Experience, Lessons, and a Time Bomb

Chapter 8: Experience, Lessons, and a Time Bomb

Stay away from the darkness.

I must. Stay away from the darkness.

But why? The darkness protected me.

It hurts.

Am I bleeding?

Chaotic, jumbled thoughts raced through Wraith's mind. He didn't know if he was still alive. All he felt was pain, and another emotion he wasn't willing to admit to.

He wanted to return to the darkness, to the depths of that mine. It was damp and warm there, with rats to eat and mud to shelter in.

He didn't want to endure this torment. He shouldn't have been treated that way.

But a voice whispered to him, urging him to give up that thought.

Stay away from the darkness, Wraith. That isn't the fate you deserve, it said.

Fate?

The unfamiliar word intruded on his already confused thoughts, making them even more frenzied.

Countless visions surged toward him the next second, claws bared. They seized him with sharp talons and explained the truth they believed in.

"You have no choice, child! You have no choice!"

They roared, their voices as deep as tolling bells and as loud as thunder in the dead of night.

"Foolish dreams! What is ordained cannot be changed. You must obey! You are destined to be drenched in blood and infamous. Only then can you become—"

Become what?

Wraith stared at the twisted scene in confusion. Then light came crashing toward him.

"Awake?"

Wraith abruptly sat up and gasped for breath. Without stopping to think, he scrambled to his feet and crawled back to the corner he knew best, guided by his sense of smell.

It took him more than ten seconds of trembling to realize who had greeted him.

And where he was.

Karyl sat in the darkness, looking at him without expression. "Are you leaning against the wall, Wraith?"

"...What?"

"I said, are you leaning against the wall?"

"Yes," Wraith replied, trembling. "I'm leaning against the wall."

His shoulders were shaking uncontrollably. The fear brought on by his hallucinations still hadn't faded. He didn't know what those things had been, and he didn't want to know. He just wanted to forget them.

"Come here," Karyl said. "Stop leaning against that wall. That position is bad for your injury."

"No, I don't want to—"

Wraith instinctively tried to refuse. He didn't want to leave this corner. To him, it was as comforting as the bottom of the mine.

But all his instincts vanished the moment he saw Karyl's eyes.

Neon light filtered through the holes in the broken door, splintered into irregular fragments by the wood. The scattered lights fell across half of Karyl's face, making his pale features look like a bizarre painting.

His eyes were glowing.

Wraith stopped trembling.

"Come here, Wraith," Karyl repeated softly. "Don't lean against the wall."

This time, Wraith obeyed.

He bent over and carefully moved away from the corner. Pain in his back made it hard to walk, and something sticky ran down his spine.

Blood, my blood, Wraith thought.

He pressed his lips together, miserable.

"Your injury is serious." Karyl tilted his head, seeming somewhat unconcerned. "They hit you with a Grappling Hook Gun. That thing is used for hunting. You're lucky."

"Hunting...?"

"Yeah. There are plenty of people outside the city who were thrown out because they couldn't pay. They struggle to survive out there, and the price is becoming no different from beasts."

"So the nobles invented a new kind of entertainment. The gangs like to take part too, though not alongside the nobles. They call the whole thing 'going with the tide.' Interesting, isn't it?"

He laughed, but there was no amusement in his eyes.

"It isn't interesting," Wraith murmured. "What's a Grappling Hook Gun?"

"That thing is terrifying, Wraith." Karyl smiled and shook his head.

"It explodes the moment it hits. The arrowhead shatters into more than a dozen pieces, each with a cruel barb. They catch in the prey's flesh and bones and dig in as far as they can. So your back is a real mess right now."

Am I going to die? Wraith asked silently. He didn't say anything, but his expression told Karyl enough.

"No, you won't," Karyl said. "Actually, in just a few hours, the wounds that are still bleeding will start to scab over, Wraith."

"..."

Wraith didn't answer. He just sat down in silence. He seemed a little dejected, and Karyl didn't miss it.

He was rarely wrong. In fact, he was almost never wrong.

"You're upset?" Karyl asked.

Wraith raised his head and glanced at him, then lowered it again. "...Does that mean I can't get an answer to my question?"

"Yes."

"...I forgot to close the window," Wraith said ruefully. "They... reacted so fast."

"Are you trying to make excuses for yourself, Wraith?"

"..."

Karyl couldn't help laughing at Wraith's reaction, though there was little genuine joy in it.

It was more like he was mocking himself.

You were hit by something that could tear an adult apart, then fell from a rooftop more than ten meters high and got dragged along the ground.

Your flesh was hauled along by the combined power of three motorcycles—then you lost nearly a whole bucket of blood in the acid rain.

And you still didn't die. You could even be called healthy.

Your injury will be healed in just a few hours.

You're a terrifying monster, Wraith. And yet, somehow, you have a heart only a human could have.

What am I supposed to do with you?

Karyl's smile slowly faded. He stopped speaking and gazed at Wraith, his expression gradually settling into calm.

After a while, he spoke again.

"For a beginner, you did well. You got past the guards and the sentry on the roof. You opened the window without making a sound."

"You killed those three leaders in less than a minute. All of that was good."

"But don't look at me like that, Wraith," Karyl said calmly. "I'm not praising you. You're not a beginner anymore."

Wraith nodded dejectedly, agreeing with Karyl. He didn't argue because he knew Karyl was right.

Karyl was always right.

He lowered his head again.

"You started this job six months ago. You're not a beginner, Wraith. You've killed plenty of scum, but you still haven't learned the most important lesson in this line of work."

"You must always be cautious, Wraith. Remember what I'm telling you: stay cautious at all times."

"If killing the person in front of you would expose you, don't strike. If you don't know where the enemy is, wait until they show themselves before you act. If you don't know what's in the darkness, don't go in."

"But—"

"No buts, Wraith," Karyl said gently. "Listen. If you don't understand, write it down. You'll understand eventually, and you have to. I don't have much time left. You have to learn all of this."

Wraith's eyes widened. For the first time, he seemed utterly caught off guard.

"What does that mean?" he asked rapidly. "Why don't you have time? Are you leaving?"

"No, I'm not leaving. I don't have much time because I'm going to die," Karyl replied calmly.

"But you're perfectly healthy!"

Wraith spoke urgently. "I can tell. I know a lot of things, Karyl—you won't die. I know that, just like I know how long I've been alive! Do you know how long you've been alive?"

Karyl didn't answer.

Wraith's incoherent rambling made him laugh again, though his smile was pale. Then he changed the subject.

"Do you know what a time bomb is, Wraith?"

"It's a rather interesting little device. An ordinary bomb explodes within seconds of being triggered. A time bomb is different."

"Someone sets a specific time for it, a countdown that keeps ticking. The moment the countdown reaches zero, it explodes."

Wraith watched him, deeply unsettled, waiting for him to continue.

"And I have a countdown of my own," Karyl said. "There are two problems. First, I don't know when the countdown will end. I can't see the exact numbers, only sense it vaguely."

"Second, I'm much more dangerous than a time bomb. I can sense it—and so can you, Wraith. Remember? You said the power I use was dangerous. It is."

Wraith bared his teeth in anger at Karyl's words. His teeth were even and white, though acid rain had sullied his face and his own blood had stained him. But Karyl could see the truth.

Beneath all that grime, Wraith was perfect.

Without a doubt, he wasn't human.

And yet, at that moment, he was angry.

"You said a time bomb was set by someone!" Wraith shouted. "A countdown? Who set yours? I'll find him. I'll kill him!"

His anger crashed over Karyl. Karyl narrowed his eyes, sensing an unmistakable, dreadful threat.

Wraith wasn't hostile toward him. In fact, his anger was meant to protect him. But even the mere aftershock of it made Karyl want to swing his blade.

Perfect, perfect, Wraith. You can change this world.

"Relax, Wraith," Karyl said with a smile. "Nobody set a countdown for me. In fact, if you insist on finding someone to blame, that person can only be me."

"...What?"

Karyl didn't explain. Instead, he chose another way to make himself understood.

"Everything in this world has a price, Wraith. Some prices are obvious; others are hidden."

"Take the power I use, for example. It's convenient, fast to respond, and so powerful it doesn't have to follow the logic of reality. It can even summon a wandering soul from somewhere in the universe."

"And the price is often tied to these things."

"It's changing me, Wraith," Karyl said softly, almost dreamily.

"I can sense the subtle changes taking place. And based on my experience, the price I have to pay for such immense power must be staggering."

Wraith looked at him in confusion, completely unable to understand what he was talking about. That was just as well. Karyl didn't want to lay out the whole truth in half an hour.

Some things had to be taught through action. Wraith was already wary of the world, but in a place like Nostramo, he still wasn't wary enough.

He was still too naive.

He should treat his enemies with ruthless resolve, and before deciding to act, he should regard them as the most terrifying monsters in the world.

The way a person treated the world should depend on how the world treated them. If the world kissed you with pain, you didn't have to answer with a song.

But you didn't have to burn the world down either.

"Keep resting, Wraith."

Karyl stood up. "Your first solo hunt wasn't a complete failure, but you didn't succeed either. As for the answer to your question, I'll consider giving it to you later."

"Where are you going?" Wraith asked.

Karyl turned back with a faint, knowing smile. "Where do you think? To return the car? The night in Nostramo never ends, Wraith, and your botched hunt still needs to be wrapped up."

Wraith silently watched him leave. For the first time, the dark corner no longer felt so comfortable.