“I’m saved! Ahaha! I finally found someone!” cried the boy whilst running towards Hadi.

  “You’re lost?” Hadi asked in a voice full of doubt. How could a mere kid survive within the fog? Incapable of imagining a kid surviving for more than a day, he preferred the idea of it being another case of child dumping.

  “Yup, yup! Say, can you take me back to the village? Actually, you could just show me the way!” replied the boy.

  “No, this is no place for a kid. I’ll escort you back to Azo” Hadi felt relieved that the boy is just trying to find a way home. That’s when the suspicion grew on him.

  “Say, are you, by any chance, a shapeshifter taking on the form of a human child?” with no hesitation, Hadi asked the question. He saw how the boy’s eyes widened, but filled with an emotion he partially expected.

  “What? Me? Shapeshifter? Mister, the fog is ever benevolent, and it’s incredibly keen albeit lazy. If I were truly a shapeshifter, I would…. I would…” he trailed off. “I see. I committed a grave mistake. What misfortune”

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  Silence filled the scene for a moment, before Hadi finally broke it.

  “Something tells me that something is off, but, for some reason, I would want to trust that you’re no shapeshifter. Follow me, let’s go back home”

  The two walked back without speaking or interacting along the way. It didn’t exactly take a long time before they arrived at the outskirts. The guards paid them no mind as they entered the village.

  Walking through the streets, they arrived at the building. One and only headquarters of the adventurers, the guild.

  On the wall, a scroll rolled open is on display. The boy approached and began reading the contents of the scroll. Hadi stood quietly, watching from afar. Certainly, everyone should have at least seen it when they were a kid. But the boy is showing behavior that only people who have never came across the myth of creation would do: read it carefully.

  Suspicious indeed, but the boy could only be described with one word: harmless. Hadi’s stare turned empty, his mind focused on something else. He began looking back on his encounter with the boy. That feeling, had yet to dissapear. Something is clearly off with the kid. Not because the kid will bring harm, but it’s something else. Something, more ominous. But he can’t describe it. It’s just there. The feeling that the kid might be something important.

  Lost in his thought, Hadi was very much surprised the moment he noticed that the kid went missing.