Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

364  Sink

Boooomm

A loud voice reverberated in the area, making Kairen's ears ring and his head spin for a second. He subconsciously lowered his hand a little bit due to the shock and took a step back. The thread of cracks that had its once end connected to Kairen's hand shook and was pulled down by Kairen's movement. Right when these series of actions were happening in the span of two seconds, Kairen's eyes caught on something. In the air, at the center of the enormous gate that looked like purple and black oil paint splashed in the sky, a small area the size of a fist, the same spot connected to the thread, was slowly bloating.

'What? Another monster?'

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Kairen realized something. The spot was not bloating, but it was sinking down. The center of the gate was sinking down like a water droplet!

"..."

Bewildered, Kairen lowered his head to once again look at the thread of cracks and light.

'The thread pulled it down?...'

'No... I guess I was the one who caused a change at the gate...'

Kairen had frozen on his spot unknowingly and was only looking around with a gaped mouth when he heard a man's voice from below.

"What the hell are you doing with the gate?"

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Kairen recognized the owner of the voice clearly. It was the man who was called the 'boss' in this city. Kairen couldn't clearly see the man's expression from where he was standing, but he knew for sure from how his voice sounded that the man was furious.

"Get away from the gate!"

"Ah?"

Kairen was confused for a second before realizing what was going on.

'They think I want to harm them by doing something to the gate?'

It wasn't odd if those people thought that. After all, some random dude who had been allowed to live with them only because of his suspicious connections to their previous commander had suddenly walked out of the building by stepping on some freaking cracks and ended the life of a 'Dragon' in a few seconds. And now that dude was doing something to the gate. They didn't know what was the gate made of or what would happen if the gate was damaged, so it was normal if they panicked upon seeing Kairen doing something to the gate.

"Ah, no! I'm not trying anything fishy!"

Kairen shook his head as he stated his mind, but he doubted that anyone could hear his voice from that distance. With a sigh, he returned his gaze to the thread and the gate that was reacting to his power.

'What should I do... Should I attempt to pull down the thread a bit more to see what happens? If I do that, will the gate fall down, or will it fall apart? What will happen after I damage the gate though..."

Kairen's thoughts raced as he considered the different possibilities and the various outcomes of each one of his actions. In the end, he couldn't reach a reliable conclusion. After all, he was not much different from the people of this city. He only knew what the gate was made of and didn't know about its origins, purpose, or dangers. He couldn't blindly attempt something or attack the gate as he wasn't sure about what would happen next. He didn't want to harm this city and its people by mistake and by doing something he wasn't sure of the outcome. After all, Kairen was scolded for his rash actions too much in the past by his team leader and his friends. He had learned his lesson well!

With a sigh, Kairen stopped releasing his power and loosened his control over the cracks around his hand. The cracks that had been condensed into a thread started to move away from each other and the thread fell apart in a few seconds. The part of the gate that was sinking down also went back to how it looked before Kairen attempted to grab it. It all happened in less than three seconds. Everything was back to normal except for Kairen still standing on top of a road made out of cracks. The next second, the edges of the road started to fall apart and instead, small steps were made in front of Kairen, which led to the ground below. Without doing anything else, Kairen started to walk down the steps one by one.

"...."

"...."

"...."

The city was still silent. No one said anything and no one even moved and it was only Kairen who was gradually walking down the steps. It was as if Kairen was a character on stage, playing, and the people were all the spectators, sitting in silence and watching the story go on. It was actually a suffocating situation for Kairen, and also an embarrassing one. Before long, his back was soaked in a cold sweat and he could only look at the tips of his shoes and nothing more.

Tap

When feel finally landed on the solid ground, the staircase behind him completely vanished. He had walked all the way to where Daniel was and thus, he was currently facing the middle-aged, buff man.

"...."

"...."

"Ahem!"

Kairen coughed and lowered his head a little bit, not daring to look into the eyes of the blonde man. Daniel, on the other hand, was staring at Kairen in silence while tightly holding his weapon. The people and the fighters who were hiding behind him were all the same. Everyone was looking at the stranger, the young boy who had arrived in the city a few days ago, with suspicious eyes. No one said anything as if they still hadn't determined if the newcomer was an ally or a foe.

A few seconds passed just like that, with Kairen standing in front of the people of the city like some doll, and the people observing him with fear and curiosity. The few seconds passed so slowly that they felt like a few hours for Kairen who wanted to just turn around and run away. Finally, after times and times of scanning every inch of the stranger, Daniel opened his mouth to ask the simplest, yet the most important question.

"Who are you?"

Kairen moved his clasped hands behind his back and pursed his lips slightly, curling them to a faint smile.

"Someone who got lost on his way home."