Chapter 54 - Awakening - Part 2

"Hey, uncle, can I ask you something?" the girl said.

"Huh? Of course you can. Ask whatever you want," the old man replied promptly.

After hearing that answer, she averted her gaze and said:

— …Who is that…?

Pointing to Noah, lying beside her.

"Him…?"

Fusu paused carefully before saying anything, and when he finally spoke, he said:

  — …Do you still remember what I told you before… about what you should do if you ever got better...?

Confused by those words, she whispered:

— Before...?

But after a few seconds of thought, she turned and, meeting her uncle's eyes, asked:

  — Oh, you mean what you made me promise?

"Exactly!" he replied.

She cast a quick glance at Noah, and then, turning back, remarked:

— But, uncle, that was just a joke...

The girl then looked at Noah and continued:

— It was just a joke, wasn't it...?

"What do you think?" he pressed.

Quickly turning, she added:

— But, uncle…

— a plea that didn't have the desired effect.

"You didn't promise?" he asked.

"Yes, but…" she began.

"So… are you not going to keep your word…?" he pressed further.

"…It's not that, but…" she looked over at Noah and continued:

  — Am I really going to have to marry him...? I don't even know him… I don't even know his name. And he… did he, by any chance, agree to that?

"About that…"

"So you mean that I need to marry him, but you haven't even told him yet?" she asked.

"…I'll talk to him so you don't have to worry. But why don't you stay here until he wakes up? Maybe he'll fall in love with you at first sight."

A smile so beautiful, one that warmed the heart—Fusu nearly cried again as he remembered he had almost lost her forever—appeared on his face. He slowly turned and said:

  — While you rest, I'll get you something to eat. It's been so long since you last had any food, and that wouldn't be good for your health.

He then walked toward the door. Before he crossed the threshold, the girl looked over his shoulder and asked:

  — Uncle, where are we this time...? How far is it from home?

"...Do you remember the Demon Beast Forest from the books I used to read to you when you were a child?" he said. "We're near the only city that lies close to it."

She looked up at the ceiling and whispered:

— I see… so the answer is very...

as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

The old man stood by the door for a few seconds and then left without looking back. As for the girl, after staring at the ceiling for several minutes, she turned around and, leaning on her hands, fixed her gaze on Noah. However, as she did so, her mind seemed to be far away.

Meanwhile, not as far away as Noah's own thoughts, who, lost in his own darkness, wondered:

'Fuck…! How long have I been in this place?'

While walking to keep his body warm, Noah noticed that the snake—which had remained completely motionless until then—was now, for some reason, beginning to move slowly.

And when it started moving, several gaps appeared where its body once provided cover, and with the emergence of those openings, the temperature—already low—dropped dramatically. Yet, even with this drastic change in the environment, unlike before, it seemed that Noah no longer felt anything from it. Or rather, it no longer affected him at all.

Looking up at the glow in the sky, the light that once displayed two colors now existed in only one—a cold, bluish hue—it hovered in the air and descended in his direction. Something both magical and strangely frightening—a sight more terrifying than simply being surrounded by a gigantic semi-dragon.