CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 55: THE END OF THE JOURNEY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WHIRLPOOL OF MEMORIES (3)

Oliver tried to reach out further, tried to touch her back. He didn’t even know why he did that.

He didn’t understand why he ran toward her or why he was even still trying to reach her in the first place.

But even so, he continued, and his fingers almost crossed the space between them.

But then the city itself collapsed so fast it didn’t give him a chance to understand. The entire place vanished and turned into fog instantly.

The woman’s back began to ripple at first, the lines of her body trembled, then her color gradually dissolved until she turned into a faint gray mist.

She disappeared before his eyes, and at the same time the ground beneath Oliver’s feet stopped existing as well.

He felt gravity pulling his body downward, and he fell into an endless void.

He felt as if he were slowly drowning in an ocean despite there being no water anywhere.

...

When Oliver opened his eyes, he felt as if he had risen from underwater.

He was lying on the ground in the middle of the forest, the clouded sky peeking at him between the tall trees.

He gasped hard, then sat up, pressing his fingers against his head as he tried to shake off the last remnants of that place.

He quickly stood up afterward and turned around himself, examining the area.

On the ground, the others were scattered everywhere.

The sage and the rest were lying around him in different spots, some on rocks, some among roots as if they had fallen from the sky.

He almost believed that everything had been a dream if not for the fact that he saw Aria in front of him.

She was standing, leaning on the trunk of a tall tree, her arms folded and her face calm.

When she noticed he had woken up, she waved at him.

Oliver remained standing in place for a moment, staring at her with a blank face, unable to gather his thoughts.

He shook his head hard, then turned toward Aria.

"It wasn’t a dream, right?"

"No. All of this is a dream and you haven’t left it yet."

Oliver exhaled.

"Can you be serious for once?"

"And can you believe some of the simple tricks I do?" she exhaled, then looked toward the depths of the forest where sunlight began to filter through the trees. "No, it wasn’t a dream. We got out of the city. Apparently your father took care of it."

"How many times do I have to tell you he isn’t...?" he stopped, then waved his hand. "You know what? Forget it. Where did he go? And why are the others asleep now?"

She answered without turning to him, still staring into a part of the forest.

"I don’t know where he went. As for the humans and your little gray friend, it will take some time before they get rid of the effect of falling inside the range of a mythical creature. After that, they will wake up."

Oliver took a deep breath when he heard what she said.

After that, silence filled the place again. Neither of them felt the need to speak at that moment.

Oliver sat on a tree trunk, then raised his eyes toward the leaves.

They were visibly changing in front of him, turning from black as they were into the natural green he knew.

And the mist spread between the trunks began to melt and retreat quickly, until the path they had walked earlier was revealed.

He turned his head toward Aria again.

"What do you think happened to Orion,"

She answered him without giving him a single glance.

"He died."

Oliver grimaced when he heard her reply.

"Couldn’t you have said it in a less direct way,"

"And why would I? Is he your father how die in a war or something? You barely even know him."

"No, but it’s sad. At the end of the day he is a human."

Oliver said it while lowering his eyes a bit toward the ground.

Although his face didn’t show many expressions, he quickly lifted his head again.

Aria’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

"Are you trying to pretend you’re sad about him,"

"I’m not pretending anything."

"It’s obvious you are. Hybrid creatures don’t have the same level of empathy some beings have. Even humans wouldn’t be sad over someone like him whom they met only a few hours ago. And you’re a hybrid, so what do you think?"

He lifted his chin.

"I have the same level of empathy anyone else has."

She waved her hand.

"Right. Of course you do."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No. I’m just supporting your foolish ideas and your attempt to escape reality."

"I’m not doing that."

"Right right, of course you aren’t."

"I mean, when you think about it, I am more empathetic than a lot of people."

"Sure."

"Even among the village kids, I was always the most sensitive person."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I was sad for an entire week when I caused someone to get hurt."

"And how did this person get injured?"

"It was because... I caused it, but he started the fight with me. And after I responded to him, I ended up cleaning the sage’s library for an entire week as punishment from Eleanor."

"Were you sad because you hurt him or because you were forced to clean the library?"

He sighed.

"Honestly, it was because I had to clean the library. But in the end I did feel a bit sorry for him."

"Really?"

"Not really. But still, I’m the most sensitive one among them. You can ask anyone."

She gave him a quick glance, about to make a silly comment.

But then the gray mist between the trees in front of her began to gather.

It rose and swirled around itself, then took a clear human shape.

A black hat with a long coat that touched the ground.

Red hair streaked with white strands, a pale expressionless face and one gray eye, while the other was covered with an eyepatch.

And in his hand he was holding his gun.

As soon as his form completed, Oliver stood up from the tree trunk and ran toward him immediately without waiting.

"How did you do this?!"

The masked man didn’t answer him, didn’t even look at Oliver.

His eyes were fixed on Aria who was still leaning against the tree, though her body had straightened without her realizing.

When their eyes met, Aria slowly waved her hand, and a tense smile appeared on her face.

For a few seconds Aria and the masked man stared at each other without moving.

Her wide eyes held a mixture of many emotions, confusion and discomfort.

While his single gray eye facing her looked cold, empty of any trace of emotion.

And in the end, the masked man was the first to speak.

"What is this hybrid doing here exactly?"

Oliver didn’t answer because Aria was the one who spoke.

"What I’m doing here? You are the reason for all this. You killed my father, and now I’m being hunted by my clan thanks to you."

"Do I even know you?"

"You can’t pretend you don’t know me."

"And why would I pretend? Maybe you were too unimportant for me to remember. I’ve eliminated countless mythical creatures and hybrids. I won’t remember every member of their families."

"You admit your crime in front of me and now pretend you don’t know who I am?"

"Yes. I don’t remember killing the lord of the Dreamwalkers clan."

"I didn’t say I’m the daughter of the lord of the Dreamwalkers. You’re exposing yourself by claiming you don’t remember me?"

"Because I really don’t. Who exactly are you?"

Oliver looked toward the masked man then toward Aria several times, his head moving quickly.

"It looks like you two actually know each other?"

Aria pointed at the masked man with an open palm.

"Yes. Tell him to stop denying."

But the masked man ignored her completely, turned away, and put his gun back into the leather holster at his waist.

"I’ll be back shortly. Don’t move from here, you and the others, until I return."

"Wait, hold on! At least tell me—"

But before Oliver could finish his sentence, the masked man had already disappeared between the trees.

Oliver quickly turned to Aria.

"Can you tell me how you two met exactly?"

"No."

...

Meanwhile, the masked man was moving away from the place.

He walked between the trees with no specific direction, his boots sinking into the wet ground until he was sure he had gone far enough from them.

Only then did his legs collapse and he fell to the ground while his hand trembled as he reached for his leather bag.

He pulled out a small bottle containing a dark green dose.

He opened it quickly and drank it all at once before tossing it into the bag.

After that, he lifted his hand and pressed it tightly on his gray eye.

Between his fingers, his features trembled, and in that moment parts of his body began turning into gray mist.

He took a series of short rapid breaths, then forced himself to take one deep breath, then another.

And then the mist leaking from him began gathering around him again, wrapping around his body and pulling back inside.

Slowly, his body returned to its natural shape.

But then he fell face first onto the ground, unable to stand up from where he was.