At that moment, when Alexander was trying to comprehend the words of the Skeleton Executioner, the bone cat decisively moved forward. She quickly and gracefully rushed towards the skinless creature, her claws sparkling in the darkness, and her flexible body allowing her to avoid attacks.
The skinless man, for his part, defended himself with the power of blood and souls to reach out to the unexpected creature. Every time the cat tried to hit him, he waved his arms, releasing streams of blood that were directed towards it, trying to absorb it. The blood became dense and viscous, like a living object. A couple of times unexpected attacks from underground stopped the animal, but the cat still rushed into battle.
She was persistent and resourceful. The bone cat used its agility to dodge the bloody streams, and its claws cut the air, penetrating the body of a skinless man. With each blow, gusts of whispers and groans of souls burst out of his body, and the surrounding space was drowned in the cries of Horror.
The battle continued for several long minutes. Everything around was filled with tension. Finally, after many blows and counter-blows, the cat jumped, aiming for the head of the skinless man, and delivered the final, decisive blow. The skinless creature fell and its body crumbled into dust. The souls that had managed to approach and were now surrounding the animal from all sides scattered to the sides, wanting to escape, but a couple of blows with their paws and there was nothing left of them.
Thousands of souls that swirled in the distance soared into the air before slowly settling down, forming pyramids of ash. The air was filled with silence, broken only by Alexander’s heavy breathing and the quiet rustle of the wind. The cat looked at the guy with a long, piercing gaze, growled, and then jumped into the shadows, where it disappeared.
With a dark and menacing step, the Skeleton Executioner began to walk away from the battle site. His bone legs walked slowly on the ground, while he moved with amazing speed. Soon, Alexander was left completely alone. He felt an acute feeling of loneliness, wanting to suppress which, the guy decided to carefully examine the battlefield. His eyes lingered on the remains of the battle and the pyramids of ash left behind by the souls.
“Now I know who the lost soul is,” he thought, sitting down on a small stone. As if in response to his thoughts, a light breeze disturbed the tree branches hanging over the clearing, and it seemed to him that he heard the whispers of souls that had recently been freed. - The horror, the creature that almost killed me was not unique, which means I can meet it again. I will be able to wound with renewed vigor and will be able to protect myself from the soul-successors that he calls upon. But here's the blood... These attacks broke the bones of that cat as if they were made of glass...
He understood that he needed to not only kill the creature, but also absorb its soul, appropriate its power for himself, and then transfer it to Charon. However, every step he took was full of danger, and he realized that the risk of death with every action was great. It was a game of survival, where the stakes were incredibly high.
With relief and not without a bit of sadness, Alexander looked at the bends of the spatial tunnels. It seemed to him that he had spent an eternity in Grani. Here, in this dimension, where time frames were distorted and reality could change in an instant, he felt the full weight of existence.
“Being a strong body is interesting here.” To have opportunities that no one else has, but... This is not what I would want for my whole life. But what did I want? I don’t remember anything... - he thought, heading towards the pyramid. It was clear to him that without his body in the real world his existence would be very difficult. And the time spent here can provide opportunities for his enemies, for example, to burn his corpse and cut off all paths. Is he ready to become a ghost and disappear from the plane of reality? No, he did not want this even in his wildest fantasies.
Having reached the chosen pyramid, he knelt down, looking at the dagger. It seemed old, with a dark, almost black blade and cracked symbols on the hilt. Alexander, taking a deep breath, peered into the blade of the dagger, trying to perceive and understand the images that surfaced before him.
The street of the old city appeared before his eyes. You could tell from the architecture that it was eighteenth-century Europe. Narrow streets, stone houses with high roofs, pavement underfoot. The young man through whose eyes Alexander looked was in a hurry. His steps were decisive, and in his hand he clutched a letter. From time to time he glanced at it, as if afraid of losing or forgetting something important. At that moment, the sounds of his breathing and footsteps appeared. It was as if he was immersed there, seeing everything through the prism of another person’s memory.
Crossing the bridge, the young man suddenly stopped. At the other end of the street, he saw a group of soldiers who were detaining passers-by. It was obvious that they were looking for someone. A sudden heartbeat ran through his body, and the young man realized that they were looking for him.
He turned sharply to the left, accelerating. His breathing quickened, but fear gave him the strength to move on. Jumping over vegetable carts and dodging passers-by, he tried to escape pursuit. A momentary flash of memory showed him the secret meeting in the tavern where he was given this letter. It contained information that could start an uprising.
Soon the young man found shelter in an abandoned house. He hid the letter in the wall before the soldiers caught up with him. A menacing order was heard, and a moment later they surrounded the young man and tried to grab him, but the poison he drank was faster. He died without fulfilling his duty.
Returning to reality, Alexander felt both tired and energized. The young man experienced an emotional immersion in someone else's memories. The ash pyramid that stood in front of him suddenly scattered like hundreds of small birds, dissolving into thin air. Her thin trail of ash, like the pointing finger of fate, aimed directly at the spatial tunnel.
Alexander moved in this direction without hesitation. Each step along the tunnel was a reminder of a journey through time and space. The walls of the tunnel shimmered with indefinite hues, like rapidly changing clouds before a thunderstorm. He felt a storm of emotions and memories happening around him, but he remained focused on his goal.
After what seemed like an eternity of travel, Alexander noticed a bright snow-white point in front of him, which became larger and brighter with every second. He realized that this was the way out of the Edge. With each step, the light grew brighter until it eventually engulfed his entire being. A sharp jerk - and now he is already in the real world.
Coughing from the corpse smell, Alexander lay on the cold floor of his apartment. Gradually coming to his senses, he took a sitting position, while feeling a small puddle of water under him. His body was surprisingly light and intact, despite the fact that just recently he felt like his life was disappearing.
Having examined his hands and finding no signs of injury on them, he hurried to the bathroom. The reason for this action was clear; before this, his body was severely damaged. The mirror reflected his normal face without a single scratch. The bullet hole in his forehead, which he clearly remembered, had disappeared. The face was without wounds, with traces of blood, without burns, and the leg showed no signs of a recent fracture.
Alexander went out into the corridor, turning off the light in the bathroom purely as a reflex along the way. The apartment was plunged into semi-darkness. Under the light light coming through the closed curtains, Alexander looked around the apartment. It was quiet. Too quiet. He understood that Sergei had already left the premises, perhaps immediately after the murder. Although the street noise was noticeable due to the closed window, a deceptive silence reigned in the apartment.
As he walked through the living room, he noticed that the computer was turned off. A flash drive containing important information has disappeared without a trace. It was logical - Sergei got what he wanted and got rid of the only witness. More precisely, he thought so.
Alexander felt something hard tugging at his trouser pocket. After examining them, he found all his things in place: car keys, a wad of cash, his mobile phone. He carefully took out a black-handled knife and a pistol. Both weapons could come in handy if things got out of hand again. He placed the items on the guest table. The passport was also there, although slightly wet. The realization that he had been so naive in trusting Sergei made him momentarily close his eyes at his gullibility and stupidity. But Alexander understood that now was not the time for regrets. He had to quickly develop a plan of action.
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Alexander decided to first inspect the territory. Find out the condition of the car with the wounded driver, whom he left there. Starting to move into the room to open the curtains, he stopped mid-motion when Cassandra's voice, like the wind through the leaves, whispered: "Freeze." His heart began to beat louder. He froze, standing there like a statue.
At that moment, voices were heard from the stairwell. Alexander listened and realized that his door handle was being pulled.
- Well, they say he disappeared. But work is work. We need to take revenge for the boys. - said one of the voices.
- Come on, as if you believe in these stories. Dusk personally finished him off, I was there. He could not be resurrected. Our guys would then also be resurrected!
- You know a lot. He put one down on the spot, and first beat the second, then dragged him here and finished him off, breaking his spine...
There was a long silence. One of the guys angrily kicked the door, causing a dull sound to echo through the apartment. Alexander never moved.
- Why don’t we just break down the door and check whether he’s here or not?? - asked the second voice. Through the door he seemed rough and low.
-Are you stupid? You know that the cops took a liking to this apartment. And the neighbors here are such that they will immediately run to the police if they hear something,” answered the first voice.
Silence again. The guys fell silent, and Alexander strained his ears, trying to get at least some information. The minutes seemed like an eternity for Alexander, who was barely breathing, standing in the middle of the living room.
“There’s nothing there, let’s leave,” said the second voice.
- Okay, but if he's still there, we can still track him.
The footsteps moved away, and only after it became absolutely silent did Alexander finally sigh, allowing his lungs to enjoy the air. Cassandra's invisible hand kept him safe again.
Among the shadows and sunlight penetrating through the fabric of the curtains, Alexander stood, immersed in deep thought. His resurrection, absolute health, everything seemed strange, not the same as it had been before. He had already resurrected, but then there were wounds, and Cassandra did not help. Something changed and the young man wondered what it could be.
There was one guess. Last time, he spent all his souls before returning to the real world. But now his reserves were already significant. Deciding to test his theory and get to the bottom of the truth, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and sank into himself. He listened to the breath, peered into the darkness and tried to feel the souls he had absorbed in the Edge. He looked for them in the solar plexus, the place where they had previously been located.
But this time, in the depths of his being, he felt only emptiness. There was not a single echo of souls. But instead of horror or sadness, he felt only determination. Alexander decided that he would look for answers, realizing that they could cost him a new life. But he was ready for this journey.
Alexander sat down on the sofa, his eyes were closed, and his face was tense and concentrated. The guy breathed slowly, feeling how every inhalation and exhalation filled his mind with calm. His mind was full of questions that he wanted answers to.
- What is the soul? - he asked himself. - If this is not just a part of the body, then what is it? Maybe the soul is a kind of inner light that illuminates our consciousness and gives us the opportunity to feel and think?
Alexander imagined the soul as energy, the spark that gives life to everything else in a person. This spark allows people to dream, love, suffer and rejoice. Maybe the soul is what makes each of us unique, inimitable.
- Perhaps the soul is our true Self, our deep inner Self, which does not change over time, no matter what happens around us. This is what remains with us even when we lose all our memories, Alexander thought, trying to understand his uniqueness.
Hooked on the idea of memories, Alexander suggested that the soul might be in the brain. He was excited that this might be the key to understanding his new powers. After all, the brain is the center of our consciousness, it is it that gives us the opportunity to think and feel. And, perhaps, this is where this source of life is located - the soul. With this thought, he began to think concentratedly about his brain, trying to penetrate its depths and feel the forces that he had previously felt in the solar plexus.
After spending a long five minutes searching for what he was looking for, he finally felt a familiar sensation. It was a subtle but clearly felt response. Alexander took the next step - he reached out to a familiar feeling, as if unhooking a piece of someone else’s soul and, leading it, directed it to his hand. The process itself was difficult, the guy was sweating and even bit his lip from tension. But in the end, the ephemeral sensation reached the limb. When he opened his eyes, a sight appeared before him: a slight haze was emanating from his fingers. In the Edge, a world where souls filled everything around, such radiation was not so surprising and outlandish. But here, in reality, it was something incredible.
“So here you are, my soul...” he whispered, looking at the haze rising from his fingers.
The decision to test his strength did not come to Alexander right away. He spent a few moments in thought, remembering the power that the ability gave in the Edge and decided that at all costs he must test himself. If in that world he could cut centuries-old trees, then here, theoretically, he could do it. All that remains is to test your hypothesis.
Feeling a mixture of hope and anxiety, Alexander headed to the kitchen. Walking past the table, he noticed a wooden cutting board - a simple and understandable object for the experiment. Tensing slightly, he took the board with his left hand, feeling its rough texture and the weight of the wood. Then he carefully ran his fingers with a haze over the surface of the board, as if wielding a knife, waiting for the familiar effect of unhindered cutting.
But nothing happened. Surprise reflected in Alexander's eyes. His guesses were not confirmed. In the world of the Edge, where everything was saturated with the energy of souls, his powers could manifest themselves to the fullest. But here, in the real world, where the physical prevailed over the spiritual, his abilities could not affect material objects in the same way.
Alexander looked thoughtfully at his hand, questions swirling in his head. I needed to understand more about the nature of my new ability and how it might apply in the real world. Suddenly he remembered Roman, who helped him carry out experiments. It was with him that he was able to understand and learn to control this power, which was now part of the young man. Without him, without his knowledge of cinema and cultural play, it would be difficult for Alexander himself to come up with something truly effective.
Realizing the pointlessness of wasting the resources of the soul, Alexander, with a tremendous effort of will, stopped the supply of power to his hand. The tension went away, and the haze emanating from the limb gradually dissipated.
Alexander reached into his pocket where his phone was. The touch of cold metal and plastic immediately reminded him of the risk he faced. His eyes stared at the glare of the screen, and he remembered the danger. For some reason, right now, the guy thought that the phone could probably be tracked. It was not in vain that the bandits said that he would not escape them. Perhaps the major considered him a threat and decided to kill him without informing anyone about his action. Also, voices outside the door said that the police were also watching the apartment.
With menacing determination reflected in his eyes, Alexander took the phone in his hand and with a powerful movement smashed it against the wooden edge of the chair. A couple of blows and small parts of the body scattered in different directions. After such actions, the phone screen dimmed forever. Having crushed the back cover, Alexander, like a barbarian, destroyed the means of communication, having no idea how to remove the SIM card. Moreover, the battery in the phone was soldered in.