Charles entered the village stealthily, making as little noise as possible. This village—if it could be called that—was more like an abandoned graveyard. Decaying wooden houses, narrow streets filled with grey dust, and the stench of decay floating in the air.
But the most horrifying thing was not the buildings.
Rather it was the inhabitants, they moved slowly, their bodies ragged, their eyes empty without light.
He didn't know how many people lived in this village.
And because of the "sunset" he suspected that the people in this village would also become aggressive.
He had to be careful in taking action.
Charles pressed himself against the wall, listening.
Tap... tap...
Irregular footsteps.
Errrkk...
The sound, like a joint crunching.
He held his breath. There was no mistaking it, there was a resident living in this village.
Fortunately, he did not come conspicuously.
His goal was not to fight. Not now. He needs to find Furina and Arthur.
Now, where should I look for those two?
Could they have entered this village and been killed on the spot?
It would be funny if that did happen.
Charles was moving again, though he didn't know where to go—he hadn't decided on a destination. After all, he had no information.
Right now, all he could think of was to look for clues that would lead him to the two of them. But where should he look? This was what he was about to determine.
At this moment, he suddenly stopped.
His eyes focussed on a building with a worn-out sign hanging in front with an inscription he could not read, but he had a feeling that it was unmistakably a place where adventurers used to rest—a bar.
Why was there a bar in the middle of this undead village?
The question flashed through his mind, but he found the answer at the same time. They were once humans.
A civilisation is created when there are humans.
Would people gather there?
After all, was it possible for the corpse to chat casually at the bar while ordering liquor?
It was stupid of me to imagine that happening.
Charles sighed but kept his gaze fixed on the bar.
It can't be helped, right? Rather than nothing at all.
At this moment, he decided to walk towards that place.
Quietly, of course.
He looked around and waited as the corner of his eye found the zombies wandering around until they were no longer visible.
Anyway, he was a bit curious... how did the zombies know where they were?
Sight?
Hearing?
Smell?
Aren't they zombies—that is, undead, dead humans. So their brains must be as dead as their bodies. Their five senses would have been unable to function. How can they see with dead eyes?
These questions have been on his mind not recently, but since he first met one of the residents.
Unfortunately, he had yet to find the answers.
As he was waiting for the people to leave, he turned his eyes back to the bar, at that moment, the change in his expression could not be contained.
Charles widened his eyes, his gaze that had been fixed on the bar now locked on two creatures that looked very similar to humans.
No, no, no.
It was more like a human.
He blinked a few times to prove that he was not hallucinating.
And in fact, it was true.
There were two humans walking!
Charles gulped. There are other humans besides Arthur here ... well it's not a surprise, if we exist, why not the others?
Can they be trusted? And... Charles, who was looking at them, couldn't help but furrow one eyebrow. Why are they so relaxed?
Don't they feel the terror of the residents or just don't know it yet?
Either way, this was good news—they could be my information.
Charles followed them while maintaining the same distance, afraid that they might realise his presence. He didn't know what action they would take when they realised he was following them.
All he could imagine was the bad side.
At this moment, they suddenly stopped in front of a house that looked like it had not been maintained for long, facing each other.
"Where else to look for information?" the girl asked.
She looked sad when she saw the man shaking his head.
The man—Bill—didn't answer but asked a question in a low voice. "Do you think Henri is hiding something from us?"
"Since the last time he left on his own, he hasn't seen us again."
Chloe—looked glum at those words and could only remain silent. She looked up at the dark sky dotted with purple light and looked back into Bill's eyes. She smiled, but said nothing.
Bill sighed. "All right. Everyone has their privacy."
"Come in, the sun is setting. I don't know what happens at night." He opened the door, let Chloe in, and followed behind her.
Charles, who had been listening to them while hiding, was surprised.
At least at this moment, he knew that they were also like him—not residents of this world.
They were outsiders!
But he could not yet prove whether they were from Teyvat or Earth.
Now that he had information about them, he would continue to follow them until he got the information he wanted, about the whereabouts of Furina and Arthur.
Charles turned around, heading towards an empty building, revealing his back slowly being swallowed up in the darkness.
…
POV BILL
Bill returned to the room while haunted by the painting's statement.
He can grant my wish ....
By the time he reached the door to his room, he stopped, slightly turning his head to the door of the room directly in front of him. Chloe's room.
Once again, he recalled the painting's words.
Soon after, he heard a cry from the room.
This made Bill inevitably knock on the door once, but when there was no reply from the room, he immediately opened it.
When he opened it, what his eyes caught was the figure of Chloe who was crying while trying to wipe her tears.
Chloe looked at Bill's face. "I'm okay." She forced a smile. "Please leave me alone."
"But ...." Bill looked at her sadly.
"PLEASE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Chloe snapped at him.
After a few seconds passed, Chloe bowed her head and cried. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry."
Bill clasped her hand tightly.
"It's not your fault." Bill turned around, walked out of the room and closed the door softly. He fell against it, pressing his back against the door that felt colder than usual.
Before he left, he heard Chloe whisper, almost inaudibly:
"I'm scared, Bill... I'm scared we'll never get out of here."
Now Bill again stood before the painting. Which was now smiling a little eerily.
"Have you decided on your answer?"
...
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