Numbers x Casket-Chapter 6: Voice Inside The Casket

A few moments ago, after the last piece of rock fell onto Efraim's head, his consciousness drifted away from his body, and the second he opened his eyes, he saw a never-ending darkness, a pitch-black abyss without a single speck of light.

"Where am I?" he uttered; his voice echoed, resonating into the void.

Without knowing what was happening, he took a step forward, and the moment he did, torches of green flames lit up in front, revealing a pathway with an enormous empty throne on its end.

Its white color exuded purity, while the black crystals embedded on its rail described elegance. Its arms, carved in a dragon's head, signified overwhelming strength and authority.

Efraim felt puzzled, yet his heart was pounding in excitement. He walked towards it; however, the distance between him and the throne was not getting smaller even by a bit.

He tried to run, exerting energy on both of his legs, but despite how fast he went, the throne remained distant. Feeling flustered about the situation, Efraim took a second to catch his breath.

He walked ahead, thinking and searching for how to get into that empty throne. During his contemplation, the ground beneath him began to shake, and the pathway started to collapse.

"No! Wait!" Efraim exclaimed, startled by the sudden turn of events.

Then, he found himself falling into the void along with the large chunks of rocks, and seconds after, his back touched something solid; the impact made him spout a mouthful of blood. He tried to stand, but the debris kept falling on top of him, causing him to feel excruciating pain.

Afterwards, he heard a sweet, tender voice coming from underneath his right ear.

"The heir to the throne is still not strong enough; the Oblivion Mage takes over."

Efraim couldn't fully grasp what the voice said as his eyes started to dim. And as soon as his consciousness faded, the white casket dangling from his ear turned black with a green cross embedded at its center.

. . . . .

Several hours had passed; Efraim woke up from a deep slumber; his head rang as soon as he opened his eyes; the light from the sun made him experience a temporary blindness.

"Where am I?" he asked.

Then he felt something caress his hair, and as he moved his eyes a little, he saw a pair of golden eyes staring at him.

"You're awake," Lindsay whispered, her voice soft and gentle.

Efraim stared at her for a while before he noticed that the woman's lap was cushioning his head. As soon as he realized it, he stood up and turned around; his cheeks and ears felt hotter than usual.

"W-What happened?" he asked without looking back while feigning ignorance.

Lindsay couldn't help but smile, seeing how embarrassed his colleague was.

"You pulled me closer and even put your hand on my waist; don't you remember?" she answered with a playful grin.

Upon hearing her statement, Efraim didn't wait for another second; he turned around again and faced the woman.

"I deeply apologize for what I did; my mind is still clouded, and I don't really know what happened," Efraim asked for forgiveness while bowing his head to show his sincerity.

Lindsay was surprised by his sudden action; she blinked a few times before a soft chuckle escaped from her lips.

"I'm just kidding," she imparted, still wearing her contagious smile.

Upon hearing this, Efraim looked at her with a deadpan expression. Their eyes locked for a silent exchange before Lindsay broke down the silence.

"Come, sit here with me," she said while tapping the ground next to her.

Accompanied by a deep sigh, Efraim sat down like what the woman wanted. The two of them stayed like that for a while before Efraim opened up a conversation.

"What happened inside the arena?" he asked, his voice laced with curiosity.

He was looking at the large dome in front of him when Lindsay answered his question.

"To be honest, I don't know. After you lost consciousness, I tried to fight back, setting the whole place on fire, but it was not effective. Then something struck me at the back of my head, and my mind went blank," she said.

Then, she looked at Efraim, and the moment their eyes met, she spoke once again.

"I woke up lying next to you, and we were already outside of the place," she added.

Efraim nodded after hearing her answer. His memory was a little cloudy; he tried to rack his brain if he would remember something, but not a single thing came to his mind.

The next second, he stood up and checked the few scratches on his body before extending his hand to Lindsay.

"Let's go," he said.

"Where?" Lindsay replied while staring at the man's hand.

"Don't worry, I don't have any more reason to go back to that place," he answered.

Lindsay smiled at him before grabbing his hand.

"Thanks," she said as soon as she stood up.

The sun was still up high into the sky; the two of them still had plenty of time to search for clues in regards to their mission. So, without further ado, they moved deeper towards the abandoned town, but hours had passed, and they found nothing.

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Then, the two people returned to their gathering spot. The sun was still up, though; after a few more minutes, it would begin to sink into the horizon. After several steps, they were the first pair to reach their meeting place.

Though, it only took a few more minutes for the others to arrive.

"Did any of you find something?" the old man asked as soon as the last pair set foot on the area.

However, none of the people uttered a word; most of them were shaking their heads, and some started looking at the others.

"Lindsay," the old man uttered a name.

Then, a woman stepped forward as soon as she heard her name being called.

"Yes, Captain," Lindsay responded, still the same as before, her voice always laced with respect.

"Any results?" The captain asked.

"We covered a radius of five kilometers, but there was not a single trace of beastmen traffickers," Lindsay replied while taking a glance at Efraim.

Upon hearing her answer, the old man nodded and stroked his chin.

"This would be the best; I hope we wouldn't stumble into something dangerous before covering the whole ruins," he said before dismissing the team.

The group set up their camps; the men went out to gather some wood while the women prepared the meals. Nothing unusual happened, and the long night passed in a glimpse.

The following day, the group reached the town's center; they were halfway done with investigating the whole town.

Each pair carried out their one and only task: to find clues about beast traffickers. Efraim and Lindsay went a few strides, and they noticed a giant pit on the ground.

"I think we already found something worth reporting," Lindsay conveyed her thoughts.

"Should we go in?" Efraim asked while staring into the hole.

"That's a bad idea; let's call the others first," Lindsay replied, shaking her head.

Then, she raised her staff, and a fireball was shot up into the sky. Several minutes after, their companions arrived along with their captain.

"This is quite strange," the old man commented while looking at the giant pit.

The next second, Lindsay launched a fireball inside the hole as the captain ordered. But the pit was so deep that the speck of fire vanished in a matter of seconds.

Given this fact, the old man looked at his team; there were traces of uncertainty in their eyes. Then, he glanced at the appraiser on his opposite side.

And as soon as their eyes met, Efraim spoke.

"Your orders," he said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

. . . . .

A day ago, inside the arena, after all the apparitions were destroyed, the green flames continued to burn. The place became unrecognizable; traces of the battle could be seen everywhere, and in the middle of all of it was a young man, standing without a single trace of emotion.

He was staring at the pool of blood in front of him. A woman's dismembered body was lying in there; its head was next to her severed feet.

Then, the casket dangling from his ear shone a bright light, and it turned back into its white color with a black cross embedded on its surface. Afterward, the viridescent heptagram pattern on the man's eye disappeared, and he fell onto the ground, void of consciousness.

The next moment, the green flames died down, and the darkness crept back to the arena. The silence continued for several seconds before the limbs scattered on the floor showed signs of movement.

A little while after, the severed body parts began to reattach to the main body. And as the event continued to unfold, Lindsay opened her eyes; she stood up and looked at the man lying on the ground.

Her eyes were dazzling, glowing in a golden radiance. She stared at Efraim, and the corners of her lips curled upward, forming a sweet, mischievous smirk.

. . . . .