, my mind went blank.

Then I raised my head.

"Rose?"

I waited for an answer as the echo faded.

"Rose!"

I pulled at my arms again. The chains rattled through the cave.

"Roseeeee!"

Taking a breath, I stared into the darkness.

"Is anyone there?!"

Water continued dripping somewhere.

I heard nothing else.

What had happened to Rose? Was she here too? Or had she simply not known what to do when I vanished right before her eyes?

I gritted my teeth.

God... How had I managed to get myself into this?

I’d snapped at an old man over a broken potion bottle. Now I was in a cave somewhere, arms spread wide, shouting into a darkness that wouldn’t answer.

"System."

Blue text appeared before my eyes.

"Where am I?"

[You are inside an Overlap.]

"I already know that. Where is this?"

[A cave.]

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"Okay. Shut up."

I didn’t even know what I’d expected from it.

After taking a deep breath, I opened my hand. A small blue flame appeared in my palm.

Its light fell across the metal around my wrist. When I made the flame a little bigger, I could see the crossbeam, the rings the chains were fastened to, and the cave wall in front of me.

I immediately began looking around.

I’d expected a creature, a bloodstained table, or torture tools that might explain why the old man had brought me here.

Instead, there was an old bed in front of me.

The blanket had been crumpled up and pushed into one corner. On the table beside it sat half-eaten food, a few plates, and an empty glass. A narrow vase in the middle of the table held white roses.

A rocking chair stood near the bed too. Its wooden armrests were worn from use, and a thin cushion rested on the seat.

I frowned.

It looked like someone lived here.

Turning my head a little farther, I spotted an old door in the corner. A picture had been carved into the wall beside it.

My gaze settled on the picture.

The flame in my palm rose a little higher.

At first, I thought I was seeing it wrong.

The uneven stone, the shadows shifting with the flame... Maybe they were making it look that way.

I slowly curled my fingers and steadied the flame.

As the lines became clearer, it felt as though my heart stopped for a moment. I even forgot to breathe. My blue eyes trembled, and a single question kept repeating in my mind.

"How?"

My voice was so quiet that I couldn’t even hear an echo.

The picture showed a face.

A young man’s face, handsome and calm.

I knew this face.

It was the face I’d seen in the mirror for years, so familiar that I’d never thought twice about it while fixing my hair or washing my face.

But these weren’t the cute features beneath my blue hair. The face carved into the stone belonged to someone else.

Henry Walker.

Or rather, me in my old world...

My lips parted, but I couldn’t find anything to say.

For a moment, a strange warmth spread through my chest. It was like finding a forgotten possession in a home I’d thought I’d left far behind. I’d never expected to find something of my own like this in this world.

Someone knew about me.

They knew who I’d been before coming here.

Maybe they knew how I’d arrived too...

Then I felt the cold metal around my wrist.

My gaze shifted from the picture to the chain.

The warmth rising inside me mingled with a chill that made my stomach tighten. I looked at the picture again, searching for some kind of clue: writing that explained why this face was here, a familiar name, anything...

As my attention wandered, the flame in my palm flickered and went out.

The cave sank into darkness again.

Even so, I could still see the face on the wall.

It was there even when I closed my eyes.

Henry Walker.

I hadn’t said that name aloud since coming here.

Everyone called me Noctis now. Eris when she called out to me, the viewers reading my name on stream, my angel, Rose... Everyone who knew me.

At some point, I’d become more Noctis than Henry. That was my name now.

Until I saw that face and remembered who I was.

But seeing my old face on the wall of this cave had brought back the question I’d never been able to answer amid everything else.

How had I ended up here?

This was another world. A world of Nexus powers, monsters, and disasters that altered reality, where I encountered something strange every day.

And somehow, I’d been dragged into all of it.

So why was my face here, on a cave wall in another world?

"I don’t understand..."

I shook my head slightly.

I didn’t even know what had happened to my old body.

Had it died? Or was it still alive somewhere? I didn’t even know how to find out.

There had been times when I’d avoided thinking about these things. I already had enough to deal with in my new life. System quests, staying alive, getting stronger...

Now I couldn’t ignore those questions.

"This makes no sense."

For a while, I stared into the darkness.

Then I frowned.

No. Maybe I’m just an idiot.

Overlaps...

Those damn things connected different worlds. If they could bring other races into this world, they might have something to do with my arrival too.

Maybe an Overlap had appeared in my old world, and that was how I’d ended up here.

I pressed my lips together.

Could this old man be from my old world?

At that thought, I tried to recall his face.

His white beard. His wrinkles. Those completely white eyes staring at me...

I’d never seen him before.

Besides, my appearance had changed completely. Even if he were someone I knew from my old world, how would he recognize me?

I looked down toward my hands, which I couldn’t make out in the darkness.

Maybe he could see people’s souls.

I didn’t know whether that was possible. But I did know that Rose hadn’t been able to see him.

He was definitely no ordinary old man.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d called me either.

Chosen One.

Come to think of it, the system called me that too.

Every second I spent thinking only filled my head with more questions.

I gave the chain a small tug, then let it slacken.

No matter how much I thought about it, I wouldn’t find the answers on my own. The only way to learn anything was to speak to the old man.

But I wasn’t sure I could have a calm conversation with someone who’d kidnapped me and chained me up.

At the very least, I didn’t want to try it while bound to a cross.

"First, I need to get out of these chains."

I formed another blue flame in my palm.

As the light spread, I turned toward my wrist, trying not to look at the face on the wall.

The black band around my left wrist stirred.

A thin strand separated from Umbrella and slid over my skin to the metal cuff’s lock. I guided it into the narrow opening.

Ignoring the ache in my shoulder, I focused on the lock. I had to change the black strand’s shape a few times.

At last, I heard a small click.

The pressure around my left wrist eased.

I held on to the chain as I opened the cuff. I didn’t want it to hit the ground and make a noise.

Reaching the other lock was easier now.

I guided Umbrella toward it.

When the second cuff opened, I carefully lowered the chain. I pulled my hands toward me and opened and closed my fingers a few times.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, I heard something.

Footsteps.

I froze.

Heavy, steady footsteps came from beyond the door.

I extinguished the flame in my palm.

As darkness closed around me, I lowered my hands to my sides and moved toward the wall.

Umbrella flowed from my wrist, spreading over my shoulders, chest, and legs.

This time, I didn’t want it to form armor.

I pictured the wall behind me.

The rough stone. The cracks running through it. The surface darkened by moisture...

The black substance spread out in front of me. It covered the outline of my arms and shoulders, and the uneven texture of the cave wall began to form across its surface.

I left a narrow slit at eye level. After sealing the remaining gaps, I hid behind the stone.

The footsteps stopped.

For a moment, there was silence on the other side of the door.

I held my breath.

The old hinges creaked.

Pale light filtered through the opening.

From my hiding place, I watched the door swing open. Worn fabric came into view, then a white beard reaching down to his chest.

The old man stepped inside.