[58.2] Buried Secrets

I took a deep breath, walked into the rock knowing it was an illusion, and passed right through. The further I walked down, the more my hair stood up. The hall was lighted by dim candles that never burned out which should have been comforting, but instead, it was disturbing. The air chilled the further I went down and soon a rusty smell traveled through my mask. I scrunched my nose at the terrible smell.

Ew. Why does it smell like death down here?

My footsteps paused.

It suddenly occurred to me that what I am doing is very, very stupid.

I should turn around…

Shouldn't I?

Ah. But there's definitely a secret down there…

Okay, let's just continue being stupid. This is to save Cyrus and my family from those nasty people.

I forced myself forward and made it to the bottom of the stairs. However, upon seeing what it led to, I sincerely regretted my choice.

It wasn't a dungeon filled with treasures.

It was a real life torture basement.

In my previous life, I watched so many horror movies. Even the one with the f*cked-up clown who plays too many games. However, NONE of those horror movies could prepare me for this kind of scene.

I wish censorship was IRL.

I covered my mouth to hold in my vomit.

No wonder it smells so bad! There's so much blood everywhere it's like dozens of layers of paint!

I heard something shift in the far corner and a golden light flash in the faint light. I tensed up, prepared to fight, but noticed that the thing in the far corner was behind bars.

Wait. Is that a person?!

I hid my steps and moved silently to the cage in the back and suck in my breath.

An elderly man was lying on a concrete slab, his bones sticking out of his pale malnourished skin. His body was covered in obvious traces of torture and he was even missing an arm. His other arm had an IV stuck inside his veins pumping a strange golden liquid inside.

He opened his bloodshot, sunken eyes, "Who is there?"

I flinched back.

Can he see me?! No… I should be invisible.

He peered up at the ceiling, too weak to even move his head.

He's a prisoner, right? So he shouldn't be dangerous…

Right?

I cleared my throat, "Is the enemy of my enemy, my friend?"

His eyes widened in surprise, "So there really is a person here?"

"That's right… How did you know?"

"I can smell a faint scent of lemons."

…I need to stop eating so many lemon bars.

I cleared my throat, "What are you doing down here?"

"Vira has kept me locked down here."

"Vira?!"

"Do you know her?"

Sh*t sh*t sh*t!

If she's involved then we really have a big problem!

I ruffled my hair.

What am I going to do?! I can't leave him here especially now that he knows someone was down here…

So should I take him with me?

I glanced at the collar around his neck, "You're a prisoner here?"

His face grew taut, "...For far too many years I'm afraid."

Ugh. I can't leave him here.

I ceased my invisibility spell and went over to the collar around his neck, "I'm going to set you free."

"Wait! This collar is-"

"-I know what it is. I was in one once before." I quickly overpowered the collar before he could react and it snapped right off. I smiled down at him, "You just need to overload the system to set it free."

He watched me closely, "Tell me child… What is your name?"

I uncuffed his wrists and ankles next, "My name is Reika."

"Do you have a last name?"

"It's Marlow."

His eyes widened, "You… Your last name is Marlow? It really is?"

I gave him a confused glance, "Yeah… Do you know the Marlows?"

His pale face managed to get some color as he beamed, "I-I do! Tell me. Who is your father? It's Gonza, isn't it? You remind me of him-"

"-No, my father's name is Aldrich."

He froze, "A-Aldrich? You mean that little ice prince had a child!?"

I laughed awkwardly, "He adopted me. Then he married my mother. So I'm not technically a biological child."

His face slowly loosened up, "Little Ali adopted a child and the child survived childhood… Even after he killed all those lizards and fishes…"

I paused, "Eh? Lizards and fishes?"

He ignored me and smiled, "So your Uncle. Is he married? Do you have any cousins?"

I shook my head, "No. He's unmarried and a total workaholic so it's probably never going to happen for him… Plus he's got a male owl trying to marry him so it might be impossible unless he adopts as well."

Wait. Why am I telling him this? What if he's a spy or something?

Staring at his weak elderly face, I chased that thought away.

This old man looks like he can barely lift his head. I don't feel any danger from him.

He continued making small talk while I worked on freeing him, "And what about your mother? What family is she from?"

"O-Oh… She's actually a refugee from the desert territory. She gave birth to me while escaping from a murderous group."

His expression stiffened, "Wait… Your mother… She was a slave that had an ice attribute?"

"That's right."

"And your Uncle… Was extremely talented at magic circles?"

I finished with the magical restraints and went to the IV dripping a golden liquid into his veins. But when I heard this I paused, "...Yes?"

His brow furrowed as he thought to himself, "You… You're an arriver."

My hands froze, "...Also yes."

He spoke in a low whisper, "...So you lived. What a relief."

I cast a suspicious glance at him, "How do you know I'm an arriver and who my mom is?"

The old man gave me a hearty deep laugh, "Carry me to meet your father and I will explain everything. My leg has gone lame after all these years, so I will have to rely on you."

Should I really trust him?

I feel naturally at ease with him, but he knows too much about me for me not to be suspicious.

In the end, my curiosity for answers won over my caution. I nodded and held him upright, using my ice chunk to do more of the work. Together, I helped him up the stairs while still maintaining the invisibility magic and silence.

"Allow me to start from the very beginning." He explained as we went up the stairs, "The woman who has been targeting you and the one who kept me prisoner is called Vira. She's the true face behind this wretched family and she has been for generations."

"For generations?! Like… Several years?"

"Over a thousand years I would say."

I scoffed, "So that talk about a fruit of immortality was real."

"Unfortunately it is." He let out a sigh, "She caught me and my wife when she discovered I had a strong ability to see the future. She brought the both of us down there, then forced me to participate in her plot."

"Participate?"

He let out a heavy sigh, "She pumped me full of her blood so that my visions would come more frequently. Then, she used them to figure out where the arrivers were going to be so that way she could go and kill them."

My eyes widened, "I-I see…"

"That's why I must say I'm sorry. I foresaw your birth and that you would be a child of chaos with time on her side. I didn't want to tell her-" He let out a heavy sigh, "But she has ways of making me talk."

I hesitated before speaking, "...And your wife? I didn't see anyone else down there."

He smiled weakly, "That was one of the ways to make me talk."

My breath caught in my throat, "T-Then…"

He let out a faint chuckle, "Then they moved to threatening my children. I just lost my wife, I couldn't lose them too."

"Your children are safe?"

He smiled at me, looking as if he would disappear into the wind, "Look at you. I just told you I helped murder innocent people, but the only thing you asked was about my wife and children."

"Well…" I bit my cheek as I arrived at the top of the stairs, "I can't say I wouldn't have done the same. That's just the reality of humans. We only know selfishness."

He gave me a thoughtful look, "Some of us more than others."

We arrived at the top of the stairs where I gave a faint smile then held up my finger, "Try not to talk for now. There's a lot of guards around and my silence magic doesn't work for mouths."

He gave me a wink, "This old man knows when to stop talking."