Chapter 28

Me and Oboro made our way down the streets, which were almost deserted at 6 AM surprisingly, and turned into a more dark part of town, where less houses were populated and more trash was scattered throughout the streets.

"Where are we going?"

I asked, walking beside Oboro with a curious yet worried gaze. He looked at me with a more stern expression, unlike his usual placid one.

"To an old friend of mine, one who instructed me when I first was brought into the Routeway System."

He said, turning another corner and stopping at a small building, it was wooden and had boarded up windows, a tall picket fence and an overgrown garden.

"Do they even live here?"

"...I think."

He entered the garden and walked up the door before knocking on it, there was no reply for a few seconds. Only the gentle morning breeze rang, chiming the small bell above the door used for decoration.

Then some clamor was heard in the house, before the knob was turned from the inside and an old man stepped out, yawning, wearing his nightwear and a classic black robe.

"Oboro? Long time no see!"

He said with a chuckle, shaking his hand before looking at me.

"And who might you be?"

He asked me, and I started to sweat.

"He's Isaac, and he drank a Routeway Potion without knowing which one it was for."

The man's eyes widened as he quickly stepped aside and pulled it into his house. The house had a warm feeling to it, and was unexpectedly clean and pristine unlike the outside.

"I make my house look bad on the outside to make people avoid it, I'm just using Order 3 abilities of Patience."

He remarked as he departed into the kitchen before returning with a few glasses of tea, placing them on the desk in front of us.

"So, does the boy have the potion ingredients memorized?"

Oboro nodded.

"He told me this morning, Orstrid blood, squid tentacle and raven's feather."

He nodded, sipping his tea. He then put the cup down and pointed at me, beckoning me with his finger.

I shakily stood up before approaching the man, standing in front of him while he looked at me.

"Tell me, what is my name?"

I was instantly dumbfounded, I don't know this man's name, I met him 2 minutes ago!

"I-I don't know sir..."

The man's eyes narrowed, looking towards Oboro before nodding, Oboro's eyes also narrowed as a look of determination filled his face, Oboro stood up and reached into a drawer before taking out a small knife.

"W-what are you doing?"

I asked, now terrified upon seeing the knife in Oboro's hands, he walked over to the man before unwrapping the cloth around it and laying it inside the man's hand.

"We'll need a few drops."

He told me as he lowered the knife over to my wrist, I closed my eyes tightly as he made a tiny incision, and I bit my tongue the second the blade made contact.

When I reopened my eyes, the same black liquid from last night bled from the cut, leaking down my hand and onto the floor.

The man grabbed a tiny jar from his pocket and held it over the drops, collecting it until the jaw was filled to the brim.

"Well, black blood? You don't see that everyday."

He murmured, looking at the tiny bottle, and narrowing his eyes, he then looked back at me and nodded.

"What is my name?"

Suddenly, my veins started to glow the same orange color, the voices began to raise again, and I felt dizzy.

Then, the same layered voice rang out over the others.

"Aaron Salista."

Then everything went quiet again, my veins returned to normal and the voices subsided back into my consciousness.

"Aaron Salista."

I said, my voice slightly shook and dazed from what just happened. The man simply nodded and smiled at Oboro.

"Well, I guess you weren't wrong, he did consume a Routeway Potion, but what one...we're unsure."

"But you'll send the sample to the sample society, right?"

Oboro inquired, sipping his tea some more. Aaron nodded his head "no." 

"I'll review the sample myself, black blood is something I've never seen before, and if it ends up in the wrong hands it could be disastrous."

Oboro nodded as a cautious look formed on his face, standing up before giving the man a nod.

"Well, we'll be in our way, good day Aaron."

Oboro smiled at him before beckoning me to follow him, I did so, stepping out into the sun, which had now ascended higher into the sky.