Kaelen woke to a strange stillness. Not the kind that came from sleep, but something heavier—unnatural. His body didn't feel right. It was heavier, as if something had settled into it while he wasn't aware.
He didn't move. There was no need.
The room felt too empty with just a bed, a wooden chair beside it with closets, and 2 closed windows covered by curtains.
Someone else was in the room. Sitting on a chair beside the bed he was lying on. Aurelion was there; he seemed different at first due to the change in color of his hair.
Kaelen froze the moment he saw him. Everything came back at once. He moved without thinking, pulling himself toward the edge of the bed, gripping the sheets tightly. He turned away slightly and curled in on himself, trying to put some distance between them. Still, the distance between them wasn't enough.
He didn't say anything. He didn't look again.
Even sitting still, Aurelion felt too close.
"Are you going to keep acting like this? I saved you," in the kind of voice that suggested he required a reply quickly.
Aurelion leaned forward in his chair; his eyes seemed to be staring into Kaelen.
Struggling to keep himself under control, Kaelen managed to put his thoughts together to assess the situation and steady his breath. He had saved him, but he had beaten him at the theater too.
"What changed?" he asked, his voice louder than it should have been. "Is my life supposed to get better now? Do you consider me anything more than a tool you chose to keep?"
"I can't guarantee anything. You're alive. What happens next depends on you."
"What would you know? It's easy for you to say when you weren't the one to go through it."
"Listen to me. The only way for you to live is by following me."
The room went quiet once again. Kaelen took his time before saying anything. His grip on the bedsheets loosened.
"What if I don't?"
"You already know how it would end up that way."
"So my only choice is to keep following you for my whole life?"
"No."
Aurelion didn't respond immediately.
"You can decide what you do next, but choose whom you trust carefully."
"If I am going to be with you for now, wouldn't it be better to tell me what happened?"
"You were dragged into something you shouldn't have been. Suspicion was enough for them. You were more fortunate than you realize. Otherwise, I wouldn't have saved you."
Kaelen finally felt relieved after hours of that hell; he got to relax for a while. His body was in his control after so long.
"So what now?"
"Let's introduce you to people you will work with."
Aurelion stood up; Kaelen hesitated for a few seconds, then followed.
Kaelen resisted his urge to ask questions about them.
The room felt like a hideout designed to pretend normal life was possible inside it. It was bigger than Kaelen's room but had fewer decorations.
Aurelion opened the door for them. Leading to a dining room with a kitchen attached to it, there was a door probably leading to an exit.
Kaelen observed the room.
There were 8 people of very different ages and appearances, eating while standing next to the chairs and watching a retro film on TV. They stared at Kaelen as if they were waiting for him to come out for hours.
Their expression made Kaelen feel they were happy to have him as long as he didn't cause commotion.
One of them, who was even smaller than Kaelen, said, "I didn't expect him to be like this."
Kaelen was shocked to see someone smaller than him there.
The others barely reacted to him. This guy was clearly interested. After the way he was being addressed before, he thought he was going to get handled like a treasure.
"We have no interest in his appearance; besides, his role is irreplaceable."
"If we are going to welcome him, getting him some food after he hasn't eaten in days should be our first priority."
Everyone paid attention to what he said.
2 people moved quickly to the kitchen to get food for him.
He seemed important to Kaelen; he was placed on Kaelen's befriending priority list.
"So Kaelen, has Aurelion told you about our plan in which you just volunteered?"
It didn't sound like a question. She seemed sure Aurelion had not explained to him.
Aurelion scratched his head in annoyance and finally spoke, "Kaelen, listen well." Aurelion moved towards the table and sat on its edge, with his upper body towards the TV.
"You are not the only one here who doesn't have a prior; those who aren't followers of the God of Identity are referred to as 'contracts.' They work without power, so they don't participate in combat."
It felt like useless information to Kaelen. He only said what he called them and then elaborated why and whom. That felt like he didn't care about them; to him, they were just his helpers.
"You keep answering while explaining only what is necessary. Why don't you give me an answer without hiding anything?"
Everyone finally reacted; Kaelen had made them interested in him. He had pressured Aurelion to tell everything.
"Fine," he said with his usual bored-of-life tone, which didn't seem to bother Kaelen anymore.
"You are a contact too; now you will be working for someone rich. We are still arranging your role and new identity, so I can't give you too much information currently."
"You are good at making things seem important, just like how you did with me in the statue room. The only new thing that you told me this time was that I was going to work. Do you expect me to work without knowing anything?"
No one showed clear signs of getting more invested. Kaelen was embarrassed for trying to use the same thing to impress them again.
"That 'rich guy' is funding a ritual for followers of the god of deception, so you will be working and digging into what he does behind his business."
"These voids and rituals, what are they? I have a rough idea from what I have seen and heard, but I'm not sure."
Kaelen could sense he hadn't impressed anyone here yet; he felt as if he were going to get eaten by them if he didn't do anything smart.
The same girl from before broke the silence. "We will explain that to you later. Everything at once is too much for you; you should eat first."
The room was silent afterwards. Kaelen was being left out of each conversation. He didn't complain; he couldn't have anyway.
He didn't complain about the mistreatment this time. The night was the same as usual. He went to the room he was given and lay on the bed, wondering what had happened outside—his parents, his friends. Did they think he was just gone?
He was too tired to keep on thinking about questions he couldn't answer. He slept midway through them.