9. A quarteto

Last day before the midterms!

As someone knocked on the door, I went to open it. So early in the morning, who could that be? Arkill? It was. But he wasn’t alone.

The Lord Necromancer raised a hand nonchalantly.

“Good morning, Armen. How’s your master?”

“You mean, my friend,” I smiled coldly. “He’s fine. He’s still sleeping. You’re coming earlier and earlier these days. I’m a bit worried. Don’t tell me you’re having trouble with insomnia, my Lord? That’s too bad.”

I started calling him “my Lord” on my own free will since it sounded so ridiculous it made me sincerely smile at him for once.

That crazy necromancer… He just kept coming every morning to teach Ray the “Dark Path”. The more I listened to his lessons, the more I understood that a real necromancer like him didn’t think twice about ordering his familiars and making use of them, even though he took care of them and cherished them a lot… just like a master loves his pets. In a way, he was like a God for us undead who had been created by him and had no choice but to obey his orders.

The Lord Necromancer smirked.

“I can see you’re as cheerful as ever. Come here.”

He invited me to step outside. I followed him reluctantly to the yard.

“Arkill told me you ate a big bag of meat yesterday. Such a glutton, huh… Eating so much pork like that, isn’t your skin turning a little pink?”

“Hah? I don’t think so. And I’m not eating that much—”

“Be quiet, Armen. Don’t interrupt me.”

I shut my mouth unwillingly. That bastard… He went on:

“Gluttony is the strength of you undead. Don’t be embarrassed. I think it’s time for you to learn how lifeforce works. Arkill will be the one teaching you because I have yet to teach Ray so many things. So, you two will be off now…” He ordered: “Arkill and Armen: go to the Somerville District. Armen, you learn how to collect lifeforce without being noticed. Stay together, don’t mess around, and come back safe at noon. Now go.”

I couldn’t say a word. I’d been ordered to stay quiet. The smile I gave the Lord Necromancer was scarier than many glares. He clicked his tongue as if just remembering.

“Oh. You can talk.”

The restriction was lifted just like that. It was quite disturbing. Ray had told me that orders for the undead were like temporary programs embedded in our brain through the necro-bond. Anyway, that bond was really mysterious. Even Ray said he had just started learning the basics.

Without even a glance at the Lord, I left with Arkill silently.

* * *

Somerville was a district next to the Old Docks, known for its large number of bars and restaurants. I was told once by the Cheetahs’ leader that Somerville was overcrowded, unsafe, and the nest of many gangs and hidden businesses. Actually, I had never been there.

It was Sunday, and with Christmas coming up, my first impression of Somerville was that of a dynamic district with tidy streets and cheerful families. A children’s choir in the Arch Plaza was singing the Great Rebirth of Earth:

To the Holy Gods, my dear,

we give our sincere love.

That Day when They came to Earth

our world turned upside down.

The Pyramids went to Perth,

and New York went to the South.

Oho! Holy Gods, we are

the children of the New World!

Crystals from the Sky fell down.

All the Crystals of the World

are blessings of our gods.

Oh, Holy Gods, oh Holy Gods…!

It was a traditional song that talked about the “Big Blend” of the World that happened two thousand years ago. I had to study that in history class: apparently, the Crystals that were scattered over the Earth had fallen from the sky and caused most of the areas to be relocated. Islands were created, cities vanished from a country to pop up in another, superpowers and new species appeared… It was said that Paris Island was once a European city and that Everest, a four thousand meters crater, was once the highest mountain on Earth. Crazy, huh? As for why those Crystals had fallen, the Holy Church said it was a godly punishment for the terrible sins of mankind.

Nowadays, the Great Crystals scattered around the world were precious, divine things, fiercely protected by the surrounding inhabitants. Usually, the nature of a quirk was based on the thin crystal particles that a person unconsciously absorbed while breathing or eating: orange for gravity, purple for warping, green for temperature changes, white for the soul of the living and qi control, cyan for mind powers, yellow crystals for mutations and body transformation…

What was about the blue, red, and black ones again? Damn memory…

Anyway, Crystals were an essential part of our world. Depending on its composition, each Great Crystal could cause various phenomena around itself, altering the climate, making islands fly, or causing random teleportations. In Farskyer City, the roots of our yellow Great Crystal were so massive and powerful that they spread to places eight hundred kilometers away from here. Our Crystal not only ensured incredibly good harvests and full-up fuel tanks all year round but also granted unique qualities to some trees and plants throughout and around the city; as such, Farskyer City was well-known for its production of tree meat and mirror wood. As a matter of fact, the plaza where Arkill and I had settled had an artistic statue made of mirror wood. It reflected passersby, not in real-time, but with a delay that could range from several seconds to several minutes. It was always a little disturbing to see those delayed reflections, but wooden mirrors were kinda useful too: personally, I always used one to check my back after a bath and also quite enjoyed watching the big mirrors at the shopping centers and making all kinds of grimaces… When I was younger, that is, of course.

I turned to my quiet red-haired companion.

“Arkill… What are we doing exactly right now?”

“We’re eating.”

I paused in shock. Eating?

“No. No, no, don’t try to fool me, Arkill, we’re just sitting on a bench. The whole time we just kept watching the passersby. Well, you did buy bread, and we fed some pigeons, it was quite fun, but… aren’t you a bit bored now? Besides,” I lowered my voice, “weren’t you going to teach me how to absorb lifeforce?”

His arms crossed on his chest, Arkill glanced at me then shrugged.

“There’s plenty of it. Can’t you feel it?”

I widened my eyes. What? Arkill sighed.

“What were you doing all this time? I thought you were eating too since you were so quiet.”

“What?! Are you telling me you’re eating lifeforce right now? Arkill…” I looked at him in dismay. “Arkill, you could have said something!”

“You could have said something. Don’t overreact. Anyway, the Lord once said it’s bad manners to talk when you’re eating.”

Was he kidding me?

“You’re not even eating—”

“I am.”

He glanced at me again, paused, then said:

“Close your eyes. Open your mind to your surroundings. Try to focus.”

Was he going to help me? Yay.

“I’m bad at concentrating. But I’ll give it a try!”

I wanted to eat. I was hungry. It didn’t feel like a hole in the stomach, it was more like thirst, but it was intense.

“So… Now what?”

“Now… just eat.”

We fell silent. Then I sighed and looked at him.

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“You suck at teaching.”

He clicked his tongue, a habit he probably borrowed from the Lord.

“Just attract the lifeforce inside you. It’s not that hard.”

Okay. I would try again. I closed my eyes and waited. I thought of those meditation techniques my grandma used to use. ‘Want to sit with me, my dear?’ she had asked one day. I did sit down in front of her, but all I could remember was that we both ended up laughing. I think she tickled me while I was diligently keeping my eyes shut. Those grown-ups that take advantage of a child’s innocence…

Focus.

The Arch Plaza was noisy and lively. I was hungry. I wanted to eat, to absorb life energy as soon as possible.

Then, I felt it. It was around me, stroking me like a gentle breeze. Lifeforce. I subconsciously breathed in, and a pleasant feeling overwhelmed my mind for a moment. I was confused at first, but when I finally caught on, I snorted and turned to Arkill.

“Dang you, you could have told me it was just about breathing!”

Arkill raised an eyebrow then smirked.

“See? It’s easy.”

He was teasing me, that damn bastard.

Anyway, now that I had figured out how it worked, I kept breathing in and absorbing lifeforce. A child passed by running. I asked in a low voice:

“We’re not harming children, right?”

“We’re not.”

Arkill breathed in and faked a yawn. Even though he didn’t remember anything before his death, he was better than me at faking to be alive. He then explained:

“The lifeforce we’re eating right now is the wasted lifeforce that the living breathe out. It’s not an effective method if you’re starving, but otherwise, it is enough if you take it easy and spend several hours a day in crowded places.”

I listened to his words, amazed. So we were eating leftovers breathed out by the living…

“So cool!”

“…”

“But what about windy days? If the air changes, the lifeforce goes away, right?”

“Then just enter some crowded café or whatever.”

“Oh! I didn’t think of that. So… isn’t it more effective indoors?”

“It is. But I like outdoors better,” Arkill replied. “You can’t feed pigeons indoors.”

I smiled, touched by his kinda nice reasoning. I took a deep breath. It was tasty. I wasn’t using my sense of smell, nor my sense of taste: lifeforce went directly to my core then scattered to my body to regenerate it. The more I breathed, the more I liked it. After a silence, I admitted cheerfully:

“I never thought the undead would be social creatures. The Underworld is so interesting.”

It was nearly noon when I realized my hunger was never going to be satiated. I felt as if I could keep breathing in lifeforce for the whole day if I wanted. But…

“It’s half-past eleven,” Arkill said, standing up. “Let’s go back.”

“I thought the order was to come back at noon…”

Shoving his hands in the pockets of his coat, Arkill glanced at me.

“Indeed. But if we’re coming back now, we will still be on our way back at noon.”

I gaped at him.

“So… so true!” I had never thought about it. I jumped up. “You’re amazing! That’s right! The Lord’s orders have big flaws!”

Arkill’s lips stretched, amused, as he repeated:

“Indeed.” He started walking and, as we reached a less crowded street, he added: “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m ever grateful to my Lord. He brought me up and gave me a life. I do what I’m ordered because I have to, but also because I want to. Unlike other beings brought to life, we’re rational. As such, we are capable of understanding the real wishes of our masters. Don’t forget that.”

He paused.

“You regard the young master as a friend, don’t you?”

I nodded smilingly.

“A friend is way more precious than a master, don’t you think?”

Arkill frowned a bit.

“I don’t think so, but I don’t have friends, so… I can’t tell.”

I stopped dead, astonished. What?

“The hell are you saying? After fighting so much side by side, what do you think we are? We’re friends!”

Arkill looked at me, dumbfounded.

“Fighting side by side?”

“In the dungeon. With a slime at our heels. There’s a saying: those who played together when they were young will forever be friends. ”

I raised a fist. Arkill hesitated but finally bumped his fist against mine as he said:

“You sure make friends easily.”

“Haha, I know!”

“That wasn’t a compliment. Also…” He gave me a lopsided grin. “That saying probably only applies to children.”

“It’s not like that, trust me. Gamers in the same dungeon flock together.”

“It doesn’t even rhyme…”

I laughed as we continued going up the street. Arkill looked distant and confident on the outside, but he had been struggling with his own issues. Twenty years under the Lord Necromancer’s shadow… I couldn’t even begin to imagine what his life had been like.

Suddenly, I believed I saw a familiar face in front of a crowded small square. Zeeta? Was it Zeeta? It couldn’t be, right? I scanned the crowd… so intently that I ran into a street lamp. Arkill pulled me aside with a surprised face.

“Hey. Watch your step.”

I rubbed my forehead. It itched a little. Had I been alive, I would have gotten a good bump.

“Haha, sorry, I was distracted. I thought I recognized someone, but it seems I got it wrong.”

We made our way home without any more incidents. The Lord Necromancer was cooking. Ray was grumbling.

“Sorry, Armen. I told my dad not to bother you before the midterms, but he keeps doing as he wants.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Arkill and I had a lot of fun, and I just learned how to eat lifeforce. I’m happy I don’t have to bleed somebody dry or eat human meat. I’m even more ecological than living humans. Isn’t that great?”

Seeing me so cheerful, Ray didn’t insist. I spent all the afternoon studying, Arkill left the house at eight o’clock, I cooked dinner for Ray, then he went to sleep saying:

“Don’t study too hard tonight. Undeads can’t sleep, but even they have to put their brain to rest once a day.”

Was he worrying about my health? I grinned.

“The problem here is that my brain rests way more than once a day.”

Ray let out a snorting chuckle. I added:

“Good night, my beloved master.”

“Good night, moron.”

Heh… As I heard the door of his bedroom shut, I took out my cell. Ray had installed an open-source system on it saying it would be safer. I didn’t know much about those things, so I couldn’t tell the difference. Anyway, lately, I barely looked at my cell. My sister had texted me: ‘Do your best tomorrow!’ Woon, that classmate that was bullied by a third-year and whom I had helped in spring, had sent me a quiz that would “most likely” be part of the real test tomorrow… He did the exact same thing last year. Back then, he had screwed up big time and almost got the same grades as I did, placing in the two hundred. I thanked him anyway.

Then I saw a message from Zeeta. I jerked up.

‘Zeeta, 18:32: I saw you this morning in Somerville. It seems you’ve got some good friends. I’m glad.’

So it really was him, the one I saw in Somerville!

I looked at the message, frowning. He hadn’t answered my previous messages, had disappeared for four whole months, and now he just told me he was glad that I had good friends?

I frenetically typed on my cell… then erased everything, went out on the veranda, and made a call.

He wasn’t answering. Oh, right, it was pretty late. He was most certainly sleeping… What was I thinking?

Then I heard his voice through the cell.

« Straw Head? »

“Zeeta!” I cried out. I muffled my voice. “Damn… I was so sure I saw you this morning, but then I looked again and couldn’t find you… So it was you!”

« Yeah… »

“It’s been four months already. How are you doing? You had me worried.”

« Were you…? » He muttered something.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?”

« Were you really worried about me? »

His tone of voice disturbed me deeply. For a moment, I couldn’t say anything.

« Sorry, » he said. « I shouldn’t have bothered you— »

“You had me worried sick!”

My sudden outburst made us keep silent for some seconds. Then I said:

“You were the one who got on the ambulance with me, right? The policemen told me. Thank you, Zeeta.”

« Ah… It was nothing. Honey Frog from the Tiger Clan texted me, so I went to the shopping center, but when I arrived, the fight was already over. »

“What’s the apologizing tone for? Be glad you weren’t inside. Hey… Zeeta? Where are you living now?”

« Ah, well… »

Was he hesitating to tell me or…?

“I’m not a stalker, you know,” I complained. “If you want me to leave you alone, I’ll understand. But so you know, I’m not with the Cheetahs anymore. I’m studying hard at Ray’s place, you know, that middle school friend I talked you about some times.”

« Ah. Was it the one I saw this morning when you crashed into the lamp post? »

I made an embarrassed face.

“You saw that too… Well, no, the red-haired guy was Arkill. Ray’s black-haired.”

« I see. Your life seems pretty lively. »

Rather, my death was.

“What about you?” I asked.

There was a silence. So, he wasn’t doing fine, after all.

« I left the Cheetahs too, » he then said. « I’m doing… fine. »

“You don’t sound like you’re fine. Can I help?”

I stayed silent for a bit, concerned. If Zeeta didn’t want to say anything, what could I do? He was a very good friend I spent a lot of hours with, fooling around, playing music, fighting gangsters and everything… Whatever his situation, I would help him without giving it a thought.

Then, I heard:

« You know, Armen. I feel like dying right now. »

I froze.

His voice was about to break.

« I’m trash. A real trash. »

A sudden muffled sob made my dead heart feel oddly painful.

« I did something awful. »

“Where are you? I come right away!”

« I’m… at the Kiyomizu temple. But why would you come? You probably don’t want to meet a murderer, do you? »

I couldn’t feel cold, yet his words fell upon me like a freezing shower. Holy Crystals…

“What did you do?”

There was a silence.

« I’ll tell you if you come. »

The Kiyomizu temple was on the outskirts of the city. Even taking the subway and the cable railway, it would take me about two hours to reach the top of the hill. If anything happened…

“You better not do anything crazy. I’m coming.”

I heard him breathe out. Then:

« I’m waiting. »

* * *

I only went back to the house to take my scarf and wallet, then left like a whirlwind. The first subway was busy, but the line that headed to the southwest was almost empty.

“Kiyomizu,” the artificial voice announced. “Please remember to take your belongings with you. Kiyomizu.”

It was the last stop of the line. I got off the train. Barely any house was built there. I looked at the cable railway station. It was closed. I should have figured. What on earth was Zeeta doing at a place like that at night?

I began to climb the earthy road leading to the temple. It was barely lighted. My vision had improved compared to before, but it wasn’t really any better than that of a human with good vision. It just didn’t get tired, and changes in light intensity didn’t bother me in the least.

The tall trees on both sides of the road rustled under the wind. Wondering whether nature would also contain lifeforce, I breathed in. I felt nothing. It seemed that a life reaper needed lifeforce from a human, or at least from an animal.

I picked up the pace. The more I thought about Zeeta’s trembling voice, the more I wanted to reach the top. I finally started running.

The Kiyomizu temple was standing on a cliff. When I arrived, I stopped next to the cable railway station and texted Zeeta.

‘Armen, 02:13: I’m in front of the temple. Where are u?’

I was waiting for the answer when my cell shut down without warning. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“You’re freaking kidding me!” I cried out. “Not now, don’t let me down like that! I won’t recharge you if you don’t wake up now!”

A sudden snort made me raise my eyes from my dying cell. Zeeta was standing on a promontory used as a panoramic point for tourists. His brown hair was hidden under his pullover’s hood.

“Thank goodness, you’re alive!” I hurried to the lookout.

“You thought I would kill myself?”

His voice was nonchalant, but I knew he was faking it, because I was a bit like that myself, always hiding my most negative feelings. Well, he was an extreme case.

I stopped before him, gasping as if I was out of breath. Mentally I was.

“You’ve really come all the way here,” Zeeta said in amazement. “That’s crazy—”

“You moron!” I shouted. “You scared the hell out of me! You said, ‘I feel like dying’! Who’s the crazy one here? You idiot!”

Zeeta looked at me, speechless, his eyes wide open.

The silence on the Kiyomizu Hill engulfed us. I could clearly hear Zeeta’s unsteady breathing. I turned nervously and leaned on the guardrail. The lights of Farskyer City were like a sea of sparkling, quiet fireflies. I remembered visiting the Kiyomizu temple in middle school, but I had never been there at night. All those districts were so small from up there…

“Hah… You know me so well, Armen,” Zeeta finally said. “When you called, I was watching this view and saying to myself: what a wonderful night to finish my worthless life!”

Zeeta sat on a bench letting out a long sigh. I clenched my fist but said nothing. As expected, he went on:

“I never told you where I lived. Do you remember I told you my dad’s a loser and a drunkard?”

“I do.”

“Well… Three days ago… I killed him.”