Laelia ran a cool towel across his forehead – or at least, what looked like her. Everything behind and beside her was frustratingly vague. Izai tried to speak, but the words were caught in his throat. His head sank back onto the pillow.

‘Where am I?’ he wondered.

He found comfort in being able to move. Though it was limited – it was still far better than the last thing he remembered: being trapped in his own Pulse cells. He lifted his head again, trying to speak, but Laelia dabbed his forehead once more. Everything blurred until it faded into darkness.

“Izzy,” a voice called from behind.

“Dad?” He instinctively knew who it was.

He was in a small bar. Warm light from hanging lamps cast a glow over dark wood floors and tables. The walls were lined with photos of legendary Folk KY Fighters and Iron Blitz players.

“Think you’ll make it on that wall eh?” his father teased.

Izai couldn’t grasp exactly what he was seeing.

“I know I’m dead, Izzy. Doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me now.”

The bar buzzed with quiet chatter and music, yet when he looked around, it was only the two of them in there.

“Where am I?”

“The afterlife. Waiting for Takotaro’s messenger to take us to the great ocean beyond.”

Izai’s heart fluttered. “How did I –”

“I’m messing with you,” his father grinned, and then signalled in the air for a drink. Two mugs slid across the bar. “Heard you drink now?”

Izai hesitated, feeling the coolness of the mug in his palm.

“Don’t worry,” his father winked. “I won’t tell mom.”

The light brightened until it stung his eyes. He blinked rapidly, and when he opened them, he was in a bedroom. Bright sunlight poured through a window, making the mostly white room look sterile. His pulse quickened – something was wrong.

Around the bed were pots, pans, herbs, and crushed powders he vaguely recognized.

“Laelia,” he croaked.

Trying to get out of bed was a struggle. His muscles ached with each movement, his skin feeling tight and ready to tear. He made it to the door, gripping the knob – and there he was met by a Rosea.

‘You’re not Laelia,’ he thought.

“You’re not supposed to be out of bed young man,” the woman said.

“What—” he managed before everything faded to black again.

“You’re back,” his father said with a smile. He looked exactly as Izai remembered: hair thinning at the temples, jaw always clenched when waiting for his turn to speak.

“That wasn’t your friend, was it?” his father continued.

“What’s happening?”

“Someone tried to take you out son. Just like many did and failed to try and get me. Well, they got me that one time, I guess. But I held my own, though,” his father gave him a soft punch on the chin. “I’m proud of the man you’re becoming.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Really?”

“Of course. Aren’t you?”

Izai wasn’t sure what kind of man he was becoming – it felt as if he was just surviving.

“Thank you. I am.”

“And what kind of man is that?”

Izai shrugged. “A man making his own name.”

“Good.” His father took a sip of his beer. “The Yanesu name isn’t enough, huh?”

“Who said it wasn’t?”

“I do. Generation by generation, we’ve whittled it down. How does the saying go… From kings of Iradi, to generals of Yimani, to gangsters of Polassa… and what next?”

Izai opened his eyes to see the Rosea woman standing over him, her hair braided just like how the men wore theirs. Around her neck was a pendant with a familiar symbol – a barren tree.

She smiled. “So much worry hidden under that cool façade of yours heh?”

‘Is she Pacifying me,’ he wondered.

“Yes. Yes, I am,” she said, laughing. At first, it seemed innocent, but the way she kept going, even through a brief coughing fit, felt almost sinister.

‘Who are you?’ he thought.

“Don’t worry about who I am,” she said with a smile. “I’m a friend.”

His vision swirled. ‘No,’ he thought. ‘Please… don’t…’

He found himself back at the bar, head resting on the counter.

“Look at him… I don’t want him to end up like you,” he recognized his mother’s voice.

“Like what?” his father grinned, holding her by the waist.

She smiled back. “Dead.”

“He won’t. Will you, son?”

They both looked at him.

‘What’s really happening?’ Izai wondered.

The last thing he remembered was being in Cell-Lock, with Olav and Laelia carrying him into the Kin Kai Kin before knocking him out. It had to be them who brought him here.

“How can you be so sure?” his father asked him.

“Stop planting needless paranoia in him,” his mother said, rubbing his father’s head.

She looked just as he remembered – her kind smile, and warm eyes made him feel a certain comfort he hadn’t realized he missed.

“Am I wrong? The boy gets jumped by Megas, wakes up in a Mega’s room, and she’s wearing a Red Nun pendant?”

Izai’s heart raced. He remembered the Rosea’s necklace. ‘That’s what it was?’ A chill ran down his spine. He’d heard stories about the Red Nuns of Pulopaini – stories about slavery and control that still slipped under the Global Council of Unity’s watch.

“Of course that’s what it was, son. Just like with Ikayi. They’re trying to make you their personal slave. But why?”

His mother smacked his father. “Or… it could be his friends helping him.”

“Really? Then why do they keep knocking him out every time he wakes up? Why not just say everything’s fine.”

“I –”

“You’re too trusting,” his father warned. “Don’t be like your mother, Izzy. There are vultures out there, ready to use you and drain you dry. All those friends of yours – Remi, Koralo, Tai – they’re all vultures too.”

Izai’s heart pounded. His mother pressed her hand into his. “There’s more to Aradahi than Polassa. If you stay here, you’ll end up like him.”

“And what’s wrong with being me?” His father grinned.

“Besides the whole being dead thing and leaving our kid to fend for himself.”

He smiled. “You know what you have to do, Izzy.”

Izai tried to quiet his mind, knowing that somewhere in the other room where his body was, the Rosea woman was still trying to extract information. The image of his parents faded, and soon, the bar dissolved into smoke and mist.

When he woke again, the sun had set. He was still in the same room, on the second floor of what looked like a townhouse – probably somewhere in the north, given how quiet it was. He stood, shaky but determined to get out of there.

He wasn’t in any shape to fight, but maybe he could run. He stretched his aching muscles. He might be able to make a dash for it. But then what?

Peering out of the window, he saw the streets below – calm, with a few Gale-Carts floating by and some Folk walking their dogs.

‘They’ll help if I make it outside,’ he decided.

He quietly opened the door and crept down the stairs. He paused when he heard voices and the clinking of cutlery.

‘Fuck,’ he thought about turning back.

But the door to the outside was right in front of him. He could see Folk passing by through the window. He took a deep breath and lunged for the door.

“Someone’s awake,” a voice said.

Izai turned to see Vilena.

He let go of the door. “Where am I?”

“In my friend’s house,” she replied.

The Rosea woman, Iulia, appeared from the dining room, shaking her head. “He doesn’t trust people easily, does he?”

Izai sat at a long dining table. The Rosea woman, Iulia, sat on the far end, holding Vilena’s hand.

“Ten days,” Izai muttered. “What have I been eating?”

“Food,” Iulia replied.

‘Great, that narrows it down,’ he thought.

“Do you want a day-by-day list?” she said sarcastically.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“They’ve been coming to see you,” Vilena said. “You probably don’t remember. It’s understandable.”

His thought drifted to his parents. “Were you responsible for the whole thing with my mom and dad, you know, in my head?”

Iulia nodded casually. “I wanted to see where that noggin’ was.”

“And?”

“You’re hiding a lot of pain under that cool façade of yours, huh?” Vilena said.