Chapter 41: Return to Reality[GTG]
"Do you remember where you were before this?" asked the young man, peering at him over thin-rimmed glasses. His dark blue hair, tousled yet deliberate, framed his face, but the dark shades he wore indoors made his expression unreadable. Despite the confines of the small room, his attire was a stark contrast: a black tank top hugged his torso, while his military pants—a patchwork of ash and deep gray—hung loose.
Leo—no, Ryan—gulped, his throat dry. "I... I don’t remember," he mumbled. He wanted to say more, but a sudden message flared up in his mind’s eye, the words clear and impossible to ignore.
[Do not reveal anything related to the other realm to complete mission]
Mission? What mission? The details eluded him, still, the impulse to obey was stronger than any uncertainty.
The man’s eyes held him captive for a beat longer, searching, probing. But at last, he relented, stepping back with a frustrated sigh. "It’s hopeless," he muttered, his voice a rough mix of resignation and irritation. Turning, he addressed a woman standing by the door, her arms crossed and gaze coolly assessing him.
"Another one," she said softly, though her tone carried the weight of countless disappointments. Her hair, a light brown with golden undertones, was twisted in a bun, accentuating her face’s sharp features and striking blue eyes—clear and cloudless, yet somehow unnervingly detached. She shifted her stance, and the rhythm of her high heels tapped against the tiled floor with a hint of impatience.
"Why do they keep disappearing, only to return with empty skulls?" she asked, her gaze never wavering.
The man snorted, a smirk playing on his lips. "No, I don’t think he’s one of THEM."
Her brows knitted. "What?"
"All those taken by the Gates come back... wrong. They’re on the edge of madness, their manacores always hollowed out, as if they’d been sucked dry. But this one—" He gestured at Ryan. "—he still has his manacore intact. Whatever took him wasn’t them. There’s something else out there, something I’m not sure I want to understand."
The woman’s skeptical look softened into reluctant agreement. She cast Ryan another glance, her gaze lingering. "Hmm... you may be onto something," she admitted, a hint of worry darkening her features.