Chapter 43 - A Friend's Meeting
As they stood, they felt an immense energy that made their bodies tremble. A large black magical gate appeared before them, and through it came a person with long black hair and black eyes, wearing a royal black robe. He said, "Lucas! Finally! Where have you been all year? I searched for you everywhere but couldn't find you in the main world!"
Lucas ran toward the person, his joy evident, and said, "Siman! Finally, we meet again!"
"Siman!" Lucas exclaimed, his voice filled with deep emotion. "Finally, we meet again!"
Siman's expression remained calm, almost indifferent, but there was a gleam of recognition in his eyes. "Well, it's good to see you," he said in a quiet voice, tinged with something Lucas couldn't quite place. "But first..." Siman's gaze traveled over Lucas and paused with a look of confusion and doubt. "How did you come to the planet Tirata? And why are you still at Rank C? And Andre, he's only slightly evolved."
Lucas's joy receded a little, replaced by an increasing feeling of confusion.
Planet Tirata? Rank C?
Lucas's thoughts raced as he tried to comprehend the meaning of Siman's words, but nothing seemed to make sense.
"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, his eyebrows raised in confusion. The sense of bewilderment was mounting. He hadn't expected questions like these. He had anticipated just a simple reunion, but now... it seemed everything had changed.
Siman furrowed his brow deeply. "A whole year has passed, and you're still the same."
"A year?" Lucas echoed, his voice carrying a clear shock. He felt his heart sink to his stomach. He looked around at the strange village environment, the monsters, the bond he had formed with his beast, and a sudden, intense wave of realization hit him. He had no idea how long he had been gone, and now Siman was telling him that a whole year had passed?
His thoughts were jumbled, struggling to piece together what had happened. He had died, that much was certain. But how? How was he here now, standing before Siman as if no time had passed?
Siman's expression froze, disappointment creeping into every feature of his face. "You've disappointed me," he said, his voice as sharp as a knife. "But how the hell did you get to this planet?"
Lucas's thoughts sped up as he tried to understand everything. He had died.
No, he hadn't just died; he had been killed.
The spider queen had torn through them, her venomous fangs sinking deep into their bodies, tearing everything apart. He couldn't even remember the exact moment of his death.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus. He had to explain. He had to tell Siman the truth.
"Calm down, calm down," Lucas said, extending his hand forward. "I don't understand it either. After I left... I entered an S-rank dungeon and faced the spider queen. Andre and Darleen and I... we died," he paused, his voice trembling at the memory of their deaths. "I died."
Siman's eyes widened in shock, and for the first time, his usual calm demeanor broke down. "What? The Spider Queen, Rank S?" He shook his head in disbelief. "And what did you say?"
Lucas took another deep breath. The weight of the truth pressed heavily on his chest, but he said it anyway. "I died."
Siman stared at him, his expression unreadable. Then, in a voice that was almost a whisper, he asked, "What do you mean? You're standing in front of me now!"
Lucas nodded slowly, unable to hide the pain in his voice. "That's the truth. That's really what happened."
Siman furrowed his brow deeply, his confusion clear. "I don't understand any of this," he muttered, pacing back and forth in frustration. "How did you get here?"
"I don't know," Lucas admitted. His mind was clouded, and the edges of his thoughts were fading. "After I died, I found myself on this planet full of monsters. I also got these black wings," he added, pointing to his back. The wings fluttered slightly, their dark feathers catching the light as if alive with energy.
Siman stopped mid-step, his eyes narrowing. "What? What do you mean? And what have you been doing all this year?" He looked at Lucas, his face still etched with disbelief. "It's only been a few days for me! What do you mean?"
Lucas felt the ground beneath his feet shift, his mind struggling to keep up with the enormity of what Siman had just said. "A year? Only a few days for you?" The words echoed in his mind, but the reality of the situation was too overwhelming to grasp all at once.
Siman stopped and placed his hand on his chin, his eyes darkening with suspicion. "It seems there's something wrong," he murmured, more to himself than to Lucas. "I don't understand any of this." His voice trailed off, as if struggling with a truth he couldn't yet see.
A long silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken questions and the weight of the unknown. Then, Siman sighed and looked up. "Alright, alright. Let's leave this world first."
Lucas's confusion deepened as Siman moved, pulling out a small golden cube intricately carved. He held it for a moment, inspecting it with a serious expression, before tossing it to the ground.
A massive, intertwined magical circle exploded from the cube, glowing with bright light. The symbols etched into the circle shimmered, a vortex of magical power pulsing.
Siman looked at Lucas, his gaze steady. "Come on, order Andre and Darleen to stand in the circle. Let's go to the main world."
Lucas, still reeling from the shock of everything that had happened, nodded slowly. His thoughts were racing, trying to make sense of it all, but now, he had no choice but to follow Siman's lead.
The main world?
Everything was foggy, but something about this seemed necessary. If there was any hope of understanding what had happened, of piecing together his shattered reality, he had to start from here.
"Alright, of course," Lucas said, his voice distant as he called to Andre and Darleen. "You two, stand in the circle. We're leaving this place."
Andre and Darleen exchanged glances before walking toward Lucas. They stood in the circle, and Lucas joined them, feeling the magic's energy whispering against his skin.
The atmosphere around them grew heavier, and the rushing energy inside the circle began to condense, pulling them in with an almost magnetic force. As the light intensified, Lucas felt a familiar pull in his soul, a sensation as if he was being torn from one reality and thrown into another.