The Forgotten Creator's
Artex

On the lonely streets, I walked with the girl I had just met. Hungry and tired, I kept forcing me to walk nonstop.

"Maybe we should rest first." Say the little girl.

"Good idea," I said. "Let's rest under that tree." So tired, I immediately sat leaning under this shady tree.

But when I was resting, the little girl gave me an apple. "For you, sir."

"Thank you for the apple. But I'm not your master." I took the apple given to him. As a result of my exhaustion, when I wanted to eat it, my eyes closed to sleep. I heard the girl screaming, I don't know what she said.

...~Π~...

I feel like I'm in bed. When I opened my eyes I saw the girl I was with sleeping next to me. "Hey, where are we?" slowly say. But he did not respond at all. I tried to wake her by shaking her body and she woke up.

She rubbed her eyes and hugged me in a hurry. "Thank God you're safe!"

"Hey, hey. Better explain where we are now."

"Daiah. At least that's the name I gave this place." Speak from the door while reading a book.

"Who are you?!" I was shocked after hearing his words and pointed a knife at him. It could be that after being put in jail, I was kidnapped again by someone I didn't know.

"Who my name is not important. Rather than that, where did you get this book?" the answer.

"It looks like you're the kind of person who's hard to work with." I took the knife back and got out of bed. "Give me the book with the bag."

"Jawab my question!"

"Hoo.... So that's how you play. If you want to know, just before I escaped from prison, I've killed someone."

"Well! So you tried to bluff huh? Try it if you can." He walked closer to the table. He took a knife and gave it to me. "Just try stabbing me with this."

I whose resolve was inferior compared to him could only remain silent.

"Why shut up?!" he moved my hand to pierce his palm. "Do it like this!"

Now I'm starting to get angry with him. I took off the handle of the knife and I grabbed her face and made a bamboo skewer directed at her neck. "I know I've been overdue, but you're exaggerating."

He swallowed his own spit. "That's enough. I haven't had the courage to kill myself yet."

I let go of his grip. But something unusual happened. His previously hollow palm is now healed again. "Wait, what's with your hand?! Where was the wound?!"

"As you can see. I can heal all sorts of wounds, other terms regenerate."

"Are you a vampire?!"

"Vampire? What kind of creature is that."

"So seriously you don't know vampires?!"

"No. The only races I know are humans and sirens."

"Wait first. Put aside the vampire thing. What's that shirade you mean?"

"So now you're confused." The man then walked towards a closet picking up something. Yellow shabby sheet. "This is the siren I mean." He showed me a picture of a wolf.

"Whatis that? Wolves go on?" my many.

"Obviously a werewolf. All Siruman races have physical forms resembling animals and humans. In short they are human-like animals."

"So they look like demons. Uh, a demon with a siren. Why look alike?"

"What do you mean by stealth. But all I know about the siren."

"It's okay, I get it."

"What is a vampire then?"

"Ah, vampire yes. I'm not sure if vampires exist in the real world either. But in the story, vampires are creatures that can regenerate. Somehow they do it."

"That's it." Then the look on his face changed. He smiled at me. "Artex."

"What's up?" I was on standby for shock. "Suddenly smile and say a word?"

"No, I just introduced myself. My name is Artex Alvander."

"Oohs. So yeah. Then, my name is Den."

"Who's the girl you brought?"

"Dia—" I'm confused because I've never heard his name at all. "I don't know either. I've never asked her name."

"Milk!" sahut the little girl.

"Nena yeah. It's funny, it fits you." Artex.

When I met a new friend, I somehow remembered Zack. I don't even see a match between them. Maybe I just miss my feelings with home. "By the way. Where's my bag."

"Just calm down, I put it by the bed." Answer Artex.

I looked towards the bed and it was true that my bag was leaning there. I saw that the bag was still intact even though I didn't know how many books I had brought. "Regarding the book you read, do you understand the writing."

"Well, after looking at the whole page, I didn't understand a single letter in the book." He gave me the book.

Turns right. No one knows Latin.

"Where did you get that kind of book?" sahut Artex's.

"Actually I want to keep it a secret . But—"

"Well, don't be told if it's a secret." Cut Artex. "But I want to make sure of something." He approached the cupboard and picked up a paper and a feather on the table next to his closet. Then he showed me what he wrote. "Try reading this."

"I'm just making sure that you're not an intruder from another country." Artex put the paper back on the table. "By the way. Why are you sleeping on the street with an arrow stuck on an apple in your hand?

"So you didn't see it?!" sahut Nena's.

"What's wrong?" ask Artex

"So he was shot by a stranger wearing a black suit, and he fainted instantly!"

"Wait, pass out?" many wonder. "I was just sleeping for a while. I didn't even realize I was shot."

"really?"

"Yes." Yeah."

"Thank God!" again he hugged me. "It's a good thing you didn't get the deadly poison."

"From that. Artex, do you know where the nearest town is here?"

"Of course." Answer Artex.

"Can you show me the way? But before that, the city you're referring to Compass isn't it?"

"Yes. The name of the city is Compass. However, the distance from here to the Compass reaches one kilometer."

"It's okay. I can speed up the journey anyway."

"Alright, I also plan to go there tomorrow. But it would be better if it was faster."

We went out of the house to Compass. Before walking, I make a rickshaw first powered by a motor engine. Just like I made before. I thought Nena would protest because I just did something like this. But he did not protest at all. Only joy was visible on his face.

...~Π~...

On the street, Artex chatted a lot with Nena. I can only hear it from behind. It's hard for me to talk because I'm focused on the streets.

"Hey, Den. Why do you want to go to Compass?" sahut Artex's.

"Well, I recently came to Compass with someone. Two guys with the coachman. We planned to go throughout the spirit village to give some information. But at night I was taken away by someone and put in jail with Nena."

"Spirit, yes. They are not just myths."

"By the way, why are you living in a secluded place all by yourself?"

"That's.... I honestly don't want to expose my naivety. But it's okay, I want to be open to others. I used to be approached by someone who got me kicked out of the village. After that I walked aimlessly until I ended up in the Radial city. There are a lot of people who look at me, but I always assume all the townspeople are just as bad as those in the village. And so, soon I went around looking for the man who gave me this curse."

"wait. A curse?" cut me.

"You remember when my hand regenerated in my house?"

"Yes, I remember. But why do you call that a curse?"

"That is what caused me to be driven out of my own village. When I was given this kind of ability, the air inside the room was very dark. Even I was terrified to feel it." He leaned his back and faced upwards. "Well, maybe because of the feeling of alertness when approached by a stranger."

"Then?"

"Then I left the village until I finally settled in my current home."

"Then why are you living alone in such a deserted place?"

"Hey, you asked me just now!"

"But that's not the answer I want."

"Then?"

"Well, the reason you live there."

Artex sighed, "I don't like to be bothered like this."

"Sorry anyway. It's my habit to trouble others or myself." Gurauku's.

"I told you before, I wandered to find the man who gave me this curse. I want to find out why he gave me this curse. And ask him to remove the curse."

"Oh, so yeah. I'm sorry I don't like to be concerned when I think about asking something."

"That's it." Artex tried to calm himself. "We stop there. Don't make yourself flashy or the scientists will catch you."

"Caught for what?"

"As research on your power."

Probably about a hundred meters from the gate, we paused for a moment to remove the rickshaw we were riding. Artex is hoping that I don't get into trouble if someone sees an unusual vehicle.

"Practice is also your strength."

"Practical when viewed from a non-user point of view. In fact I need to know first about the mechanism."

"Sort of alchemy?"

"Yes," I doubt if it's true or not, "maybe."

"So, you could have made a man whole with your powers."

"Of course you can't. Man can live if he has life, and I can never create something like that."

"That means, your strength is only this limited."

"That's how."

Then we moved closer to the city gate. Finally, after a long period of sitting in the passenger and driver seats, we were already close to our destination. The place where I was taken and thrown into a slave prison.