Eating Souls In Another World

Chapter 04

As the cultist led the other prisoner his way, Drake found himself with two choices; either escape to the tunnel opposite to the one they were in or return to his cell. 

Thinking fast, he picked the latter, realizing how things would go if the cultist were to find out he wasn’t where they left him.

Drake climbed back into his cage and closed the door, careful not to make any sound. He then laid on his side and hid his arms behind his back pretending that they were still tied.

Seeing the orange glow drawing closer he shut his eyes and played dead praying that the cultist wouldn’t notice anything.

Even with his eyes closed, Drake could still see the miniature map in the corner of his vision. When he focused for a few seconds it expanded and showed the entire area he had mapped so far. The white dot representing him was close to the line indicating the dead end. Two more dots appeared at some point, one red and another green, probably representing the cultist and the other prisoner. 

The dots moved slowly until they arrived in front of him. Drake heard the sound of the rusty metallic cell door opening followed by the voice of an adult man saying “Get in”. The loud thud made by something falling on the floor came right after.

“You’ll… you’ll pay for this…” the other prisoner said, clearly struggling to hold back his tears.

“Just behave yourself till the High Priest is done.” The cultist said. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get to leave this place in one piece.”

Things went silent for a few seconds. The cultist lifted his lamp to check Drake’s cell. The orange light became visible even through his closed eyelids.

“Two intruders in one day…” The cultist let out a long sigh. “What's up with this day?”

It was then that Drake realized something important. The cultist was speaking English. Not just him but the kid he brought with him as well. Drake recalled not being able to understand what the men in black cloaks were saying earlier. He even thought they were speaking a different language. because of that, it didn't make sense for one of them to suddenly start speaking fluent English.

How did I-

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[Would you like to turn off auto-translation?]

[>Yes       No]

What? No!

When the half-transparent blue square appeared with those words written on it, Drake panicked for a moment. The No at the bottom blinked once when he looked at it before the square disappeared.

What the fuck was that!!? He thought, doing his best to not let his panic show on his face. Auto-translation? What the hell does that mean? What was that thing in the first place? He seemed to connect the dots after a moment of thought. System notification? First the map and now that? Could it be that I really am inside a virtual reality game? Don’t tell me my brain has been plugged into the matrix... 

“Is he having a bad dream or what?” As Drake struggled to get his heartbeat under control the cultist caught on to how horrified that notification made him feel. “Well, he did get quite the beating.”

Hearing him mention the beating sent chills down Drake's spine. Though he didn't know why, the injuries he got from it were all gone. If the cultist were to notice the lack of bruises on him, his chances of escaping would be gone.

Thankfully the cultist didn’t bother with him anymore and just left. Drake listened until he could no longer hear the sound of footsteps while watching the red dot on the map move away. After a while, it disappeared as it reached the edge of the area he had mapped.

Shit... why the hell is this happening to me? And now of all times! The university entrance exams are two months away! I’ve been busting my ass this entire year! This isn’t the time to be stuck in a game or get transported to another world!

Will I be able to return before the exams start? 

The thought made Drake lose hope. Unless he finds a way to get out soon, what little precious time he still has will be lost forever. He wouldn't be able to finish his preparation and everything he did so far would be for naught.

Damn it…

He has never been scared like this before. He wasn't one to piss himself from fear, but being in a situation like this made him feel like it could happen at any moment.

What’s going to happen to me? He asked himself. Those cultists, I hope they don’t use me as a blood sacrifice or something. Can’t they just let me go? I don’t want to die.

“Fucking damn it!”

Thinking he was alone with his thoughts he unconsciously cursed out loud. In the silent darkness of the tunnel, all sound is magnified and even a whisper would be heard. It was only natural that the other prisoner noticed him immediately. 

“Ah! Is anyone there!? Hello!?” He asked, the metallic bars of his cell creaking as he slammed against them in his excitement. 

“Shut the fuck up!” Drake growled, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. “Do you even realize what situation we are in right now?”

“S-sorry, I was just happy I wasn’t alone…”

What the… he’s happy that I’m stuck here with him!? And what do you mean by alone? The damned cultist said there were two intruders just a minute ago!

Drake could already tell the guy in the cell below him wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box. He’s been throwing threats at the cultist despite being restrained. Either he has yet to understand the weight of the situation or he’s just dumb and thinks the world works according to his thoughts.

Drake sighed, telling himself that he shouldn’t let the idiot’s stupidity irritate him. He needed to look at the bright side. There is too much he doesn’t know so he should be thankful that they brought the idiot there.

“Hey… I have a few questions.” He said, getting straight to the topic. “Do you know what this place is?”

A few seconds passed before he received a reply.

“I… I don’t know… I was just looking for-…”

“I don't care,” Drake said interrupting. "I didn't ask why you're here."

“But I really don’t know!”

“Keep your voice down. We don’t want them noticing us.”

This guy really doesn’t understand what kind of situation we are in.

“The men in black. Do you know anything about them?”

“I’m not sure…” the kid said, keeping his voice down this time. “I think they’re followers of the church of Eternal Darkness. I remember hearing the adults talking about them.”

A church? 

Drake had already guessed they were a cult, but he never thought they were big enough to be called a church.

“Anything else?” he asked. 

“I… the elder was really worried when the merchants mentioned them… we were told to not go too far into the forest…”

They’re a dangerous cult, alright. Drake nodded to himself before asking another question. 

“Do you know where we’re right now?”

Connecting the dots, Drake realized the kid ended up there because he ignored this elder person's warning. If the forest he spoke of is close to where he lives, it would be safe to assume they weren't that far from it.

Maybe his family will notice his disappearance and send someone to look for him.

“We’re inside Mount Icewyrm… I think…” the kid said. “I found the entrance to the cave while trying to hide from the storm…”

Mount Icewyrm? Cave? Storm? He wasn’t caught when he wondered inside the forest?

“How long has it been since you were caught?” 

Don’t tell me he has gone much further than just the forest…

“Not that long…” 

“The cave you mentioned, how far is it from where you live?”

“About half a day’s walk… when it’s sunny…”

Half a day’s walk. That’s six hours at the very least. This kid had walked the distance despite knowing there was a darkness-worshipping cult running around.

 Does he have no sense of danger? 

There was a lot to take into account, but with everything considered it was easy to say they were miles away from any civilization and as if that wasn’t enough apparently there was a storm outside right now. Help won’t be arriving any time soon. 

In the end, I’m still screwed.

As Drake sighed his disappointment and tried to think, the guy below spoke.

“Um… what about you?” He asked. “How did you get caught?”

Drake pondered on whether to answer him or not but decided to keep the conversation going. Even if it didn't yield anything useful, he believed it would help him retain his sanity. 

“I don’t know.” He said. “I don’t remember how I got here.” 

Drake doubted that the kid would believe him if he told him about the shadow and how he was dragged there without a warning.

“You don’t remember?” The kid parroted, sounding a bit doubtful. 

“Yes. That’s why I asked you if you knew where this place is. I don’t know how or who brought me here.”

That wasn’t really a lie. Drake didn’t know where this place was nor did he know how he got there. He refuses to believe that he has been transported to another world. Being inside a game sounded plausible but technology shouldn’t have developed that far yet. Everything is way too realistic to be a dream, too. 

The more he thought about it the less sense all of this made.

“What a weirdo…” 

Hearing the quiet murmur, something inside Drake suddenly snapped.

“You knew those bastards were creeping around and decided to go climbing, but I am the weird one?”

“W-well, how am I supposed to believe what you said?” The kid retorted with a shaky voice. “Y-you aren’t actually one of them, are you?”

“Like hell I am!” 

Drake wanted to bash his head into a wall. He already had very low tolerance for idiocy but now he wanted nothing but to get away from that kid.