Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

"I am, uh, something came up. Yes, I am with him. Well, he is pointing his wand at me right now. No, we are good. To his house, yes. I will tell you… wait, how about you meet us at his house? That will be good." And he hung up.

Hitori lowered his wand and asked with a wide mouth. "Who are you? Was she the same Eya-nee I know?" If he knows what Eya-nee Hitori is talking about, then he knows more than he expected him to know.

Akira lowered his wand and smiled at him. "See now? No problem. She will help us if that guy is bad, so can we…"

"No! Answer me first. Wait, did they make you play this game with me? The bully and shit," he said.

Akira shook his hands. "She will explain the rest, but how about I tell you about the man on the way?" he asked, still smiling.

And he was crossing the barren lands with him again. "So tell me. How can I identify this man?"

"Ah… I still would not tell you his name. But…" He looked up, trying to remember something specific about the stranger.

"Anything… his hair color. Eyes… nose? No, that would be too… detailed. His way of talking, maybe?"

He shuddered with a moan. Hitori took a step away and glared at him. "Sorry… I just remembered something horrible. Something truly scary."

"Try to remember… ah, you know what, let it be. We are only a hundred meters away from my house, I will take a look myself. And if he turns out to be dangerous, I would not care about you, I will run for my life."

"Oh, rude dude. But well, the scary thing is ABOUT the man. His eyes… yeah, he was wearing sunglasses. Can you imagine it?"

Hitori did and that made him stop. "Sunglasses? With the sun—"

"With the sun down, yeah." He stopped too. "Funny, right?"

He shook his head. "No, not funny at all…" His heart suddenly picked up the pace.

"He took off his glasses as he told me his name… I won't tell you that. But his eyes, they should be artificial, but they were too real to be artificial. But they are scientists, we can't say anything about them, can we?"

Hitori lowkey shook his head. "No, we can not."

"The scare in his eyes… ah… I still can not get it out of my mind."

And so can not I. I can never forget those eyes… Hitori muttered as he clenched his fist.

"He looked like he was, I should not say this but, thirsty for revenge? Anger? Vengeance? What might be the right word?"

"Venom," Hitori muttered, " a venomous snake's eyes."

He banged his fist on his palm ."Right! Venom in his orange, snake-like eyes. His pupils were sharp like snake's fangs, ready to pierce you with their venom. Wait– how do you know that? Is he your friend after all?!"

He looked at Hitori with a grin, which soon faded after seeing Hitori staring at the woods ahead with an expression that was a mixture of terror and anger.

Hitori felt it. The danger. When Akira confirmed it, his heart just took off running. His soul asked for a break, but his heart wanted revenge, and his mind said: 'Run away, you are terrified. Accept yourself.'

The still-terrified Hitori was hit with a realization. He closed his mouth and swung around. He grabbed Akira's collar on the way and pushed him back till he hit his back on a tree.

"Shit! What is the big idea?" he groaned.

Hitori maintained his tight grip. "I can not trust you," he muttered as he pushed Akira's neck till it touched the tree.

"What you can not trust about me? I know Eya-nee, I know what is happening in your life, so what does still…" He choked. His words were faint. "What still makes you do this to me?"

Hitori loosened his grip, then removed his right hand. He went for his wand and came back with its tip against Akira's neck. "Prove me that you are the nerd I know."

If the person was a disguise, he would have asked what 'nerd' Hitori was talking about, forget about telling the incident caused by the nerd.

"So I looked like a nerd to you…" he muttered.

"Oh, damn it. When I thought I have had enough for today, you jumped in." Hitori shook his head and pushed his wand. "Either you prove your identity to me, or you die."

"Can we wait for Eya-nee to catch up? She will—"

"Oh, I don't need anyone to prove me your identity. How do I even know you were talking to her? And even if you were, how do I know it was the same Eya I know? It might be your partner. So stop beating around the bush, and prove it."

If he could, Akira wanted to roll his eyes and shake his head in annoyance. "I did all that with the bully. I paid him to beat me so you could save me, and I told him to use the Electrify spell. Not because I am gay, but because I thought it might help you get back into gaming."

"Gaming? Why do you know that?"

"As I said, Eya-nee told me!" he shouted, then left staring at Hitori. "Is it proven now?"

Hitori stared at him for a minute, then removed his left hand. He took a step back, then pulled his wand back.

He grabbed his hair and nodded. "Hence proved."

Akira sighed and leaned off the tree. He, too, grabbed his hair and pushed it back. "But… why? Why did you just backlash at me even when I was telling you about your friend?" he asked, rubbing his neck.

Hitori turned and with rage in his eyes, he looked at him. "Because that scientist right in front of my house is not my friend." He raised his hand to point at the woods behind him.

"Not your friend? Why did you relate to his description if you do not know him?"

Hitori lowered his hand and rubbed his face with a groan. "I never said I don't know him. Only Eya-nee will be able to tell you– I can't."

"We wait for her then?"

"No," Hitori said, walking past Akira, "we go to the Vr-cade."