Somewhere…
After Bloodot pushed Okays with his finger, Okays fell into a sea of blood, then woke up in the real world.
Okays slowly opened his eyes and saw a wooden ceiling. There was a pleasant scent of incense in the air, a warm bed, a glowing lantern beside it, and a window letting in moonlight.
Okays: Where am I? I can't move… My whole body hurts… I can't even sit up.
As he talked to himself, the room's door opened quietly.
An old beast, clearly frail with age, entered holding a bucket of water and a clean cloth. When Okays saw him, he tried to form a sword, but lacked the strength. All he managed was a small knife, and he couldn't even stand to face him.
He sat up in bed and pointed the knife toward the old beast, speaking with a shaky voice:
Okays: Who are you? And where am I?
The old man didn't flinch. All he did was calmly walk toward Okays, place the bucket and cloth beside the bed, then looked at him and said:
Old Man: It's alright, boy. You're safe here. Besides, if I wanted to hurt you, I could've done it already — you're too weak to even defeat an old man like me.
Okays (lowering the knife): Where is this place? How did I get here?
Old Man: I found you in a terrible state at the foot of the mountain on my way back from the city. You looked like a corpse, but when I got closer, I saw you were still breathing. So I brought you here and treated you.
Okays: How did I end up at the bottom of a mountain? I was in the king's castle… that's the last thing I remember. How can I believe you?
Old Man: You don't have to. You can get up and leave if you want. My back still hurts from carrying you, and all I'm hearing now is nonsense instead of a thank you.
Okays (lowering his head): I'm sorry. My mind's confused… I don't know what to do. I'm sorry, and thank you for taking care of me.
Old Man: Did you say you were in the castle?
Okays: That's right. I was there.
Old Man: I don't know how you got here, but this is the farthest region of the continent — it's in the north.
Okays: What? That's impossible! How did I get this far? (remembers Bloodot) Damn that demon! Is this what he meant? That he'd fight in my place? All he did was run away!
Old Man (with a strange look): Demon? What are you talking about?
Okays: I have to go. My friends are in danger… they fell off the wall. I have to hurry and find them.
He tried to get out of bed, but couldn't. He forced himself up but collapsed to the ground. The old man caught him and helped him back to bed.
Old Man: Calm down, boy. Your body was in worse shape than it is now. And also, you've been asleep for two days. I think you're already late, and I believe they'll be fine.
Okays: I've been sleeping here for two days?
Old Man: That's right. Also, you said "the walls" — do you mean the continent's walls?
Okays: Yes, we were trying to get out of them.
Old Man (laughing): What courage! Trying to leave the walls? Is it because you're a hybrid? You don't want to stay with the beasts?
Okays: That's not true. All I want is to see the outside world for myself, make lots of friends, and see what humans are like. Are they better than beasts? And why are you so calm? Doesn't me being a hybrid disgust you?
Old Man (laughing): I really don't care that you're a hybrid. I've lived a long life, and I've seen worse than you. But you — you don't seem bad. I can tell. And if you want to go out, that's fine. Go and try. But the outside world isn't what you expect… it might disappoint you.
Okays: When can I move? Why is my body so broken?
Old Man: I forgot to mention — even if you move now, you won't be able to do much. The walls are in the south, and you're in the north. It'll take you more than nine months to reach them. If you run without rest or pause, maybe six months. It's going to be a very long journey.
Okays: That's impossible! How did I end up this far away? Damn it… How will I face Taris if something happened to his granddaughter?
Old Man: Don't worry, I think they're fine. Just rest now. Everything will be alright. And by the way, my name is Baikon.
Okays: I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself yet… I'm Okays.
Baikon: Rest now, I'll go bring you some food.
To be continued…