After the strange skull disappeared into Yulia’s body, Alexander experienced mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was concerned about the unknown nature of this item and what consequences this merger might have. On the other hand, Yulia seemed quite happy and content, although a minute earlier she had screamed and was out of her mind with fear.
- Julia, how are you feeling? - He asked excitedly, peering into her face, trying to detect signs of discomfort or pain.
- It's okay, Sash. I was a little scared. I feel myself good. - Julia answered with a smile, not paying attention to his concern. - Don't worry.
Alexander nodded, but still felt anxious in the depths of his soul. He could not afford to relax until he was sure that everything was really all right with Yulia.
They continued their journey deep into the forest, shrouded in fog and mystery. The forest was full of the whisper of the wind, the singing of birds and the rustling of leaves underfoot. Although there was apparent silence and calm all around, Alexander felt that there was still a lot of unknown and unknown in this world.
They walked in silence, each immersed in their own thoughts. Alexander remained alert, carefully observing Yulia and their surroundings. Julia seemed to enjoy every moment of her new experience, her gaze was full of surprise and joy from discovery.
They entered a clearing, and before them opened a view of many spatial tunnels and pyramids that surrounded them on all sides. The clearing was shrouded in a faint bluish light emanating from the portals. The place was amazing, not only because it had many Edge objects per square meter, but also blue lights hanging in the air.
While Alexander was examining the area, Yulia slowly walked around several pyramids, stopping at one of them. The girl knelt down, her eyes fixed on the reflective blade of the dagger in front of her. In the depths of this metal, scattered images flashed, fragments of the last two hours of a person’s life. Yulia, pausing and trying to grasp the essence of what she saw, began to describe these moments to Alexander.
- I see a room... Very bright light... There are letters and an open bottle of wine on the table. There is a shot where a woman looks at the sea from the window. Everything is so gray, it’s hard to see.
Alexander listened attentively, trying to recreate in his imagination the scenes described by Yulia.
- There is a moment where she stands at the mirror, whispering something under her breath. She holds a small handkerchief in her hand. Then a fragment flashes: she is on the street, walking quickly, as if she is running away from someone or in a hurry somewhere.
- Anything else? - asked Alexander.
- There is a moment on the edge of a cliff. The wind, the sea... Her dress flutters, and she seems so lonely and lost. This is the last excerpt I see.
Julia turned away from the dagger, her eyes blazing with discontent.
- I despise suicides! - erupted from her lips. - They don't appreciate what they've been given. They give up. Kill yourself for love when you have arms and legs. She's gone crazy! Stupid, I hate people like that!
She moved away from that pyramid and approached another. Again, she fixed her gaze on the reflective blade of the dagger, and, again, fragments of the last two hours of her life flashed before her eyes.
After a short pause, Julia began to speak, describing new fragments to Alexander:
- There is a man standing on the roof of a tall building. There are city lights around him. He holds a photograph in his hand - a young woman and a small child. Looks like this is his family.
Alexander sighed and nodded, indicating that he was following her story.
- Then I see him at the bar. He drinks several glasses of whiskey. There is a moment when he writes something on a napkin - perhaps a note. He leaves it on the table.
- Anything else? - Alexander asked when Julia fell silent.
- In the final passage I see him on the same roof. He looks down, the picture is blurred. Most likely he is crying. But then he takes a step...
Julia, frowning, moved away from the second dagger. Her dissatisfaction became clearly palpable.
- What's going on here? What a clearing of suicides! - she exclaimed, approaching the third dagger. She knelt down, her gaze fixed on his blade, ready for another dive into history.
Fleeting images began to flash before her eyes again, and Julia began to retell them:
- There are a lot of people in the square, the buildings are similar to those in Europe in the 15th century. My hands are tied in front of me. The fragment changes. A dark room. Pages of a book are scattered on the table, a candle flickers in the corner. The face of the man opposite me is filled with anger. Another snippet. I'm back in the same square, but surrounded by a crowd. People look aggressive, many are holding stones. The last fragment. I am led to a large wooden counter. My hands are chained. There's a lot of wood around. The last image is sparks falling on firewood.
She finishes her story, looking up at Alexander:
- They burned him at the stake, accusing him of witchcraft. Unexpectedly... I'll choose it, at least there's some variety.
The girl took hold of the blade sticking out of the pyramid of ash. Her body took an unnatural position. While Julia was drawn into a fierce battle of souls, Alexander decided to keep up too. His choice fell on the nearby dagger. He quickly sat down on his knees and began to carefully look at the blade of the dagger.
He sees a man standing on the edge of an arid desert. He has an ancient horse harness in his hands and leads several camels loaded with goods. This man is probably a caravan driver. The fragment changes. Now the man is in a tent where he exchanges his goods with other caravaners. There is concern in their eyes. Among the goods visible are sacks of grain, amphorae of water and jewelry. Another fragment that is unexpectedly filled with sounds and color. He was finally able to get inside the memory. Now it is night, and he is at a guard post near the fire. Suddenly, a loud noise is heard in the desert. A group of robbers on camels attacks a caravan. He feels fear and determination. The fight begins. A man fights with one of the attackers. The attacker has a brightly shining dagger in his hand. In an instant, a dagger pierces his chest. He feels the pain from the blow of the dagger, his breathing becomes increasingly rare, and the world around him becomes less and less clear. It becomes clear to Alexander that history has completely absorbed him. The energy that followed completed the job. Another soul took its place in the solar plexus.
Several hours had already passed since Alexander and Yulia were absorbing souls in this clearing. The forest was dark and mystical, but they had become accustomed to its features. The air was filled with energy, and at every step they faced new challenges.
Alexander, thanks to his incomprehensible ability to penetrate and understand souls, managed to absorb five of them, each of which filled him with strength. The reflections of their stories penetrated his consciousness, of course they penetrated his consciousness, but with a blank memory sheet at hand, he simply absorbed the knowledge without experiencing discomfort.
Julia, on the contrary, absorbed souls, extracting their power from them. She fought against someone else's will every time. Her eyes sparkled as she absorbed the fourth soul, and her powers grew each time. However, this process was not only nourishing, but also exhaustive, and Yulia felt her internal energy running out.
Realizing that time flies in this place and that they have spent enough time here, Alexander decides that it is time to return. He kept in mind the two spatial wormholes that he had noticed earlier, and now he was leading Yulia to one of them.
As they approached the tunnel, they saw in front of them a rotating spiral of light, flickering in various shades. This portal possibly leads back to their real world. Considering how many souls they had absorbed, Alexander was ninety percent sure of these spatial tunnels.
- Are you ready? - Alexander asked, looking at Yulia.
The girl stood in front of her spatial tunnel, her eyes shining with determination, realizing that now was an important moment that would show the benefits of the adventures they had just experienced. Returning to the real world could change everything.
- I'm ready. - she says, smiling at Alexander.
She hugs him, and in her embrace Alexander feels the warmth and strength that she found in this wonderful place. Then Julia steps back and, gathering her courage, steps into the haze of light from the portal. The dimensional tunnel begins to ripple and pulsate as she passes through it, and soon disappears, leaving only an empty clearing behind.
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Alexander wastes no time. He quickly crosses the clearing and approaches his own spatial tunnel. This portal looks a little different, but still circulates the glow. He sighs, pauses for a moment to look at the place where Yulia had just stood, and then runs into the tunnel with a running start.
The space around him begins to bend and distort as he runs forward. The speed with which he moves is amazing, and soon he sees the end of the tunnel, woven from pure light. His heart beats in unison with the pulsating light, and, making a final push, he exits the tunnel.
The dim light of a street lamp enters the room through the open curtains, bathing the interior in a warm, honeyed glow. The reflection of this light played on the pale walls, and the small pools of blood that remained on the floor and walls acquired a strange, deep hue.
Waking up on the floor where he died, Alexander rubbed his eyes, trying to get used to the twilight. The terrible chaos, shrouded in faint light, reminded him of the events of the last hours. His hand throbbed painfully, but the wound was already closed. There weren’t even traces left of it, only ephemeral pain. His gaze inevitably fell on the sofa. Julia also seems to have just come to her senses. Her eyes, wide with surprise, are directed to her feet. Legs that until that day could not move.
She slowly lifted her leg, then the other, and dropped them back onto the couch, listening to the sound of her movements. A heavy silence hung in the room, broken only by her steady breathing and the quiet creaking of the sofa springs.
“I... I feel them...” she whispered, tears filling her eyes, reflecting the pale light of the street lamp. – I can really feel my legs.
Alexander slowly walked up to her and sat down next to her. His eyes were filled with complex emotions: joy for Yulia, fatigue from the adventures he had experienced and pain from other people’s memories.
- We did it, Julia. You can feel them. Now you can walk. - He reached out and touched her cheek, wiping away a tear. The smell of iron and fresh blood still hovered around them, but at that moment, sitting next to each other on the sofa, they felt only gratitude and relief.
The girl still didn’t believe what she saw. She even forgot to thank the young man, but he didn’t need it. His thoughts were occupied with something else. Alexander was terribly hungry. While the girl was trying to get up, already having experience from Grani, Alexander stood up and went out into the corridor
The corridor looked like after a storm. Scattered food, paper bags and a bandit tightly tied with ropes lay on the floor. This moment reminded Alexander of the cruel reality and what happened just a few hours ago. The light bulb in the hallway sparkled, creating a dim yellow light that cast long shadows on the walls.
Alexander's gaze was focused on the bound figure. The one who invaded their lives was now neutralized. He returned it, but was now unconscious. He could have been mistaken for dead, because the breathing body on the floor seemed almost lifeless, but the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest confirmed the opposite.
After making sure that he was unconscious, possibly from pain, the young man left the bandit alone. Alexander took the backpack, feeling its weight, and then carried it to the kitchen. Opening the backpack, the guy was pleasantly surprised by the variety of products. Throwing aside the parts of his backpack, he pulled out canned vegetables, a pack of bread and a bottle of water. His stomach immediately responded with a loud growl.
Returning to the living room, he saw Yulia, who was carefully and awkwardly trying to get up. She leaned on the sofa, and her eyes were filled with determination and anxiety. Seeing Alexander, her face lit up.
- You brought food! - she said with relief. - It turns out I’m terribly hungry. I've never felt this way before.
- Yes, and we need to refresh ourselves after everything that happened. I think recovery involved not only the soul, but also the reserves of your body. - he answered, opening the cans.
Sitting on the floor and enjoying their food, they suddenly heard a dull noise and rustling coming from the corridor. Both perked up, their eyes met, and Alexander’s gaze was serious.
“This is that bandit,” he began quietly, trying to calm Yulia, who squeezed his hand out of excitement. “I tied up his corpse and injured his legs so that if he woke up before us, he couldn’t do anything bad.” And it looks like he was right. He came to life and is now trying to free himself.
They slowly and carefully approached the corridor. The bandit lay on his side, trying to untangle the ropes that bound his hands. Apparently, he actually somehow absorbed someone else's soul and was restored after Alexander broke his spine.
Alexander quickly approached him, holding him with his foot. First he searched his pockets. From the back pocket of the bandit's jeans, he took out a black wallet filled with money. In the side pocket there was a rolled up note with something written on it. In the other pocket was a small metal medallion on a chain, which may have had some meaning to the bandit. And in his shirt pocket he found a folded knife with a small red stone on the handle.
Alexander looked up at Yulia, holding the things he found in his hands. He nodded towards the bandit, and Julia realized that now they needed to decide what to do next. The girl quickly took her things, freeing the young man’s hands, and then stepped aside.
- He shouldn't scream. - Alexander said and quickly inserted a rag into the bandit’s mouth, having previously wrapped it around his head and tied it at the back. He was now harmless, but remained a problem that had to be solved. “You shouldn’t have shouted or called for help.” Hoping to get out before we woke up? Or were you not allowed to attract attention, for example from the police? Okay, it doesn't matter anymore.
The atmosphere in the room was tense. Julia, feeling excitement and danger, looked at Alexander with anxiety. Her gaze was like a call to humanity. Alexander felt his fingers tense. His voice was decisive but soft:
- Julia, I don’t want you to see what will happen next. This is my responsibility, my fight. Please go away.
She nodded, but her eyes were sad.
- Please don't do anything bad. It's wrong to be like them. Please try. - she said quietly.
Alexander walked up to her and took her hands.
- I am grateful to you for everything, Julia. For food, for trust, for understanding. - Yulina’s eyes filled with tears again, but these were tears of joy. She moved closer to him and kissed him on the lips, leaving behind a taste of sweet gratitude and warm hope.
- Thank you for saving me and giving me back hope for a normal future. - with these words, she released Alexander from her arms and went out.
As she passed the corridor, her steps were confident and decisive. She checked the landing for danger and quickly disappeared from view. Alexander, who was watching her, made sure that she reached her floor safely, closed the door, and turned to the bandit.
The corridor was dark, and only the light from the room illuminated the bandit's face. His eyes were wide with horror and his breathing became ragged. Alexander slowly approached him, every step he took was measured and decisive. It's time to talk.
The bandit, noticing that Alexander is returning, tries to make some sound through his muffled mouth with a rag, but it is only a vague muttering.
“Let’s start with who you are and what you wanted when you came here,” Alexander began with confidence in his voice, sitting down on the shoe chair opposite the bandit. The bandit slowly shakes his head, trying to convey his thoughts without words.
Alexander grins at how quickly the roles change. He carefully removes the rag from the bandit's mouth, but leaves it next to him in case he needs to gag him again.
- My name is Lampas. I... I needed to kill you, then burn you and film it. Twilight really wants you dead.
-Are you alone here?
“No, my guys will soon wonder where and you’ll be in trouble...” Lampas didn’t have time to finish, Alexander grabbed his collarbone with a death grip. From unexpected pain, the man screamed, but was quickly muffled by a rag. - I'm alone, I'm alone...
- It’s clear about you, let’s talk about something else. - said Alexander coldly, - Who is Dusk? Why does he want me dead so much? I'm interested in the true motives, and not in what he sang to me there at the factory.