The Woman Who Didn't Know
Ruyi had made it three steps before someone called after her.
"Wait."
She stopped.
Not because she wanted to.
Because there were several people behind her, and pretending she hadn't heard them would probably make things worse.
Ruyi slowly turned around.
The responders were still gathered around the beast.
One of them stood with his arms folded, studying her.
"You're coming with us."
Ruyi stared at him.
"No."
The answer came automatically.
The man blinked.
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"We need a statement."
"I didn't see anything."
"You killed it."
"I didn't say I didn't."
That earned her a few confused looks.
Ruyi sighed.
She was exhausted.
Her arms felt like they belonged to someone else. Her legs were trembling beneath her, and every breath seemed to drag something heavy through her chest.
The last thing she wanted was to sit through an interrogation.
The second-to-last thing she wanted was to discover that the thing inside her had somehow been noticed.
The responder nearest to her approached.
"We're not arresting you."
"Good."
"We just need to take you to the guild."
Ruyi's expression tightened.
"The guild?"
"The nearest one. They handle incidents like this. Monster identification, awakened reports, dungeon activity, civilian casualties, all of it."
"I don't need to report anything."
"You killed a beast in the middle of a populated district."
"I defended myself."
"We know."
"Then we're done."
The responder sighed.
"Unfortunately, we're not."
Ruyi stared at him.
He stared back.
Neither moved.
Finally, another responder spoke from behind him.
"Just come with us. You can give your statement, get checked over, and leave."
Ruyi glanced at the dead beast.
Then at the responders.
Then at the street beyond them.
The black seam she had seen earlier was still somewhere beyond the buildings.
She couldn't see it anymore.
But she could still feel it.
Something was happening.
And these people were probably the ones who were supposed to deal with it.
Which meant staying near them might be safer than walking away alone.
Ruyi hated that conclusion.
"Fine."
The responder nodded.
"Thank you."
"But I'm not staying there all day."
"We'll try not to keep you."
"And I don't know anything useful."
"We'll decide that."
Ruyi narrowed her eyes.
"I already don't like you."
"Most people don't."
That caught her off guard.
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Instead, she looked away.
"Where's the vehicle?"
"Coming."
As if summoned by the word, a heavy transport vehicle turned onto the street.
It was larger than an ordinary emergency vehicle, reinforced along the sides and fitted with a metal loading platform at the rear.
Behind it came another truck.
The second vehicle was clearly meant for the corpse.
Several responders immediately moved toward the beast.
Ruyi watched as they began securing the body.
Chains wrapped around its limbs.
A reinforced harness was fitted beneath its torso.
Someone examined the hollow in its chest again.
He said nothing.
That bothered Ruyi more than questions would have.
She looked away.
"Sit."
Ruyi climbed into the back of the transport vehicle.
There were benches along both sides.
She chose the one furthest from everyone else.
A responder sat opposite her.
Another took the seat beside the door.
The vehicle smelled faintly of metal, disinfectant, and something she couldn't identify.
Blood, maybe.
Monster blood.
Ruyi leaned her glaive against her knee.
One of the responders pointed at it.
"That's not yours."
"No."
"Where did you get it?"
"Found it."
"At the checkpoint?"
"Yes."
"Belong to you?"
"No."
"Who does?"
"I don't know."
The responder looked at his partner.
Then back at her.
"You're not very talkative."
"I don't have much to say."
"You killed a creature that took three trained responders to contain last week."
Ruyi looked up.
"I didn't know that."
"You didn't know what it was?"
"No."
"You've never seen one?"
"No."
"Never fought one?"
"No."
"Never trained?"
"No."
The responder leaned back.
"Then how did you kill it?"
Ruyi stared out the window.
Buildings slid past.
Broken storefronts.
Emergency barriers.
People standing behind police tape.
She saw several people looking toward the convoy.
None of them seemed particularly interested in her.
Good.
"How did you kill it?" the responder asked again.
"I don't know."
His eyebrow twitched.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"You were there."
"Yes."
"You had the weapon."
"I picked it up."
"You swung it."
"Yes."
"You attacked the beast."
"I tried to."
"Then what happened?"
Ruyi was silent.
The responder waited.
She finally looked at him.
"I kept running."
He frowned.
"What?"
"I kept running and evading it."
"You fought it."
"I was trying not to die."
"That's not an answer."
"It is."
Ruyi shifted in her seat.
"I didn't go looking for the beast. I didn't know it was there. It attacked everyone. I ran. It followed me. I found the glaive. I tried to keep it away from me."
She paused.
"I was hoping I'd injure it enough to make it stop chasing me."
The responder studied her.
"And then?"
"I don't know."
Again.
Those three words.
Simple.
Safe.
Final.
The vehicle hit a pothole.
Ruyi's shoulder bumped against the wall.
She winced.
The responder noticed.
"You hurt?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"You've been shaking since we picked you up."
"I'm exhausted."
"Do you need a medic?"
"No."
"Water?"
"Maybe."
The responder passed her a bottle.
Ruyi took it.
"Thank you."
She drank slowly.
Her throat had been painfully dry.
The responder waited until she finished.
"Any dizziness?"
"No."
"Nausea?"
"No."
"Headache?"
"No."
"Blurred vision?"
"No."
"Memory problems?"
Ruyi looked at him.
"No."
"Good."
He paused.
"Because you're going to need to remember what happened."
Ruyi screwed the cap back onto the bottle.
"I remember."
"Then tell me."
"No."
He stared.
Ruyi stared back.
A silence settled over the vehicle.
The responder eventually sighed.
"You're difficult."
"I'm tired."
"Fair."
He leaned back.
"Let's try something easier."
Ruyi said nothing.
"Name?"
"Ruyi."
"Full name?"
She gave it.
"Age?"
She answered.
"Occupation?"
Ruyi hesitated.
She told him.
"Address?"
She gave it.
"Awakened?"
Ruyi's fingers tightened around the water bottle.
"No."
The responder noticed the hesitation.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever had an awakening test?"
"No."
"Any symptoms before today?"
"No."
"Unusual strength?"
"No."
"Enhanced senses?"
"No."
"Ability manifestations?"
Ruyi looked out the window again.
"No."
The responder didn't immediately continue.
He seemed to understand that something about that question had changed the atmosphere.
Eventually, he said, "You know, if you awakened today, that's not something you need to hide."
"I know."
"You can register at the guild."
"I don't want to."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to."
The responder gave her a tired look.
"That's not exactly how the system works."
"Then the system can be disappointed."
Someone sitting near the front made a quiet choking sound.
Ruyi glanced toward him.
He was trying not to laugh.
The first responder rubbed his forehead.
"You've got a temper."
"I've got a dead monster on my street."
"Fair enough."
The vehicle continued through the city.
The conversation gradually became less like an interrogation.
Perhaps the responders had realized they weren't getting anything more from her.
Or perhaps they were simply tired.
Ruyi didn't care.
She leaned her head against the wall and watched the city pass.
The world looked different from inside the vehicle.
Emergency crews moved through intersections.
People gathered behind barriers.
Some carried weapons.
Others carried supplies.
A few wore guild uniforms.
The sight of them reminded Ruyi how strange the world had become.
A few years ago, a convoy like this would have been carrying riot equipment.
Now it carried chains large enough to drag monsters.
She looked at the rear window.
The second vehicle followed closely behind.
The beast's body had been secured inside.
She could see part of it through the reinforced frame.
Even from this distance, the hollow in its chest was visible.
Ruyi looked away.
She didn't want to think about it.
She couldn't stop thinking about it.
The responder opposite her noticed.
"You really don't remember what caused that wound?"
Ruyi's eyes remained on the window.
"No."
"Not even a little?"
"No."
"What were you using?"
"The glaive."
"That did that?"
"I don't know."
"The blade didn't touch its chest."
Ruyi said nothing.
The responder leaned forward.
"There's no physical explanation for that injury."
"I don't know."
"You keep saying that."
"Because I don't know."
He leaned back again.
"Right."
Another responder finally spoke.
"Leave her alone."
The first responder glanced toward him.
"We need the information."
"She's exhausted."
"I'm aware."
"Then let her breathe."
Ruyi glanced at the man who had spoken.
He didn't look at her.
She appreciated it.
For a while, nobody asked anything.
The only sounds were the engine, the occasional crackle of the radio, and the shifting of equipment in the back.
Then the radio suddenly came alive.
"Unit Seven, report."
The responder closest to it grabbed the microphone.
"Unit Seven. Beast neutralized. Civilian survivor recovered."
"Any casualties?"
"Initial sweep shows no fatalities at the immediate scene. Several injuries. Medical teams are still working."
"Status of the creature?"
"Confirmed dead. Retrieval underway."
A pause.
Then:
"Cause of death?"
The responder glanced at Ruyi.
Ruyi immediately looked away.
He hesitated.
"Unknown."
The radio went quiet.
Ruyi almost smiled.
Good answer.
After several minutes, the responder spoke again.
"Why were you there?"
Ruyi frowned.
"I told you."
"You were passing through."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I was going somewhere."
"Where?"
Ruyi looked at him.
"The other side of the city."
"Doing what?"
"Something."
He stared.
Ruyi stared back.
He sighed.
"You're deliberately being vague."
"Yes."
At least she was honest.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to get involved."
The responder studied her for a moment.
Then he asked, "Do you understand what happens if the guild determines you awakened?"
"Yes."
"You'll be registered."
"I know."
"You may be evaluated."
"I know."
"You may be offered training."
"I know."
"You may be asked to assist with dungeon-related incidents."
Ruyi's expression hardened.
"That's exactly what I don't want."
"Why?"
"Because I was walking down the street."
The responder waited.
Ruyi continued.
"I didn't ask for this."
She looked down at her hands.
"I didn't ask for a monster to appear. I didn't ask for whatever happened to me. I didn't ask to kill anything."
Her fingers curled.
"I just wanted to get away."
The responder didn't answer immediately.
When he finally did, his voice was quieter.
"That's understandable."
Ruyi looked at him.
"But?"
"But if you really awakened, pretending it didn't happen won't make it disappear."
She looked away.
"I'll worry about that later."
"Fair."
The vehicle turned.
Ruyi recognized the district.
The guild building appeared ahead.
It was larger than she expected.
The old government office had apparently been converted into a guild facility. Reinforced doors covered the entrance. Tall barriers surrounded the perimeter, and several armed guards stood outside.
A large emblem had been painted above the entrance.
A sword crossing a circular symbol.
Ruyi didn't recognize it.
The vehicle slowed.
The responder across from her stood.
"Here we are."
Ruyi straightened.
The exhaustion returned all at once.
She had almost forgotten how tired she was.
The vehicle stopped.
The rear doors opened.
Cool air rushed inside.
Ruyi stepped down.
She nearly stumbled.
A hand reached toward her.
"I'm fine."
"You almost fell."
"I said I'm fine."
The responder withdrew his hand.
"Right."
Ruyi looked toward the guild entrance.
People were already moving toward them.
Guild personnel.
Medical staff.
Administrative workers.
More attention than she wanted.
She immediately tightened her grip around the glaive.
The responder noticed.
"Relax."
"I'm relaxed."
"You look like you're about to stab someone."
"I'm holding a weapon."
"Fair point."
Ruyi started walking.
The responder fell into step beside her.
"You'll answer a few questions."
"I know."
"They'll probably ask about the beast."
"I don't know."
"They'll ask about the injury."
"I don't know."
"They'll ask about your ability."
Ruyi stopped.
The responder stopped too.
She looked at him.
"What if I don't have one?"
He held her gaze.
"Then tell them that."
Ruyi stared at the guild entrance.
For a moment, she considered turning around.
Walking away.
Going home.
Pretending the entire afternoon had never happened.
But the memory of that hollow in the beast's chest returned.
The impossible emptiness.
The sensation of reality folding beneath her hand.
And somewhere beyond the city, another dungeon had opened.
Ruyi exhaled slowly.
She walked inside.
The first thing she noticed was how normal the guild looked.
That was almost disappointing.
Desks.
Computers.
People carrying folders.
Someone arguing over paperwork.
A vending machine humming in the corner.
If not for the reinforced doors and the weapons hanging from several walls, it could have been any government office.
A receptionist looked up.
"Incident report?"
The responder nodded.
"Beast attack. One civilian survivor."
"Any injuries?"
"Minor."
"Awakened?"
The responder glanced at Ruyi.
"Unknown."
The receptionist looked at Ruyi.
Ruyi looked back.
"Name?"
Ruyi gave it.
The receptionist typed.
"Are you the one who killed the beast?"
Ruyi sighed.
"Apparently."
The receptionist paused.
"Apparently?"
"I don't know how it died."
The responder coughed.
Ruyi ignored him.
The receptionist looked toward the responders.
"Interrogation room?"
"Probably."
Ruyi immediately spoke.
"Do I have to?"
The responder nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you were the only person standing beside a dead beast with an unexplained injury."
Ruyi stared at him.
"That sounds like your problem."
"It is."
He smiled faintly.
"Unfortunately, now you're part of it."
Ruyi closed her eyes.
She regretted surviving.
Not really.
But enough to make the thought tempting.
She opened them again.
"Fine."
The responder gestured toward the hallway.
"This way."
Ruyi followed.
She had no idea what awaited her inside.
She only knew one thing.
She wasn't going to tell them about the void.
Not unless she absolutely had to.
Because the moment she did, the world would stop seeing her as a stranger who happened to survive.
And Ruyi had spent her entire life avoiding attention.
She wasn't about to become important now.