Forgotten City, Mabi.
The aura around Adam changed abruptly. Though his charred face was hidden in the shadows of the hood, one could still feel the coldness emanating from it.
And in the depths of his dark, hollow eyes, madness flared to life.
"...You sleep first, I’ll keep first watch—" rene was about to rise to her feet when suddenly, Adam interupted her.
His lips parted, and he muttered in an ice-cold voice:
"What do you know about the Cult of Bones?"
In that mont, he focused the Sphere of Resonance entirely on the elf, looking out for even the most minute of changes, be they in her facial appearance or body language.
If she were to lie... he would imdiately know.
rene imdiately froze in her movents, a frown gradually appearing on her fair, beautiful face. She intently looked at the youth and asked:
"The Cult of... what?"
"The Cult of Bones," Adam repeated, his jaws clenched tightly together. "And don’t you even think of lying to , rene. If you do... I’ll know."
Behind him, the white-robed Adam sighed. He shook his head and murmured, "So it’s finally co to this..."
Adam turned his head, a dark expression on his face. "Co to this? What the hell do you an?"
The white-robed Adam shook his head. "I told you, didn’t I? Talking to this... elf isn’t going to fix things."
"The hell are you talking about?" Adam snapped. "Damn it, can you stop talking in riddles for once?"
The white-robed Adam sighed helplessly. He walked to the side and leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms, then looked towards Adam.
"I told you once before," said the white-robed Adam. "Talking to her will only make things worse. And trust ... it has."
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Adam growled, his aura radiating utter madness and fury.
Right at that mont, rene chid in.
"Adam, you... who are you talking to?" Her voice was laced with apprehension. "Y-you’re scaring ..."
"No one!" Adam roared as he turned back around, facing rene again.
But when he saw the state she was in, his heart ached. The elf’s eyes were wide with fear as she crawled away from the fire. She pressed her back against the wall at last, casting a trembling glance at Adam.
Seeing her reaction, the white-robed Adam sneered. "Don’t fall for it."
"Just shut up for a mont!" Adam turned towards him and yelled in frustration. "Just... one mont... just shut the hell up!"
The white-robed Adam simply shrugged in response. Then, he slipped into silence.
anwhile, Adam—the real Adam—inhaled deeply, trying to keep the madness at bay. The Laughing God continued to whisper, and he continued to listen. Despite it all, he drowned the ravings of the mask and focused his attention on rene.
He slowly raised his hands in surrender—a gesture that he ant no harm.
"I apologise for my behavior," he said, his lips gradually curling into a wide, unnatural grin. "Now, allow to repeat my previous question..."
He paused for a mont as he took a deep breath. Then, he continued:
"What do you know about the Cult of Bones?"
rene’s hands moved on their own, clutching at each other until she found herself hugging her own body. In the four months that she’d spent with Adam, she had never seen him like that. She knew that Adam was mad, but she never once thought that he’d hurt her.
But today, for the first ti... she truly feared for her life.
"I... I don’t know what you’re talking about," she replied in a low, shaky voice. "What... what is this Cult? I don’t know anything!"
Hearing her response, Adam couldn’t help but frown. He focused the Sphere of Resonance even more intensely on the elf. Then, he repeated his question:
"What do you know about the Cult of Bones, rene?! Answer !"
The elf covered her ears in panic. "Stop screaming at ! Just... whatever you’re doing... just stop! Please, I beg you! I... I don’t know anything about this Cult! You must believe ! I swear, I don’t!"
The frown on Adam’s face deepened. Based on what he sensed through the Sphere of Resonance, he knew that rene wasn’t lying. But... she also wasn’t telling the truth.
"What... what is happening?" His hand involuntarily reached out for his head as he suddenly felt stabbing pain lancing through his brain. "I... I don’t understand. What’s going on?"
The white-robed Adam heaved a long, helpless sigh. He looked at the perplexed Adam and softly said, "Hate to say, I told you so."
Adam turned to him and muttered in a trembling voice. "You... what’re you talking about? What do you an? Told about what?"
The white-robed Adam shook his head helplessly. Then, he muttered under his breath. "I guess today’s the day that you finally realize your folly."
"My folly... what?" The more Adam heard his fractured self speak, the more perplexed he beca. "Just what the hell are you talking about?"
Suddenly, the mimic, who had been keeping quiet all this while, started loudly calling out to Adam, "Gege! Gege!"
The youth grimaced in pain. He gritted his teeth and roared, "Stop it, Gege! Not... not now! Please... just stop it."
"Gege..." The mimic listened to Adam’s words and quieted down.
"At least, soone listens to ," Adam murmured, his lips curling up into a wide, maniacal grin. "What was I talking about? Yeah..."
He then turned to his fractured self and asked coldly, "Are you going to tell what’s happening or not?"
The white-robed Adam shrugged. "What’s there to say? I told you the girl’s trouble."
Adam gnashed his teeth in frustration. Seeing that he was unable to get a straight answer out of him, he turned towards rene, who was still sitting on the ground and trembling in apprehension.
"rene, you’re lying to ," he said with a raised voice. "I need you to be honest. Tell , what do you know about the Cult of Bones?! This is important to , do you understand? So just tell the truth! I need to know this... please..."
The white-robed Adam shook his head and sighed again. He looked at Adam and said:
"Are you sure you want the answer to that, old sport? You can’t handle the truth. Just forget about it and go to sleep. I promise you, when you wake up, it’ll all be—"
Suddenly, he was cut off.
But it wasn’t Adam who interrupted him.
And it wasn’t the mimic either.
rene’s fearful expression was replaced by a mask of indifference as her gaze shifted from Adam... to the white-robed Adam!
Her lips parted and she coldly said:
"Shut up."
User Comments
0 comments from readers