Part 13. Hollow

“Just who is that, Will? Telling your favorite story to and holding her dear, is she someone you “love”?”, asks a female voice. Upon observing a little bit carefully, a faint outline of a feline can be seen. “Now, now Yuki. If it was not for her, you would not be here. And, if I remember correctly, you two were very close back then too. Your name, too, was given in reminiscence of her – not that you or her would remember such an ancient history”, says Will, smirking a little. Sipping from the cup, “This taste awful. How come you, who have seen me brew coffee for more than a thousand times, do not know how to operate the very same automatic machine”, says Will, putting the cup back on its plate. Moving back and forth across the room, “In Indonesia, there is one species of cat which defecate out coffee beans which is brewed out to be coffee – Kopi Luwak. The stomach acid with its enzymes of said cat dissolves the bitter parts, which is why it is enjoyed as a delicacy across the whole world. *Seamlessly reforming into a human* You should not scoff at a coffee made by a cat, mate”, says Yuki.

Noticing the change in the pace of San’s breathing, “Mythos Sapiens, the incarnation of human will and mana proficiency. They evolve in the presence of human manipulation of mana and carry on as beings of intellect and immense power”, says Will, as Yuki brings in a bowl of soup from the kitchen. As San gets up from his side, “Do you remember her, San? She is the cat who followed us around all the time, Shiro Yuki. If it was not for her, I would not have found you beside that capacity... And, as a byproduct of me not knowing what I was doing, she also took the ember of my mana along with your body. In a sense, you two have split of me inside you”, says Will, smiling.

Falling limp towards Will, “Is it true that my family is gone? Is it really true that I am now alone, Will?”, asks San, on the brink of tears. Letting out a deep sigh, “From what I could grasp, there still is someone left of your lineage – your older sister Demitria Trie Johannes – the one whom killed your savior. I do not know how you would feel but, I have thought of this for a long time, I-, the reason for this endeavor to Russia, for me, is you, mate. So please, do not be too lonely, as I will be with you, in every step of the way there”, says Will, comforting the lonely San. Seeing Yuki hiding in the corner, “Hey, Yuki! Could you care to go down to the bakery and give notice to Johann about this?”, says Will. “Will do!” answers.

After Will and San’s leave, Johann came up with an interesting idea of how they would sustain themselves. Searching the drawers in the backroom, he pulls out a small black cylinder. “Li, mate, you could draw out pure mana from your body, no? If so, shoot it into here, a portable capacity”, says Johann, twisting the battery onto Li’s watch. As mana is a transitional state between matter and charge, it could be condensed into a capacity or contained in a state of current, inside a battery of sorts. The most common of which, the Nickel-Sodium battery, hold about a hundred CE, enough to power a building for half a day. The one Johann has, Osmium-Cobalt battery, made by Will, holds up to 45 million CE charges, enough to power a small city for a couple of weeks. As Li’s mana is immense, and nonperishable supplies expensive and hard to come by, and Johann knows how he could create natural produce equivalent, it seemed like too good of an opportunity to just glance through.

Opening the door to the bakery, Yuki sees no-one in the store front. Hearing a little closer, someone saying “This became heavy really quick, eh?” could be heard. Going into her cat form, she walks into the backroom, only to see Li and Johann struggling to lift up the watch stuck with the battery. “I appraised a lot from you the night before, Johann, but not your lack of strength”, says Yuki. Visibly confused and scared, “Bozhemoy! Who said that? Was that you, koshka?”, says Li. “Name is Shiro Yuki and Will asked me to notify you, Johann”, says Yuki, emerging in her human form. Seeing how they cannot lift up a watch, “Interesting. You seem to be having quite a lot of trouble lifting that. Allow me to ease the struggle”, says Yuki, leaning down onto the watch. With a gesture of a circle drawn around the watch, “Anti”, says Yuki. Right as she says so, the watch floats up, like there is something that is holding it. “I could make this device weightless for as long as you want so say when you need it to be heavy again”, says Yuki, smiling softly.

Putting Li to work, of hording mana whenever he is able to, Johann goes to brew up some drinks. Turning on the launcher, “Say, Yuki, what beverage would you like to drink?”, says Johann. Making a smug face, “Vodka, vodka”, she says before bursting into laughter. Still laughing, “Coffee is nice. Could I have a mocha, mate?”, she says, turning away to the store front. Putting the cup on a plate on the desk beside the bread basket, “So, why did Will send you here, Yuki?”, asks Johann. Sipping a small, “He and Cassandra are at his home and will be there for some time. And so, he and Cassandra are not going to come back here any time soon. She passed out on the way there but now, they are making out, it seems”, she says. Picking a piece of bread and walking to the window seeing the street in front, “Why didn’t he text me, or something? He had his phone on him, I am sure. What is the reason for you to be here, Yuki?”, asks Johann, biting a piece off the bread.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

A customer walks into the store front. Black tie, white shirt, green suspenders on beige trousers and a slightly worn trench coat, the man seems to be from the army. Turning to the man, “Welcome, how can I help you, Mister-”, says Johann, before abruptly being shot by a pistol. Walking over to Johann on the ground, “Johann von Alstrom, you do not learn, do you? The last time we met, on the night of the 8th of November, you also had one of the Johannes with you. I have come with the same intention as then, to fulfill my master’s will – to kill off the last of the Johannes”, he says, lowering the barrel to the fallen Johann.

Laughing hysterically and standing up from the chair, “I do not know who you are or why you did what you did but, I will not lose a friend to you, Hündin”, says Yuki, as she weaves fine strings from her fingertips. Another shot breaks out, ringing the ears of everyone present in the store front. The lead point falls to the ground with a distinct ping as the startled Alrick empties the magazine towards Yuki. “They used to call me “Lithe”, back when I was young and mighty. But now, they call me the bride of a ghost – the Ghost of Berlin”, she says, before disarming the man, suspending him up in the air and restricting his movement by using her strings.

Coming from the backroom, “What happened; why were there such a noise?”, says Li. “Surgical precision is not required to retrieve a fired bullet from the wound. This might hurt a bit, mate”, says Yuki, before pulling the Hollow point .380 bullet from Johann’s side. Visibly in agony, “Li, get some alcohol!”, he shouts. “Bandages, a buffer and a kind of antiseptic, you were hurt pretty badly before, didn’t you? Allow me to aid you in mending your wounds”, says Yuki, sewing up Johann’s wound.

Back at Will’s apartment, the two are having lunch. Like a married couple, the act of theirs match perfectly and complement each other nicely. “So, why do you want to go back to Russia?”, asks Will, spreading butter on a toast. Toasting another bread, “Nothing in particular. I have got accustomed to the lifestyle of the “Great Russian Empire”, so to speak. Besides, what is there for me here, other than you?”, says San, handing the toasted bread to Will. As mana can be manipulated into any energy equivalent, one could make flames out of the palm of their hands; though pretty hard to master as to not burn the bread. Handing one bread to his beloved, pouring some tea into her cup and sprinkling sugar on his buttered bread, “I wish I could eat like this every day. Sitting beside someone, talking about the news and such, wandering about the essence of life… Yuki only needs to have some kind of energy near her to sustain herself; she would not sit by me and eat something, at least, not as frequently”, sipping tea, “Say, what did you do back in Russia – back when you were alone?”, says Will. Tensing up a bit, “I did not do much. I lived with Brother Tolia for the most part, at least the part I know of, and he asked me to draw some schematics and translate scriptures in order to be of use to him. Even so, I was taught the almighty “Russian Education” which gave me insight on how to survive all alone – not that I was completely alone”, says San. Sipping tea from her cup, “How about you, mate, what did you do after you sacked your future?”, she asks. Smiling, “I could neither say nor show how I have been. If I were to tell you, you would be afraid”, says Will, finishing his bread.

At the bakery, Johann is sitting in a chair, drinking some vodka. After sustaining a wound from a gunshot, one would not be happy to confront the culprit behind the trigger. While Yuki adds another layer of bandage to him, “Look at you, dangling from the ceiling like a damned spider. Say, what was your name again? Alexander? Albert?”, says Johann. “Alrick Alphons Carnation, the 5th lineage of the Alphons branch”, the man says as, “Born in Konigsberg, you must be the executioner of your house. I heard that you were the only one who was crazy enough to challenge that bloody behemoth of a person – Leigh Schmidt. I suppose you bore pride in that fight 5 years ago, and to be frank you should, but, in the face of the Ghost of Berlin, you should be ashamed”, says Yuki, finishing the bandaging of Johann. Moving around a bit, “Aye, Alrick, what do you think will happen to you, now?”, asks Johann. “By the pity you have shown me, you do not mean harm to me or my family. And with a name like, “Lithe”, I presume you do not kill someone, even if they inflicted serious injury to your someone”, says Alrick.

As society is run by men in black hats, most of the truths told by them are too light and bright. Even so, they do not show themselves as an example, as they are too dim and dark to be able to be seen by naked eye. War, famine, and corruption, they rule them all and shun those who disobey their rule. Once the ones who prevailed take action, they label them as terrorists and further diminish their delightful rebellion. But, as one of them perish, they avenge their fallen, wiping the territory which rebelled from the face of the earth. In a sense, they are all immature, they make mistakes but their mistakes become the new norm because they cry them to be one. “You do not seem to understand the significance behind that name. I forsake that name in turn for the Ghost, in turn for everything that made me myself. As I am no longer the lithe girl, I have become a nightmare”, says Yuki, shooting a strand into the man’s shoulder. As his hat fell to the ground, picking the it up, “Black hats are a common symbol of ill fate from where I come. Even if it is not, in your territory, I would not tolerate the thought in mine; I presume you express hostility to this establishment, no? If so, I would not sit idly while you do harm to this place – the place which he asked me to reside”, says Yuki, dismembering the hat in her hands, swiftly, string by string.