I look up to see the being in front of me. What a way to hide himself. Only showing a glimpse of his glowing white eyes. He is covered in what seems like a black smoke.
"You.." I feel familiar with this encounter, as if I have gone through this once.. But not even in the corner of my mind had I recall any magical encounter such as this.
"I am nothing but a messenger to you. A guidance, Theo." he said in a reassurance and calming tone. There's a pang of curiosity in me. I don't think I have ever 'trusted' anyone easily, but the hunch is telling me to stay calm.
This one in front of me is not an enemy, I could tell. If he is, he wouldn't be as calming, and would definitely attack me already. What sane 'person' would let their enemies think of a counterattack in a fight?
"I'm sure you could already tell that I am no enemy, correct?"
"Yes. I've got a hunch." I calm myself. Finally taking a deep breath.
The being in front of me nods, it's like he's ready to tell me something that might blow my mind away.
"You already know why you're here, I take it?" He sounds confident, as if he is sure I would know the reason of why he brought me here.
"I don't, actually."
....
The area fall silent. We stare at each other without saying a thing.
"I am sure you'd at least expected something. I've watched you for long, Theo Smith. There's no need to act slow and dumb." He raise his voice slightly when he calls me slow and dumb. My question have been answered now.
"So you're the one who watched me all the time. My guess is correct then." I have noticed it after a month, but I never expected the one to 'stalk' me was a being like this, a spirit.
"I should've known you acted dumb to search for answers. Well, that is correct. I've watched you since you were a kid. You already know why." He stated.
"I'd assume that you found me worth it, with lots of potential." I gave him the most reasonable answer I could think of.
"Yes, potential."
He doesn't seem to deny anything that I've said to him. I wonder if he'd fall for puns and jokes that people like to share these days.
"... Don't think of puns and jokes, Theo Smith." He mentions.
...
"You seem to know what I'm thinking to myself."
"Yes, I do. We possess the same thought. In fact, I know what you're thinking of right now." He said confidently.
".. The tree jokes?"
.
"The tree jokes."
...Great mind think alike... I guess..
**************
"Should we set a camp here, Team Leader?" The soldiers gather around. This area doesn't seem to be dangerous, for now. And the creature haven't moved since earlier.
"Did we already secure all the area?" Team Leader Justin ask.
"We did already. The area beyond the forest is more dangerous. Lots of poison." Lieutenant Nebir answers.
"Hm.." Team Leader Justin thinks to himself. Should he command them to set the camp? He's not sure himself. This is an unknown place. Who knows if there are any other creatures that would attack them.
As they discuss, Theo slowly opens his eyes. Listening to the chatter.
'Ah.. I got knocked out..' he sits up slowly before he flinch. His head hurts.. must've been because of his encounter with that spirit.
Upon noticing Theo's consciousness, Team Leader Justin rushes towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders and searching for any sign of panic attack. Assistant Team Leader John and Lieutenant Nebir also approach him.
"Are you good now, rookie?" Lieutenant Nebir ask. They thought Theo was having a seizure, causing him to collapse.
"I'm fine..." Theo looks at them, before looking around. All of them are fine, no sign of them being attacked. He noticed the weaponry have been collected, and there are no sign of mana energies as the source anymore.
That creature is still there. Watching over them.
"What happened to you?"
Theo can sense their worries. He can't tell them what actually happened. So he lies instead.
"...sweets.." Theo mutters.
"Pardon?" Team Leader Justin moves closer, asking Theo to repeat.
"I need sweets..." Theo repeats clearly this time around.
"Oh. Does anyone have sweets on them?" Team Leader Justin ask Lieutenant Nebir and Assistant Team Leader John. They both shake their heads before asking other soldiers. While they're searching for sweets, Team Leader Justin use the opportunity to ask Theo.
"Do you have low blood sugar, Private William James?"
"Yes I do..." Theo lied. The real William James do have that condition though. So it's just part of the act.
"I see. Alright..," Team Leader Justin pats Theo's shoulder twice, as he lowers his head sighing in relief.
"Here, Team Leader," Lieutenant Nebir returns with a piece of bread covered in grind sugar. Theo and Team Leader Justin looks at the piece of bread in Lieutenant Nebir's hand.
"Where did you even get a grind sugar bread?" Team Leader Justin glances up at Lieutenant Nebir's face. Grind sugar bread is not a typical food for military.
"Ah, that. Well, someone sneaked it into the food ration backpack. I noticed it earlier. Never thought it would be crucial," Lieutenant Nebir scoffs.
"Uh huh.. I see. And who was the one who sneaked the bread in the food ration backpack?" Team Leader Justin smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. A warning smile. The other soldiers start fidgeting, some even start whistling.
"A joined effort. What a good... camaraderie. How about putting the same effort in training, hm?"
Team Leader Justin's voice laced in sarcasm. The soldiers look away, they know they are going to be punished sooner or later. Team Leader Justin takes the bread from Lieutenant Nebir, handing it to Theo.
"Take a bite. John, water," Team Leader Justin observes as Theo takes the bread. Assistant Team Leader John hands Theo a bottle of water.
"Drink slowly, Private," Assistant Team Leader John also watches as Theo takes a bite of the bread.
'Eh... plausible. I haven't had anything sweet for some time now. I guess this is a good opportunity,' Theo swallow the bread.
Team Leader Justin stands up, looking at Theo before glancing at the creature that haven't move even once since Theo collapsed.
"Do you know what this creature is, Private?" He looks back at Theo.
Theo looks up from the bread, taking a sip of the cool water.
"No. It was never mentioned by Private Theo Smith. Who knows if he wanted to keep this a secret, or if he actually didn't know this being existed," Theo looks up at the creature. His eyes narrow.
*********
"Enough with the jokes, Theo Smith," the spirit sighs.
'Hmph, I guess that's all for now.'
"I won't make anymore jokes," I reply, since the spirit couldn't seem to keep up. I have been observing him since the moment he appeared. I know the black smokes surrounding the eyes concealed what he actually looks like, though, I do wonder if it has something to do with the light creature outside of the realm. Is he trying to hide from it too?
"You guessed it already, didn't you?" the spirit's eyes narrow.
"Yeah. The question is why you are hiding from that creature? My guess is that you're not the same kind of higher being," I crossed my arms.
"That's quite obvious, isn't it? Though there's something more than that. But that's not something for you to meddle in, at least not yet."
I raised one of my eyebrows.
"You will know soon, when the time comes. As for now... Theo Smith," the spirit eyes glow, as the black smokes emit threads of flames around it. I lower my hands to my sides, gulping at the sight.
"You...
... made the right choice, by siding with humanity," he glances down at me, with the tone as firm as stone. My eyes widen, as he disappears from my sight, into thin air.
*********