Chương 40: Dropping a Bombshell
Sitting on the old but relatively comfortable bed, I glanced across at Cassie, who was seated on the opposite bed, nervously twiddling her thumbs.
It had only been a few hours since we entered the castle, and most of that time had been spent in this room. A strange silence hung in the air, and it felt a bit odd.
Cassie and I had always been able to talk comfortably while traveling, but now, we were almost completely silent.
When we did talk, it was brief, barely enough to break the awkwardness.
After what felt like ages of this silence, Cassie finally looked at me with a contorted expression, guilt clearly written on her face.
"So… what do you think will happen now that Pleiades knows I told you Sunny's secret?" she asked, her voice uneasy.
Sensing that this had been eating her up for a while, I reassured her, "He's only mentioned it once, so I don't think he'll do anything about it."
She nodded but still looked guilty. However, her guilt soon gave way to curiosity. "Well, now that we're alone, I guess we can talk more openly."
I raised an eyebrow. "Weren't we talking openly from the start?"
Cassie pursed her lips, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "We were, but I think we can maybe talk about something else. We've been focused on survival and getting here… and now we're here."
She wasn't wrong, but I wasn't the best at chatting about anything beyond practical matters. Still, I figured she'd have something in mind.
"Mhm, right… so, what do you want to talk about?"
Cassie thought for a moment, then smirked a little. "Which era do you think Pleiades comes from?"
Just the thought of Pleiades' secrets made me shudder. Every time I thought I knew something, it felt like I was just scratching the surface of a much deeper mystery.
"Well, he hasn't given us many clues" I replied, while Cassie scratched her cheek in thought.
"His accent could be a hint. His English is pretty modern, so he must've come from either the 20th or 21st century, but he does use some strange words sometimes."
I agreed, recalling some of my interactions with him.
He often used bizarre idioms, like, "What do you prefer to be called, my little cabbages or little bumpkins?" or "This crab meat is straight up bussin no cap." Or "Just you wait, when we reach the castle i'm gon be dripped out ya feel."
The most confusing one was, "I ain't meanin to gatekeep my awesomness but i gotta, y'know i got some ops after me, and Fam i don't wanna get ya'll in my beef."
Half the time, I couldn't even tell if he was making things up or if those were real words, and if they were i wasn't even sure if he was using them correctly.
And when I'd ask for clarification, he'd just ridicule me relentlesly!
The worst part was, he was always so playful about it.
I nodded, "Doesn't his attribute say he comes from multiple time periods?"
She sighed and her expression grew more serious. "It does, but it doesn't say how many. And he doesn't act like someone who's old… he's always joking around, never taking anything seriously. Not like most adults."
Zoning out for a moment, I thought about my grandmother.
She used strange words too, like "salty" or "IYKYK."
"Salty" meant someone was upset or witty, and "IYKYK" was a phrase she used when something only made sense if you were in the know.
She would've used it to describe someone like Pleiades.
I smiled at the memory when suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching.
Cassie turned her head towards the door at the same time. The footsteps stopped, and a muffled voice called from the other side.
"Heeeyyy, Neph, please don't shank me through this door—it's me."
Cassie chuckled, and I gave her a deadpan look. Approaching the door, I twisted the handle, only to remember it was locked. As I reached for the key on the desk, the door clicked open on its own.
I slowly opened the door, only to be met by a strange sight—a masked man, dressed in bizarre clothing, with a clown-like mask covering his face.
Staring at him for a moment, sizing him up. He seemed taller than Sunny's body was, which was odd because I usually had to look down slightly to meet his gaze.
"What are… what are you wearing?" I asked, my confusion clear.
Pleiades patted the clothes down and chuckled before reaching for the mask. With a creak, he removed it, revealing his face.
I felt a small sense of relief, but that relief was short-lived when I noticed the strange pipes around his head, like a mechanical helmet.
Smiling mischievously, Pleiades slid to the side, motioning behind him. My eyes followed, and I let out a small yelp of surprise when I saw the person he was signaling to—a breathtakingly handsome man with dark auburn hair and mesmerizing green eyes.
His well-fitted leather armor added to his charm and made my heart beat slightly faster.
Pleiades cleared his throat dramatically. "This here is the flying archer from Cassie's vision. I present to you—"
Ignoring his theatrics, I approached the man and blinked several times.
"Night… Night from Nightingale?!"
Feeling a bit too excited, I quickly composed myself and stepped back. Night, or Kai as he introduced himself a bit after pleiades, gave me a charming smile.
"Yes, I see you're a fan. It's a pleasure—you can call me Kai."
He extended his hand, and I shook it, trying to maintain some confidence.
Cassie, emerged from the room with a shocked expression, and then clung to my shoulder before she whispered in my ear, "Is… is it really… Night?"
Trembling slightly, I didn't blame her. I took her hand, guiding her to face Kai.
While she stammered out an introduction, I shot Pleiades a dirty look. He just admired the ceiling, pretending to be innocent.
Kai seemed to regain his natural smile after the introductions, looking more at ease. I couldn't help but wonder what Pleiades had done to him earlier to make him so pale.
Glancing back at Pleiades, I noticed the bizarre suit he had been wearing was now on the floor. His real body was nestled inside some kind of mechanical exoskeleton, which made him look disturbingly taller.
With monstrous strength, Pleiades suddenly ripped off the exoskeleton's ribcage and stepped out. The sound caught everyone's attention, including Cassie's.
He massaged his shoulders, yawning nonchalantly. "What?"
Kai's voice was raspy. "You… how did you…?"
Pleiades just shrugged, smiling. "I was just getting out of my exoskeleton, no big deal. Think of it like a snake shedding its skin."
Kai looked ready to flee, backing away from the bizarre scene.
"Who are you people?!"
Trying to salvage the situation, I shot Pleiades another glare. "I apologize for my… acquaintance's antics. He means well."
Kai looked at me with disbelief.
"He can tell when you're lying, by the way" Pleiades added, almost as an afterthought.
'Damn it… of course he can' I thought. 'Couldn't he have mentioned that sooner?'
Swallowing my embarrassment, I bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry for lying, but I do think he's just doing this out of boredom."
Kai hesitated, then nodded. "Mhm, alright… but, why?"
"Because he's deranged. But still, he's…reliable" I said flatly. Kai didn't seem surprised by that.
From pleiades body, a shadow suddenly emerged, forming into the shape of a wolf with a mane of glowing purple flames.
"She's half-right" the wolf barked with a laugh, delighting in Kai's baffled expression.
"This is just an echo" I hastily explained.
Kai frowned. "Too much is happening for one day… and... how can an echo talk? I don't understand anything going on."
Pleiades chimed in, "I don't get it either. Neph, your introduction was crude—I'm reliable and charming, you know."
Regis, the shadow wolf, wagged his tail as he approached Kai, who backed away nervously.
"Why so scared? I promise I don't bite." Regis grinned, giving him a toothy grin.
Kai gulped in response to the…threat?
Pleiades waved his hand, heading towards his room. "Alright, I've had my fun. Come on, little pup, we need to feed you."
Regis padded after him. "Pup? I believe the correct term is cub" he corrected, trotting to his side.
Before Pleiades disappeared into his room, he glanced back and stuffed the strange clothes into the exoskeleton.
Looking over at us he smirked at kai causing the archer to shudder:
"Oh, by the way, the gray-haired one is the last daughter of the Immortal Flame Clan. She also has a true name. Now, don't faint."
With that, Pleiades picked up the exoskeleton, leaning back slightly as he hefted its weight.
He took slow, deliberate steps towards the door he had opened earlier, carefully aligning himself with the frame.
Just as he was about to step inside, Regis grinned mischievously, rising onto his hind legs. He padded closer and, with a playful shove from his front paws, pushed Pleiades through the doorway.
Pleiades stumbled forward, trying to regain his balance as he scurried into the room. Moments later, the sound of metal clanking onto the floor echoed out followed by a curse.
Regis let out an ecstatic laugh, but his amusement was short-lived. Pleiades lunged at him, and with Regis still on his hind legs, he couldn't evade in time.
He fell onto the ground, turning his back to Pleiades in a futile attempt to escape.
Catching hold of Regis' tail, Pleiades dragged him into the room, despite the wolf's dramatic whimpers of protest.
With a final tug, they disappeared behind the door, which shut firmly with a thud. The soft click of the lock echoed in the now silent hallway.
'...Well, at least he's gone' I thought.
Turning my attention back to Kai, I saw that he looked pale, almost on the brink of unconsciousness.
'… I shouldn't have befriended him.'
Next Chapter:A way to the Brutes Heart
A/N: Wow Guys, almost two months and 100 k views already!?
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