"You must leave this place before you become a part of it..."
Those words were surprising enough, but the old man didn't stop there.
"...you who came from the other world."
I stood before the old man calmly, raising an eyebrow while feigning ignorance.
"The other world? What do you mean?"
He lifted his head slightly, smoke drifting from his mouth indifferently.
"Stop pretending to be ignorant, boy. There are no living humans in this world."
No living humans in this world? Then what about them?
"What does that mean?"
The old man simply shrugged.
"As I said, everyone died long ago... those who survived are the ones who escaped to the other world."
He raised his free hand and ran it across his face, letting out a long sigh.
"How foolish we were back then."
His voice was filled with bitterness and pain.
He looked at me and continued,
"Maybe if we had escaped back then, the people of this city could have lived normal lives and had grandchildren like you."
