Chapter 318
'They really are tireless, the two of them.'
At first, everything proceeded smoothly, in accordance with the calm observation scenario.
Theo, after carefully approaching the ice cream counter and ordering two simple cones, returned to their hidden corner with steps that were relaxed yet alert.
Aldraya accepted the offered ice cream with a gentle movement of her hand, a silent transaction that became part of their disguise.
They then resumed their position, sitting on wooden stools slightly removed from the main flow of visitors, their gaze still fixed on the small stage where Erietta and Ilux were battling the spiciness.
Theo began to eat his ice cream, not because he was hungry or craving sweetness, but as a natural act to complete his disguise as a weary market visitor.
Each lick of the vanilla ice cream, already beginning to melt, was measured and unhurried, while his eyes continued to scan.
Beside him, Aldraya held her ice cream cone in a very different manner.
Her pale hand held it upright, perfectly, as if the object were a ceremonial staff rather than food.
The ice cream was untouched, unlapped, and did not even seem to melt at a normal rate, as though the cold air that naturally emanated from her preserved its shape intact.
She was simply a statue holding ice cream, her empty gaze directed straight toward the two teenagers still struggling.
They sat like that, two figures from vastly different backgrounds, united by a mission, witnessing a vivid contrast of life.
On one side were Erietta and Ilux, brimming with vitality, explosive emotions, and a very real physical struggle against heat.
Their faces were red, eyes watery, occasionally coughing, yet laughter and competitive fire still burned in their eyes.
On the other side were Theo and Aldraya, an island of calm in a sea of sensation.
Theo with his ice cream slowly disappearing, Aldraya with hers frozen in time.
'Like droplets of liquid, but not ordinary water. Something is wrong.'
Theo's concentration split between two sensory currents.
On one side, his vision remained locked on the climax of the spicy duel in the distance.
He watched as signs of fatigue became clear on Ilux.
Ilux's mouth occasionally opened wide, not to take another bite, but like a fish gasping out of water—an instinctive attempt to cool a burning tongue and draw in air untainted by chili fumes.
His shoulders rose and fell rapidly, and his free hand sometimes patted his own chest.
Meanwhile, Erietta, though her face was also flushed and sweat dampened her temples, still showed greater endurance.
Her movements were more controlled, though there were small moments when her breathing seemed to halt, her body freezing briefly before, with stubborn resolve, she resumed chewing and swallowing.
Theo estimated the contest would soon end, perhaps with a narrow victory for Erietta, or with both of them surrendering at the same time.
On the other side, amid his divided focus, his ears caught something strange.
The sound was faint, nearly drowned out by the roar of the market, the hiss of frying oil, and the murmur of the crowd.
It was not conversation, not music, but a dripping sound.
The sound of liquid falling in a slow, regular rhythm, almost like water dripping from a leaking faucet, yet with a different quality.
Heavier, more… tainted, perhaps.
The sound seemed to cut through space and head straight for his awareness, feeling foreign and out of place amid this dry, dusty market panorama.
Theo, with his sharpened instincts, immediately knew this was not an ordinary water drip, nor spilled drink residue.
There was something else.
"Aldraya, did you hear that strange sound? Like liquid dripping."
"No. I didn't hear anything."
In an instant, the question slipped from Theo's lips in a voice lowered to nearly a breath, yet carrying undeniable intensity.
His head turned slightly toward Aldraya, eyes that were usually calm now emitting a deep, wary focus.
He did not look directly at her so much as seek urgent confirmation, asking whether the sensitive ears beside him—perhaps capable of detecting frequencies beyond normal human range—had also caught the oddity that had disturbed his awareness.
He hoped for validation, or at least an alternative explanation for the strange sound, so it could be categorized and he could return his focus to the primary mission.
Aldraya, who until then had resembled a statue absorbing the scene, slowly shifted her entire attention away from Erietta and Ilux.
Her head turned with a smooth, mechanical motion, like that of a robot scanning a new sound source.
Her pale, expressionless face now fully faced Theo.
Her eyes looked straight at him, yet were empty of any recognition.
There was no furrowed brow, no blink signaling focused listening.
Only a pure, perfect lack of awareness.
After several long-feeling seconds, filled only by the sounds of the market between them, Aldraya gave her response.
Her head moved, slowly and decisively, from one side to the other.
A shake.
Not a hesitant or confused one, but a firm, simple denial.
The motion conveyed a clear message: there was no strange sound, no liquid dripping, no audio anomaly that had penetrated her awareness.
Her expression remained neutral, a blank canvas that made her denial feel absolute.
She did not understand, and perhaps felt no need to.
'The sound came again, no longer faint. And what's strange—it feels so close to Aldraya. Could it be—'
The crease in Theo's left brow deepened, carving a sharp line between his usually smooth eyebrows.
His rational mind clashed with the disturbing sensory evidence.
Impossible, logic whispered, that a sound with such consistent rhythm, such tangible liquid quality, could be mere illusion or auditory mirage.
He was not prone to hallucination.
The sound had weight, a physical presence in the air.
His eyes quickly scanned their surroundings once more, searching for a missed source—a drip from a tarp roof, a leak from a hose at a nearby stall, or even sweat dripping from a passerby.
But nothing matched.
Everything appeared dry, or at least the sounds produced were nothing like the mysterious dripping.
Then, before his doubt could find an answer, the sound came again.
But this time, everything was different.
Its intensity increased dramatically.
No longer just a soft, intermittent drip, but a heavier flow, faster and more abundant, as if the source had suddenly opened wider.
The quality of the sound changed as well, becoming more… intimate, more personal.
And most unsettling of all was its direction.
Theo, with his sharpened perception, could trace the source almost with certainty.
It did not come from the front or back of the crowd.
The sound came from a very specific direction, from the space occupied by the only entity beside him.
From Aldraya.
'So this is the source of the sound?'
Theo's gaze settled once more on Aldraya's profile.
He chose to remain silent, keeping every question and concern churning inside his chest.
To be continued…