[https://i.imgur.com/lHLPxzX.jpg]

I was gagging again and shivering at the sight of the man’s body. The gash made by the whip was deep enough that I could just about see the bone of his skull peeking through. There was no blood, so it made it as visible as ever with the pure white bone standing out in contrast to his tan skin.

It was still a mystery whether that man was really alive or not to begin with. He… just looked so alive, nothing like how I saw Isla. His eyes weren’t jet black, but bursting with color. Did I just kill someone?

My eyes just couldn’t get off the man. He was trying to kill me moments ago, but now was lifeless without a doubt. I held myself as I shook in my boots, the thought of taking someone’s life left me completely stunned.

“No, no, no…” I grasped my head and rambled onto myself. I didn’t mean to kill him, I was just planning to fight him off. Never would I have known just how much damage this water spell could do.

The pack of Military Knights had finally caught up to me, and Lio jumped through the window to meet us as well.

“We want to sincerely apologize,” their captain said, stepping forward. “We were hunting this thing and he managed to escape us.”

I still wasn’t able to break my glance at the man. He was starting to look more serene the longer I glared. “Thing?” I uttered back. This wasn’t a “thing,” it was a person, and I’d just killed him.

“Yes, they’re undead. Don’t deserve to be called human any longer.”

“He’s an undead?” I pointed back at the man, and the knights followed my finger to his corpse. “But he looks so… alive.”

“Well…” the captain picked at the inside of his ear, giving an aura of nonchalance that felt off to me given the circumstances. “To cut things short, these are a new type of undead. They’re much more nimble, intelligent, and don’t look decayed. I’ve heard some can talk too, but it’s rare.”

“Wait, where did they come from?” I could tell from the flickering candle lights that Lio’s hair was all over the place as he spoke. Usually he kept his hair in a ponytail, but let it down when he slept, and caused a jumbled mess on his head.

“We don’t know. They just popped up all over the place.”

While the two of them talked, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief flow over me. That man was already dead, I hadn’t killed someone.

Maybe Christia was right to doubt my ability to kill Dalat? I know Dalat is alive, and I know him as a person. Had I known this man too, then I don’t think I’d even have the strength to land a killing blow like I did just now. If I feel this way towards a stranger—an undead one nonetheless—then I am utterly hopeless. I’d have to mentally prepare for the time to come.

After the captain finished speaking to Lio they came and got that undead man’s body out of my house and went on their merry way, but not before informing us of something crucial to my business.

Apparently, Prince Arcite ordered a shutdown of the Dungeon of the Dead and required all other dungeons to have military checkpoints to stop undead from sneaking out and mingling among the living. That meant all dungeons would be closed off temporarily until they can build and establish those checkpoints at their entrances.

That means I won’t be able to operate as a business in the meantime. My entire company relied on the industry created by the dungeons, shutting them down meant shutting my business down too. I just had to wait until they reopened them to start up again.

So… now I have much more free time than normal. I wonder what I should do?

X X X

The first day off the job was fantastic. It consisted of just finding things to do. I was so busy previously that I never had the time to indulge in my hobbies more, and I took full advantage of this little vacation.

I went to water the plants sitting on my front porch, very doubtful if they’ll grow into maturity. But it was relaxing regardless. Then came an important task that Lio and I kept pushing aside for the longest time: naming the cat that slept by my side most of the time. When that undead man invaded, my cat just so happened to be sleeping in my closet, warmed by my pile of clothes. It was finally time that its adoptive father and mother gave it a proper name.

It was mid morning of the day after being attacked by the undead, and Lio and I stood in front of the napping cat on my bed.

“We already know it's a guy, got any ideas?” I folded my arms over my chest and nudged Lio with my elbow.

“Hmm, nothing.”

“C’mon, you’re the guy here. What name does this cat look like?” The name “Mark” was swirling around in my head.

“What does being a guy have to do with anything? It’s just hard to name a pet if I’ve never had one before.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“It’s really not that hard.” I sighed. We were not making any progress.

“Then you come up with something too.”

“Trust me, I am. Just trying to find the right one.” I really didn’t want to throw “Mark” out there. I’d pity the cat if I did. It deserved a better name.

Let’s see, it has jet black fur, like my hair, and it has a glowing red gem in its center. What name can I make out of it? I think I have an idea.

“What about Ember?” Lio cut me off. He stole my idea right from me.

“I was just about to say that.”

“The gem reminded me of a flame, and the fur coal. Thought it would work.”

I gave a nod of approval. It was surprising that we both had the same exact idea at the same exact time, but all that mattered was that we named the cat. He shall be known as Ember Glaciare henceforth. No way was I going to give the cat Lio’s last name. I was also thanking the stars I didn’t throw “Mark” as a suggestion, I’d cry if the cat had that name. No offense to all the Marks out there…

I promptly picked up the sleeping cat and cradled it in my arms like a baby. Little Ember woke up, eyes sharp and piercing right at me with a confused and irritated disposition. He soon laid his head into the warmth of my arms and went back to sleep. What a lazy cat.

Since that was out of the way, there was nothing left on the agenda for the day. We couldn’t go exploring dungeons and we haven’t decided on what to do in the meantime. I suggested we pick up where we left off and search for Dalat in the ever expansive Galligar City, but the Military Knights were already on the case. They were restricting access to certain parts of the city too, which makes it hard to explore the more isolated parts where Dalat may be lurking.

Well, I promised to leave it to Eiri, so I’ll let him figure that out. At the very least, Lio and I should pick up a hobby or go tavern hopping to see if Dalat was hanging out there. Doubt it.

The cat purred, running its paws across my forearm—the one with the scar on it from the Treasure Dungeon—and then began licking it. What was the deal with this cat that Dalat would want it so bad? I stared at it more. Was it the gem? It was worth quite a fortune, but I was sure money wasn’t the issue for him. He did mention Ember being a dungeon master, but I still found it hard to believe. It acted like any normal cat, apart from the glowing gem stuck on its head. My eyebrows furrowed and I tilted my head as I focused more on Ember.

Something about him was… enticing. My eyes could not get off of him, off those ice cold eyes and the red gem. It was almost like they were speaking to me.

“Closer. Move forth.”

“Alloweth mine own will beest done.”

Almost as a whisper, many voices addressed me, and they ordered me. I had no choice, my own hand moved on its own towards Ember. I couldn’t control it nor could I feel it. It was alien to me, much like these voices beckoning it forth. What was going on?

My hand finally reached its destination, resting upon the cat’s back and gently stroking it. All it did was pet Ember repeatedly, only stopping when the cat meowed in satisfaction. Then I gained back control of the arm.

Horror, absolute terror overcame me. The cat… I understood now what Dalat was talking about. This cat has authority to control everything, not just dungeon dwelling monsters. Maybe this was why he wanted to seize Ember from me… so he could obtain and harness this power. I was only spitballing, but it seemed like a reasonable assumption. Why else would he want him so bad? There was nothing for him to gain if he simply wanted to return the cat to his dungeon. Besides, the cat wanted to leave on its own accord.

The voices…

I recalled them again in my mind, making me go cold at the thought. Never would I have thought this cat to have any sort of sentience. Everyday just gets weirder and weirder.

“Uhm… Can you hear me?” I asked Ember, lifting him up to eye level. His entire body dangled in the air so limply and he stared at me so innocently. Seriously, don’t play dumb.

“Charliette?”

“Huh? I knew you could speak!” I shook the cat, and it went along with the flow. What a chill guy.

“What are you doing?” Lio was right behind me. His hands were on his hip and he had a rather concerned frown on his face. I swear I wasn’t crazy.

“Oh! Uh…” As gracefully as I could, I cleared my throat and put the cat down on his bed. He went back to sleep mode.

“Nevermind.” He scratched his cheek. I had to explain this to him later, or he’ll think I’m going mad. That was what I was going to do, but bangings on the front door made the walls around me vibrate.

“I’ll get it,” Lio said, running to get the door. I was fully expecting it to be Christia or Kueler. They were out of their jobs too, so they had just as much free time as we did.

“Alright!” I yelled back to him and shut the door to my room and locked it. I was still in my nightgown, so I figured it was time to freshen up and brush my hair. Today felt like a good day to don Isla’s dress.

Through the door, though, something felt off.

“Huh? Who are you? I swore I was at the right address.” A foreign voice boomed into the air. Wait, no. It wasn’t foreign at all. It was the most familiar voice I’ve heard in a long time.

“I’m sure you got the wrong address,” Lio fired back. His voice quivered; he never had very good social skills with strangers. But Lio was wrong this time. So, so wrong!

My body slid into the dress at a record time and I dashed to my door to unlock it. “Wait!”

I threw open the door and ran for the front entrance. He didn’t have the wrong address, I was sure of it. But I was so confused, why would he be here at a time like this?

I bolted and skidded around the corner of the hallway to see the ajar door clearly, and the person on the other side of it.

“Aha! I knew I got the right address!” The man cackled. He had jet black hair, like me, Blue eyes, like me, and a scrawny build… like me. It was my flesh and blood:

My father.