The Language of This World
The room fell silent.
The old man’s cloudy eyes remained fixed on the cloth wrapped around my sword.
For the first time since entering this world…
I felt truly exposed.
Not because he knew who I was.
But because he somehow knew what I carried.
“…Who are you?” I asked.
The old man chuckled.
“You are the one asking questions?”
“I should be asking them.”
He slowly stood and walked toward the sword.
Every step he took seemed unusually careful.
As though approaching a sleeping beast.
When he was only two steps away…
He stopped.
His wrinkled hand trembled slightly.
“No…”
he whispered.
“I don’t need to touch it.”
“I can already feel it.”
He looked at me again.
“You touched it, didn’t you?”
My pupils shrank.
“…How do you know?”
The old man sighed.
“Because you’re still alive.”
⸻
For several moments…
Neither of us spoke.
The fire crackled softly between us.
Outside, people laughed as they walked past the tavern.
Inside…
The atmosphere felt heavier than the forest itself.
Finally…
I decided to tell him the truth.
Or at least…
Part of it.
“I woke up…”
“…inside the Forbidden Forest.”
“I found that sword surrounded by golden light.”
“I touched it.”
“My body…”
I instinctively looked at my hands.
“It turned into bones.”
“Every muscle…”
“Every nerve…”
“Everything disappeared.”
“I thought I died.”
The old man’s face gradually lost all color.
He whispered something I couldn’t understand.
It sounded like a prayer.
⸻
“Impossible…”
he muttered.
“Absolutely impossible.”
He slowly sat back down.
“I’ve heard stories.”
“Only stories.”
“Legends older than kingdoms.”
“They say there once existed a weapon…”
“…that rejected every living creature.”
“Kings tried.”
“They died.”
“Saints tried.”
“They died.”
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“Even an Emperor…”
His voice suddenly stopped.
He looked at me.
“…never mind.”
“So…”
I asked.
“What is it?”
He slowly shook his head.
“If that sword truly is what I think it is…”
“Then the less you know…”
“The longer you’ll live.”
⸻
The silence returned.
Eventually…
He reached for another bowl of strange herbs.
“You’ll need these.”
He crushed them into a green paste before handing it to me.
“Eat.”
“…Again?”
“You prefer starving?”
I sighed.
It still tasted terrible.
Perhaps even worse than before.
Yet moments after swallowing…
A strange warmth spread through my body.
The exhaustion vanished.
The pain inside my muscles disappeared.
Even my thoughts became clearer.
“What…”
I looked at him in surprise.
He smiled proudly.
“My medicine isn’t ordinary.”
“It nourishes both body…”
“…and spirit.”
⸻
As the hours passed…
The old man continued speaking.
Slowly.
Patiently.
Pointing at objects around the room.
“This…”
He pointed toward the table.
“…Mesa.”
I repeated awkwardly.
“Mesa.”
He nodded.
Then pointed toward the chair.
“…Karon.”
“Karon.”
The cup.
The fire.
The door.
The window.
Hour after hour…
He taught me words.
Sometimes I pronounced them incorrectly.
Sometimes I completely forgot them.
He simply laughed.
By midnight…
Simple sentences had already become understandable.
The language sounded strangely familiar.
Its rhythm reminded me of Nepali.
Its structure resembled something between Nepali and Sanskrit.
It wasn’t the same.
Yet…
It felt strangely natural.
“You learn quickly.”
the old man commented.
“I don’t.”
I smiled bitterly.
“I’ve never learned anything quickly.”
He laughed.
“Then perhaps…”
“This world suits you better than your old one.”
⸻
I froze.
“…What did you say?”
He blinked.
“Your old world.”
My heartbeat accelerated.
“How…”
“…did you know?”
The old man quietly stirred the pot hanging above the fire.
Without looking at me, he spoke.
“Because…”
“Your eyes don’t belong here.”
“What?”
“I’ve lived for seventy-three years.”
“I’ve seen refugees.”
“Warriors.”
“Merchants.”
“Slaves.”
“Princes.”
“They all look at this world as though they belong.”
He finally turned toward me.
“But you…”
“You observe everything.”
“As though every stone…”
“Every tree…”
“Every word…”
“Is completely new.”
He smiled faintly.
“I don’t know where you came from.”
“But…”
“You are not from this world.”
⸻
I slowly lowered my head.
There was no point lying anymore.
“My name…”
“It’s Aarav.”
(Or whatever name you decide for the protagonist.)
“I…”
“…came from a place called Earth.”
The old man stared blankly.
“Earth?”
“It’s another world.”
“I don’t know how I arrived.”
“I simply…”
“Woke up inside the forest.”
Silence.
Then…
The old man burst into laughter.
Loud.
Uncontrollable laughter.
“Hahahahaha!”
“You youngsters certainly have wild imaginations!”
He wiped tears from his eyes.
“So…”
“You expect me to believe…”
“You fell from another world?”
I sighed.
“I knew you wouldn’t.”
He shook his head.
“I don’t.”
“But…”
His smile slowly disappeared.
“I do believe…”
“…that you believe it.”
“You either speak the truth…”
“…or you’re completely insane.”
He paused for a moment before adding,
“Fortunately…”
“I’ve lived long enough to befriend both kinds.”
⸻
The old man suddenly stood.
“Come.”
He grabbed a lantern from the wall.
“It’s late.”
“Where are we going?”
“Outside.”
“There is something every newcomer should see.”
We stepped outside the tavern.
The city had become much quieter.
Only a handful of people still wandered the streets.
The old man silently led me through narrow stone roads until we reached the center of the city.
Then…
I looked up.
And forgot how to breathe.
A statue.
No…
A monument.
It towered hundreds of feet into the night sky.
A man stood carved from pure white stone.
One hand rested behind his back.
The other held a sword pointing toward the heavens.
His expression carried absolute confidence.
Absolute authority.
Even as a statue…
He radiated overwhelming pressure.
People passing by instinctively lowered their heads before it.
Some even knelt.
“Who…”
I whispered.
The old man’s voice became solemn.
“He is one of the Seven Emperors.”
“The protector of this region.”
“The White Sword Emperor.”
“They say…”
“He once split the heavens with a single strike.”
I stared at the statue.
Something about its face…
Its eyes…
Its posture…
Felt strangely familiar.
A distant memory stirred within me.
But before I could grasp it…
A sharp pain erupted inside my head.
The Black Devil, hidden beneath the cloth on my back…
Vibrated for the first time since leaving the forest.
As if…
It had recognized the Emperor.
End of Chapter 10