Mistand 5

Mika moved in front of Lia and shielded her from the oncoming person emerging from the white mist and entering their field of vision.

"Who are you?" once again Mika bluntly asked a stranger.

"I'm harmless," the man held his hands up showing he had no weapon or anything. He had short black hair and looked to be middle-age yet he was quite fit with his body seemingly well-trained. He had a handsome and friendly face but it was unclear what his motives were.

Thus Mika didn't let his guard down. The man smiled at them and his next words stunned Mika.

"A true gentleman."

Mika pursed his lips and didn't look at Lia, however, it was the man whose eyes rested on Lia when he said those words.

Lia was perplexed. Were those words directed at her or did the man want to make Lia aware of Mika's action? The latter, Lia already knew.

The other thing Lia instantly figured out was that the man was too weird. Was everyone in Mistand mentally not up there?

The man didn't seem to think he was wrong and just said, "Shall we walk?"

He pointed at the white nothingness.

"Accompany me for a bit and maybe my mouth's loose enough to tell you what you want," the man acted less and less his age.

Mika didn't move but Lia tugged on his clothes and then said, "Fine, we'll walk with a lonely, old man."

The man laughed and got closer to them. Mika instinctively raised his arm but the man stopped before them and started walking, "We should stay close, right? It's really dangerous to get lost but-"

He briefly looked at their compass and hummed.

Mika threw Lia a look and she edged him to follow the man while still holding onto Mika. Although Lia knew they couldn't trust him, for some reason she felt they should do what he said. She couldn't explain it. It was simply a gut feeling.

"The weather's awful," the man spit more nonsense but Lia decided to humour him.

"Indeed it is."

He turned to her and his eyes momentarily flashed, "A wise lady, very good."

Mika, however, wasn't going to lower himself to this random talk and bluntly asked, "Who are you? We're doing what you asked of us."

"Ah, I'm no one particular," the man hummed again.

Mika's eyebrow twitched and Lia could see he was angry but Lia found the man amusing. She's never met someone as odd yet also oddly confident as him.

"Then who were those attackers? You seem to know them?" Lia's question hit the mark.

"Rest assured, I'm not one of them. But I've encountered many of them. Really made me lose my appetite and then guess what? Found out I forgot to bring my food with me! The sadness I experienced, unbearable."

"Enough!" Mika's patience ran thin, "Just tell us what we want to know."

"You're not from Mistand," Lia quickly concluded.

"Who wants to live in this misty shithole, pardon me hell hole? Only crazy people and-" he thought for a while, "Grumpy old geezers who can't get it up anymore, what a pain."

"Just tell us what we want!" Mika's face was slightly red and he grit his teeth. He wished he could cut off that man' loose and vulgar tongue.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I have the habit of unnecessarily drifting off topic but I digress. It has something to do with the Ghost King."

Min? Lia's mood turned sour. Why was it that anything bad was related to Min? Just how much did he accomplish in those 10 years?

"The Ghost King why?"

"The Ghost King now accepts anyone who's strong enough. Mistand used to be a prison for immortals and a family kept watch over it but now they've disappeared and the prison obviously with it."

"A prison?" Lia has never heard of it.

"A secret, everyone keeps secrets, right? Especially those at the top, I mean have you seen the Mortal World? The so-called governments? What a joke but-" the man stared at Mika's angry face,

"I digress. The outlaws here train their power in order to get strong enough to be accepted by the Ghost King. It's a good spot if I dare say, many ghosts, good good."

Mika rolled his eyes. They've been walking for a while now.

"Do they also eat people?" Lia still couldn't get over the fact.

"I guess some do because they believe it'll make them stronger, that kind of hogus bogus."

"That's messed up," Lia hoped the four males had found their demise with the ghosts.

"Anyone with a conscience and ability to think would," the male strode forward before stopping, "A resting spot. Perfect, isn't it? Let's stay there for a while."

Another village appeared, same as the other two, only it was smaller than the previous one.

"What about these villages?" Mika thought the man knew everything about Mistand. He and Lia followed him into a house and seated themselves on the ground.

"Should be no one here. The villages hm…" only now did Lia realise how tall he was. Just sitting he was a head taller than them and Lia had to constantly look up at him. Her neck started to hurt.

"I guess this used to look like the other layers but the mist ruined and shrouded everything. So only here and now some places pop up."

What the man said wasn't wrong but to this conclusion, Lia has already come long ago. It seemed even he didn't know what happened to Mistand.

"Then you don't know what caused the mist?"

"I only said this but logically or wait illogical the mist has been here from the start or else this wouldn't be called Mistand."

This was again true. Then was the Mist, if what Susa said was true, just like the Veil, the failed ghosts? Was the mist made up of the mortals who couldn't turn to ghosts and thus clumped up together to form this mist?

It wasn't unreasonable but the sheer thought of it was uncomfortable. Walking amongst so-called corpses.

"Can we know your name?"

The man was very strange to Lia, he randomly popped up and found them, and he was more knowledgeable than them.

What were the odds of finding someone in the mist? If it was even one percent, it would be more reasonable to find either Xavi, Lily, Susa or Nana, instead of a complete stranger.

Did he single them out? Did he know they were here? Had he come to them for a purpose or was it really a coincidence?

Mika threw Lia a look but said nothing to interject. The male gave Lia a meaningful glance and since before Lia's feeling of him seemingly targeting her has been reinforced.

"Oldie."

"Seriously?" Mika lost his face.

"C'mon, I'm just an old and lonely man needing to be accompanied."

"I'm sorry," Lia took back what she said to him before.

"It's fair, right? You wouldn't tell me your names too," he straightened his back, "How great it would be to have some drinks, right?"

"I don't drink," Mika immediately said.

"Me too," Lia has never touched alcohol in her life before nor did she want to.

"A shame," Oldie's eyes flashed again and he grinned, "A drinking party sounds great. Especially for these lovely guests we have to welcome, isn't it so?"

Lia and Mika instantly jumped up and looked out to see once again the house they were in was surrounded.