The darkness behind the blindfold wasn't empty; it was filled with the echoes of the last place, the last encounter. Akari's face, flushed and pained, accusing me. My own voice, raw with panic. The horrifying stillness as she raised her hand. Even though Noah's grip was steady, pulling me through the unseen environment, the memory clung, a cold knot in my stomach.
Another sudden, dizzying warp. Less terrifying than the first jump-teleportation, but just as disorienting. The feeling of being stretched thin, then snapping back into place. My ears popped. The familiar scent of damp earth and forest was gone, replaced by dry, still air that smelled faintly of stone and... something else. Clean, maybe?
We walked for a bit longer after that, maybe twenty minutes, judging by the ache in my protesting muscles. The silence was broken only by our footsteps, Noah's steady breathing beside me, and the occasional, soft scuff that suggested a more enclosed, artificial space. Then, I heard it – faint voices. More people. Not just Akari and Sarah, or Kaz, or Noah. Others.
Noah stopped. I felt her shift, heard a door open softly, then close. She guided me forward a few more steps, told me to sit. The surface beneath me was cool and hard, like polished wood or stone.
"Okay," she said, her voice close. "Almost there!"
Then, the blindfold was gone.
Light. It hit my eyes with a jarring brightness, even though it wasn't sunlight. It was artificial, soft but omnipresent, reflecting off smooth, light-colored walls. My eyes watered for a second, adjusting.
And my body immediately screamed in protest.
I was sitting on a simple stool in what looked like a small, bare room. And I was wearing nothing but my underwear. My old, slightly sweat-stained, very Earth-standard briefs. The clothes Akari had given me, the simple shirt and trousers, were gone. Stripped. When? While I was blindfolded? While I was being teleported? The thought sent a fresh wave of vulnerability washing over me. I was exposed, physically and mentally drained, sitting here like... like a specimen.
Standing in front of me, framed by the soft, even light, was a girl. Not Noah. Someone new.
She was... visually impactful. To put it mildly. Easily one of the most stunning people I had ever seen, rivaling even Sarah, though in a completely different way. Her beauty wasn't just in the perfect features; it was in the way she held herself, the intense focus in her eyes, the sheer, undeniable presence she had.
Her hair was long, a brilliant blonde that fell down her back like spun gold. Her eyes were a mesmerizing shade of red, deep and captivating, the kind that pulled you in if you looked too long. And her body... yeah. Slim overall, like Noah, but definitely not lacking in... shape. Her chest was prominent, perfectly formed, framed by the simple, low-cut red dress she wore. It wasn't overtly revealing like some kind of fantasy outfit, but the cut and the vibrant color drew your eye, highlighting curves that were certainly... noteworthy. Seductive, maybe? Yeah, that was the word. It felt weird to even think it while I was sitting here in my underwear feeling like a plucked chicken, but my eyes registered the data points despite the situation. She was glamorous, alluring.
A faint smile touched her lips, not impish like Noah's, but confident, perhaps a little sharp.
"So, welcome to our base," she said, her voice clear and steady. "Soon enough, you'll become one of us... if you answer all of our questions correctly, of course." Her red eyes held my gaze. "By the way, my name is Aurora."
Answer questions. Right. Interrogation. Naked. Excellent. The absurdity of the situation was almost comical, if my body didn't feel so exposed and my mind so weary.
"Understood," I said without a second's pause. What else was there to say? The parameters were clear: provide information, or face unknown consequences, likely negative. Simple cause and effect.
Aurora's smile widened just slightly, a hint of surprise in her expression. "Already understood? Oh yes, you're a 'Key' after all."
The label again. Key. This mysterious designation that seemed to define me in this world, making people abduct me, fight over me, interrogate me.
"Can you start asking questions, please?" I heard myself say. It wasn't defiance. It was exhaustion. A genuine plea. My brain felt like scrambled eggs, and the rapid-fire questions, the constant need to process and react, was wearing me thin.
Aurora seemed momentarily taken aback by the directness, the unexpected politeness in my weary request. But she recovered quickly, her smile softening into something that might have been amusement.
"Alright," she conceded, moving slightly, though still keeping me clearly in her view. "So, let's start with a simple question. Is she really your sister?"
Akari. My sister. The last traumatic encounter. The raw shout, the terrifying offer, the paralyzing magic, the desperate plea. All real.
"Yes," I confirmed. No hesitation. That much was undeniable truth, however complicated it made everything.
"So the next question is..." Her red eyes studied me, searching, calculating. The atmosphere in the room seemed to shift, becoming heavier. This was the core issue. "Which side are you on? And provide a proper reason."
The question hung in the air, demanding a commitment I wasn't sure I could give, or even fully understood. Sides. Factions. Human God vs. others. Kaz's side vs. Akari's side. My sister was on the 'enemy' side. Sarah was... somewhere, probably still with Akari. My own life had been chaos.
I thought about Sarah, her unexpected loyalty, her bizarre lies, her plea for me not to leave her. I thought about Akari, her fierce protection, her devastating disappointment, her horrifying 'punishment,' her sudden appearance as my lost sister. I thought about Kaz, his pragmatism, his power, his willingness to risk himself to get me out, his brutal mission to retrieve the Key.
Sides. Whose interests aligned with mine? My interest was survival. Their interest was the Key. Were they the same?
I looked at Aurora, at her confident stance, her mesmerizing eyes, the power she projected even just sitting there. This was their base. Their faction. They had the resources, the structure. They had Kaz.
"It doesn't matter," I said finally, the words measured. "If it guarantees that girl," I meant Sarah, the complicated variable who was somehow tied up in all this, "and my sister will be alright, then I'm fine going either way." Their safety. That was the priority Kaz had dismissed, but it was my core, unavoidable responsibility now. Sarah, because she was here because of me. Akari, because she was my sister, however estranged. "Also, I can bring those two to this side depending on the circumstances." A possibility. Leverage. If their side offered better safety or a chance to be together. "At last, if you think I'm a menace for you, just kill me, and it'll end here." The pragmatism reasserted itself. If my existence was a net negative or a risk, termination was the logical solution. I wasn't afraid of the end, not anymore. Just... tired.
Aurora's expression remained steady, assessing my answer. She didn't react to the offer of death, didn't flinch. Professional.
"After hearing your answer," she said, her voice calm, "I don't know whether I can call you smart, but it is true that you are very valuable for us. The problem is, your sister is on the opposite side. You can betray us."
Not smart? Maybe. Valuable? Apparently. Betrayal? The concept felt... fluid in this world. Loyalties were shifting ground.
"It's not like that. By the way, how is Kaz?" The question just came out. He was the link. The one who had brought me here, injured himself doing it. Part of the equation. My current status was linked to his well-being.