The Mysterious Person in Black left.
I returned to where I had been before.
Tina and A Tai stared at me blankly. I could sense the fear in their hearts.
I knew that fear had been caused by the appearance of that Mysterious Person in Black.
He was someone who could control their fate, even their lives and deaths.
"Are you all right?" Tina asked softly.
A Tai narrowed his eyes. "What did he say to you?"
I sighed. "He wanted me to get to Pompeii City sooner. He said I had wasted too much time here. He also said that if I insisted on going deeper, I would face another version of myself—the evil me. I might even die here, and they did not care whether I lived or died. Although they had chosen me, it did not necessarily have to be me. As long as it was me, even the evil one would do."
I did not know whether they could understand. Honestly, even I felt what I said was a little convoluted, but both their expressions froze. Clearly, they understood.
After hesitating, A Tai said, "What about you? What have you decided? Will you keep looking for your companions here, or..."
Before I could answer, Tina spoke first. "Do you even need to ask? He definitely will not abandon his friends. You have been with him longer than I have. Don't you know what kind of person he is?"
A Tai gave a bitter smile and sighed. "Of course I do. I'm just afraid..."
He did not finish. Clearly, he was worried that I might be eliminated by my other self, and that the one who eventually walked out of the Dark Forest would be the evil me.
Tina fell silent as well. She merely glanced at