Chapter 697 Under The Dome

Liam tilted his head slightly as he studied Voss.

"You hate him?"

Voss looked at him.

For a moment, the young man’s expression was difficult to read. His fear had mostly disappeared now, replaced by something far stronger. His jaw tightened, and his hands slowly curled into fists at his sides.

Then he nodded.

"I hate him with everything in me."

There was no hesitation.

No uncertainty.

The words came from somewhere deep inside him.

Voss looked toward the ground for a moment before raising his eyes again.

"And when I saw you two, I had to follow you. I needed to know if I could trust you."

Liam’s brows furrowed.

"Why do you feel the need to trust us?"

Voss didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, his shoulders slowly relaxed.

The tension that had been keeping his entire body rigid began to fade, and he finally looked less like someone expecting an attack and more like someone who had been carrying a secret for far too long.

"Because I saw what you did to that boy."

Liam’s expression changed slightly.

"Leo?"

Voss nodded.

"Yes. Leo."

He took a slow breath.

"I saw what happened."

Liam remained silent.

Voss continued.

"No one had ever done anything like that before."

His voice became quieter.

"You didn’t know that boy. You weren’t born here. You didn’t owe his family anything. You could have walked away just like everyone else who comes here eventually does, but you didn’t."

He looked directly into Liam’s eyes.

"You went into that thing’s territory and risked your life to save him."

Liam’s expression remained calm, but he listened carefully.

Voss continued speaking.

"When I saw that, I realized something."

He swallowed.

"You actually care about this town."

Irina glanced at Liam.

Voss continued.

"You have the interests of this town at heart. At least, that’s what it looked like to me."

He gave a faint, almost humorless smile.

"So I figured if I wanted to win this fight, I couldn’t do it alone."

His eyes moved between Liam and Irina.

"I needed you on my side."

Liam nodded slowly.

"Oh."

He leaned back slightly against the stone.

"I get it now."

The pieces were beginning to connect.

Voss had not been stalking them because he wanted to kill them.

He had been observing them.

Testing them.

Trying to determine whether they were people he could trust.

And after watching Liam save Leo, Voss had apparently decided that they might be the first outsiders capable of helping him.

Liam was quiet for several seconds before asking his next question.

"So Elder Eldric is responsible for the death of the people in this town?"

Voss immediately shook his head.

"I didn’t say that."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"No?"

"No."

Voss’s response was firm.

"I never said Eldric was responsible for the deaths."

Liam studied him.

"Then why did you feel like you couldn’t trust us after we went to meet Elder Eldric?"

Voss remained silent.

Liam leaned forward.

"You were following us from the moment we left his house."

He paused.

"You were watching us."

Liam’s gaze sharpened.

"Eldric must be related to what’s going on in this town."

Voss sighed.

It was a long, tired sigh.

The kind of sigh belonging to someone who had been holding too much inside for too long.

He looked toward the cave wall.

Then toward the floor.

Finally, he walked over to another stone and sat down.

"There is so much you guys don’t know."

Irina watched him carefully.

Liam didn’t interrupt.

Voss rubbed his hands together before continuing.

"I don’t even know where to begin."

"Start with the truth."

Voss gave him a tired look.

"You really don’t like wasting time, do you?"

"No."

For the first time, Voss almost smiled.

It disappeared quickly.

"Fine."

Irina slowly lowered herself onto a nearby rock as well.

Now the three of them sat inside the hidden cave.

The cloak remained nearby.

The stove was silent.

The strange mountain dwelling that had once seemed like the home of an enemy had suddenly become the place where the real story of Elaris was beginning to emerge.

Voss took another breath.

"I want you to throw out everything Elder Eldric told you."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"Everything?"

"Everything."

Voss nodded.

"That story about the witch. The villagers killing her. The seven people dying. Her sons discovering what happened and taking revenge on the village."

He shook his head.

"Forget it."

His voice became bitter.

"That was just a lie he made up to make people believe his ridiculous story."

Irina’s expression changed.

"The witch?"

Voss nodded.

"So the witch who got burned didn’t exist?"

Liam followed immediately.

"And her children who were supposedly seeking revenge?"

Voss nodded again.

"Yes."

He looked between them.

"That is just some bullshit lie he spread around."

Silence.

Irina stared at him.

Her brows slowly furrowed.

She lowered her head slightly, her arms folding beneath her chest as she thought about everything Eldric had told them.

"How can it be a lie when literally everyone in the town believes it?"

Her voice carried genuine confusion.

Voss looked at her.

"Because you have no idea how many people have died."

Irina raised her eyes.

Voss’s expression had become grim.

"When people see enough bodies, they start looking for an explanation."

He glanced toward the cave entrance.

"And when there isn’t one, they’ll accept whatever explanation is given to them."

Liam said nothing.

Voss continued.

"The story started small."

He paused.

"Then more people died."

Another pause.

"Then more."

His fingers tightened around his knee.

"Eventually, the story stopped being a story."

Irina’s expression darkened.

"What do you mean?"

Voss looked at her.

"It became history."

He let the words sit for a moment.

"People were told the same thing over and over again. A witch was responsible. Her sons cursed the town. Their spirits remained behind. They were punishing everyone."

He shook his head.

"People began repeating it to their children."

His voice became colder.

"Then those children repeated it to their friends."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"Generation after generation?"

"Not exactly."

Voss looked at him.

"But long enough for people to stop questioning it."

He looked around the cave.

"And there was another problem."

"What problem?" Irina asked.

Voss took a deep breath.

"People can’t leave this town."

Liam’s expression became slightly more serious.

Voss continued.

"Not even today."

Irina frowned. Eldric told them that people couldn’t leave 5 years ago, but today?

"What do you mean they can’t leave?"

"I mean exactly what I said."

Voss looked directly at her.

"People have tried."

He began counting on his fingers.

"Some tried walking."

Another finger.

"Some tried running."

Another.

"Some tried riding horses."

He lowered his hand.

"Some tried traveling through the forest."

His voice became quieter.

"Some even tried following the road all the way out."

Irina listened carefully.

"And?"

"They came back."

"Because they got lost?"

Voss shook his head.

"No."

"Then what?"

"They simply returned."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"Returned how?"

Voss shook his head.

"We don’t know."

His expression became frustrated.

"That’s the problem. There is no explanation."

He pointed toward the cave entrance.

"You can walk in one direction for hours. You can mark the trees. You can leave signs. You can follow the same path."

He looked at Liam.

"And eventually you’ll find yourself back here."

Irina’s expression slowly hardened.

"That’s impossible."

"Exactly."

Voss spread his hands.

"That’s what everyone says."

He gave a humorless laugh.

"At first, people thought they were going crazy."

He lowered his voice.

"Then they realized something else."

Liam leaned forward slightly.

"What?"

"People who pass through here get stuck too."

That caught both Liam and Irina’s attention.

Voss nodded.

"Anyone who comes into this area and stays too long eventually becomes trapped."

Irina frowned.

"Even travelers?"

"Yes."

"Merchants?"

"Yes."

"Hunters?"

"Yes."

"Anyone?"

Voss nodded.

"Anyone."

Liam’s eyes became more focused.

"Then why hasn’t anyone outside noticed?"

Voss looked at him.

"That’s another problem."

His voice became bitter.

"We have no way of sending a message to the outside world."

Liam’s expression changed.

"No communication?"

"Nothing."

"No birds?"

"We’ve tried."

"No messengers?"

"They disappear."

"No magical communication?"

"Nothing gets through."

Voss looked toward the ceiling.

"It’s like everything that enters this place becomes part of it."

Irina’s expression became uneasy.

Liam remained completely still.

Voss continued.

"Even if someone somehow manages to get a message beyond the forest, we don’t know whether it actually reaches anyone."

He shook his head.

"We have no proof that it does."

The cave seemed to grow quieter.

The three of them sat in silence for several seconds.

Then Voss spoke again.

"It’s like we are trapped under a..."

He stopped.

Liam’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Dome."

Voss froze.

Irina turned toward Liam.

Liam’s expression had completely changed.

The relaxed curiosity was gone.

His eyes were fixed on Voss.

"A dome."

Voss stared at him.

Liam slowly rose from the stone.

Now that the word had entered his mind, several things suddenly began falling into place.

The inability to leave.

The strange distortions.

The way travelers became trapped.

The inability to communicate with the outside.

The invisible boundary.

The supernatural phenomena.

The creatures.

The strange energy Liam had sensed throughout the area.

His expression became serious.

"This entire place is enclosed."