Chapter 258 – Expression

Chapter 258

Zavi had already suspected that everything he had experienced before would inevitably happen again, no matter how long he tried to avoid it.

'You foolish brat. I never imagined that your stupidity would bring trouble upon your family for nearly eight years. What... Is it really true that trouble is always drawn to me? Even in a completely different world, does something terrible still have to happen involving my family?'

After groaning several times, his eyes, which had previously been reluctant to open, finally widened. Zavi had awakened from his sleep, only to find that the world around him was no longer as bright as it had been when he was still awake.

'Has that woman still not returned?'

Zavi groaned again, this time raising a hand to steady his head and keep it from moving.

Not far behind a pillar, on a terrace with a partially open roof and barely any light, Aaron Kwok watched Zavi Actitus's every movement with a sharp, attentive gaze.

One thing was certain: Aaron had witnessed everything that had happened just before Zavi fell asleep, including his descent into Zavi's buried memories and his awakening a few seconds earlier.

"You're awake?" His calm voice broke the silence on the terrace where the two of them had stopped to wait for confirmation.

"Who's there?"

Zavi hurried to his feet, narrowing his eyes as he tried to make out the silhouette of someone approaching him. A suffocating tension tightened around his throat.

As Aaron Kwok emerged completely from the darkness, the constricting sensation around Zavi's neck gradually faded as Aaron drew closer.

'Another strange occurrence? This is the first time I've ever seen Actitus like this.'

Aaron cleared his throat.

"That man left several hours ago with that woman to search for the two of them. However, they still haven't returned."

Still dazed, Zavi barely had time to process the information. In fact, his ears seemed unable to register any of the sounds around him. All he could hear was his own inner voice.

'I feel guilty now. Not because I've forgotten what happened, but because I understand how difficult it must have been for Ren to bear the burden of being slandered by his own younger brother, even though they aren't related by blood and merely live under the same roof. And he...'

"Just like me!" Zavi's inner thoughts slipped out aloud without him realizing it.

Aaron raised an eyebrow and almost returned to his previous position. However, upon hearing those words, he turned around again and took two steps to the side.

After witnessing his friend's strange behavior, Aaron decided to sit on the concrete bench built into the cracked pillar where Zavi had spent several hours sleeping in a seated position.

'I'm curious. What exactly happened to him? Even after I investigated him when they left this abandoned house, Actitus showed absolutely no signs of being affected!'

"Was it a nightmare?" Aaron finally voiced his thoughts, unwilling to let his curiosity linger any longer.

Even so, the response he received was no different from before, narrowing the possibilities he could consider even further.

Meanwhile, after his head was finally free from the repeated stabbing sensation of some blunt object, Zavi sat back down and rested his head against the pillar as he had before.

Their gazes met, although neither could make out the other's face through the suffocating darkness.

Unknown to them, far ahead, a pair of headlights pierced the thick darkness and slowly approached the building where the two were keeping watch.

"If you want to say something, just say it. I'll listen," Zavi said in a somewhat apathetic tone.

The drowsiness that had previously weighed down his eyelids vanished the moment Aaron rose from his seat.

"So you heard me, then?" Aaron muttered, completely disregarding what had happened earlier.

"My head suddenly started hurting, and I don't know when I fell asleep," Zavi said, trying to explain what he had just experienced.

"Anyway, has that woman still not returned?" Zavi continued, staring straight ahead into the darkness stretching as far as the eye could see.

Aaron immediately understood what he meant and replied, "That's why the two of them went looking for her."

'Is he talking in his sleep? I don't think so. Besides, the way he speaks hasn't changed, even though something strange is clearly going on with how he reacted to what I said earlier.'

"If you're able to speak and think clearly, would you mind having a conversation with me?"

Having waited too long for this opportunity, Aaron was determined not to waste it, all the while keeping his eyes on the approaching lights.

Zavi glanced at him again and raised an eyebrow.

"Go ahead. It would be better if you just spoke your mind."

He turned his body and let his legs dangle over the edge.

'As for me, tsk, I don't even know what I was doing before that conversation. One fragment of memory after another has returned. Now that I've managed to recover all of them, does my goal of seeking the freedom I desire still remain?'

Zavi truly had no idea, and he hoped he would find the answer before it was too late.

A few hours earlier, as the sun sank beyond the western horizon and the last remnants of its golden light struggled to illuminate the world one final time.

"Are you sure about that plan?" Zavi asked, trying to consider what Zuhen had said earlier.

Zuhen nodded without hesitation.

"We have to leave this place as soon as possible. We can't afford to stay here any longer. Besides, I know that you're wanted fugitives just like me. And one thing is certain: the authorities, or worse, the religious security forces, will eventually capture us, no matter how long we keep running."

After hearing that explanation, Zavi's doubts resurfaced, especially when he noticed a slight change in Aaron's expression, as though something was amiss beneath the surface of their conversation.

"For now, it's better if we stick to the plan. Felina and I will take care of the rest before we head to that place," Zuhen continued.

It all sounded much the same as their previous travel plans, yet everything had begun with that journey.

After giving Aaron some time to think, Zavi finally stood up and decided to sit on the concrete railing attached to the pillar in front of him, half of which had already crumbled away.

Even so, Zavi seemed genuinely eager to hear what Aaron was about to tell him.

After taking some time to arrange his words carefully, Aaron glanced at the shadowy figure sitting to his right.

"About that matter..."

Zavi remained silent, his gaze growing sharper.

"We really are going to be hunted by the cathedral authorities, just as that man said earlier. To be honest, I hadn't remembered that important piece of information before. But now I've realized it because it has something to do with our journey."

Struggling to make sense of the information, Zavi finally decided to ask, "In short? Is it because we're going to travel by sea?"

Aaron nodded.

"Yes. Chynoria is an archipelago made up of large and small islands, and one of its continental landmasses almost completely encloses the Kasnia Sea, which is infested with those creatures."

"Chalog, right?" Zavi voiced his understanding with a nod after grasping the meaning behind Aaron's earlier words.

"To be honest, I don't know whether this is true or not, because if we want to reach that landmass, we'll have to cross that sea," Aaron continued.

"Roughly how long will it take us to get there? Aren't we still in the remote regions of Havanuheta?"

"I've never been there, but I'd say it would take about a week, or perhaps four days," Aaron replied, glancing behind him.

Then, without giving Zavi a moment to think, Aaron quickly added:

"The problem is that people like us have only a 0.1 percent chance of making it out of that place alive."

"Nothing is impossible in this world, you know?" Zavi turned halfway around, his gaze fixed on the indistinct figure of Aaron Kwok standing upright before him.

"I know you'll think this through carefully. So allow me to reveal something important that a novice fugitive like you might consider nothing more than a trivial matter."

Zavi raised an eyebrow, realizing that Aaron's narcissistic attitude was making a comeback.

Aaron paused for a moment, glancing behind him again and taking a deep breath before continuing.

"That border is a truly forbidden zone. I'm not entirely sure, because, to be honest, I'm not from around here. Well, I've never really believed those stories, but one thing is certain: that isolated landmass is our destination, isn't it?"

"Yes." Zavi nodded, still completely unaware of the true mystery surrounding that landmass.

'I am just an ordinary person. How could I possibly know anything about its mysteries, especially when I've only just set foot in this place? This, this is the first time in my life I've experienced something so difficult to explain, all while pursuing freedom itself!'

Aaron let out a short sigh and said, "To be honest, that's not all I wanted to tell you."

"Then what?" Zavi had never expected that he would be misled by the earlier conversation.

'What, what exactly is going through his mind? Doesn't he realize the situation we're in? We can't even move around freely after arriving here, and he's making jokes instead?'

"...Unite. The place we're heading to is where a Hollow is based on that landmass. Or, to put it simply, it's a ghost town like Moran. Solaria."

Zavi nearly lost his train of thought as each word slowly sank into his mind, throwing his thoughts into disarray for a moment.

'Could he be telling me to be careful of that man...'

Zavi was confused and briefly tried to dismiss the possibility. Until now, he still wonders about Zuhen's real motive for helping him and who he really is?

Shortly after they discussed the person in question, three familiar figures approached them with measured, rhythmic steps.

As the person they had been discussing passed by, Aaron maintained an ordinary expression. Deep down, however, he was trying to convince his only friend not to go to that place.

"How did it go? Was everything successful...?"

Although Aaron's earlier words had left his mind in turmoil, Zavi maintained an ordinary expression, acting as though nothing had happened before turning to face someone he knew.

"...Celvira?"

Celvira Lounge, a third-tier evil spirit of Nammeridya, nodded with her usual indifferent expression.

"The two of them have found a safe route for us to reach that place," Celvira replied, raising the lantern she was carrying high above her head.

Zavi instinctively raised a hand to his face, followed by a faint hiss through his teeth.

Celvira immediately understood and held the lantern the way a human would.

"Tsk, idiot," Zavi grumbled, flicking the woman's ear.

It was a warning against her behavior, an attempt to guide her toward the same righteous path he himself followed, even though Zavi knew full well that he was far from being a good person.

"Then, is what you said true?" Aaron asked, seeking a more detailed explanation.

Celvira turned around and, once she was facing Aaron, finally made an effort to act polite, although there was a hint of reluctance behind her smile.

"Yes, of course. We've checked everything thoroughly," she replied before her smile faded and her expression returned to normal.

From behind, Zavi silently watched the disguised evil spirit before raising his gaze to observe the two other figures following behind her.

'If what he said is true, then I'll deal with it myself. Well, even if it's dangerous, and they say that their fusion mode is extremely dangerous for a Receiver like me, what's wrong with gaining some experience before fighting that woman?'

Having decided on his next move, Zavi finally went along with the act. He walked past the two figures in front of him and welcomed his companions back after they had finished surveying the border area.

"You must be tired. So, what can I do to entertain you?"

"Rest? Food? Drinks? Or something else? Ah, I almost forgot. I can also perform tricks like those famous circus performers out there!"

Zavi tried to act like a comedian, continuing to chatter without pause.

Felina snorted.

'This man? How long is he going to keep rambling like that?'

Unable to put up with it any longer, Felina intended to raise her lantern. However, she never got the chance, as Zavi suddenly grabbed her right hand, which was covered by a white glove, with a half-serious, half-playful expression.

'This... Isn't this the way he acts when he's fighting? Well, when I was close to him back then, as he launched his attack, I felt a strange sensation of both cold and heat that made my mind wander for a moment. He's an impressive man.'

Zavi smiled faintly and released his grip, his expression returning to its usual calm.

"Why are you smiling like that? Are you..."

Her words were cut short when Zuhen calmly interrupted.

"We should leave this place, and destroy it with an explosion if necessary."

"A tracker, huh?" Zavi immediately understood what he meant.

Without exchanging another word with them, Zuhen turned around and walked away, exhaustion and irritation once again apparent on his face.

They exchanged glances and raised their shoulders slightly. Unsure of what else to do, Felina hurried after Zuhen, followed by Celvira.

"What you said was right. I only remembered it when I looked directly at him just now," Zavi said before his body suddenly went still and his eyelids closed tightly.

Aaron fell silent at once, unsure whether revealing this to him would worsen the relationship they had built over time or have the opposite effect.

He didn't know. All he knew was that he was trying to prevent something terrible from happening before it was too late. Deep down, Aaron hoped that such a tragedy would never happen again.

Boom!