I was now standing in an alleyway, staring at the wall as if it had personally wronged me.
My mind buzzed; the need to know the answers to the questions I had was overbearing.
That person, no. That entity. Was wrong. Yes, after having time to breathe and think, I could feel it. The man's overbearing, silent, absolute, dreadful presence. As if death itself was coiling around my neck like a serpent.
I shuddered, sweat glistening on my brow.
I really, really didn't want to meet him again. But this was something more than just a dream pod.
It was a connection, a lifeline in case of emergencies.
The man seemed to love his soul shards. Which was good.
Such people were always easier to bribe, even if a little expensive.
Finally, I cleaned my face of any remaining sweat, my gaze sharpening.
Now I needed a place to stay. I could use an abandoned house in the outskirts.
But that was an obvious choice. I needed something Morgan, or anyone else wouldn't suspect.
I needed to be right under their noses, even if just for a few days.
***
I scanned the surroundings as I always did. Nothing, not a sign of human activity.
Even worse, the creatures had started to become active once again.
Smashing through rubble, slaughtering one another. And seeking, seeking my squad and me.
This was becoming a death zone it always had been.
And for the first time, I thought.
Actually thought of abandoning the mission, to hell with my own honor. To hell with the clan's honor. Because this. This was becoming unfeasible.
My own squad were awakened, and they were good. Better than most. But still mere awakeneds.
Even if I am one of the strongest masters alive, this didn't mean much in this forgotten part of the world.
Saints had died here. They numbered in the dozens by now.
Each death caused a roar of outrage and fear. Each death tilted the world to one clan or another.
My fingers twitched. Perhaps the boy had indeed left? Perhaps he knew of the growing creature activity before there was actually danger?
Perhaps he had tried to warn me indirectly?
I scowled, a migraine I couldn't actually feel growing.
I rubbed my temples, frustration boiling.
It was all because of a single boy.
First the dozens of creatures. Then my own misjudgement of the boy's character.
And then. Then a master was killed as if he didn't outrank the boy. His family was still grieving, but believing he had died a proud and honorable death. A lie, a blatant one even. But it worked, that was all that mattered.
My shoulders loosened, the exhaustion was starting to set in.
Finally, I decided I would call Saint Cor tomorrow morning, tell him I would be moving my search to the current outskirts.
With that, I turned away. My red cloak swaying gently behind me.
***
I stared at the communicator in my hand, the hand that was trembling.
I flexed my hand, the trembling ceasing. Why had I done that? Why didn't I just kill the boy? After all, I was within my rights to do so. Even in law. But I hadn't.
My frown deepened, forming a scowl.
In the end, I brushed it off as a feeling of kinship.
I had bigger matters to think about.
I just finished a call with Jet. She talked about a soon-to-happen disaster that will hit Antarctica.
My hand trembled slightly at the thought.
A disaster comparable to what happened in America.
Everyone knew what happened to that place. Even the outskirts rats.
That place became a death zone comparable to the hollow mountains. The death zone that not even Sovereigns dared to walk freely through.
And now.. it was about to happen again. And the sovereigns, the demigods of humanity itself. Decided not to involve themselves too much. Just enough not to attract suspicion from the whole world.
And so, the real work goes to the government once again.
There was already a giant movement, posters were hung up everywhere. The internet buzzed. The people cried from fear and hope.
"Hope." That word tasted bitter on my tongue. Not because of the Daemon. But the meaning of such a word.
A word that lied, manipulated the people.
A word that held no power, yet had a divine being named after it. Or perhaps. The word was named after her.
I shrugged off the thought, my mind a mess.
I could join the campaign. Have my own squad, fight for the people. But what good would that do? I'm alone. Wouldn't accomplish much. Perhaps just get myself killed.
And then there was the boy. The thief. Able to teleport. Younger than me by at least a few years.
He was slow, yet cunning. I could see his eyes. When I had my blade pressed against his neck for the second time. I saw it through one of my shadows.
The boy's eyes had gleamed. As if he were in control.
His awakened ability most likely. I could sense his presence, but it wasn't powerful. But it's pure malice, pure hatred of all living things was overwhelming.
I shuddered at the thought. It was a presence I could vaguely remember.
From the forgotten shore. When I was still but a sleeper. When that dammed knight nearly carved me in two.
I felt that same presence. Indifferent to my pain. Indifferent if I died. But making sure I wouldn't be getting up.
A Fallen Devil.
My eyes darkened at the thought. Could the boy be slowly corrupting himself? No, surely not. Corruption was fast and absolute. None could slow it down, none could defy it long enough to stay human for years.
My vision was filled with the boy's hair. Pale black, gray in some places. As if being slowly dyed every day, hair by hair.
My fingers twitched, my eyes slowly growing wide.
It can't be. It's not possible. Especially for a mere awakened. There were a few records in the archive about corruption. It wasn't many files, but they were detailed. And the people who wrote them made it clear that it was absolute.
And for an awakened to resist it? Impossible.
Which most likely meant his aspect was tied to it. But he had teleported, how would that correlate?
I put down my communicator, fingers flying through my various research documents. I had to figure this out.
I must.
***
[Two days later].
The deal has been made, a contract made. Whatever that meant.
I had also learned the man's name. Which was Sunless, a strange but fitting name. Given the man's dark hair and eyes. Not to mention his attitude.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that I now sat in a dream pod, preparing to enter the dream realm. Hopefully, I won't get killed by Sunless as soon as my consciousness transfers.
I brushed away the thought. Surely, surely a rat could trust a rat. I scoffed, there was no trust. There was only profit. I was worth more being alive and paying the man, rather than dead. It was as simple as that. At least in my eyes.
In my eyes, the world was, is, and always will be simple. You offer something that another needs, or you die like the people on the outskirts. Like rats.
With that thought, my consciousness faded.
Thanks for reading!