The Last Whisperer

14 | Reminisce How I used to Look~

200 years ago...

Somewhere in Continent Gon - Third Realm

Young Ludo, the Sage, sat in his cottage, an open volume in his lap, hot tea on the table beside him as he read for the fifteenth time the book about gods.

It was mid-afternoon, when the sky was not particularly blue but not particularly orange either. It was somewhere in between when the birds thrived at best. Wildlife stalked the outside of his cottage. A deer poked its head through the open window. It spotted Ludo, then it sneezed abruptly.

Ludo turned to the next page. Underneath his chair, two mice—one white and one brown—chased each other like two lovers. A bright red ladybug crawled up the teacup wall and dropped itself onto the tea. Ludo lifted the cup with two fingers and took a sip.

That was when the knocking on the door happened.

Ludo covered his mouth—he just nearly spat it out everywhere. He took the teacup and brought his mouth close to it. He slowly released the tea—and the ladybug—from his mouth.

There was a knock again. It was loud, hurried, and agitated.

Ludo shut the book about gods with one hand as he drew closer to the door of his cottage. He was in the middle of nowhere, and as far as he knew, he told nobody of his location. So who might this be?

He inserted the book about gods back into the shelf before finally answering the door.

He opened it.

A girl collapsed in front of him. She fell to the floor beside his feet. He knew who it was.

Seren lay on the cottage floor, dirt and blood on her neck and arms, scars on her legs, torn clothing and trembling limbs.

"Ludo," she said under her breath. "Help." She was out of breath. Frankly, it seemed like she didn't even have a voice anymore.

Ludo stared down at her. "What happened?"

Seren stared at nowhere. Her eyes looked empty, like she had just lost her soul. She tried to move her arms, but her fingers only twitched.

"They're gone," she whispered. It was so low that Ludo barely even caught it.

He quenched his brows. "Who?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Everyone."

Ludo gave no reaction. He understood what she meant, and he understood what was happening. He bent down to help her up. He got her arm around his shoulder and assisted her. The cottage door shut by itself.

He helped her down on the chair he previously sat on. "Here, drink this." He offered her the tea he drank earlier.

He remembered too late that the tea had gone from his mouth. Seren had already gulped it all. He scratched the back of his neck.

"Tell me what happened."

Seren closed her eyes, letting her head rest back on the chair. She looked like she had been traveling for days. The inter-realm key hung at her neck. Ludo had one too, since he was the keeper of the third realm.

Eventually, she started rambling. "Astra visited me in my cell and broke me out. We encountered a Fae Lieutenant on the way back. He got Astra really bad—Fae poison coursed through his veins. His wound wouldn't close up that eventually I had to carry him back home. When we got back, the fortress was on fire, and everyone was dead. Astra died soon after that."

She said this all with a straight face. It was as if she was numb already. Numb on the pain of loss, grief, and the trauma. Things had gotten so bad that she started expecting it.

"I travelled to the other citadels. I travelled for weeks—nothing. Nothing was left. It was scary—I was the only one left walking around in the world. All of the cities—reduced to ashes. Nothing. Nothing was left." Her voice cracked on that last sentence, like it was a struggle for her to keep talking.

"You're the only one left?" Ludo asked.

She didn't answer him, which meant there was only one reason; she wasn't sure.

"I couldn't find Maddin Gog's body anywhere. The Fae could have taken him since he's the keeper of the second realm. You can help me save him, right?"

Ludo was silent as he considered her words. He sat on the table as he crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

Seren grimaced—it was the first human expression Ludo had seen her make ever since she knocked on his door. She clenched her fists.

"Why not?" she calmly asked. "Why?"

"I cannot interfere with inter-realm matters, especially when it has nothing to do with the third realm."

"Maddin Gog could be dying!" she yelled at him. "Do you understand? The Fae destroyed my realm!"

Her eyes stared at him widely. They were bloodshot red. She could have been crying for days with no end.

Ludo stared at her. "I can't risk putting the third realm in danger."

"They destroyed my realm—the second realm. What comes after the second??" she asked him. "The third is next, Ludo. The Fae are coming for you, too."

"That won't happen." Ludo was quite sure of his abilities as the Sage. But this was one matter that made him feel lacking.

Seren buried her face in her hands. "He's the only one left. Just help me, for heaven's sake."

Ludo swallowed. He didn't want to say it, but he had to. He had already seen the future. He was the Sage, after all.

"I'm sorry. But I really can't help you."

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**Note: omg I've been WAITING to finally write this lol. You guys were probably like, "Who the hell is this Ludo person?" Well, this is him. Adios!

P.S. I wrote this late at night while lying on my bed under my blankets (LOL) so please excuse if this chapter is a bit lacking.

ALSO, I would like to thank YOU for reading this far 😪 You are a blessing. Enjoy Part 2!