"I'm really okay."
"No, no, I'm fine, so you don't need to carry me across the roofs... My body is fine."
In the cold night darkness, Kariel Lohars sighed with helplessness for the first time, looking at the Ghost. He stood stubbornly on the edge of the spire of the "Silverwing Carrion" house and extended his hand to him.
He had been standing in this pose for three minutes.
His intentions were perfectly clear.
"I'm really okay," Kariel repeated. "I'm healthy, no problems."
"Ten minutes ago, your heart wasn't even beating and you weren't breathing..."
The Ghost mumbled:
"That voice said something about "dying again," about "demons"... you must be in as much pain now as you were then."
"…I'm not in pain."
"Really?"
"I never lied to you."
Hearing this, the Ghost frowned and objected loudly:
"You didn't lie, but you didn't tell me either! You sent me to clear out posts, and you came here yourself!"
"..."
Kariel rubbed the bridge of his nose with a headache, sighed heavily, and sat down on the edge of the spire. The night was still long, and he was ready to spend ten minutes resolving this issue before dealing with the Ghost for the last time.
"Okay, Ghost, let's start from the beginning... Are you going to stand there and listen to me, or will you show a little politeness and talk to me?"
The Ghost pursed his lips, walked over, and squatted next to Kariel. Even so, he was significantly taller.
"First, I must apologize," Kariel said. "Sorry, Ghost, for not telling you what I was going to do."
The Ghost did not answer, only nodded. His face was impassive, but Kariel could see his emotions.
It was clear displeasure.
"Second, how did that voice contact you?" Kariel asked casually.
The Ghost blinked and, in five minutes, described how he saw a vision in confusion and how, upon finding Kariel's body, he heard that voice.
He spoke simply, his speech was unpretentious, but extremely clear, without a single missed detail, including his feelings at the time.
Kariel pursed his lips.
"…So you saw my future, in which I died?"
"No! In that vision, you didn't die!"
The Ghost's eyes widened.
"But I saw you covered in blood! You were swimming in it! And Nostramo was engulfed in fire, like blood!"
"Blood..."
Kariel squinted, silently noting this to himself, and moved on to another question:
"Did that voice call you Konrad Curze?"
The Ghost nodded.
"Yes, I even asked him who it was, and he said it was me."
"It seems to be the same person," Kariel thought.
"But I still need to be vigilant. After all, they called him Prometheus... And what about my body? What is it at all?"
Kariel lowered his head and clenched his right hand into a fist. A feeling of unprecedented power spread through his body, different from what he felt when he accepted His power before.
If one could say so... it was warm, like the sun. Kariel didn't know if it was good or bad, and decided to observe before using this power again.
"Did he say anything else?" Kariel asked again.
"He said you would be in a lot of pain," the Ghost replied quickly, then pointed to the roof of a tall building opposite and extended his left hand to Kariel.
"…I'm not in pain," Kariel said powerlessly. "My body is really fine, Ghost."
"Really?"
"Of course, really. I didn't lie... okay, maybe I lied once, I apologize, okay? Sorry."
"Okay, I believe you, Kariel. Oh, he also said that you would pass through the Veil," the Ghost nodded, continuing with satisfaction.
Kariel frowned sharply.
He didn't understand what this Prometheus was thinking. Why did he tell the Ghost about this? Even though he called himself his father, but...
Kariel glanced at the Ghost.
He was looking at him with wide eyes. Pale face, black eyes... he was completely unlike the swarthy man who stood on the plain.
"Not at all alike..." he thought. "Well, in general..."
"And what else?" Kariel asked.
"He said he would come with my brothers."
The Ghost tossed his hair back from his forehead in confusion.
"Who is he anyway? And what brothers? Do you think they look like me, Kariel?"
"How would I know? I didn't even know you had brothers. I thought you were... ugh."
"…Perhaps," Kariel replied impassively. "As for him... he must be your father."
The Ghost's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why are you looking like that?"
"Father?!" the Ghost exclaimed. "Mine?! I'm from a laboratory!"
"..."
Kariel forced himself to hold back a sigh. He didn't want his somewhat suppressed state to affect the Ghost's mood. After all, suddenly learning about the existence of a father and brothers whom you have never seen must be a shock.
Besides, the laboratory version... he told him himself.
He continued his analysis.
"So, judging by everything, you have brothers and a father. This means you might have a family, Ghost... no, Konrad Curze."
Kariel analyzed, frowning:
"Only..."
"What "only," Kariel?"
"Only I don't understand how he became your father," Kariel thought. "Even though he was in shining golden armor and could withstand those creatures, his physique looked quite normal."
"And you... you are so different from humans. At one and a half years old, you were already over three meters tall."
"Nothing, Konrad," Kariel said. "By the way, from now on, I will call you by this name."
"I don't like this name," the Ghost shook his head. "It sounds awkward."
"…Your father gave you this name."
"Didn't you say "must be"? "Must be" means he might be my father, or he might not be, right?"
The Ghost tilted his head.
"If he's not my father, why should I accept this name?"
"…Let's do this."
Kariel couldn't help but smile.
"When he comes, we'll first find out if he's really your father, and then we'll decide whether you accept this name or not. Deal?"
The Ghost nodded, and a satisfied expression finally appeared on his face.
"So, anything else?" Kariel asked. "Did he say anything else?"
"No," the Ghost shook his head, looking a little confused. "He said I saw my brothers in visions... but I don't remember."
"Your brothers... we'll talk about that later. I hope it won't be too difficult with them."
"Why do you think so? You haven't even seen them," the Ghost asked in confusion.
"Because if they are all superhumans like you, then I'm afraid your brothers might have some psychological problems."
"It's inevitable. Even geniuses are often eccentric, let alone true superhumans?"
"Moreover, a person with psychological problems after many years of suffering can become a sociopath and move from self-harm to harming others. If there is such a person among your brothers..."
"Ugh."
"And also, this Prometheus, capable of creating so many superhumans... who is he anyway?"
"Because I'm a pessimist," Kariel replied. "I'm used to looking at everything from a pessimistic point of view."
The Ghost blinked:
"That's not very good, Kariel. You're so negative."
"..."
Kariel stood up irritably, not knowing how to respond to the Ghost's remark.
He quickly changed the subject:
"Okay, the time for chatter is over, and the questions are resolved. Do you have any more questions for me, Ghost?"
"..."
"Ghost?"
"Yes..." the Ghost said, pursing his lips. "Kariel, can you not do that anymore?"
Kariel froze.
And the Ghost continued.
"I don't like pain, so you don't like it either. Nobody likes pain, right?" he said, lowering his head.
Although he was much taller and larger than Kariel, he now looked like a helpless child.
"That voice... my father, probably, said that the pain of resurrection is no less than the pain of a new death. Can you not die anymore?"
"But we are all mortal, Ghost."
Kariel chuckled quietly.
"The meaning of death is to put an end to life. If there were no death, what would be the point of life?"
"The only difference is how you die. To be killed, to be driven to death... it's not the same as dying peacefully."
"What am I even thinking about?"
A quiet chuckle gradually turned into uncontrollable laughter. For the first time on Nostramo, he laughed so sincerely. The Ghost raised his head and looked at him in confusion.
"What's wrong with you, Kariel?"
"Nothing, Ghost," Kariel replied.
"But I can't promise that I won't die. No one can give such a guarantee, human life has a limit. However, I can try to live as long as possible... How about that option?"
The Ghost thought and nodded decisively.
"Great. Then let's go – the last house. We'll deal with them, and we can rest while waiting for developments. By the way, he is not your "must be" father."
Kariel turned and said seriously:
"If you want to express uncertainty about his identity, you should say: "my possible father." Got it?"
"…Oh. So he's my possible father?"
"…If you want to say that, then phrase it differently. In the Nostramo language, it sounds like: "Perhaps he is my father.""
The Ghost nodded obediently and jumped off the gloomy spire with Kariel.
The night watched them silently from above.
***
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