[Dark]
"Um... um... What... what happened?" Kael asked himself as he slowly opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar place.
It was the Soul World—a place where souls dwell.
The place was quiet, with warm and pleasant weather. In the sky, another island floated at a distance.
Kael lay beneath the shade of a tall tree in the middle of a dense jungle.
"(Confused) W-where am I… I was… in the market… this place is not the same… What… happened—?"
Kael got up.
"Hey, where am I? Do you know?" Kael asked the Blood Beast.
"No, I don't know... but boy, I can feel the presence of something—"
"Take me there—!" Kael said.
"Kael," said the Blood Beast.
"Huh?" said Kael.
"Yes," replied the Blood Beast, its voice turning wicked.
Kael began following the direction the Blood Beast guided him in. As he moved forward, he suddenly heard the distant shout of a girl.
Startled, Kael ran toward the voice… Soon, he saw a group of men chasing a girl, who appeared to be around nine years old.
"Catch that girl! She definitely knows the location!" one of the men shouted to his companions.
Kael watched this from a distance, his expression serious. Deciding to intervene, he stepped forward. The girl and the men turned to see him—his attire was unlike anything they had seen before.
The girl ran behind a tree, peeking out to observe what would happen.
"Hey you!" one of the men said angrily. "What's your problem?"
"Hey, you two, go after the girl," another man ordered.
"That's enough! Why are you chasing her?" Kael asked.
"hey brat, who are you to tell us that? Kill that brat first" the man snarled.
"So you won't cooperate, huh? Then I have got no choice." Kael said.
[Five Minutes Later]
Kael looked pleased as he wiped his hands. Beside him lay a pile of four unconscious men, all beaten.
He called out to the girl. At first, she seemed scared but eventually stepped out and approached him.
"Who are they, and why were they chasing you?" Kael asked.
"They... they wanted some information…" she said hesitantly, not willing to speak much about it.
"And who are you, and what are you doing here?" the girl asked.
"Ah, I'm Kael Aran. I don't know how I ended up here," he replied.
"Wait… did he die recently? Then this must be his first time here... But if he's in the state he died, he must have had great status. So why is he in the Lower Soul World?" she thought.
"My name is Yui," she said.
"You can call me Kael," said Kael.
"Oh, Kael? Then call me Yui," she smiled.
"So, Yui, what is this place?" Kael asked.
"This place... ah—we don't have a fixed name for it. But usually, we call it Restfall."
Author: RestFall, a place of significance for the souls of lower soul world, this is the place that provides the whole lower soul world its lifeforce to live, If something was to happen to this place, there will be nothing but destruction.
"Oh ,I see" Kael said.
"I need to return to the palace—but how? I don't even know how I got here", thought Kael.
"Kael, how about you come with me to my village?" Yui offered.
"Umm... okay. I don't know anything about this place, so it'll help.," Kael said as he agreed.
"I can't trust anyone completely... I'll keep a seed of doubt", thought kael.
[Meanwhile — Ivan Market, When Kael Disappeared]
Back at Ivan Market, Lem was searching for Kael. He had been following Kael's energy—but suddenly, it disappeared.
"W-what... (shocked) That's not possible—Kael's energy vanished!?" Lem exclaimed. He quickly began moving through the crowd. He reached a shop.
"This... this is the place where Kael disappeared!" Lem said as he opened the door and approached the shopkeeper.
Lem asked, "H-have you seen a boy around eight years old?"
The shopkeeper replied, "No sir, I haven't seen any boy."
Lem sensed something strange about the shop, but he chose not to speak and simply said, "Okay." Then he turned back and left.
"I have my doubts... I must inform my Lord immediately," Lem muttered, walking toward the palace, burdened by thoughts of Kael.
"I—I failed... (anxious) I—I... (worried) I failed," he whispered regretfully.
[Back at the Palace]
As Lem entered the palace, the guards asked about Kael—but Lem remained silent and walked straight inside.
A wave of questions stirred in their minds.
Soon, the news that Kael was not with Lem spread like wildfire throughout the palace.