Fateless [3]

I don't know how many hours had passed. My body felt like a leaden weight that pressed me deeper into the cold stone floor. 

Every muscle ached with each shallow breath I took. My eyes were half-closed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. My mind was stuck somewhere between pain and exhaustion.

I was too tired to focus, and too sore to fall asleep.

At some point, I must have drifted off. I wasn't sure if I was still dreaming when I saw him, leaning in the doorway, his shadow long and still in the dim light. 

Neo. 

But how did he find me? …Wasn't I kidnapped?

"Why are you here?" 

Neo tilted his head slightly, and an almost imperceptible smile played on his lips. 

"I already checked potential places, and this was the last one."

I blinked, trying to make sense of his words. 

"How—?"

"Rumors said a fight broke out in the outskirts, and the Fateless one was abducted. Fateless, huh? I didn't expect it from you…"

"But how did you know it was me?"

Neo pointed at my pocket. 

"That."

I shifted slightly and felt something warm against my side. Fumbling with weak fingers, I pulled out a badge. The one Lucille had given me. There was a faint glow emanating from it, soft but unmistakable in the darkness.

"The badge reacts when you're in a grave situation. Not just yours. Mine too."

I stared at the badge in my hand, the soft light reflecting off the metallic surface. 

…So, this was why he was here? 

This small, glowing object had somehow alerted him when I was on the brink of death.

"…I see." 

I was still trying to process everything. My body was too broken to react with anything more than a dull acknowledgment.

Neo leaned back against the doorway, his arms crossed, watching me in silence. He didn't say anything for a long moment, but just stared. I didn't know if it was the exhaustion or the fact that I was still alive, but the tension in my body began to ease. 

Hah.

I let out a long, shaky breath and lay back down on the cold stone floor.

The world felt distant, and for a moment, I allowed myself to just… be. But then, Neo spoke again.

"You've got time. For now."

I nodded slightly, closing my eyes. There was nothing more to say.

I fell asleep.

The next few days passed in a blur. After Neo pulled me out of that warehouse, I returned to the inn in the town. 

My body was still a wreck, and every movement felt like dragging myself through wet sand. Neo insisted I rest, and despite my stubbornness, I had no choice but to comply. 

…My muscles wouldn't allow anything else.

I spent four days in bed, mostly staring at the ceiling or drifting in and out of restless sleep. The room was small, simple, with a faint smell of old wood and dust. 

"So this is what a room feels like…?"

I missed my old room back on Earth. I miss the way I painted and the way I played video games with my sister. I missed the way she lets me read the stories she wrote. 

And in this world, this is the first room I had. Well, there was a small box of cardboard in the corner of the alley where I used to sleep for a month, but I could hardly call it a room.

But then, a thought crossed my mind.

'Sixteen days…'

I had sixteen days left until my debut match. Roughly half a month. Every time I thought about it, a knot of unease tightened in my chest. 

My body wasn't ready for a fight, and I had no special abilities, no dinosaur features just like that prophet. All I had was my mind, but would that be enough? 

…I wasn't sure.

As if sensing my uneasiness, Neo appeared in my room. He didn't knock or announce himself, but just slid into the room like a shadow, as silent as ever. He tossed something onto the bed in front of me.

I blinked, staring at it for a moment before picking it up. It was a dark scale, jagged and rough, with a faint sheen. It was from the tail scale of the prophet. 

The one I had bitten.

"I thought you had some kind of weapon, but you seriously bit that?"

"..."

I looked closer and saw the unmistakable tooth marks etched into the surface. My tooth marks. A reminder of that desperate, insane moment when I had bitten down her tail to survive.

"Yeah." 

I ran my fingers over the indentations. 

"I guess I was out of options."

Neo smirked. 

"Out of options? Or just too stubborn to die?"

I didn't answer, just stared at the scale. There was something surreal about it, holding a piece of that twisted woman's tail in my hands. A part of me wanted to laugh at the absurdity. 

'I munched a Dino's tail? For real…?'

Neo sat down on the edge of the bed

"Either way, you survived. That alone is entertaining. That's what matters. And now you've got sixteen days to prepare."

"Sixteen days…" 

Sixteen days to prepare for a fight that could very well be my last. Neo leaned back, his gaze drifting toward the small window. 

"You're not as weak as you think, Kian. You're smart, so you need to use these next few days wisely. Also…'

"...What?"

"No more biting tails."

I chuckled weakly, but the knot in my chest didn't loosen.

"Easier said than done."

"You'll figure it out."

Silence settled between us again, and for the first time in days, I felt a small flicker of determination. I had survived this long. I wasn't going to let fear stop me now.

Neo stood up.

"Rest for today. Tomorrow, we'll start training."

Before Neo left, he paused at the doorway again, tossing something else toward me. I barely managed to catch it. It was a small, worn book with a dark leather cover. 

I glanced at it, confused.

Neo gave me a sideways glance, the barest hint of a smirk on his lips. 

"Oh, and that woman... she was a Deinonychus."

With that, he turned and walked out, his figure disappearing down the hallway, leaving me alone once more.

I looked down at the book in my hand. The title etched in faded gold letters.

[ De Sauris Classifications. ]

I raised an eyebrow. 

"De Sauris? What the hell is that? Is it what those Great Beasts Samza told me back then…?"

I flipped it open and skimmed a few pages. The first few lines seemed dense and academic, using fancy terms I didn't care to understand. At first, I thought it was just some dry, outdated book about dinosaurs.

But then, I turned a few more pages, and my eyes widened.

The book wasn't just about dinosaurs. It was about people. Images filled the pages—sketches of humans with claws, tails, and dark scales. Some had elongated limbs, others sported sharp teeth.

It was unsettling, to say the least. 

My stomach twisted as I flipped through more illustrations, recognizing traits from the people I had encountered. People like that prophet.

At some point, a piece of thick paper fell out from between the pages, landing on my lap. A bookmark. It was wedged into a specific section of the book. 

Curious, I turned to the marked page.

[ Deinonychus. ]

The drawing on the page resembled the prophet almost perfectly. The description underneath detailed the characteristics—long, sharp claws, a whip-like tail covered in scales, legs built for speed and power. 

It mentioned something about their brutal hunting techniques, how they liked to "play" with their prey before finishing them off. 

I frowned. 

It all made sense now—the speed, the psychotic laughter, the tail attack. She really was a Deinonychus. Or… a De Sauris if they call it.

A Dino Human.

I sat back, staring at the page. So there were people—no, creatures—like this walking around. Well, there were a lot of them back in the arena. 

'You're telling me to fight my debut match with them?'

I couldn't stop myself. 

My eyes were glued to the pages as I continued reading, devouring every piece of information. The book had sections on various other species. 

Humans with scales like armor, some with the ability to shift parts of their body into predatory weapons. The more I read, the more it dawned on me. 

This world wasn't just filled with people mimicking dinosaurs. They were the dinosaurs, in some twisted, evolved form.

By the time I looked up from the book, night had already fallen. The room was dim, lit only by the dim orange glow of the streetlights outside. 

Growl…

My stomach growled, breaking my concentration. But then, a knock sounded on the door.

"Uh… Excuse me?" 

It was the innkeeper's voice that muffled through the wood.

"Are you planning to eat dinner? You haven't left your room all day."

I blinked, glancing at the clock on the wall. I had been reading for hours. I didn't even notice time passing.

"Uh… yeah, I'll come down in a bit. Thanks," 

"Alright, but don't wait too long. Food's getting cold." 

Her footsteps retreated down the hall.

I sat there for a moment, the silence of the room settling back in. My eyes drifted down to the book again. Something had been bothering me as I read through it.

The first few pages were ripped out.

Why?

I flipped back to the front of the book, running my fingers over the jagged edges of the torn paper. It wasn't like someone had accidentally damaged the book. These pages were deliberately removed, as if someone wanted to hide whatever had been written there.

What could've been on those missing pages? 

I tried to think back to what I knew about dinosaurs. The ones in the book were familiar, sure, but I hadn't seen any mention of my personal favorites. 

The iconic ones.

 No Tyrannosaurus Rex.

No Spinosaurus. 

No…

Was it possible that they were in those missing pages?

I frowned, my fingers tracing the torn edges again. Something about this book wasn't right, and the fact that those particular pages were missing only made me more suspicious.

But why would Neo give it to me? Was it a test? A warning? Or just another of his cryptic gestures?

With a sigh, I closed the book and set it on the bedside table. 

I couldn't think straight right now. 

Tomorrow, I'd have to start figuring out a plan for the debut match. The training Neo mentioned. I can do it. I had sixteen days left.

Still, I smiled.

"Ah, I'm… excited…"