The darkening streets of Veritas suggested that it was time to find a place for accommodation. Thankfully, there was a hotel near the communal stables, where Rascal and all of their luggage were currently being held hostage.
Compared to Marque’s cheap motel, the hotel in Veritas was a palace fit for royalty. Polished marble and professional porters replaced mouldy wood and drunk patrons. Though, the receptionist wasn’t nearly as charming as Lysandra’s sleep-induced drool on the counter. And Raine doubted that a receptionist working at a highly esteemed hotel would be stabbing members of the Order of Truth.
Perhaps it was because of the several nights spent in a dingy tent, but the bed in their hotel room felt like sleeping on clouds. They fell asleep as soon as their head hit the luxurious silk pillows, and didn’t wake up a single time during the night.
For the first time, Raine awoke at the same time as Nikolay. He attributed it to the first decent sleep that he’d experienced since landing in Kosira. To his surprise, Nikolay stayed back in the vessel and allowed Raine to take control.
This is a pleasant change from the previous establishment we slept in.
You don’t say, Raine yawned. Veritas is as posh as it looked from the outside.
He rolled out of bed unceremoniously, dragging the weighted blanket down with him. When he finally untangled himself from the bed, Raine stood uncertainly in the middle of their room. The concept of a morning routine had never existed for Raine, even before the whole prophecy business. To hammer in this habit, Nikolay had always taken care of the tasks before Raine even woke up.
Raine frantically racked his brain for a plausible thing to do before Nikolay caught onto his apparent cluelessness.
He was far too late for that, unfortunately.
Are you still half-asleep?
Heat rushed to their cheeks, to Raine’s dismay. But the more that he tried to quell the feeling, the hotter their face became. Thank god that there wasn’t a mirror in sight — he would have collapsed out of sheer embarrassment.
Why did Raine even care about Nikolay’s opinion of him, anyway? He was pretty sure that embarrassing himself would yield the exact same reaction from Nikolay as solving world hunger. That being a blank expression, with a hint of pity and disappointment.
No. I was just about to move.
Take your time.
It was impossible to tell whether Nikolay was being sarcastic or genuine, just from the flat tone of his voice. That was the second most infuriating thing about him, the first thing being his tendency to be so goddamn attractive whenever he showed basic human decency.
Fuck. He said that he wouldn’t think about Nikolay like that, didn’t he? It was tough being gay and desperate in these trying times.
I meant what I said earlier, but try not to act like a braindead moron when you’re staring slack-jawed at the wall.
Raine scowled at said wall. Right.
He shifted his attention towards a physical activity to busy himself. The door into the bathroom caught his attention first. Using the wall to guide his sleepy form, Raine stumbled his way across the room and into the bathroom. His bare feet padded against the cold tiles as he approached the sink.
Do you have a routine that you usually do? Raine inquired.
He already knew that the answer would be a resounding ‘yes’, but pleasantries had been severely lacking in their conversations lately.
Shower in the morning.
Raine raised his eyebrows at the shockingly brief statement. That’s it?
I figured you would fall asleep again if I went into detail.
This elicited a quiet snort, though Raine did his best to hide it. I’m glad that you’re self-aware.
In the absence of a detailed plan from Nikolay, Raine decided to wash their hands and face. It was the only thing that could come to mind, given that they were already standing in front of the sink.
As the water flowed around his hands, it brought a moment of clarity along with it. The stark coolness was grounding, a pleasant sensation that instantly swept away the last dregs of sleep.
Raine stood there for a long moment, his hands unmoving under the tap. He kept waiting for Nikolay to tell him off for wasting water, but the scolding never came.
Speaking of... A conspicuous pause punctuated Nikolay’s hesitancy. I wanted to- know you better. Ah, not ‘wanted’. ‘Want’ is the better term. I still do.
Listening to Nikolay stumble over his words was something that Raine had never anticipated. It was hilarious yet heartwarming, which was just as surprising as the action itself.
What about me? Raine teased. I’m pretty sure I’m like an open book compared to you.
We haven’t had the opportunity to converse without an impending disaster interrupting us. Despite all the times that we’ve spoken, there isn’t much that we have shared.
That might be because neither of us is too keen on small talk.
It doesn’t have to be small talk, Nikolay said, almost desperately. We can still cover heavy topics.
That was a first. Maybe it was because of his lack of social finesse, but Raine had never been explicitly asked to literally trauma dump in a conversation before. Apart from his therapist, of course, but that was her job.
So what? You want me to bitch about all my problems? Raine lightly joked.
Yes. I do. You might not realise it, but you have been just as tight-lipped about yourself as I have.
I hate to break it to you, but this sudden spotlight is making it a little hard to even begin.
Then, let me ask you a question. How are you finding the sudden change in your environment? I suppose that being pushed into a wild fetch quest by the gods must be unfathomable for regular people.
Hmm, Raine frowned. The stress — if you can call it that — from being here isn’t as bad as I would’ve imagined. But again, that might’ve been a completely different story if you hadn’t been here.
Even though Raine wasn’t nearly as emotionally dead as Nikolay, he still felt embarrassed saying his thoughts aloud. No matter how genuine his words were, they came out sappy… and gross.
You’ve helped a lot, Nikolay. Each time that I feel like I’m going to lose it, you’re there to pull me back.
And somehow you bring it back to me, Nikolay smoothly evaded. Are you suggesting that you’re at ease, then?
Hah. I wish, Raine scoffed. No matter what I’m doing or where I am, anxiety is always looming in the back of my mind. Even now, when I’m washing my hands. Doing it frequently can make your skin dry and prone to dermatitis. But if I don’t wash my hands, they’ll be dirty and full of bacteria that’ll harm me anyway. Regardless of what I do, I’ll still feel anxious about that shit that could happen because of my actions. Or, you know, sometimes my body just feels like being fucking anxious for no reason. That happens too.
Raine shook his head and turned off the tap. Ugh, sorry. I’ve spoken too much.
Doing it anyway still quells the feeling though, if only for a split second, Nikolay’s voice was distant and muffled, like Raine was overhearing Nikolay’s inner thoughts. Because it feels like you’re doing something to drive away the possibilities of everything that could go wrong.
Should he have heard that? It wouldn’t be an accident in any case — Nikolay was too strict with his emotions, after all.
Raine cocked his head. Sound familiar?
No, Nikolay said a little too quickly. Why don’t we head to the grocery store down the street? We’re running low on supplies after our trek to Veritas.
Even if Nikolay’s voice had only hastened by the tiniest fraction, it was the closest to panic that Raine had heard him. Because of this, Raine decided to let the topic drop, as opposed to hounding him for information like he usually did. He had no idea why Nikolay had wanted to artificially strike up a conversation in the first place, but it was already too late to ask.
Yeah. Let me shower and change into presentable clothes, then we’ll head out.
A few awkwardly silent minutes later, they were standing in front of unmoving sliding doors. The sensor above the doors lacked the blinking light that indicated the flow of electricity. Peering into the dim store confirmed that nobody was inside.
I think we woke up a little too early.
Well, I think the people of Veritas are lazy people who sleep in.
Raine huffed, feeling slighted at the implicit jab. Has anybody told you that it’s not normal to wake up before the sun even BEGINS to rise?
Abnormality is not a synonym for impractical.
“Are you okay there, sir?” a voice called from behind them. “We don’t open until seven.”
Startled, Raine jumped away from the voice. He turned around to see a man dressed in a plain, bright blue polo shirt with the store’s logo embroidered onto the breast pocket.
“Ah-! Yeah, I’m good. I...” Raine trailed off.
The worker already thought that he was weird, so was there even a point in giving an excuse?
Don’t just stare at them, Nikolay groaned.
“Are you alright?” the worker said, eyebrows knitting together. “I can call an ambulance if you need. Feeling confused is a sign of something serious.”
HE THINKS I’M HAVING A STROKE?!
Nikolay barked a harsh laugh. He’ll ask if you’re smelling burnt toast soon.
“I’m fine!” Raine hastily waved his hands in front of himself to reassure the other person. “Just new here, is all. I didn’t know when the store opened.”
“Don’t worry,” the man chuckled. “We get a few tourists coming from the hotel down the road. Look, we’ll be open in half an hour. Come back then and I’ll help you with anything.”
Raine blurted out, “If it’s only half an hour, I can wait here. As long as you don’t mind.”
He received an indifferent shrug from the worker, who left to enter the store from the back door.
The wait was painfully long, and just as awkward. Multiple times, they accidentally made brief eye contact with the worker while he was setting up the store. This happened at least five times before Raine decided to stare pointedly at the ground instead.
I feel as though we could have easily avoided this situation.
Quit acting like you didn’t agree with me earlier, Raine grouched. Thirty minutes is a lot longer than both of us thought.
As he said this, his eyes once again locked with the worker’s reflection.
To Raine’s dismay — and Nikolay’s amusement — this time, the employee gave them a playful smirk and a wave.
He totally thinks that I’m obsessed with him, Raine groaned. And before you say anything, I’m not.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Despite this, Raine was too nice to leave the gesture hanging. Swallowing down his embarrassment, he lifted up his hand in a shy half-wave.
Isn’t that a clear sign of flirting back? You should’ve ignored him instead.
It must be miserable being you, Raine scoffed.
The doors to the store opened shortly after. Right in front of the entrance, the first aisle was full of junk food and snacks.
Nikolay groaned when Raine immediately veered towards the aisle.
Are you kidding?
Sue me. I love my packaged chips.
They contain ridiculous amounts of sodium and saturated fat. Crisps are proportionally more unhealthy than the fleeting joy that they grant you.
It says reduced salt on the sid-
THEY ARE STILL TERRIBLE FOR YOUR HEALTH.
Raine pouted over at a nearby mirror in the corner of the store. If he couldn’t make faces directly at Nikolay, a reflection would have to suffice.
...Fine. Do what you want.
Nikolay huffed in false annoyance when a burst of glee resulted from his words.
Now with something to look forward to eating later, Raine happily strolled the aisles with renewed vigour. Several — arguably more practical — items were thrown into their basket, most of which were for restocking food and other consumables.
On the other side of the store, they reached the medical aisle. It was filled with boxes of strange brands that they had never seen before, which made it difficult to tell which ones were painkillers. Raine intended to buy some for their arm, wanting to alleviate some of the pain that Nikolay stubbornly wanted to hoard.
Some searching later, Raine finally found some nondescript boxes with ‘paracetamol 500mg’ printed on the side. Thank god that biochemistry was universal, because otherwise he would have been completely lost. He could’ve asked the store employee, but he’d rather avoid unnecessary interaction after the awkward situation of waiting outside.
Discreetly, Raine grabbed one of the cheaper boxes and slowly slid it into his basket. He made sure to keep his thoughts as quiet as possible, as to not alert Nikolay to anything. Raine knew that Nikolay would most likely object against relying on medication, so he was banking on the chance of slipping the pills past Nikolay.
Once Raine successfully deposited the box into the basket, he began smoothly striding away from the scene of the crime. Just when he thought that he had gotten away with it, a disgruntled voice echoed from within their mind.
Raine.
He paid Nikolay zero heed as he continued to walk down the aisle, acting like he hadn’t heard his name.
We don’t need the painkillers. If it still hurts, you should let me know.
Raine resisted the urge to huff in annoyance. Nikolay, you were the one complaining about having no painkillers when I tried changing the bandages. Now is not the time to act tough.
I merely explained why it was a bad idea to tear our skin off and damage the wound further.
We are buying them. End of argument.
Raine stalked his way to the counter with a resolute look on his face, his footfall louder than necessary. When he approached the employee behind the register, the man flashed him a bright smile. The smile was not returned.
“Find everything you need?” he asked Raine.
“Yeah. I did.”
His curt reply must’ve scared the employee, because he scanned their items in silence. The sound of the beeping machine filled the otherwise empty store.
“That’ll be 90.70 Kosyran. Cash or card?”
“Cash, please,” Raine said as he dug out their wallet. “Here you go.”
“Thanks. Have a good day!”
Nikolay was still fuming in silence when they left the store. His anger wasn’t directed specifically towards any particular object, but it filled the space in their mind regardless.
Letting Nikolay sort out his feelings on his own, Raine headed back towards their hotel with the groceries in hand.
Suddenly, somebody shouted from behind them. “Hey, you with the grocery bags! Over here.”
Raine whipped around frantically, as if the person had caught him doing something illegal. A person stood at the entrance of the alleyway, waving them over casually.
At first glance, they didn’t seem threatening. They were wearing mundane office work clothes and looked to be middle-aged.
Everything about them seemed normal enough, save for the stark white colour of their hair. It was possible that they were just asking for assistance with something.
“Can I help you?” Raine inquired politely as they approached.
With a wink, the stranger brought a finger to their lips.
“Lots of eyes and ears here,” they said cryptically. “We should speak somewhere else.”
Automatically, Raine trailed behind them with a curious expression on his face. This evoked a heavy sigh from Nikolay.
We’re not following a stranger, Nikolay said with the exasperation of a babysitter. They haven’t even said anything yet.
Grabbing control, Nikolay quickly stopped the vessel in their tracks.
“I hope you realise that your behaviour appears extremely suspicious,” Nikolay called after the stranger’s retreating figure. “I’m not following somebody who doesn’t elaborate on details.”
They turned back to face Nikorai with a knowing grin. “I’ve been sent by a few important people to help guide you two.”
“The last time we were ‘guided’ by someone, it was a trap to capture us. What makes you different?” Nikolay pushed.
“The gods weren’t too happy about you being captured, naturally. So, to ward off all the phonies, they sent me to be the official guide. In terms of proof, however,” they said, walking towards Nikorai. “Hold out your right arm.”
Nikolay hesitantly obliged, and the self-proclaimed guide softly tapped Nikorai’s forearm. In response, a dark blue sigil glowed brightly on the skin that they touched. For a short moment, it felt as if both Raine and Nikolay were being physically separated from each other. When Raine exclaimed in surprise, Nikorai’s mouth didn’t move at all. Just as quick as the feeling had appeared, it disappeared along with the sigil.
“What was that?!” Raine blurted out as the feeling subsided.
“A bit of special magic,” they winked. “I’m not nearly powerful enough to separate you two fully, though. Not to mention, we don’t have another vessel for you. But! We can solve both problems if you follow me.”
Surprisingly, Nikolay stayed silent. Raine waited for a snide remark, or a begrudging comment, but none came. He wasn’t sure what was troubling Nikolay, but he decided that he was going to trust the guide. If the perpetually grumpy man objected to anything, he would make sure Raine knew.
“Lead the way,” Raine said.
The guide bowed. “Gladly. Name’s Irideis, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Irideis. I’m Ra- Right. You probably knew that already.”
Irideis chuckled. “Yes. It’s my pleasure, Raine and Nikolay.”
“Oh!” Raine suddenly exclaimed. “You can call us Nikorai if you want, since saying both our names is really a pain. I mean, it’s a lot of unnecessary syllables after all. We’ve basically named our shared body Nikorai.”
“Nikorai?” Irideis repeated in an amused tone. “I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.”
“Is it corny? Crap, don’t use it if you think it sounds bad.”
“No, it’s fine. Please follow me, you two.”
Irideis smoothly turned around and began briskly walking away. They didn’t stop to check if Nikorai was following behind them, but perhaps they were using magic to keep track.
“O- Of course!” Raine hastily said as he moved to match Irideis’ long strides.
Stop being awkward and just follow them, Nikolay grumbled.
Raine couldn’t help but feel a little relieved that Nikolay had spoken. He was beginning to be worried about the prickly bastard, to his surprise. However, it felt as if there was something wrong with Nikolay’s tone.
Are you okay? Raine asked, even though he knew Nikolay would rather die than answer him honestly.
Stop asking me weird questions and I will be.
Raine frowned internally, but said no more. They followed Irideis into a house — presumably theirs — and walked through the relatively normal-looking living room.
They entered a private room with nice furnishing, complete with minimalistic floral wallpaper and a homely lantern that hung from the centre of the ceiling. It somewhat resembled an old lady’s home, but thankfully without the strange musty smell that accompanied them.
Irideis gestured towards the elaborate armchairs. “Please, have a seat. I’m sure you have many burning questions about your task.”
Raine flopped Nikorai down onto the closer armchair, while Irideis gracefully perched themselves on the other.
“I need answers,” Raine sighed. “Things aren’t making sense.”
“Could you tell me what you know?”
Raine frowned and paused for a moment. “I know the prophecy, of course. And… uh, not much else. I have a strange ring that I got from a temple. It doesn’t do anything, though.”
Irideis perked up at the mention of the artifact. “Do you have it with you? Mind if I take a look at it?”
Ignoring the ping of annoyance from Nikolay — most likely due to his openness about the ring — he pulled out the ring from his pocket. After brushing off some lint that had stuck to it, the ring looked the same as it had in the temple. The deep blue gem sparkled under the mellow lights of Irideis’ room.
“I see. This must be the Artifact of Space,” Irideis mused. “Have you received any other artifacts?”
“No, just the one. Nikolay said that there were two more... Light and Time, I think?”
“Yes, he would be correct. I’m glad to hear that you have worked out most of the prophecy by yourselves. To speed up the process, I’ll show you the locations of the other two temples. Hold tight for a second — I need to go and get the map,” Irideis said, getting up and leaving the room.
Nikorai watched as their guide disappeared through the archway. They were the only people in the room now.
Aren’t you a good boy? Nikolay cooed sarcastically. Telling them everything when they ask for it.
Raine drew his eyebrows together. Don’t call me that. What’s up with the attitude? You’ve been acting strange ever since we met this person.
Oh, I might tell you if you beg like a good boy, Nikolay snidely replied.
Raine felt something in his brain snap at those words, spoken so callously by Nikolay.
Maybe I will beg, he snarled. Do you want me to get on my knees too? Might as well, since it looks like you want me to be obedient so badly.
There was silence following his outburst. Raine could feel waves of surprise and amusement radiate from Nikolay’s mental presence.
Before Nikolay could respond, Irideis re-emerged with a large piece of yellowed parchment.
“Thanks for waiting,” they said, sitting back down in their armchair.
As Irideis carefully rolled out the old map, Nikolay took control of their body.
“Irideis, the magic you used earlier…” Nikolay began hesitantly, his mouth unfamiliar with the words to seek help. “Was it completely yours?”
Irideis looked up at Nikorai with a slight smile. “I know that you’re missing your magic, Nikolay. It’s still there, lying inactive within your vessel. But currently, you’re not able to use it because of the clash between two souls in your body.”
“So, it was your fault!” Nikolay exclaimed aloud.
He quickly realised that he had accidentally spoken out loud, and retroactively covered his mouth.
So, it was your fault, Nikolay repeated internally, slightly more subdued. Raine.
Raine couldn’t help but laugh at Nikolay’s minor mistake in switching dialogue. You’re acting like I want to be sharing a body with you. And if magic was the main reason why you were upset, you should’ve told me earlier. Instead of sulking, that is.
“Nikorai’s face looks so conflicted whenever you both talk internally,” Irideis laughed. “Raine, please don’t get too mad at Nikolay for missing his magic. It means more to him than you could imagine. Though I would imagine that he isn’t too happy about me disclosing this.”
“It’s neither here nor there,” Nikolay replied with a neutral expression. “He has a habit of grilling me for information, regardless.”
Somehow, I feel like you two are playing a game of ‘piggy in the middle’ with me.
“Anyway, our main priority is to get you two back into your respective bodies. For your collective mental health, as well as Nikolay’s magic.”
“So, how do we do that?” Nikolay murmured as he stared down at the map.
The parchment had degraded significantly from its age, but the black ink marks were still barely visible. It was a relatively accurate map of their current area, with several symbols drawn across the land.
“You’ll want to go to this shrine here,” Irideis pointed at one of the vase-like symbols. “It’s the Shrine of Restoration. I believe one of my associates has already generously taken Raine’s body to this structure, and it should be all ready for when you arrive. Basically, all you’ll need to do is walk in. The shrine has some natural defences, but I’m sure you’ll be fine as the prophesied hero.”
…They said ‘prophesied hero’ but didn’t mention anything about me being there to help, Nikolay said, clearly offended. Weren’t we just talking about how important it is to return my magic?
Raine only chuckled at how hurt Nikolay was from a simple statement.
Irideis continued. “Do you know the locations of the other two Temples? I’m aware that you’ve already obtained the artifact from the Temple of Space.”
“It would be a lot easier if you could show us now,” Nikolay said, still a little ticked from earlier.
“Right. The Temple of Time is in Lake Litchmere,” Irideis pointed at a location on the map, not responding to Nikolay’s slight jab. “It’s underwater unfortunately, due to the rising ocean levels or whatnot. You’ll need to dive down there in gear, which should be easy enough to find in the villages surrounding the lake.”
“The Temple of Light is in Zalfari Forest. You shouldn’t have much problem finding the Temple once you’re in the thick of things, since there’s supposedly a beacon on top of the Temple.”
“Could you mark it on our map?” Nikolay asked, pulling out their own copy from Navi.
“Yes, of course.”
A black ballpoint pen materialised in Irideis’ hand. They marked out the locations of Lake Harlow and Zalfari Forest with neat crosses.
“I believe that is all I have for now,” Irideis got up from their chair. “Come back if you ever need help with finding something. I’ll be here, holding down the fortress. Good luck, you two!”
Nikolay narrowed his eyes. “You’re leaving already?”
Irideis paused momentarily to turn back and face Nikolay.
“Of course,” Irideis laughed. “I’m not the prophesied hero, after all. It would be rather strange if I were to be the one doing all of this.”
While Raine was feeling like a lost puppy, Nikolay was more than dissatisfied at the lack of support that their ‘guide’ was showing.
“You come in here, show us a brittle old map, and then leave us to fend for ourselves?!” Nikolay gritted, attempting to keep his voice down. “I am not the ‘prophesied hero’ either, yet I have the sense to at least provide some helpful assistance.”
Instead of being offended, Irideis merely flashed them a mysterious grin. “I beg to differ on your role in the prophecy. It’s not often that the gods violate their own divine contracts. You seem to be a unique case.”
“And you?” Nikolay pressed. “You must also have an important place in the prophecy if you know this much. No regular person is in contact with the gods.”
“I am performing my part just fine, Nikolay. Unless you are incompetent enough to require handholding throughout the entire journey,” Irideis raised an eyebrow.
Like magic, Irideis’ implication suddenly convinced Nikolay.
“Alright,” Nikolay said, though his tone suggested he was far from conceding.
“Then we should part ways for now,” Irideis replied, standing up. “Goodbye, Raine and Nikolay.”
They watched Irideis smoothly stride out of the room, pushing open another door.
The last of their white hair had already disappeared from the doorway a while ago, but Nikolay didn’t show any signs of moving.
…Nikolay?
I’m going.
—
On the way back to their hotel, there was a strained silence between the two of them. Normally, Raine wasn’t the type to engage in conversation, but he was worried about Nikolay. Between Irideis’ cryptic hint about Nikolay’s relationship with magic, and the oddly out-of-character behaviour from Nikolay, everything seemed to be pointing towards maximum uncomfortable levels for the poor guy.
Having the locations of the temples is better than nothing, Raine started in a reassuring tone. We can still go to the State Library like we planned. There might be more information on what might be inside the temples.
Unexpectedly, a thin thread of aversion wove through their mind. No.
Raine tilted his head in curiosity. Why? I thought that you might’ve wanted to make up for the lack of extensive help from Irideis.
Given that we already lost several weeks unconscious, it would be better to immediately seek out the temples. The blood moon is a set date that is rapidly approaching, and it will not wait for us.
We can just go for a quick look before leaving. It’ll only take a few hours out of our day.
It’ll be a waste of our already limited time, Nikolay bluntly replied. There’s no point.
There was a brief flash of frustration from Raine, followed by a pang of sympathy.
I understand that things have been rough recently, but this might have a huge impact on whether we can solve the puzzles that the future temples will give us. You saw it yourself in the Temple of Space; if you hadn’t figured out the answer to the endless maze, we would’ve been dead.
Raine sensed Nikolay’s hesitation before he had even finished his explanation.
...Be quick.