Nyx stopped the second blow with his own palm, the metal chipping away at the golem's material, but the statue was not completely rigid. He threw two jabs with his right arm that rattled the statue's helmet like a snare drum. But the helmet held firm, held in place by tough straps made specifically to keep the armor standing as long as it could in battle.
It was then hit by an uppercut to the underside of the shoulder holding the weapon. Nyx grabbed the armour and pulled, trying to make the tin man lose his balance and managing to throw the set of armour 2 metres away. "Cecil! Come off with it—I'm just going to get damaged.
"Eh... fine, sorry. It's a match!" Beyond the ring on the podium, Cecil stopped the match with a single word, much like he had started it, and the armor set stopped in its tracks and moved back to its position on the edge of the platform when Cecil turned the dial to zero. "Anyway—impressive that you can grab and toss these armors around like that. The plates are about half an inch thick."
The praise and compliments were welcome, but Nyx was still a little miffed. "Glad you had a laugh, but next time, just... don't. They both stood awkwardly for a second or two until Cecil just nodded and pulled the golem toward the podium.
"Well... if you want to come here again, let me show you how it works." The two stood side by side at the arena's control panel, and Cecil handed the golem a piece of paper with some instructions. "Look here for a moment."
But... "What is this? I can't read it."
Cecil took the paper back and looked over it. "Yeah, forgot. Secret wizards scripting, sorry. Ok, just watch what I do. It let's me choose from more options but I'll show you just the basic one."
Nyx understood why he couldn't read the piece of paper. Guess wizards held secrets from the world,too, but he didn't really feel like asking, learning, or begging for a translate, so he just settled for observing the wizard.
He touched the large lever on the side of the podium. The first thing Cecil pulled when he activated the arena. "First step, just turns on the whole system. You saw me earlier." His index finger tapped one of the dials on the first row. "This is level of skill. It was already set to level two, but you can change it anyway. BUT!!" He moved his hand to the second dial. "You later select -- and how many suits of armor you want to fight-- and only after you set the level."
The first dial had a number of 7 degrees of challenge, and the number of enemies that you could fight at once was a maximum of 6 out of the 8 armors available. "Okay—so the lever, then the challenge, then the number. But why you think I'm going to ask to come back here? Hope you know this is not a date." Nyx just showed a serios aura to the old man.
The golem's words only made Cecil raise an eyebrow at him in amusement. "You seem like the type. And I'm happily married btw."
But Cecil's words just bounced off Nyx. "For your information, Cecil, this isn't my body. I'm just in it." Nyx just shook his head and gave a long eye rool at no one in particular, but the gesture landed on the wizard. But he didn't misunderstand anything from the talking statue. He just understood that it wasn't his body, but nothing else. "Okay, I admit I have a violent streak, but I don't really like looking for trouble."
"Yeah? But what about that griffin?"
"... A voluntary service for a friend."
"But what about that vampire? You helped the guards because you wanted to, did you not?"
"Dörk kind of coerced me into all that. And here—well, I'm more here for a friend if not."
"Really?"
But Nyx just sighed, unwilling to talk anymore, and started to leave. "See you back in the hood." But Cecil wasn't so weak at heart. He, of course, had squabbled with brats before while his wife would leave him alone with their kids. But Nyx just didn't have the experience necessary to throw a good tantrum to throw him of his mind.
"Pretty sure I know why you're here." His smile couldn't be contained. Nyx just stopped before turning his head cheekily toward the wizard, waiting for him to continue. "You know what that is?"
But the golem was losing patience with the theatrics, now completely turned toward Cecil. "Why not? Shoot."
Cecil just pulled up a bench, sat down, and leaned his elbow on the rail. "At first glance, I just thought you were an impatient kid thirsty for a fight and money—ready to jump on anyone for a kick. You showed me wrong I give you that. But you still lack- so you look for that you have-- nothing."
"Nothing. Is that all you got out of looking at me? What ass explanation is that?"
His words were heavier now. Cecil thought the golem would sit down, hoping to have a more meaningful conversation, but he just stood back up. "You're looking for nothing. Because you don't know what you're looking for or need. You're full of talent, but you don't know what to do with it. I bet the only good decision you've made so far was to come join us here, hoping to learn something from us. And yet you're bouncing it off like where dinosaurs."
"I mean I had learn stuff. But--!?" Nyx now crossed his arms under his chest, waiting to hear the wizard continue. But he didn't. "What is all this? You called me here to have fun, and now you're just throwing stuff at me like I've called everyone useless or something." Now his teeth were showing a little and caring his eyes sharp.
"Listen, kid. I don't want to be mean to you. It's just... I'm speaking off the cuff. That look in your eyes... stress... confusion... We old folks have been there, and whether we made it through or not, I can't tell you that we all did."
Neither of them said a word for a few moments, Nyx just staring at the floor in confusion and anger, but Cecil just watching worriedly. The wizards' discussions reached his ears, but he didn't get too involved in them unless he was asked directly or had the chance to contribute something insightful. But if Dörk had dragged the golem here and involved the whole group with his actions, he might as well find out what he was getting himself into. "I thought maybe you could try to fight here and let off some steam." His fingers just rubbed through his beard and his words tried to hide his intentions.
The living statue had just leaned against the rail but had not yet looked back at the wizard. "You're very nosy, you know?" And finally he turned to the wizard. "Listen. Thanks for trying to entertain me today. Really. And maybe you're right, I have problems and... I'm afraid to act, but I'm trying, you know?"
"So that's what this is all about? A distraction? From what?"
Nyx's breathing just stopped and he let out a deep sigh. "Maybe. And what else would you have me do, oh all-knowing master wizard?" His sarcasm was direct but meant no harm. If Cecil could be pushy and aggravating, so could Nyx.
Yet the wizard hadn't misinterpreted, just smiled back. "How about I teach you a trick?"
His hand. Cecil had raised his hand slightly and slowly moved his fingers in a tremor until electric sparks formed in arcs that scattered in the air. Just for fun, he drew one through his index finger, imitating a gun at Nyx's arm.
"OW! What was that?"
Cecil let the magic vanish, replacing the bewilderment with a humorous air. "Electricity. Pretty cool, huh? More interesting that you felt it. You've been immune to pain so far-"
"Well... I guess. It didn't hurt, but I felt it... like rubbing a hedgehog on my skin." Something along the lines that only the golem could see the similarity between the two ideas.
"I can see the analogy, but... I don't give anything away for free, you know."
"You gave me a cigarette." His eyebrow shot up.
"That was just for fun, corruption of youth."
"Great. So? What do you want from me? For your information, I'm a guy, not a girl, so if you start staring at my boobs, I'll make it very awkward for you!" His finger pointed threateningly at the wizard, who couldn't maintain his seriousness. But Cecil just sat back down on the bench and made the golem sit with him.
"Can you turn that off?" Cecil rolled his eyes. "I just want to get to know you. You see... Dörk and the rest just want to push you back and forth, armed to the teeth with metal and magic. You're a hero, sure, but you're still human underneath."
Nyx just crossed his legs and thought about what Cecil wanted. He wasn't asking for much, just to understand who he was. "Well... first, I wasn't human, but a changeling." It took him two seconds to come up with something else to say. "I was a slave before I died..."
.
.
"I don't remember how I got there. I just know I've been there my whole life. I think I was 30 when I died.."
"Jeez... that's long even for slavery."
.
.
"It started to get worse when I was 9. I could scrub floors, but other than that, they just yelled at me or hit me cause I couldn't do things right."
.
.
"Even now, I recall vividly that cheap soap- eating and burned my hands. Or the belts over my wrist. Not everyone was like that, though. Some of the maids would defend me, seeing how others treated me."
.
.
"But no one would do anything when the duke or his sons or his wife were cruel to me. When I got in my teens I started to get it. They were there just for a job.. they couldn't just outright protect me or fight for me--"
"You couldn't run away, could you?"
"I had a spell marked on my hand, they could find me wherever I ran. I tried once when I was 13. Assholes burned my back really good for that."
.
.
"Who taught you to read?"
"I think I was 16 when I started reading... Anyway, I had memorized words up until then. I could add and subtract numbers, but... eh. I was kind of bad at it. Anyway... once I embarrassed them so badly that they ordered a maid to teach me."
"What was her name?"
"I think it was Hildi or Helga... She was already old, she'd been in service for many years. She was one of the sweet ones."
.
.
"You did what!?"
"I fucked the duchess."
"No, you didn't!"
"Hoho...I did. I think it was three or four times... She really wanted me to turn into this guy... I think her marriage was already falling apart... Although I think we both would have been hanged if anyone had found out."
"...Tho it was the best sex ever..."
.
.
"Sometimes I used to fight with the guards. Other they would just look for me for a kick."
.
.
"I would sneak through his house looking for something to eat or drink."
.
.
"Did you smoke back then?"
"Not really... It took too long and I could have been caught easily. Only in the kitchen when the cooks lend me some. They taught me!"
.
.
"Ewk... my most disgusting memory. I had to wear a dress to dance at a ball with some banker. I thought I was going to hang myself."
.
.
"So that's why I BELIEVE I've ended up in hell and look like Kara."
Cecil was already on his fifth cigarette, letting the smoke linger in his lungs just to feel the dizziness. "Shit, man." His dry voice accompanied by two coughs was all he could bring himself to say. His mind naturally replayed everything the golem had said right up until the end of the game, when he set the whole house on fire and burned it down.
"Hmm..."
"Well... slavery was abolished 40 years ago, I think. At least there's that." But Cecil couldn't get anything else out of his pal. Looking at him, he could tell that if he could, he would already be dead from alcohol poisoning. So the wizard could only encourage him as best he could. "At least those fuckers are dead. Permanently, unlike you." He didn't know what else to do, so he gave the golem the flask of vodka from his coat.
Nyx didn't argue, just grabbed the container and took a swig. "Ha...At least that. Thanks." Although tasteless, the gesture was merely symbolic. A reminder that Nyx was the last one standing above the corpses of a world that was no longer of any value.
The ending of the conversation gave him a sense of victory, making him realize how much time the two of them just spent hanging out in the attic. Nyx reminded Cecil about the hour. "I think it's..." Cecil pulled a watch out of his pocket, a nice one, made of bronze with a blue-colored face marked with white lines and an image of a cat. "It's only 3:08 p.m."
Nyx had noticed the cat, although it was well drawn, the image seemed somewhat blurred or stretched according to some elastic idea. "I'm bored already. Let's just head back and see what else is to do today."
.
.
.
"Come on... you'll like it."
"Oh, okay. Here you go."
A few steps away, Nyx tapped Jerry over his shoulder. "Oh, hey Nyx, what's up?"
"PFFFF! BUUFU"
Nyx sprayed a jet of vodka vapor, igniting it with a spark from his fingertips and burning Jerry's shirt, who began to cry in fear.
"HAHAH~~ I love this kid!"