The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 84

ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

"At last, we finally have a bit of privacy to peacefully converse," a voice rang in my ear.

As soon as it spoke, the space around us began warping. Sylvie’s trembling became so severe that I couldn’t keep her perched on my head and had to hold her firmly in my arms.

Suddenly, in the midst of the chaos that was forming around us, we were in a blank white room.

I stared dumbly around my perimeter but couldn’t find the words to express my confusion. Without being able to muster up even a voice to curse in surprise, I just idly waited.

In this white cube, it was only me, a quivering Sylvie, and the source of the all too familiar speckled pair of eyes.

By the time my eyes were able to adjust to the sudden brightness, I could make out the cat taking in a deep breath.

"Haa..."

Did it just sigh at me?

As I continued to kneel while clutching my bond, the cat I had seen at ’Windsom’s Potions and Elixirs’ started shaking its head at me after a little while.

It really was the same cat I saw back then...

The peculiarly eye-catching cat was sitting in a poised manner, its tail swaying hypnotically as its eyes locked onto mine. As the cat’s gaze bored deeper into me, I began feeling like some sort of raw material being appraised by a veteran merchant who was deciding whether to buy me out or not.

I snapped out of my daze and began looking for the old man to pop out. As I was about to say something aloud, the cat started glowing in a golden white light that spread over its entire body.

Interrupted, I just kept my mouth shut and waited for the surprises to end. For some reason, I felt like no matter what I did at this point, I couldn’t stop whatever was about to happen. It was an instinctual reaction that for some reason I just couldn’t ignore.

While the aura and demeanor of this cat was heavy and oppressive, I knew that it didn’t want to hurt me; otherwise, I would’ve been dead already.

The golden-white light began to change its shape and enlarge, changing from the form of a cat to that of a human.

As if it was made of glass, the sparkling human-shaped glow shattered into fragments of light, revealing someone I couldn’t recognize.

"Greetings. I go by Windsom," the man sniffed deprecatingly.

The man that had transformed from a cat spoke with an elegance that matched his appearance. On the top of his sculpted face was a bed of short platinum blond hair that was neatly swept to the side. His deep-set eyes, that had not changed from when he was a cat, almost seemed to touch his permanently furrowed brows. There was a sense of nobility in his gaze as he continued to lock onto me.

While neither burly nor muscular, his square shoulders, underneath a military-like uniform he’d conjured after transforming, told me he was a warrior... a fighter like myself.

His thin lips tightened as he let out another sigh of disapproval through his sharp nose. Peering down at Sylvie and me, he spoke again.

"I felt this form would be more appropriate for our conversation," the man announced matter-of-factly.

I opened my mouth to say something but I held back. If he’d just disclosed he was Windsom, then what about the old man who stole my money? Was the man I originally thought was the owner of the elixir store just my own incorrect assumption? Then who was the old man? Windsom’s attendant?

Composing myself, I let Sylvie down and stood up.

I dusted my clothes off and responded, "Before, we continue, I’d like to confirm a few things."

"..."

Windsom tilted his head to the side, thrown off by my sudden sharp and incisive tone.

"Since you lured me here for a reason and with Tessia as bait, is it safe to assume that she’s alright?" I asked, taking the glittering marble ball out from my dimension ring.

After a slight pause, he replied, nodding, "Yes, your little elf princess is fine. I had already taken precautionary measures before you made your way here. She should be recuperating to a certain extent with her grandfather back at the elf kingdom.

That, on the other hand"—Windsom pointed at the marble in my hand—"is for you to keep."

It was my turn to be surprised.

"For me?" I asked.