Rain... night.
A rainy night.
An ordinary word, ordinary weather, a word that had become almost synonymous with Nostramo.
Kariel opened his eyes.
No, he wasn't asleep.
In fact, peaceful and deep sleep had long since abandoned him. Unlike ordinary people, when he closed his eyes, he saw not a soothing and deep darkness.
He saw much, but not peace.
Pushing himself up, Kariel looked a little bewildered. The muscle pain and bone aches had receded. Nevertheless, he still took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
This had become a kind of habit for him. Besides, he needed to maintain his composure to deal with whatever might happen next.
The aristocrats wouldn't let this go easily; Kariel knew this better than anyone.
"It's noisy outside."
The Ghost said this from the corner.
He was squatting and lightly poking a wooden plank picked up from a junkyard with his right index finger. When he wasn't exerting himself, his nails weren't that sharp. Therefore, the plank remained intact for now.
But what would happen next was unknown.
At that moment, neon light flashed outside, and its bright rays penetrated the room through the window.
Thanks to this, Kariel clearly saw the Ghost's dirty, matted black hair falling onto his pale forehead. It looked terrible.
He frowned.
"Really?"
"Yes... it's a strange night today, Kariel."
The Ghost raised his head and blinked.
"I went to the seventeenth one, observed. The residence of the 'Crimson Finale' has already been occupied by others... they haven't fought for it for many days, as before. This is very strange."
"The seventeenth?" Kariel asked.
He didn't pay attention to the key information provided by the Ghost yet, but instead asked about something seemingly insignificant.
"The seventeenth gargoyle," the Ghost lowered his head and replied quietly. "I like it."
"Ah, so you're giving them names again... and what exactly do you like about it?"
"Huh?"
"What exactly do you like about it?"
The Ghost, after hesitating, raised his head again. He grabbed the plank, waved it in his hand, and then answered Kariel's question.
"It has... it has a very smooth surface?"
"Answer confidently, Ghost," Kariel smiled slightly. "When a person expresses their likes or dislikes, they should be firm."
"It has a very smooth surface," the Ghost said, straightening up. Even his voice became louder.
"And what else?"
"...It's very new? It's very new, Kariel."
The Ghost smiled. He wasn't used to this expression yet, so it looked stiff. But it was progress.
"It's very new," the Ghost repeated. "I like it."
"So, you prefer new gargoyles?"
"No, not exactly," the Ghost shook his head, still holding the plank. "I've already found the eighteenth and nineteenth, but I still like the seventeenth the most."
"Then why?"
"Because..."
The Ghost's voice broke off. He looked at Kariel bewildered, not knowing what to say next. He couldn't find any more reasons.
'What a poor ability to express thoughts.'
'While you carried me back, you listed twenty-three different ways to cook rats non-stop, and none of my requests to shut up worked. And now you can't name a third reason why you like the seventeenth gargoyle.'
Looking at the Ghost, two thoughts flashed through Kariel's mind.
'Incomplete mind' and...
"Do you remember your past, Ghost?" Kariel asked.
"Huh?"
"The past. Your past."
The Ghost replied to Kariel with an expression of extreme bewilderment.
Sighing quietly, Kariel had to repeat his question, adding details.
He had already understood that when talking to the Ghost, it was better to avoid metaphors and allusions.
"Before you met me... or rather, before you ended up in that mine where there were many rats, it was very warm and full of dirt, where were you?"
"..."
The Ghost did not answer immediately. He frowned and thought. Kariel did not rush him. He could see from the Ghost's face how hard he was trying, so the result was not so important.
Of course, if the Ghost could tell something, it would be wonderful.
Kariel could understand one thing even with his toe – the Ghost was definitely not born naturally, neither as a human nor as any other creature. And this worried him greatly.
"I..."
"M?"
"Fire... and also, I fell."
The Ghost said this quietly, and now he didn't look like the naive monster Kariel knew at all.
His body trembled, his face too, the muscles under his skin twitched continuously, as if in a seizure, but the Ghost himself didn't notice.
Or he noticed but couldn't stop.
Kariel frowned seriously and clenched his teeth. He had already understood what was happening and prepared himself. Honestly, he already regretted asking this question.
In fact, he regretted it very much.
"Twenty..." the Ghost continued with difficulty, his voice trembling.
At that moment, something stirred in his dark eyes. Like rotted bones, swallowed by a swamp, they desperately tried to see the light again.
Kariel sharply clenched his fists. A bad premonition arose in his heart.
He tensed his muscles and said quietly,
"Enough, Ghost."
"...Fate! Fate!"
The Ghost roared piercingly, veins bulging on his neck.
Then he screamed and fell backward.
"No! No! I don't belong to that place! I don't want to return to the darkness!"
Screaming, the Ghost fell heavily to the floor, his dark eyes still staring at the ceiling of the Sanctuary. His body convulsed in agonizing spasms.
Kariel's preparation worked. The moment the Ghost fell, he jumped towards him, grabbed his hand with his right hand, and was about to lift him... but at that moment, Kariel felt as if struck by lightning.
He heard some sounds.
'Wait, were those really sounds?'
'Or was it just his imagination?' Amidst the piercing noise and terrible whispers penetrating through the Veil, Kariel painfully released his hand. Endless numbness and pain emanated from the point of contact.
The Ghost was still screaming, and he...
'No.'
Trembling, Kariel exhaled a cloud of icy vapor. An icy blue light flashed in his eyes. And then, in a surge of ruthless cold and icy tremor, he felt...
Them.
Something from another world, another dimension.
With inhuman, crushing force, like a collapsing building, they descended upon his mind, trying to tear from the depths of Kariel Loxars' soul, the fallen aristocrat of Nostramo, his most cherished secrets.
They were full of malice; they shrieked and plunged tiny, poisoned blades into Kariel's heart.
They craved his past, his history, his desires... not yet knowing everything, they already promised him everything – from worldly riches to boundless power, they even showed him a transformed Nostramo.
But Kariel Loxars was not here.
"Get out of here," the Ghost said in a trembling but firm voice. "I have nothing to give you. I have no desires that you can control..."
The Ghost extended his right hand and swiftly grabbed the Ghost.
"Get out! Get out!" he roared, and the radiance in his eyes was brighter than ever. "Away from him!"
...
"Kariel? Kariel? Wake up!"
The Ghost's alarmed cry made Kariel tiredly open his eyes. He wanted to say something, but his dry, stuck-together lips wouldn't obey.
'Do I not even have the strength for this?' he thought with bitter irony.
"Kariel?!"
Shaking, shaking, shaking... then the Ghost, trembling, lifted him and very carefully, gently, sat him on that very broken chair. A light breeze blew.
Kariel saw that the Ghost was fanning him with that rotten plank. He pursed his lips, his eyes wide open, and his face paler than any Nostramo resident.
"...Don't," Kariel managed to say with difficulty.
"You're alive!"
'Yes, I'm alive, but if you scream like that a couple more times, I might die... I will truly die.'
Kariel looked at the Ghost powerlessly, and at that moment, the Ghost unexpectedly showed uncharacteristic insight.
He understood everything from one look. The Ghost
The Rak fell silent at once and, clutching the leg of the chair, froze.
Of course, this couldn't last long.
After a brief silence, Ghost spoke cautiously.
"Are... are you alright, Kariel?"
"...Water," Kariel managed with difficulty.
Ghost jumped up and, with inhuman speed, kicked the door open and ran out. Kariel knew where he was going – there was a small rainwater filter on the roof of the Sanctuary.
Three seconds later, Ghost returned, carrying in his hand, hidden by the fold of his robe, a tin mug with a chipped rim. He slowly brought it to Kariel's lips.
Obviously, he hadn't forgotten that it was raining outside.
"Are you alright?" Ghost asked cautiously.
"Better... and thank you for bringing the water, Ghost," Kariel said. "And sorry for asking you that question."
"..." Ghost silently pursed his lips and lowered his head.
"Lift your head," Kariel said softly. "Don't act like you're at fault for something... you did excellently."
Ghost lifted his head and looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was talking about.
Kariel just smiled slightly.
"You did excellently, if you heard their voices the whole time..."
He sighed.
"But I still have something to tell you... lift your head."
"Oh."
"From now on, if you feel the same way as you do now on a solo mission," Kariel said slowly, "no matter what you're doing, come to me immediately."
Ghost flinched slightly, and then his face visibly brightened.
"Your countdown won't reach zero?!"
"...Is it raining outside?"
Kariel turned his head towards the open door. He could have seen the truth himself, but he still asked the question, not even forgetting to close his eyes.
"Huh?"
"Is it raining outside, Ghost?"
"It is, Kariel... won't your countdown reach zero?"
"...Heavy rain?"
"Not really. But will your countdown reach zero?"
"..."
It was raining on Nostramo that night too, but not heavily.
***
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