2 The Old Man's Secret

"Kid, would you take my life?"

Faced with the sharp stare, Luke couldn't help but inwardly gulp.

'He actually means it...'

Looking around and then back at Luke, the old man urged him.

"I need your answer now. We do not have much time."

Luke's expression grew darker by the second.

'…What he's requesting of me is to actually kill him. Wait, maybe I just misheard him.'

"Old man, are you perhaps going senile?"

Luke asked jokingly, hoping that the old man would tell him that what he had previously said was a joke as well.

But instead, a vein on the old man's forehead popped in annoyance.

"Kid… You are really lucky that I need your help; otherwise, I would've lopped your head off for insulting this lord."

That answer caused one of Luke's eyebrows to curl upward in surprise.

'Seems like there was no mistake in what I've previously heard… But a lord? Did I make a mistake by doubting this old man's words in the first place?'

Tossing those thoughts aside, Luke called out the contradiction in the old man's statement.

"You're the one asking someone whose life you just saved to kill you out of the blue, and yet you're demanding that kind of respect without even introducing yourself first."

The old man turned his head and looked into the sky. The sky kept getting darker and darker as they kept talking. They would need to move soon if they didn't want to run into 'that'.

"Follow me for now. I'm going to explain everything to you once we arrive at a safer place."

'Avoiding the questions, huh? Well, following him is my best option, at least for now. If I run into those birds again, I don't think I'll be as lucky as I was just now.'

Luke nodded in agreement, albeit with a hint of reluctance.

"Okay, lead the way."

Nodding back to Luke, the old man started heading in a certain direction.

Luke followed right behind him.

After walking for quite a while, Luke saw a small house built out of stone, and as if on cue, the old man stopped walking.

"We're here, kid. Welcome to my home."

Luke's mouth was agape in disbelief. Seeing his reaction, the old man smiled bitterly before continuing ahead.

'His home? This little thing? Wasn't he calling himself a lord earlier?'

Sighing in disappointment, Luke followed after the old man as he made his way to the entrance of the stone house. By the time they arrived here, night had almost settled in.

"Phew, we made it in time, kid. Do come in."

Saying that, the old man entered the house, and Luke followed.

The interior of the house could be described as very minimalistic. There was a simple wooden bed, a fireplace with cooking utensils, as well as a wooden table and three wooden chairs. Some kind of an animal hide was strewn across the wooden floor. Luke was a minimalist himself, making him feel comfortable in this house in no time at all.

The old man walked over to the fireplace and bent down, picking up a piece of husk.

He kneeled down on one knee, placing the husk on the bottom of the fireplace and surrounding it with small pieces of wood.

A spark was made using a flint stone and a piece of steel, causing the husk to start burning with a red flame, but as soon as the wood started burning, the color of the flame morphed from red to blue effortlessly.

This made Luke stare dumbfoundedly at the fireplace.

He rubbed his eyes, but when he opened them again, the flame was still burning with a blue flame.

'I'm sure it was red just seconds ago…'

Noticing the apparent confusion present on Luke's face, the old man proceeded to explain.

"The flame is blue because of the wood type I'm using. This type of wood is called Ro-wood, and a fire that uses it as its fuel can last much longer than a fire that uses regular wood."

Luke nodded. This information wasn't that important to him right now, as he had bigger concerns. The old man pointed at the wooden table and chairs.

"Sit down."

Luke followed the old man as they sat down at the table, and just as they did, the old man spoke up before Luke could even think of what to ask.

"Before I can answer any of your questions, you must first promise me that you will take my life. I cannot reveal why, but you must make that promise. If you cannot do that, then I will have no other choice but to take your life instead."

Luke was puzzled. His mind started racing, and he seemed lost in thought. He could feel the old man's gaze lock onto him as he was making his choice.

'This whole situation is too weird. First of all, the last thing I remember before waking up in this forest was waiting for Alex while we were on the way to our first day on the job. I think that it was somewhere around 13:30 when I fell asleep on that bench, but it definitely seems like some time had passed before I woke up here. The forest itself didn't look too different from what you could find in certain places on Earth, but after those bird-like creatures made their appearance, I definitely started doubting my own sanity.'

Time was ticking away.

'Am I hallucinating? Is this an illusion?'

Luke looked around the house once more when his gaze landed on the old man. His eyes were still observing Luke's each and every motion as he simply patiently smiled.

'There is still a thick veil of mystery surrounding this man… I still can't quite put my finger on how he managed to kill those strange creatures. I couldn't and still can't see any weapons that he might've been, or still is, carrying on him. I don't think that such a lethal weapon could fit inside his robes without me being able to notice it. I didn't hear anything while my eyes were closed either... A weapon that doesn't need to be hidden and is silent…'

This process of deduction led Luke to an absurd answer.

'…!'

Luke's eyes narrowed as he stared at the old man's wrinkly hands that were resting on top of the wooden table.

'N-no… There's no way that's possible, right?'

It was no joke to say that fighting even one of those creatures bare-handed would spell death for most people.

Apparently, the man sitting in front of Luke wasn't 'most people'.

"What's wrong?", the old man asked, causing Luke to feel a shiver run across his back and look away from the man's hands.

Luke shook his head slowly.

"I'm still thinking, so please give me a few more minutes."

In response, the old man nodded silently.

'Focus, Luke. You have a choice to make.'

Even though the interior of the small house grew completely silent, Luke's mind was waging a loud war against his own morals and beliefs.

'Am I really capable of taking the life of another human being with my own hands?'

Beads of sweat flowed down Luke's reddened cheeks.

'He said that I would be the one to die if I were to refuse, so forget about the answers to my questions; those obviously wouldn't even matter if I just died… I don't have much of a choice, do I?'

Luke chuckled inwardly in self-deprecation at his failure to notice the old man's trap sooner.

'Humans, with all their current perfections and imperfections, once lived as savages out in the wild. The most important instinct that has always driven us forward was a very simple one; it was survival.'

Luke closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh through his nose.

Opening his eyes, he declared:

"Fine. I'll do it."

The smile on the old man's face widened into a bright grin.

Feigning ignorance and also toying with Luke, the old man answered:

"You will do it? What exactly are we talking about?"

Luke narrowed his eyes as his face grew hotter.

"I promise that I… will kill you."

The old man's grin grew even wider. Luke couldn't help but feel put off by the happiness that the old man exhibited about his own impending death.

"Alright kid, a promise is a promise. Ask away."