"Welcome... future 'me'!"
Upon hearing those words, Abner felt as though his breathing had stopped for several seconds. Although he had suspected that Rhine Calendia was not completely dead, he had not prepared himself to meet him so directly.
What should he do? Turn around and leave, abandoning his exploration of this castle, or continue onward and thoroughly determine Rhine's current condition?
And if he retreated, would he even be able to get away?
As Abner's thoughts raced, the voice came from the room again:
"Welcome... future 'me'!"
It was exactly identical to the previous one, both in tone and wording.
"..." Abner was rendered speechless. So I worried for all that time, and you just left a recording here to scare me?
At that moment, "Sloth" Closia, who was following behind him, saw him stop and asked curiously, "Why did you stop? Did you find something wrong?"
Abner's heart stirred when he heard that. He swept his gaze over "Sloth" and "Greed" before asking instead, "Did either of you hear anything?"
"No!" Closia and Xenia answered one after the other, their tones exceptionally certain.
So... only I could hear the voice in the room opposite? Abner nodded thoughtfully, then signaled for "Sloth" and "Greed" to remain in the corridor as backup while he pushed open the half-closed door directly ahead and entered.
However, the instant his foot touched the floor, the door slammed shut on its own at incredible speed. Even Abner, who had been on guard, failed to react in time.
At the same time, a tall, translucent, illusory figure entered Abner's sight.
The figure had gentle, handsome features and bore some resemblance to Mr. Azik, except he was not as dark-skinned. His hair was dark gold like Jane's. He was none other than "Lord of the Dead,"