"Mmmmm…." The host hummed.
Staring long in uncomfortable silence as if two kids carried guilty expressions.
Slam!
Then slammed the door shut.
"Corrin!" Minho snapped, his sharp voice drowning out any nervousness from earlier. "You're cutting it quite close aren't you? Open the door or I'm going to blow this open!"
"You don't have any explosives…" A voice muffled on the other side.
"I'll find some of yours!"
There was no response at first.
But then came a series of faint clicks from the other side of the door, as though someone were unlocking an absurd number of bolts. It was at that moment that Hope caught a faint glow of a security camera nestled above the frame—its mechanical eye whirring as it zoomed in on each of them in turn.
Crrrrr–
The door creaked open again, enough to reveal a shadowed outline of Corrin. The infamous tech Awakened Hope had stubbornly tried to find all day.
His wiry frame was silhouetted by an eerie glow of an unknown source inside. Sneaking past was a stifling smell of burnt plastic and musk sweat.
"The Awakened Minho…" Corrin croaked. A gravelly voice as if it hadn't been spoken for days.
Hope's eyes adjusted to the shadows and noticed it was a man in his 50s. One with a scratchy beard, smudged glasses, and a low unkempt ponytail. A chronis mess of an appearance that looked like an office worker had never left their cubicle.
His bloodshot eyes darted from Minho to Prince.
Then narrowingly on Hope.
"Who's the stiff…? You bring me a government rat to put me in a grave?" As they locked eyes again, the grumpy man shivered. "I like to know who's invading my space…"
"Some baggage we picked up. Ok?" Minho retorted as he shoved the instruction papers back into his Memory pouch.
Hope blinked a couple of times.
Government rat…Because he was wearing a Special Force uniform? These two Awakened didn't wear one like his since they had Memories, but still.
"Isn't he talking about you guys too?"
"That's different."
'Different how?'
Because he wasn't at their caliber? Whatever the case may be.
Hope shrugged. "I'm the baggage."
Corrin frowned as he surveyed Hope from head to toe. "A beaten up one at that…"
Slam!
The door shut again.
But then another sound of clicks and a vibrating hum resounded.
'In this monster-infested city, he's as paranoid as a person should be.'
The door opened again, and this time Corrin waved them inside, the gesture alone taking him too much energy.
"Try not to trip over anything…"
The two Awakened let out a heavy sigh.
The tension now vaporized as if they'd dodged an invisible bullet.
Minho stepped inside first muttering under his breath. But as Hope followed in pursuit, his body felt anchored in place as if rejecting his will to move.
'What the–'
Hope peered back at Prince.
But instead of returning the stare, his eyes glazed over the city.
Hope caught him like that several times as they traveled up the tower. Brows furrowed, fingers twitched, and feet shifting as if wanting to leap himself. But for a different reason.
He might've been holding onto Hope to keep him from running away, but it seemed like he was convincing himself not to take action.
Hope looked away.
He had an idea of what was on his mind. His eyes were tethered to one spot specifically.
Strange. For someone who looked concerned, this meeting with Corrin seemed to be a higher priority than his morale. Minho did say they had business with him as well. Whatever it could be…
"The kids should be fine," Hope said. "They're more capable than you think."
Prince snapped from his daze. The night wind breezed against them as he looked quizzically down at Hope.
"Besides, they know more about survival than people give them credit for."
Ah. Prince mouthed.
"..." It was awkward to stare at Prince's face for too long. The contact sparked unnecessary memories of a dead person. Why did Hope have to meet an imposter?
'I suppose those strays were telling the truth afterall…in their own way.'
Hope didn't want to start entertaining their ideology though.
'Tsk.'
"Now let go."
"...!"
Hope swatted Prince's hands off his arm.
***
The first ten paces in the room were dark. Trapped with shadow. Walking into a den where the only light teased ahead.
The group shuffled into a cluttered sanctuary of tech and chaos. Tables were littered with disassembled electronics—wire bundles, circuit boards, half-assembled drones, and ominous sleek bomb casings. A horde of junk at first glance, though must've been a treasure mine in another's eyes.
But one bomb prototype caught Hope's eye.
It seemed to be a new project Corrin had started on with fresh scratches and smudge work.
And the type of bombs he was building were the exact same ones placed inside the fallen tower where Hope fought the Fallen.
And set a number of them off.
"..."
Hope decided to ignore it and move on.
The rest of the room took a moment to absorb where the source of the light was revealed: computer screens of all sizes piled on one wall, a display of fragmented streams of data, documents, grainy camera feeds, an energy pulse reading. And there was the accompaniment of dizzying arrays of cables snaking towards stacks of hard drives.
"...where did you say you picked…this up?"
"Where that family was supposed to be actually," Minho said in a low tone.
A sour expression filled Prince as well. Corrin distractedly fixed a monitor.
"Ahhh…that…did happen…" There was a forced dismissal tone in Corrin's words. Nobody else pushed the topic.
The dead were dead. What could one do about it?
Or any form of them should be dead…
Hope thought as he watched Prince from his peripheral.
Questions. Questions…that were annoying to think about.
Hope then tilted his head as he stared at a couple of the screens, noticing something a bit abnormal from all the others. It was like a report of a monster incident…but livelier and descriptive as if there was a conversation between the lines.
That should be an easy question to answer.
"What's that?"
"What's what…"
Corrin froze as he noticed what Hope was referring to.
Slowly he turned his head toward him, as though he'd just been asked the most important question of his life.
And he looked more than capable of answering.
But Hope felt like he should regret opening that door.
Because a strange, energetic smile stretched across Corrin's face.
"Oh why…That's– That's a novel! You've noticed? I finally got some more media in my life! The old hag…She finally remembered another story she read long ago! Plus! I also got another one added to my collection. Honestly, when you're in an exclusive city that's a ticking time bomb like this one, it's hard to find anything worth pleasuring these days."
Hope watched him rant in a surprising spur of passion.
'A novel?'
Hope rarely saw fiction books anywhere growing up. Let alone read one. Textbooks and documents were a different matter. But it was through other's chatter that he learned of outlandish tales: dragons and knights, man slaying a ferocious Titan, a hero sacrificing his life for the good of humanity. Ridiculous acts.
But Hope was also told these types of books trapped people's minds in an endless cycle of intoxicating dreams. Who would want that in this Spell cursed world?
"Oh no…" Minho groaned.
"..."
Even this annoying Awakened sensed a troubling wave.
Corrin's bagged eyes were more prominent against the monitors as he pointed at the screen.
"This is important! I've finally saturated my core enough to be able to reach this novel internationally! Do you know how hard it is to find anything good to read these days? The author of this one updates twice a week–twice! I'm all caught up! Funny how people say they want to live in an apocalypse under the comments. Do they really? No! If that's true, then they should switch places with me! I only want to read it. Not live it!"
"You're doing this now?" Minho growled.
Hope saw a strange fire in Corrin's eyes.
Step.
'Too much energy–'
!!!
Hope took a step back just as Corrin took one urgent step forward.
"Have you read any new stories lately, stiff? Those two can't even recall a book! Let alone a summary. Are all uniform's intelligence only made for combat?"
"Huh…"
"If I…" His shoulders trembled. "If I'm going to let this uniform rat stay any longer, then he must be worth sharing any passion with me!"
Hope took a larger step back.
"Don't compare me to that guy!" Minho barked back.
That was his concern?
Corrin balled his hands into a fist. "If it wasn't for our negotiations, I would have blown you guys up!"
"You dare–!"
'Sigh…'
Hope couldn't help but internally sigh. Why did he have to deal with more idiots?
He dropped his head before lifting it back up again. Their two dark silhouettes were like ridiculous puppet shadows against the screens.
He then raised a hand. "I have not read any fiction novels myself."
Everyone strangely froze. The silence in the room thickened from his answer, minus the hum from the computers. Hope thought the silence was odd.
'…My [Black Sheep] Attribute must be a scam. Like hell I want to be seen like this.'
Corrin paused. No. For a precise image, it seemed like Hope had broken him the way he twitched like a glitched screen. As if Hope committed a mortal sin. "What! Alright. Who is this guy?! What baggage did you let me in!"
"...!" Prince anxiously stood beside them and waved his hands.
Minho gritted his teeth. "He's a–"
"No. Never mind. He needs redemption…" Corrin muttered as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "What kind of stories do you like? Hmm? If you started anywhere, what would it be? Fantasy? Action? Romance? Horror? It has to be action. No. Mystery–"
"I don't care."
Corrin froze again.
Huh. The reaction reminded Hope of that saying: Strike Two.
Strike Three and he might actually be dead.
"You…don't care?"
Should Hope answer that?
"Fine! How about this! Something interesting…" Corrin pointed dramatically at him. "If the person you loved was bitten on the leg by a zombie, would you cut it off?!"
Minho snapped. "What does THAT have to do with anything–"
"What happens if they get bit?" Hope asked.
"Huh? Well. They get infected of course! Then they get turned into a zombie…"
Hope had many other questions, but he wanted to get this done and over with.
'Well logically then–'
"Yeah. I'd cut it off."
Corrin threw his hands up. "He can stay!"
"Because of that?!"
"..!" Prince quickly inserted himself in between and began waving frantically. First at Corrin, then at Hope, as though trying to physically blow away the chaos.
Corrin squinted at him. "What. What's he doing?"
"Telling us to relax…"
"Trying to mediate."
Hope and Minho sat at the same time.
Hope didn't have to turn to see the strange daggers in Minho's eyes. Hope was going to speak again, but Prince snatched his wrist and dragged him close to him and Corrin.
Prince pointed out the injuries on Hope's chest and shoulders, his dark eyes whipping back and forth to make sure they were paying attention. It almost seemed like he was pressing an invisible elevator as he did so.
There was no need to be fanatic about it though. Hope did need to get patched up, but he wasn't dying.
It wasn't like he was swallowed by a Fallen.
"Ahhh…I suppose it is worse than it looks. Hmm…Hard to tell with blood on black. But he stands so upright that I thought he was faking it…" Corrin muttered, the once excitement visibly disappeared from his tone.
"Tch. Alright go lick your wounds, Hope. And you? You have to explain yourself. And why you waited so bloody long to contact us!"
Corrin waved his hand in annoyance. "Procrastination…is my strong suit…"
"At this time?!"
"Stiff, go in the other room to get patched up. Strip there whatever into a new shirt. If you do anything to my room, I'll know…" His voice crooned.
"...!?" Prince's mouth dropped.
Hope stared unimpressed.
'Whatever then.'
Hope paused.
'Well, if I leave the room and they start talking about something else…'
Then they would forget about him. Or pieces of him. Even if he asked someone to assist him, that was one out of three.
Ah dammit. Any long interaction with someone was becoming increasingly cumbersome. It was ideal to survive alone at most, but there was no doubt that when he needed to compromise, his Flaw was a mocking devil on his shoulder.
Hope resolved his thoughts.
He looked back up.
"It's fine. I'll just strip right here."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Hope studied each of their faces.
Six eyes gazed mutely at him. Their faces lit like pallid ghosts from the monitors.
"Let me explain–" He began.
"Have you no shame?!"
"I knew most government rats are undignified but this is too much…"
Prince facepalmed.
Hope sighed as the three were circled around him. The room was stifling and hot compared to the outside that Hope felt it suffocating. Hope then undid his collar. "I'm just going to remove my shirt—"
"Can you just wait a moment?!"
Corrin pushed up his glasses again with a regrettable expression. "Minho…who did you say this Stiff was…?"
"Argh…a lost duckling of the ambushed convoy who was looking for you. Also was about to jump to his death. What am I supposed to do with that?"
'Not overreact.'
Hope paused. Then looked down at himself and tugged on his uniform, noticing something strange about it.
Prince also tilted his head and observed the action.
"…if you bring another strange specimen to my home…N-not only is he shameless but he doesn't even read any novels…"
"Oi! Speaking of which, how can you even read internationally? Doesn't that mean you've finally worked out a way of relaying a message for us?"
'It's worse than I thought.'
Hope thought as he flipped open a pocketknife.
Corrin scratched his scruffy chin. "Ahhhhhh…about that—"
"Hey!"
"…?"
Hope blinked as he was about to cut through his shirt. Prince's expression also changed in real time. His shoulders sagged as he froze mid-reach for the knife when Hope stopped. It seemed like he couldn't handle Hope's behavior either.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Fabric's melted."
"...fabric's melted…On you? From what!"
"…"
Hope's mind began reeling from the question alone as a spew of memories rippled like the early noon's storm. How the rain sobbed and the sky mirrored beneath his feet as he endured the Fallen's assaults. And of course, how he tipped off a number of bombs.
"About that."
***
"THAT was you?" Corrin was pacing around the room. His feet swimmingly moved over the snaked wires as he processed Hope's brief summary. "You…you bombed my building?"
"I did."
"How did you- Why did-"
"Thought it was the fastest route."
"Do you...seriously wish to die?"
"That's not-"
"Did you even kill my Fallen?!"
His Fallen? "No I-"
"Hold on," Minho's eyebrows raised. "Is that why there's a Fallen in the subway tunnels? Because of you?"
Ah. So that was what came of the Fallen Creature when it fell off the edge. Hope didn't think much else but of escaping. But for them to interact with the Fallen within the day was something he didn't predict. What an unfortunate discovery to come face with the serpent, carrying a demonic face with eyes for evil suns.
What else could he say?
Hope looked back and answered.
"Yeah. My doing."
"…oh...my work…"
Corrin muttered, glancing down at his project already preparing for the bombs' replacement.
At that moment, Hope sat next to a worktable topless amidst the piles of scrap tech, blueprints, and cables. His left arm and torso were splotched with melted fabric like layers of new skin. And to add on the injuries, red slashes stretched across his chest and shoulders like grim smiles. How worse they could've been if he hadn't used [Pearls of the Moon] earlier.
'I'd have to use it later too. At least, enough to move comfortably again.'
Plick.
Plick.
Prince inaudibly sighed as he sat beside him, his movements efficient and light as he used a couple of Corrin's instruments to peel away the fragments. A lamp lit beside them like an operation light that made the Awakened's hair glint gold.
Plick.
Hope's arm twitched from a sting.
But this guy was strange too. Hope really couldn't figure him out...
He may have explained that the suicide note was a part of his reasoning for coming after him. But that didn't clear much of anything. Right now, he was treating him like a patient as if he had a moral duty to do so. Or some naivety for Hope's pitiful state. In contrast to when he had mightily swung his sword like one would against a Nightmare Creature.
That would mean his Aspect told him something...but what...? Was he something of a scout then?
'What's your Aspect huh?'
Prince's dark eyes then paused on Hope's arm, pulling Hope's eyes also in that direction.
A fresh thick red bump ridged down his skin like a skinny spine. Not from a Fallen. But from a sword.
'From our fight.'
It was from the moment when Hope found an opening on Prince and advanced despite knowing he'd get hurt in the process.
It wasn't like Hope had forgotten the wound. But he detached himself from it as well as many other hidden wounds that weren't as pronounced as the Fallen's. Rather than being smoldered by pain, one had to consciously measure the amount of attention to a wound. A simple change in viewing the cut belonging to someone else instead.
Hope looked away.
"I just need the location of Sector 5 and I'll be on my way."
Peril or promise. Whatever they saw in him, it seemed like Hope was getting more on their unfavorable side.
Asking any further favors didn't seem like a wise choice.
But a reaction then came unexpectedly.
"Sector 5…?"
Corrin's body went rigid
It was as if he was spooked.
No. Maybe spooked wasn't the right word. But a stunned realization sparked a similar excitement in his eyes.
Hope didn't like the sight.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Time the fuck out." Minho crossed his arms into an 'X'. "That's why you're here? You want to slide into that goddamn settlement, and slide back out all happy dandy with your friends? Yeah. No. I don't think so."
"Actually…this might be helpful…"
Corrin had a mischievous smile as his smudged glasses glinted.
"..."
'What?'
Helpful...to the Awakened's favor. Not him. Meaning, Hope would have to do something on his terms. Not good not good.
"I–" Corrin raised his arms, his voice carrying a new beat. "–have found a way to contact your Command, soldiers!"
Hope felt something shift inside him.
They couldn't contact Command? His teammates had the exact same problem after the monster's raid. They presumed it was because of the gate's interference, but if this cohort was struggling with the samething, then maybe it was something else?
'Or maybe the gate is still open in this city. But it shouldn't be that strong could it?'
"This whole week you haven't–!?"
Corrin ignored Minho.
"No need to point fingers now…Look. No need to explode yet either! Haha. I thought this whole week saturating my core was the solution to broadening my powers. But I realized recently…there's a difference between having power and not having any link to use for it!" He waved at the chaotic mess around them. "I can…create all sorts of devices and study the mechanics of cameras or whatever old technology. But spelltech…is a different matter…that's magic against magic! And something that I'm not innately talented in. What I need…is all the support I can get from external forces."
Hope didn't like where this was going.
Spelltech.
The cross of man's work and Spell's gifted powers. The intangible whispers of magic sculpted into engineering. It was this element of many other found revelations that helped fortified cities thrive out of the ashes. Whether it was merged in infrastructures or weaponry, this innovation also sparked a hungry desire for power. What should've been uplifting and defensive against monsters, was becoming a battle within the human ranks. And Hope didn't understand what obstacle Corrin was describing that sounded as if it concerned Hope.
There was the hint of help that Hope would receive on his end. But there was a whole other trap also built for him.
Maybe his avoidance of their problems was becoming too big to ignore.
He felt like he was at its mouth waiting to be swallowed.
A flux of ideas swirled in Corrin's eyes and he began muttering as if saying a chant:
"And yes…of course…locked out of the system….but accessing Sector 5's hub….oh but we have to talk of strategy so there's a chance we can reach the main comms…."
Hope couldn't catch most of what Corrin said, but Minho stood close by and narrowed his eyes at each uttered word.
"Don't tell me what I think you're saying." He scowled.
Did this concern Hope's teammates' safety to know this sort of information?
If it did, then he may have to find out what this unprecedented inconvenience was…
Hope's fingers twitched before speaking:
"What…exactly are you guys referring to?"
Everyone paused and looked at him. Even Prince stopped plucking the fabric and studied Hope.
Was the answer obvious?
Minho frowned as he stared back at Hope.
"Well, I've got good news and bad news since our lives depend on it. Good news, the government has planned to send aid and offer asylum. Bad news? If we don't make contact, then they'll sterilize everything."
"..."
No, it wasn't that obvious.
— ตอนใหม่กำลังมาในเร็วๆ นี้ — เขียนรีวิว
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