Maxwell raised a questioning eyebrow at the man. What did I just hear? Did he just say he was a Neovano creature? he thought in shock, his jaw dropping.
This same man who has been sitting in front of us all this time, talking with us like we're good friends? The same old man who behaves like any friendly old man next door? He's actually a Neovano creature!? So we've essentially been chatting with an entity we were taught our whole lives to stay clear of?
Nova's eyes widened, the true scale of what they were dealing with finally dawning on her. Have we been knocking on death's door all this time? She paled.
"Tsk." The old man clicked his tongue. "What naughty kids you are. Is that all you picked up from everything I just said?" He took a cookie from the bowl. "And why aren't you eating? I can tell you haven't eaten for some time. Please, don't stand on ceremony. There isn't even much time before I live."
It was then that it dawned on Maxwell and Nova that they hadn't touched anything he had offered. Immediately, both cradled the tea in their hands and took a sip.
Immediately after.
"Ahhh, it's so sweet!" Nova exclaimed, hearts practically appearing in her eyes. "It's been so long since I had something like this."
"This is better than many of the teas I've had in the past few years combined," Maxwell muttered in surprise, his eyes widening as the flavour bloomed across his tongue.
"Thank you for the compliment. I'm honoured to hear that," the old man said, nodding in appreciation. "It pleases me to hear such praise for my work. This was actually a blend I created some years back, when the previous one became too bland."
He bit into the cookie in his hand. "That aside, I'm curious about one thing. Since you know I'm a Neovano, why did you still drink the tea? Were you not afraid it might be poisoned or unsuitable for human consumption?" he asked, raising an eye brow.
Maxwell set his cup down slowly. "Poisoned? Of course not. The way we see it, it would be far more convenient for you to just make us disappear like those bunnies earlier than to go through the stressful process of poisoning us. For a being like yourself, we're not even worth an ant, are we?"
"Yes, it's true. It would be far easier for me to make you disappear than to poison you," the old man acknowledged. "But you're getting something wrong. My power isn't as omnipotent as you probably believe." He explained, "See, my power is called Word of the Mouth. It's pretty straightforward and difficult to use, much like Venos's. I can make whatever I say come to pass. But there are limitations, though I won't be saying what they are." He smiled.
"Please, you don't have to," Maxwell said. "You've already told us more than we hoped to gain, and we have nothing to offer you in exchange for such a personal secret."
"It's not that it's a personal secret or anything. It's just that..." The old man paused, considering his words. "There are some things that, if you know them, will compromise your chances of leaving this place and returning home."
Hearing this, Maxwell was alarmed. "So have—"
"No, you have not heard anything that can compromise your chances, and you won't hear any either, so don't worry," the old man finished before Maxwell could get the words out.
"Phew." Maxwell relaxed.
"By the way, do you still have the thought that was plaguing you some time ago?"
"Huh? Now that I think about it, it's gone!" Maxwell exclaimed.
"See? I told you. Now, back on track. I said earlier that Neovano creatures are more than just savage beasts, and that Venos and I are special cases."
"Yes, you did," Maxwell and Nova answered in unison.
"What that essentially means is that we are a very broad species. Unlike humans, there are tons of Neovano creatures. There are purely sentient ones, and dumb ones that aren't any different from animals to you. There are also ones that prey on other Neovano creatures. And then there's me, Venos and many other, oddballs among oddballs."
The old man smiled, then stood up. "It was nice talking to both of you. I really enjoyed it and would have liked to continued. But alas, I believe my time here has come to an end." He went over to Maxwell. "I initially had one goal in this place." He stood beside Maxwell and Nova and placed his hands on the table. "And that was to come to the settlement and traumatize anyone who was still a normal human into unlocking their dormant ability." The old man shook his head, his wrinkled face frowning. "But would you believe that when I came here, I found everybody in the settlement dead?"
"!?" Hearing this, Maxwell and Nova were immediately alarmed. They had always thought the old man in front of them was the culprit of that massacre.
"Do you mean to tell us you weren't the one who did that?" Maxwell asked, surprised and confused.
"Me? Of course not. I hardly do things that won't benefit me, even now. I'm only doing this for my own satisfaction," the old man confessed. "After this meeting, I have to go out and conduct a search, because even I don't know who the culprit is. And just as it's dangerous for you, it's also dangerous for us, the inhabitants of this land."
The room fell silent for a moment, none of the three speaking, until the old man broke it with a quiet chuckle.
"Hehe. It seems both of you managed to forget your mimic soul on the first floor, inside the food farm, letting him eat to his heart's content."
Maxwell immediately scanned the room for Snowy and realized he wasn't with them. When did we forget him?
"You were too busy looking for that charger to remember the little guy, such a bad master you are," the old man said, gesturing at the charger still serving as a book stand, and laughed. "Because of that, you can consider yourselves lucky, as I no longer have anything to use in traumatizing you. And since I don't want to harm either of you, I'll just leave it at this."
The old man grinned, then, in a dramatic display, spread both his hands and proclaimed in a loud voice, "Maxwell, young lad, you can now smile, for from now on you can use your dormant ability like the rest of your peers!"
Immediately, Maxwell felt a shift in his body. He couldn't quite place it, but it felt as though a part of him had finally been set free. Maxwell knew that everyone had a dormant ability, that some people were born able to use theirs while others had to experience intense emotions to unlock them, and that there were other ways besides, as the list went on. But never in his short life had he thought it possible to unlock one for someone with mere words.
There's no common sense when it comes to this man, is there? Maxwell thought in resignation.
"Of course there is, and there always has been," the old man said with a smile, reaching into his pocket and handing something to Maxwell.
It was a flat black card with a shining gold imprint.
Maxwell held it up and examined it. It bore a name, a logo, and a string of numbers. As he studied it, he grew alarmed. "Is this...?"
"A business card," the old man completed, that same signature smile on his face.
"No offence, but how do you have a business card!" Maxwell blurted out in surprise.
"None taken," the old man answered, then replied with a question instead. "If you can come to our world, then what's stopping us from entering yours?"
"Yes, there are a lot more Neovano creatures in your world than you might expect," he added. "But be reassured, it's only oddities among oddities who are able to enter and willing to live there. Much like myself." After saying this, the old man rested a hand on each of Maxwell's and Nova's shoulders.
"Don't worry about memorising the number on the business card. If you manage to make it out of here, it will naturally make it out with you." He paused, considering his next words. "As a parting gift, I have given both of you one chance to use my ability to make one wish each. Just make sure you use it properly, and know the limits and the kind of things you're allowed to wish for. With that, I leave you both. Goodbye, and if fate allows it, let's meet again under more favourable conditions."
After saying that, the man lifted his hands from their shoulders and left the room, leaving one last echo of his words.
"Beware, for it's still out there."