Chapter 89 Behind schedule

Chapter 89 Behind schedule
~ Tyra ~

Morning came with a slight ache in my shoulders and joints, reminding me almost immediately that I wasn't waking up in the comfort of a bed.

For a few seconds, I remained still, staring at the surroundings as the memories of the previous day slowly returned to me.

The slight tiredness that accompanied waking up cleared from my eyes immediately when all those memories came rushing back. That, however, did not apply to my protesting bladder, which seemed completely uninterested in my current predicament.

I pushed myself up from the floor and looked around.

Kosi was sitting on the other side of the alcove beside a still sleeping, or should I say passed out, Zaran. His attention immediately turned toward me the moment I moved.

"Welcome, Tyra," his voice filtered into my ears.

My brows creased slightly.

"Welcome? Where did I go?" I asked, genuinely confused by the greeting. I was still right where I had fallen asleep, so I wasn't sure why he was welcoming me anywhere.

"The land of sleep," he answered flatly, as if he had just given me the most obvious answer imaginable.

I stared at him for a moment.

"Welcome is a strange way of greeting someone who just woke up, Kosi. Saying good morning is better," I schooled him, pushing myself fully to my feet.

"Good morning, Tyra," he corrected himself immediately.

His response caught me off guard, and I almost smiled.

"Good morning, Kosi. He's still sleeping?" I asked, gesturing with my chin toward Zaran.

"Yes. Master still sleeping. Will sleep some hours more."

I decided not to bother about him and turned away, heading toward the entrance. However, I stopped almost immediately when I discovered that the place no longer looked like an opening leading outside.

Instead, the entrance looked exactly like another section of the alcove, sealed off so completely that there wasn't even a visible gap.

My bladder protested again, reminding me that I had more urgent concerns.

"How do I get out?" I asked in a slightly louder voice so Kosi would hear me, my legs already moving to the rhythm my bladder was providing.

Kosi hurried toward me.

"No, no. Tyra can't go out. Master sealed entrance with magic for protection."

"I'm not going far. I just need to pee," I explained, growing slightly desperate.

He stared at me, genuine confusion on his face.

"Kosi no know pee."

I blinked.

"What?! You don't pee? Your master doesn't pee?" I asked, my frustration rising as I stared at him.

His expression only became more confused.

I opened my mouth to explain, then closed it again. There was clearly no point.

I shook my head and looked around the alcove until I found a secluded corner that could serve the purpose.

"Nevermind," I dismissed, hurrying toward the corner. "Shuuu. Go away. Don't look at me. Go back to your master."

Kosi threw me a strange look for a short while, seemingly trying to understand why I was suddenly sending him away. Eventually, however, he did as I asked and walked back toward Zaran, leaving me alone to handle my business.

When I was done, I went directly back to where he and Zaran were.

I was about to sit down when my eyes narrowed slightly.

There were markings on Zaran's chest that I hadn't noticed the previous night.

They spread across his chest and reached all the way toward his neck. They weren't completely black. They had a slightly reddish appearance with a bit of silver running through them, creating a strange pattern against his skin.

I found myself staring, then without thinking, my hand moved toward his chest.

My fingers were barely inches away when Kosi caught my hand.

"Master no like touching when he sleep."

"I only want to check his pulse," I lied, snatching my hand from his grasp.

Kosi stared at me.

"Kosi no know pulse."

I almost rolled my eyes.

"Give me your hand. Let me show you what a pulse is." I extended my hand toward him, expecting him to place his hand in mine.

He declined, simply staring at my outstretched hand with an expression I couldn't understand.

"What?" I asked.

"Tyra scared of Kosi."

The words made me pause. I retrieved my hand, instantly understanding what he meant.

"I'm still scared, to be honest, but not as much as yesterday," I confessed, looking at him. "And you can't blame me. I've never seen anything like you before, and you look terrifying in your ghoul form."

He nodded, something that looked like a smile settling over his features.

"Kosi know Kosi scary in ghoul form, but Kosi cute now."

My lips curved at his words. "Indeed, you're cute in your human form. Tell me, Kosi, why did you bring me here? Your master said you two were playing, so why did you pick a stranger?"

I had already heard the explanation from Zaran, but I really wanted to hear it directly from the culprit. Kosi was capable of speaking for himself, even if his way of putting words together was still strange to me.

I also hoped Zaran hadn't told him not to say anything about it. Knowing what I had already learned about their relationship, I wouldn't be surprised if Kosi remained completely silent simply because his master had instructed him to.

Kosi looked at me for a moment before answering.

"Kosi one with master. Feel master emotions. Kosi feel master happy with Tyra. Kosi play with Tyra. Master never happy with anyone until Tyra."

The explanation was scattered, but somehow, I managed to piece it together.

Zaran had been happy when he saw me?

The thought caught me off guard.

I glanced at him, still sleeping peacefully, and then looked back at Kosi. There were suddenly several questions running through my mind, and most of them involved the mysterious man who had somehow become responsible for keeping me alive in a place I didn't even know existed.

"He's been sleeping for too long. Just wake him up already," I said a while later, unable to ignore how long he had been unconscious.

Kosi shook his head.

"Not possible."

"Why?"

"Kosi can't tell. Master say so."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Did you hurt him?" I asked, feigning suspicion.

Again, he shook his head.

"Kosi can't hurt master. Kosi one with master. Master hurt, Kosi hurt even more."

His words plunged me into another deep confusion.

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to understand exactly what he meant by being one with Zaran and how he could somehow feel his master's pain.

I reminded myself to ask about it later.

Since there was nothing else I could do, I decided to kill time by grabbing some of the leftover fruits from the previous night. I sat down and began eating them while occasionally glancing toward Zaran.

After what seemed like hours, Zaran finally moved. His fingers twitched first, followed by a slight movement of his shoulders. His breathing changed, and then his eyes slowly opened.

"It's morning already?" he asked as soon as he sat up and set his eyes on Kosi and me.

"Yes, master. Good morning, master," Kosi greeted cheerfully.

Zaran shot him a confused look.

"It's been morning for the past eight hours," I cut in before he could say anything.

His brows rose.

"I've been sleeping for eight hours after you woke up?"

"That's correct." I nodded with certainty.

His expression died.

"How did you calculate such an exaggerated figure? Because last time I checked, you had no wristwatch or clock with you," he asked, pushing himself to his feet and dusting off his clothes.

"I have feelings, and it did feel longer than eight hours."

He sighed and shook his head, clearly not taking anything I said seriously.

"We need to get going. Have you had something to eat?"

"Yeah. I ate some of the fruits. What about you? Aren't you going to eat?"

"I can eat along the way," he responded, glancing down at the device on his wrist. "We are way behind schedule already."

"That doesn't look like a wristwatch. What are you always checking inside it?" I asked, refusing to stay quiet about it anymore.

"It's a multidimensional wristwatch specially crafted for this purpose. You won't understand it unless I show you how it works."

Before I could ask another question, he brought down the illusion he had put up at the entrance. The sealed opening disappeared, revealing the path outside once again, and we resumed our journey.

For the first few minutes, everything seemed fine. I walked behind Zaran while Kosi remained close enough to us, occasionally looking around as if he could sense things I couldn't.

Then I noticed something.

There was a difference in the way Zaran was walking. His steps were no longer steady. His movements had become slower, and every few seconds, his body seemed to lose its balance slightly.

At first, I ignored it, but then he stumbled, and that was enough to make me stop as worry rose in my chest.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Let's keep going." He dismissed my concern instantly and continued walking.

Kosi didn't seem convinced.

"Master no fine. Master weak. Master need more rest," Kosi pointed out, shaking his head, his expression worse than mine.

"I'm fine, Kosi."

"More rest? After all that sleep?" I asked, hoping he would finally admit that something was wrong.

But I was wrong.

"Don't listen to Kosi," he said, continuing forward.

That did it. I marched forward, then turned around, blocking his path.

"I'll listen to him alright because it seems he cares more about your health than you do. You were staggering moments ago and almost collapsed right before my eyes, yet you're saying you're fine?" My gaze remained fiercely locked onto his.