Lances and Daggers

16. Familiar Faces

I couldn't tell how much time passed while I was unconscious, but eventually, a flicker of light disturbed the endless darkness. It started at a single point and expanded with widening rays until I couldn't see except a bright white image. After a while, colors began to appear like blotches of paint spilled on a canvas. They filled the void between the abysmal darkness and celestial light and restored the brilliant continuum—the palette of my world.

Faint voices reached my ears.

"Can he hear us?"

"It's hard to tell."

"Maybe we should shake him a little."

"It's best to wait."

My hazy surroundings gained forms and outlines. I saw a girl with pale-blue eyes and silky golden hair. Her slender fingers rested on her knees as she leaned forward to check my face. She wore a top with cap sleeves, shorts that had several small pockets, and long leather boots. All her clothes were black, and two daggers were hidden along the curves of her calves.

It's her again... Why does she appear wherever I go?

"He's waking up," she said, backing out of my sight, "but he's taking too long."

"The transition can be shocking," an elderly man's voice replied.

I raised my head and sat upright.

The sky was a mixture of dark magenta and leaden gray. Red cracks divided it into pieces, just as borders separate countries on a map. The ground was similarly cracked, but for a different reason: I was in the middle of a vast wasteland.

Although I was still dizzy, I searched for the two who had been talking. I found the girl on my left and then the elderly man next to her. They were standing a few steps away from me. It seemed that I had scared them when I sat up without warning.

"Why do you always jump in fright?" the girl said. "He's just another victim."

"I know, but he might attack us while he's confused."

"Did that happen before?"

"Oh, many times."

I looked more carefully at the elderly man.

"Wilhelm? Is that you?" Although I asked, I was sure that it was him. The short man in front of me was an exact copy of Faust's librarian. Does this mean that Faust killed him too?

"Do I know you, son?" Wilhelm said in confusion.

"Yes, it's me, the adventurer." I was surprised that he couldn't remember me. "You told me about the Cult of Belphegor. We met today. Or was it yesterday?"

"Wilhelm is my name, but I've never met you before; you must be mistaken."

"We met in the castle's library. You brought the old volumes and told me about Valentine Faust and Zeke Yuchi."

"I-I've been trapped in this wasteland for two months, son." Wilhelm turned and started walking away, leaving my mouth agape. "I will head to the camp. Bring him back with you, Erica."

"Be careful on your way." Erica showed Wilhelm an innocent smile, but when she turned her attention to me, the smile became a scowl. "You had to remind him of his library."

"I'm sorry. I was confused; I thought we had met."

"Get up, and let's go."

As she tapped her foot on the crumbling ground, I gathered my strength and raised myself. On my feet, I looked around me again. Is this wasteland part of the Seventh Labyrinth? It's nothing like what I imagined. I was now stuck in an unknown world, but luckily, I wasn't alone. Wilhelm is here, and the blond thief who stole my belongings... Erica...