I follow behind Ayra with cautious steps.
I'm barefoot, and now it's starting to really feel bad on the bottom of my feet.
My shirt's a bit too big on me, my pants are down to my ankles. It makes me look like I'm trudging behind her like I'm about to get beaten.
"Hale's already been spoken to, as well, Fault." I blink and nod slowly from behind her.
"Okay…"
Each room seems insanely huge. Even bigger than the city hall that was back at Tenna. A red carpet lined the center of everywhere we went. I followed behind her and we went upstairs, then into a hallway.
Another hallway.
Through a garden?
One more hallway.
'Jeez, how big is this place?'
It looked huge when I first got here last night, but this is ridiculous.
But still, I couldn't help but stare at each of the walls we went past. A majority had some form of stained glass, even if it was just random pickings, it looked like.
But some of the larger windows held none, facing toward the rising sun of the morning.
It highlighted the small specks of dust and even shined from the smaller parts of gold in the red carpets.
Talk about fancy.
We take another left, follow down that hall, and then I see it to my right.
A large door, mostly wooden with some bits of iron reinforcement. It looks old, but definitely not enough to break it.
As we head closer to the door, I could feel more tension building in my throat.
I swallowed it down and just kept following behind her… until she stopped walking and stepped to the side.
She was still looking at the door, until she turned her head back to me, "Well, go ahead now."
She gives the door a nod and smiles at me, "He won't bite. Unless you piss him off."
"Uhm… yeah, sure."
I begin to step toward the door. There's a large handle in front of me, I grab it with my right hand then…
Tak. Tak.
The handle being hit against the door rang out.
…
"Come in." A loud, rough voice echoes from inside.
I gulped one more time and took a deep breath as I pushed a part of the door in. It surprisingly took a bit of effort, even with this new body of mine.
I enter, and it's pretty dark at first. I heard the door automatically close shut behind me with a pretty loud thud.
I glance around for a bit, and I feel anxiousness creeping in from the edges.
"H-hello?"
My eyes begin to adjust a bit to the darkness. To my right I see a huge shelf, rows and rows of books, I turn to my left and see the same. Underneath me is more stone and a carpet in the middle.
Some of the stones on the floor have a marking written into them, a slight blue hint glowing from them.
Then, I look front and center. A desk, a lamp on one side, a symbol of a banner on the front, and an imposing figure behind it.
'He's huge…'
The man behind, I could tell. was quite large. Towering over his desk despite sitting down, it seems.
I see one of his hands lift and tap the lamp, light illuminated his previously shadowed form.
Elderly, but not too old. His hair is a dark blue color with only a few grey streaks wiping through it. His hair is slicked back aside from a couple loose bangs.
His frame is massive, broad, strong shoulders and a white suit that seems to tense around his arms' biceps.
"I… I greet the Duke."
I instinctively speak, slowly lowering myself to one knee, and I look down at the ground.
"Rise." His voice commands.
I look back up at him and stand before him.
"Hmmm…" I could hear a low grumble from his throat, "Fault, yes?"
I nod at him, "That is my name, yes sir."
I could feel sweat starting to form on my back.
Soon, a wry smirk forms on one side of his lips, enough to show his teeth.
"Hah! You look exactly like how Grant described!"
The lamp brightens, showing off a bit more of his study.
But also his eyes, they seemed to be a grey-ish color, too. Then there was a small pink trail just under his right eye, a large line on the side of his cheek. A scar, it seems.
He slaps his desk and beckons me closer with his hand, "Come! Come! What're you so nervous for?"
His hands hold a silver glow on the back, from what I can see, at least.
'Must be his infusion…?'
I cautiously start walking forward.
A couple of steps up to his desk, and now, I'm standing just before him.
He holds a knowing smile on his face as he looks up at me.
Then, he starts standing up. His height is a good bit taller than mine. He dwarfs me as I stand just in front of him.
"I heard most of what had happened from Hale, lad."
I blink up at him, "Oh… I see."
Then, his smile drops as his hand plants itself on my left shoulder, just out of my available sight.
His voice drops to a whisper, as well, "Tell me everything. Don't miss a single detail."
Vmm…
His infusion makes a slight hum sound in my ear.
He may have on a smile now, but I could tell he was secretly pissed.
I swallow and nod, opening my mouth slowly.
I began to explain everything I knew.
I started with the order to stay in our homes, caused by the disappearances of the chasers. Then the riots and people being angry for another couple of days. My ankle in the rain, the last time I saw Grant, what I remembered from the basement…
…then to when I woke up in my bed with Hale watching over me.
I told Lynel about the god, Trinity, and the game. Then, finally, the little story Ayra and Hale chalked up to in the carriage ride.
There is no such thing as Cronus, anymore.
They both believed the 'Devourer' I mentioned was an illusion made by Trinity…
So, I finished sharing not-quite-everything with Duke Lynel, then looked up at him.
"..."
He stayed silent for a moment, his eyes closed during it.
"...I see."
He gives my back a pretty hard pat, which I barely manage to not fall over from.
"Alright, you may leave until I call you back. You and your friend may live downstairs until we have things sorted out here."
I swallow and nod at him, "T-thank you, Duke!"
I give a courteous bow and turn to leave.
He didn't seem so bad. I could tell he was mad, but surely it was because he just lost a good friend…
…right?
*****
Lynel watched as Fault exited his study, then he sat down in his chair with a groan.
Truth be told, he was livid. But not for any reason Fault may have thought he was.
Tenna was a goldmine to Lynel. A settlement with enforcements along the outside to withstand an army of beasts, and it was directly next to the forest…
"Ugh."
He pulled out a piece of paper from a drawer in his desk. The last note Grant had sent to Lynel.
-I believe a dark rank beast has taken hold of Tenna.-
Lynel read over the last sentence Grant had left him again.
Something was off, he could tell. What exactly it was, though, was another story altogether.
The thought made him groan as he leaned back in his chair, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing the inside of his eyes.
'What happened? Is it a stage against me? Are these two from Tenna just decoys? Ah, I can't tell anymore.'
Lynel believed this was the beginning of a plot of revenge against him.
He had Ayra from Astor come help him investigate, as she had a clairvoyant type of infusion. Yet, not too long after the destruction and explosions, she stated her vision to Tenna abruptly cut off.
That's why he sent her there, not expecting to find any survivors amongst explosions that big.
Yet she found not one, but two. A boy he knew of, Hale, so he was fine.
But Fault… Fault was the irregular variable here.
He played it off like Grant had written about him, and perhaps he did, but it was most likely a long time ago, and out of Lynel's memories.
He had to be wary of the one-eyed boy, and keep him close at all times to monitor him. If Fault had any requests, he would oblige as much as he could to not seem suspicious.
And if Fault showed any hits of his story being utterly false…?
Well, it certainly wouldn't be the first time Lynel had to kill a child.
Even if he was just being cautious.