The Author Reincarnated As An Extra
Chapter 46: • River of Trust

Chapter 46: • River of Trust

Elora’s face was soft and silent. Deremiah had cleaned the dust and dried blood from her forehead and her eyes rested gently.

Then, there was a small movement. Her brows creased slightly, and after that was a faint breath. A slow, shallow inhale.

Elora stirred.

Feeling a blast of her own consciousness, her eyes fluttered open, heavy with exhaustion. She instantly realized that she must have been asleep for a long while.

The air she felt was cold, sinking deep into her skin, making her feel sluggish. Her body felt weightless, yet unsteady. It was a completely odd feeling, like reality had shifted in the moments she had been unconscious.

Still lightheaded, she began to register her surroundings. The first thing she registered was the gentle, rhythmic creaking of the boat beneath her, swaying with an unseen current.

A boat? Now she was truly confused.

She dragged herself from the comfort of her lying position, a dull ache pulsing through her limbs as she did. A heavy exhale left her, blinking away the lingering haze in her mind.

Then, when she felt like she’d gotten a grip of herself, she slowly turned her head to the left.

Deremiah was there. Sitting some distance beside her.

She furrowed her brows at the sight of him, sitting there, in a tense posture, though not exactly rigid. He was upright, chest straight, one arm resting on his knee, the other hanging loosely by his side.

His clothes were damp and dirtied, his hair slightly disheveled. But it was his face that caught her attention. In that moment, he didn’t look all unsure and terrified as she’d remembered him in the Gigantic Ether Forest, but he was so stern and assured.

There was a faint shadow under his eyes, and a sharp focus in his lavender pupils despite the exhaustion that tugged at his frame.

As she stared at him, his gaze flicked toward her, and when he saw her awake, a breath of relief left his lips.

"You’re awake," he half smiled. "Finally. I was starting to get worried."

Why did he have that voice? It was like he’d suddenly become the leader in their inadvertent, dynamic duo.

Elora frowned slightly, feeling a little out of her comfort zone as she tried to piece together what had happened.

She ignored what he said as her eyes trailed past him finding her blade resting at the far end of the boat.

She pouted.

Deremiah also looked at the sword of thorns. He had deliberately kept it there, out of her reach. As a precaution, just in case she woke up confused — or worse, hostile.

Her gaze returned to Deremiah. She didn’t react at all, only blinked at him before shifting her focus elsewhere once again.

"What’s the matter?" he asked her, seeing she was confused, which was expected.

She looked at the boat, turning her head left and right, then at the river, and then the sky. Everything was dull, muted in shades of gray and silver.

She saw that there were no riverbanks and no islands in the near distance. It was just a vast expanse of lifeless water that stretched endlessly, a mirror to the sky above, and they were sailing on it.

’Sailing on it?’ How were they sailing? Deremiah didn’t even have a paddle.

The confusion and eeriness of what was going on caused a strange unease prickled at her skin.

"Where are we?" she finally spoke, asking Deremiah with a low voice. Before he could reply, she added, "Where is the NeonSquid? What happened?"

Deremiah closed his lips, and his expression shifted. Where they were was an easier question to answer, but when it came to what happened and where the NeonSquid was, his answer had to be a little more calculated.

"The NeonSquid is dead," he replied plainly. "I killed it."

Elora stared at him.

Her expression remained as it always was: calm, unreadable. But this time, the disbelief she felt managed to sneak through and show in her eyes.

It wasn’t possible.

Deremiah was a One-Marked participant. The NeonSquid had been a Gilded-Ranked Paragon. The difference in power was immense. He shouldn’t have been able to so much as scar it, let alone kill it.

And yet, he sat before her, claiming he had.

She hardened her gaze. "How?"

Deremiah cleared his throat, shifting slightly. He hadn’t expected her to believe him instantly of course. Even though he had wished for it.

"I mean, I— " He exhaled. "I still can’t believe it myself." His fingers curled over his knee. "When you bound it with those thorn vines, it weakened it greatly, and at that point it was already out of the energy it siphoned. So... I hurried over and attacked. Used my sword. Pushed the last of my Aether reserves into it to kill it."

Elora narrowed her eyes.

"My sword," she breathed with a flat tone. "It wasn’t even able to pierce its skin."

Deremiah gave a small shrug, avoiding her gaze. "I guess mine is sharper."

Elora said nothing, only watched him. Watched the slight tension in his jaw, the way his fingers flexed before stilling again, the careful way he spoke as if constructing his words brick by brick.

"You were completely out and your head was bleeding, so I picked you and carried you through the portal. So..." he shrugged again. "Now we’re here."

Even though her eyes slightly moved, Elora’s skepticism was still clear on her face, as some parts of his story didn’t make sense to her. She could tell he was lying about something, but if that was the case then that would mean many more things he’d said were also lies.

What was true about his boy?

Her eyes squinted at him, and he shifted under her gaze, glancing away and exhaling softly.

"Where is here?" she finally asked.

Deremiah took a moment, staring into the horizon. "It’s an endless river." He leaned back slightly. "The boat is moving on its own. We’re just... going wherever it takes us."

Elora turned her gaze upward. ’The sky is so hollow. Dull. It’s almost as dull as the water below us. Has anything happened yet? Something that could tell us what’s going on in this Trial?"

Although Deremiah already knew everything that was going on in the Trial, he couldn’t exactly tell her that, so he went with the statues.

"There were statues."

Her brows lifted. "Statues?"

"Yes. Massive, looming figures made of stone. They looked like protectors of something, and they held greatswords. You’ll see them again once the fog gets thicker."

Elora looked ahead, seeing the thick fog that they were approaching.

Deremiah followed her gaze. "They moved when we passed earlier, watching us with their empty eyes. It felt like they were observing us, like deciding whether or not to attack." His voice was quieter now, almost thoughtful. "But they didn’t attack. Everything’s been silent ever since."

Elora kept looking, taking in the eerie stillness. The only sounds were the occasional whisper of the wind and the faint ripple of water against the boat’s hull.

It was peaceful in a way, but it was the wrong kind of peace — an unnatural, watching silence. Calm before the storm some would say.

Finally, she turned back to Deremiah, and after gazing at his face for a while, she said; ""You look tired."

Deremiah exhaled. "Yeah." He rubbed his eyes briefly. "Wanted to get some shut-eye, but I couldn’t while you were still unconscious. Had to keep watch, in case something happened."

Elora appeared thoughtful or maybe touched — her expressions gallery didn’t contain much for Deremiah to choose from.

She looked away for a moment then looked back at him and sighed. "Thank you." Her voice was softer than before. "For helping me. For protecting me."

Deremiah turned his head toward her, studying her expression.

"You’re welcome," he said after a pause. Then he added, "Though I was just paying you back for helping me. I raised my blade when the NeonSquid attacked. You taught me how to do that."

She nodded once, accepting that answer.

Then, tilting her head slightly, she said, "As repayment, you should get some rest. I’ll keep watch now."

Deremiah gave her a look. "You sure? You feeling better?"

"I am." Her gaze flickered over him. "You, on the other hand, look half-dead. You need sleep. Take a rest. Don’t worry, I have sharp eyes."

Deremiah let out a slow breath, then nodded. "Alright. Thanks."

As he adjusted himself to lie on the wooden boat, Elora called his attention once again.

"You have earned my trust, Deremiah," she said.

Deremiah paused, looking straight into her eyes, before nodding slightly. "Thanks."

She looked away, signaling the conversation was over. Deremiah, still surprised, slowly began to make space for himself on the wooden boat.

Folding his arms, he let his head tip back slightly, staring into the endless gray sky. Finally, a good shut eye. He’d been trying to get some sleep ever since the Third Trial.

When he let out a deep breath of relief, his eyes closed.

And he slept.

☆ ☆ ☆

The moment he woke up, he knew something was wrong.

It was colder. Stiller.

He opened his eyes slowly and his breath caught in his throat at the sight in front of him.

It was Elora. She stood above him with her sword aimed directly at his throat.

His body was bound with vines curled around his entire form like a mummy, restricting any movement.

Elora’s face blared with resolution.

"I lied." She declared. "You’ve been dishonest with me from the moment we met." Her grip tightened on her sword. "But now, you’re going to tell me who you really are—" her eyes burned into him, "—and what powers you truly possess."

Deremiah swallowed.