Chapter 20: Proof of Living
The hands twisted and curled, leaving deep marks underneath.
"Gurgle…"
Murky blood flowed into the windpipe, slowly filling the lungs.
The hand crawled and crawled while moving hysterically along the way. Claws sprouted occasionally before retracting back as if they lost their 'minds'.
"...!"
The eyes opened wide.
"Cough! Cough!"
Coughing up a mouthful of dark red blood without a pause for a few minutes, consciousness recovered along the way with the ability to think.
Immediately, he scratched his nape which was itching greatly. His claws touched the knife. Instinctively removing the knife, he opened up the wound.
It was painful, agonizingly so.
At least, the itching stopped and the stuffy feeling in his throat vanished. Now, he was feeling the nasty taste of the blood on his tongue, but he wasn't unfamiliar with this taste anymore.
"Fuck…"
Cursing, Ashy pushed himself from the ground. He needed to leave quickly. Too much dark blood, too much evidence.
The pain didn't matter, he needed to leave.
He didn't want to die.
Tearing apart his whole shirt, Ashy wiped the blood on his skin and wrapped the shirt around his neck. Then his height shortened in visible pace and his skin melted before taking the appearance of a younger child.
With heavy and wobbly steps similar to the patients with high fever, Ashy struggled for more than an hour before leaning against a wall and sitting on his butt.
"If I got a gold every time I got 'killed' randomly, I would have two golds… it isn't much but it is strange for it to happen two times in a matter of weeks."
Life was cruel in this world. People were killing each other without batting an eye.
'I was too naive thinking about "farming" thugs to become stronger…' Ashy thought before smiling. 'But the ones who shot me in the back and who threw a knife to my neck are also naive, they should have checked properly.'
If they weren't naive, he would die. He was sure about that.
But he is still alive.
And this is what mattered.
'I can't even get angry at the guy who "killed" me, I couldn't even hear their voice let alone see their appearance. All I have is their knife as a clue.' Ashy thought as he inspected the small knife with no special features other than a big "K" engraved in the handle.
With his claws, he shaved off the letter before putting the knife into his pocket.
'I need to get my tag…'
The stab wound in his neck was healing at a fast pace, and while at it, Ashy could feel the essence in his body decreasing. Now, he knew the reason why the Creatures of Darkness didn't die easily. It seemed that, as long as he had essence, he wouldn't die easily as well.
'That is nice to know,' a smile found its place on his face. For some reason, he was smiling a lot in this world. 'Did I lose my mind? Whatever, as long as I survive and live in peace…'
As he quietly rested, his wound closed in a matter of hours. It seemed that flesh wounds healed incomparably faster than bone wounds.
"Anyway…"
Ashy got up and returned to a secluded part of the back streets. A few thugs were blocking his way, smoking cigs and laughing hideously in the middle of the morning. He wasn't in a good mood.
"Can I pass?" Ashy asked, deciding to be polite as a modern man.
"Fuck off, bra—!?"
He wasn't in a good mood.
…
Some time later. Taking out his bag from a hidden spot, Ashy changed into clean clothes and his 'Ashton' persona and appearance.
'Ashton, Ashton, Ashton,' he repeated a few dozen times until he felt like "Ashton".
'I am Ashton, a playful, kind, and friendly man who likes to help people and I also want to become an Eclipsed Walker because I need to go to the Capital of Humanity, Alaric City, to get cleansed by the Tree of Light.' thought 'Ashton' as he smiled.
He was ready to get his tag.
Ashton returned from the way he came as a scent of blood burned his nose.
"Oh, the horror,"
Three corpses were strewn on the ground, painting the ground a mix of red and pink.
"Murdering people in the morning, how horrifying…"
He hopped over the corpses and landed on his toes, avoiding any kind of bodily fluids. Ashton smil— wore a darkened expression. It was such a tragedy how people were killing each other easily. But, it couldn't be helped. This was normal in this twisted dark world.
Ashton made his way towards the gates while helping people on the way with smiles.
"Hop! Be careful, kiddo."
He saved children before they fell.
"Let me help, Ma'am,'
He helped a few women carry heavy things. Although he was suspicious in many people's eyes, his bright smile with pearls-like teeth lowered the guards of the poor who forgot how to smile and were embarrassed to show their teeth.
This was his daily routine for the past week. After all, 'Ashton' liked helping people.
"Hello, sir," approaching the guards that were guarding the city gates, Ashton lifted his hands above his head. "I came for my tag. The name is Ashton."
The Eclipsed Walker guard nodded before taking a knife out. This time, there was no Seeker on the sight. It was fortunate. 'Ashton' always feels tense around them.
"Sir, instead of a blood test, can I only take the essence test? I don't feel so good today." Ashton asked, testing to see if he could avoid the blood test that he didn't like.
"No exceptions. Both tests."
"...alright."
Without any problems, Ashton safely passed the test, although receiving a look of pity from the guards after they saw his so 'tainted' blood and essence.
He finally got the piece of thin metal that was engraved with the name Ashton, commonly known as the dog tag.
Oh so much relieved Ashy was inside. He was anxious for the whole week, thinking that a problem or two might arise or a Champion — powerful than that of Seekers — might find out his identity.
But, it was all of this moment.
Although a tag wasn't so important or hard to get for many, it was proof that there is a 'human' guy called 'Ashton' living here.
Now, wrapping the tag around his wrist, Ashton left through the city gates with lighter steps.
It was the time to see how the world looked outside.
***
"This madness with unknown reason usually starts when Seekers are one step away from becoming Champions. And this is the problem. Handling crazy Walkers is easy but handling crazy Champions and above is not. That is the reason many stop thriving after becoming Seeker, that is the reason our doom is near.
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