Was he unable to answer, or simply unwilling to bother with his companion?
Or had he completely lost the ability to respond and communicate? Was it a physical limitation, or had he lost his mind?
Ruger looked curious.
Clearly, the Bearer who had been writing and sketching was curious too.
Watching his bald fellow Bearer being led into the darkness by the chains, the man hesitated briefly before hurrying after him.
"Kid, let's run through the consciousness verification procedure, starting with the first item-you-"
He stopped mid-sentence, coming to a halt.
The bald man had turned his head and was staring at him expressionlessly.
Clack-clack-clack!
The bald man's mouth opened slightly, his teeth chattering as his jaw trembled.
Watching from a distance, Ruger could not help raising his eyebrows.
The Bearer who had been writing and sketching froze for a moment too. He quickly jotted down a few more things, then briskly put away his notes and watched his companion and the Monster Wolf walk deeper into the darkness until they disappeared completely.
Then, to Ruger's surprise, the man turned and left, casting a glance in Ruger's direction before he went.
Ruger had never expected him to leave so decisively, abandoning the bald man so readily.
For a moment, Ruger hesitated.
"Actually, while you were arguing, there was something I wanted to say," Varin suddenly spoke up, looking at Ruger and Mona. "Whether they're modified creatures or puppet-type alchemical creations, neither is inherently incompatible with being an oddity. Throughout the history of wizards, in every era, there have been people obsessed with an uncommon field: artificial oddities. Wizards have never stopped researching them."
Ruger glanced at Wizard Mona, who looked thoughtful.
"Are you saying this might be a large, secret laboratory? And that Barry Danton, along with us, stumbled into