Waiting for the human to wake up was time-consuming as well as tiring. With how close Isaac is to the source, he knew this wasn’t the safest place to be. He could bring him up into a much safer area, perhaps to that warded room earlier. However, that would mean trying to climb up the steep slope and then heading back down when he needed to. That was a massive waste of energy, and he was pretty low on it.
Isaac yawned as he leaned against a wall, watching over the human. His eyes blinked as his ears were perked up, trying to hear any odd sounds nearby. So far, he heard nothing out of the ordinary as the quiet flow of groundwater was only heard. Isaac even wondered how far underground was he now… it had been some time since he entered the crypt.
Isaac didn’t notice that he had fallen asleep as he rested against the wall. A few hours later, the human woke up as he looked around his surroundings, seeing the iced floor. He then saw Isaac, who was different from before he fainted. Thinking that the ice would harm him, he picked up a rock nearby as he threw it at Isaac to wake him up. It hit his armor as a loud clang resounded through the cave, quickly waking Isaac up.
Isaac jolted from his nap as he looked around for any intruders or threats. His tail was puffed and tucked in between his legs, though not fully. He growled at whatever woke him up… until he saw that the human was awake.
The human cowered in his little, unfrozen spot on the floor as he looked at Isaac. This was the thing that rid his corruption and healed him… but what happened to him!
“Please don’t eat me!” the human pleaded.
Isaac, seeing him, calmed down. Apparently, the human woke him up by throwing a rock at his armor, which created a loud clang.
“Human… I will not harm you,” Isaac played along. “I am not as corrupt as you seem. I’m looking for the source of the corruption.”
“The… the source?” the human said, rubbing his head. “Corruption… why is my head so foggy?”
“You must’ve lost yourself when you were corrupted,” Isaac said. “You must be tired as well. Don’t overexert yourself.”
The human sat down, trying to remember. The purge had left him confused and exhausted as he had lost most of his memories prior his corruption.
“I… I was a paladin,” he said. “A paladin serving under King Astriste.”
“King Astriste?” King Astriste was the king before Vernus, the current king. How long has this man down here…?
“Uh… what season and year is it? I think I entered during the Summer of the Third Year under King Astriste’s Reign...”
“The Spring of the Fourteenth Year under King Vernus’ Reign,” Isaac answered. “King Vernus is the king after Astriste.”
“Oh… oh no,” the human mouthed. “I need to get back! I-I need to see my family, I need to return to the Order, I…”
“We need to get you out first,” Isaac said, feeling a bit upset that he has to go back up. He didn’t want to… but he needed to keep this man safe when he gets out of here. He didn’t want to have a guilty conscience.