Chapter 6: Understand Me Shouldn't Be That Hard

Trad and Uwnrien were walking toward the large structure that loomed ahead, the path still unclear but their destination undeniable.

Trad felt the weight of fatigue creeping in. His body was hungry, aching, and his mind was struggling to piece together what was real and what was a mere illusion. The longer he walked, the more the idea that this was all just a dream faded, replaced by a gnawing sense that this bizarre reality was truly unfolding before him.

"Woah..."

"Did you say something?" Uwnrien asked, his voice calm, not even bothering to look back at Trad.

"Maybe this is real, actually..." Trad muttered, almost to himself, as if speaking out loud would make it easier to accept.

"You're still wondering about that?" Uwnrien's tone was flat, like it didn't make sense to question this. "I don't see why you'd think everything here is fake."

"Are you kidding me?" Trad retorted, frustration beginning to show in his voice. "Look around! Where are we? What part of the world is this? I've never seen anything like it... And... is this where dead people go? Am I dead?"

Uwnrien paused for a moment before responding, his voice still indifferent. "Don't worry. You're still alive. But I'm not the one who decides if you stay that way."

"So... you're leading me to my fate then?" Trad asked, unsure of the gravity of the situation.

"Yeah, something like that," Uwnrien said without hesitation.

Trad slowed his pace and looked around, feeling the unease grow. "Look, I followed you here because I didn't take any of this seriously... But hasn't this all gone too far? I mean, where are we going, really?"

"Well, you're not wrong," Uwnrien admitted, his voice unchanged. "Bringing a human here... yeah, that's already too far. But leaving you in Tarth after what you saw? That would've been worse."

Trad's mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation. "So you're going to kill me because I saw you doing ... a crime? Or whatever it is that you did back there? Sounds like something I've heard before."

"A crime? No. It wasn't a crime," Uwnrien corrected him.

"What?" Trad's confusion deepened. "How is it not a crime? You literally killed that guy!" He pointed at the body Uwnrien still carried.

"No, don't get it wrong," Uwnrien said, his voice almost amused. "I didn't kill him. He was already dead when I found him."

Trad stopped walking, his face pale. "What? He was already dead?" The realization hit him harder than expected, and he backed away a bit, his mind trying to process the information.

"It's complicated," Uwnrien explained, unfazed by Trad's shock. "And honestly, explaining it won't matter if you're not going to be alive long enough to care."

Trad stopped in his tracks, looking at Uwnrien with wide eyes. "Wait a minute... I'm walking to my own execution, aren't I?"

"Execution?" Uwnrien turned slightly, his eyes narrowing at Trad's sudden outburst.

"Yeah," Trad muttered, his voice growing faint with anxiety. "Why should I keep following you if this is just leading to me dying? It almost feels like I'm just handing over my life to you."

The air between them grew heavy with silence. Trad's mind was racing, but he couldn't stop walking. Uwnrien, however, remained unbothered, waiting for Trad to process the situation.

"I wouldn't put it like that," Uwnrien said finally. "Do you think you deserve to die?"

Trad was taken aback by the question. "What? How do you expect me to answer that? Of course not. No one thinks they deserve to die."

"Then you shouldn't worry about it," Uwnrien said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"It's not that simple..." Trad's voice wavered. "This... this doesn't make sense."

Uwnrien stopped walking briefly, then spoke again with a touch of empathy. "Things weren't exactly simple where you came from either, were they?"

Trad looked down at the ground, conflicted. "Well... no. But that doesn't mean I should just give up on everything."

Uwnrien regarded him with something like curiosity. "So you're refusing to just let your life be taken? You are actually very similar to the other humans, in the end... I just can't understand it."

Trad looked up, eyes narrowing. "I'm not just going to hand my life over to you, not without understanding what's going on."

Uwnrien turned and continued down the path, not waiting for Trad. "Anyway," he said, his voice filled with a calm certainty, "you're not here to die. You're here because it's your only chance to keep living."

Trad's mind was still reeling, but he couldn't argue with that logic. He followed Uwnrien, his steps heavier now, unsure of what awaited him at the end of this strange journey.

They were getting closer to the large structure, and Trad noticed something odd. The closer they got, the less it felt like they were walking toward walls. Instead, two massive, irregular structures flanked them, stretching far beyond what should have been normal. It was as if these structures had risen organically from the earth, their massive forms blending into the landscape.

As they approached, the woods around them began to thin out. The trees started to become sparse, the ground more open, until they reached the entrance of the strange structure.

"Is that... is that the entrance?" Trad asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

The entrance was enormous, unlike anything he'd ever seen. It wasn't guarded, and there were no visible threats. It was just an enormous, open space between two colossal walls, as if waiting for them to pass through. The walls themselves had an irregular shape, starting thin and tapering outward as they extended upwards, almost like the roots of a giant tree.

The pair entered through the archway, stepping into a vast open space. The walls grew taller as they advanced, towering above them, and Trad couldn't help but marvel at the unique architecture. This wasn't like anything he had ever seen before.

Inside, the space felt... surreal. There were doors embedded in the tree-like walls, and in the center, a brilliant mass of light floated, shimmering like a blue ore. The liquid at the base pooled in a golden-encrusted scratch on the floor, making it look almost like a fountain.

Trad moved closer to it, mesmerized by the sight. "Woah... this is actually beautiful, isn't it?" he said, his voice filled with awe as he gazed at his reflection in the liquid.

But as he stared deeper into the fountain, something caught his eye. A figure—no, a woman—was submerged beneath the surface, her eyes locked on him. Trad recoiled in shock, his heart racing.

"What? What is that?" he exclaimed, stumbling backward in fear.