“So! Today’s the day! Answers even I don’t know!”
Shen and Nikolay are meeting not too far off from the devil’s place. Since there’s always time for exploring the cosmos of secrets, they intend to walk home at a brisk pace with a few spots here and there. October has just started as has the autumn season.
“Just two more semesters, huh?”
“Yeah, but I’m not feeling it anymore. I know it’s just another year, but I never chose physics,” Shen bemoans.
“Really?”
“It was either that or medicine and I'd rather die than deal with that.”
It seems as though Shen isn’t allowed a lot of autonomy in his life. From his career to his passions, he lacks autonomy. His workplace is as stifling and suffocating as his home life. All he can do is dream about the endless possibilities others face as he is faced with just one.
“Why not ditch them?”
Nikolay introduces a concept entirely foreign to Shen. He can’t even imagine leaving his parents behind and just doing as he pleases.
“I can’t just abandon them. They have their flaws but doesn’t everyone have those?”
“If I told you to abandon your passions and do whatever I order you to, would you?”, Nikolay asks.
“No, but you’re not family,” Shen counters.
“Why would your family want you to do that?”
Shen can’t think of an answer. He has no kind of rebuttal other than excuses that fall apart after 0.2 seconds of contemplation. Stunned, he stops talking continuing to just walk along with Nikolay. He’s still adjusting to getting his world upended.
“You okay? You’ve been really quiet.”
“I’m fine.”
After grabbing a bite, they head straight to Nikolay’s place. Now that they’ve met over half a dozen times, there’s more familiarity between the two of them. Shen likes to read and occasionally writes about his thoughts while Nikolay is smitten by photography documenting all kinds of places and is strangely aware of hyperspecific trivia no one would ask for. These two creative minds coming together to figure out the mysteries of this world, are about to be a step closer to truthhood.
“So this is your apartment? Cleaner than I thought, huh?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He’s right. Nikolay’s apartment bears a decent amount of space. Though it could be a lot cleaner, it’s well-kept and not all too cluttered. There are a bunch of boxes titled "video games", "normal DVD", "JESUS", "clothes", and "electronics". They seem to belong to the former owner of this apartment.
Other than that there are books and magazines all about pseudoscience as if actual scientific research doesn’t cut it. They seem to be posted up next to actual scientific books. Astrology is paired up with astronomy. Ley lines are coupled with geography and geology. Books about philosophy and psychology with occultism…
“You have a lot of books and magazines. I think you’d do so much better than me in uni,” Shen claims. “Sounds like you’d have way more fun too.”
“Too many rules!”, Nikolay rebuttals.
Burns of chaos indeed… Nikolay sits down on the lone couch in his apartment. A little pat on the spot next to him signals Shen to come sit with him. Shen sits down and reaches for the few folders Nikolay had prepared.
“‘Cliff Notes and More I’, huh? Where’s two and three?”, Shen asks.
His eyes land on astrology and astral projection.
“Astrology and Astral Projection… Got any notes on that?”
“Not much… I just started looking into some basic stuff. A bit about triangulation and very surface-level stuff about astrology and astral projection. It’s a little hard to keep track of considering I’m so new to it,” Nikolay sighs.
“Then I’ll go through your notes. You wouldn’t mind if I copied them and took them home, right?”
“Sure? Right now?”
“No! Of course not!”
Shen begins to go through Nikolay’s notes. So far he has collected about 150 pages of notes on his lived experiences. Most peculiar are these things he calls monsters coming in all kinds of shapes and forms. Other than that there are persons of interest he seems to have run into. Most monsters even seem to have names and types associated with them. Nikolay has come across five types so far unsure if there are many more of them around.
So far he has come across 81 of these monsters. Most of them are rather unformidable but would still kill anyone other than magical people like Nikolay. Nikolay has come across 1 Ancient, 1 ConCorD, 17 Lords, and 59 Scroungers. Only 3 of them are typeless.
“Say, I’m counting 81 but I only got 78. Why are three of them typeless?”, Shen asks.
“One of them was immediately beaten by one of those weirdos I’ve met. One hit K.O. so probably a Scrounger. Another one immediately disappeared as soon as I laid my eyes on it. It felt dangerous so I’m trying to track it down with what little I know. The last one I had to run away from. It attacked me before I could react so I somehow fled. I’m thinking of ways to kill it.”
“Are you sure? It sounds like you almost died,” Shen nags with concern.
“I survived and I wouldn’t have met you without that thing.”
“How come?”
“I discovered that I can leech off of people’s negative energy when I crashlanded in a park full of hobos and junkies. I pretty much magically recovered after that and met you in that same park a few months later,” Nikolay claims trying to avert his gaze and not blush.
“Turns out I don’t need to eat either as long as I do that. Same thing with sleep. The more I suction off of that energy, the less I have to worry about my body. Never zero though. There are still days when I have to eat. I will probably starve to death after half a year, die of sleep deprivation after three weeks, and of dehydration after like three months. It’s all just theories though.”
Shen blushes and continues reading. So far, Shen has deduced for Nikolay to have encountered 81 monsters with varying degrees of intelligence. Their appearance seems to indicate just how hostile and coherent these beings are. Shen slightly disagrees with some of the descriptors.
Scroungers supposedly are these incredibly hostile leeches that will feed off just about anyone yet they they’re far more likely to appear out in the countryside. Even if they were to share the ability to grow stronger through negative energy with Nikolay, it would be far more profitable to just plant themselves in city centers. Shen believes Scroungers to be more akin to aggressive bottom feeders. They’re likely scared of the other superpowered people Nikolay has encountered so far.
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Despite how straightforward the descriptor ‘Ancient’ is, a textbook definition doesn’t quite tell Shen what it means. The one Nikolay encountered likely was around in the Age of Enlightenment but their appearances likely aren’t set in stone. If they were to barely escape an encounter with beings more powerful than them, couldn’t they possibly adjust to that?
With a sample size of one that remains undefeated, there’s nothing for Shen to go off of. The only ConCorD he has faced thus far is Prima Facie, a blank mannequin made of glass. It only reflected some of Nikolay’s memories onto itself. It was oddly self-aware and agreed to a stalemate and an eventual rematch when the time is right. Even the notes on it are that of fondness.
The final group Nikolay has encountered is "Lord". They all possess strange spaces that are meant to keep intruders as far away as possible. Lords always have lesser monsters or objects keeping them safe. By throwing an endless amount of minions at people, they can hope to survive by tiring out assailants. Their "Generals" are stronger forces that can fight back.
“You took a lot of time to put all this together,” Shen says.
“You’re thorough but disorderly.”
“Oh, come on. I’m trying to make sense of it!”
“It would make a lot more sense if you reviewed it all but I guess that’s why we met,” Shen says with a flirtatious tone.
His stomach begins to rumble. Hours have passed since their last meal and it’s almost time for dinner.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll put something together as long as you don’t mind spices,” Nikolay says offering a decent dinner.
Maybe his somewhat disorderly fashion can bring about a decent meal.
While Nikolay waits, Shen compiles thorough articles on every monster his friend has encountered so far trying to stay true to what Nikolay had experienced. Making sense of these notes doesn’t matter. For now, all he needs is a simple directory.
“All done. Have at it,” Nikolay says.
He serves them fried rice with lots of vegetables with a few fillet strips sprinkled in. Seems like he also eats healthier than Shen expected. Nikolay is someone whose limits lie beyond the human body. He has no need to care about his eating habits yet it seems like he’s healthier than Shen.
“This is surprisingly good! I didn’t know you knew how to look after yourself!”
“You always have to take a jab at me, don’t you,” he sighs.
Shen’s phone starts buzzing. It’s his mother calling and checking in on him. It’s almost 7 pm and he’s still not home.
“Oh, I guess I was keeping you too long…” he says slightly dejected. “Well, if you have to leave then go. I don’t want to hold you up.”
“Nah. I’m having fun.”
“So… Wanna spend the night?” Nikolay asks.
“Sure. Since you’re begging for my attention.”
Nikolay gets up and walks towards the door. With a grandstanding hand gesture he points Shen towards the door. He’s gonna take the two of them on a trip and help the two of them come a little closer to the truth.
Their path leads them to a hospital. They’ll somehow have to get past staff and any security. There’s also a police station nearby with cop cars ready to pounce in just about two minutes. If they were to just barge in past visitation hours on a not so busy day, they’d probably get arrested.
“I thought we were going to take a walk!” Shen whispers somewhat outraged.
“Don’t worry I’ve got a plan. We’ll be in and out in no time,” Nikolay claims.
“That’s not what I asked!”
As soon as a disgruntled nurse heads out for a break. Walking towards a nearby park, she intends to just relax and have some time to herself. However, as soon as she gets herself seated, she’s tied up and gagged by Nikolay. He had also hidden a bag in the bushes just so he can dress up as her.
“Look away,” he commands as he gets into nursing gear.
“You had this whole thing planned out? Why not just fly in?” Shen asks.
“It’s too bright and there probably are cameras everywhere.”
Nikolay shifts into the unfortunate nurse leaving her not only terrified but also confused. He runs off with Shen warning her of what would happen if she were to report anything. They head into the hospital as inconspicous as possible. An elevator takes them to their destination: the oncology unit.
“Stay by my side no matter what. Don’t act out and no phones,” Nikolay instructs Shen. “It may get a little messy in there.”
Behind a door at the end of a corridor lies a small contained world. It’s a massive nursery with painted walls that are supposed to showcase a happy little outside world with blue skies, jolly clouds, and a beaming sun. Though it is a small world, it’s still a massive space. With about 0.2km² of space (200 thousand m²), it’s still the size of a large stadium.
“You’re not allergic to bees, right?” Nikolay asks.
“No. Why?”
Thousands of bees a meter in length are swarming towards them creating a cloud of death. Their stingers are the size of an adult male’s hand meaning just getting pierced by them means death. Nikolay is entirely unimpressed as he bites off the tip of his left index finger.
“What are you-”
He points at them and starts firing blood pellets as if his finger is a machine gun unloading on targets. The bees fall and scatter praying that at least one of them can make it to the two of them. However, among them is a slender womanly figurine. This amazoness is as curvy as she is feminine yet despite her bold and confident pose her expression is that of grief. Behind her, at the other end of this space, are 64 cribs full of babies that had lost color like her. The only thing protecting them are her and the four hooded men in white robes protecting them.
“What’s with her? Is she the boss?”
“SID… Can’t you feel her sadness?” Nikolay responds.
“Nope. And IT is running towards us. At least we’re getting new data out of that,” Shen replies sharing no sympathies with what he knows to be a monster.
“Sudden Infant Death is an interesting name though…”
It’s probably just a little faster than Nikolay flying at top speed. SID also possesses razor-sharp talons for nails likely capable of piercing Nikolay’s skin. If not for his regenerative factor, he would likely die a thousand times over.
Coming in fast, he barely avoids a strike to the head getting a little scratched up. But he manages to follow up with a blade of hardened blood immediately decapitating it.
“Seems like we’re done here,” Shen thinks.
However, its head isn’t falling off. It kicks Nikolay like a horse as it closes in on Shen.
“Woah! It won’t reach me, right?” Shen thinks a little startled.
However, Nikolay immediately recovers and blasts a hole in her head with a finger fun. Having to bite his fingers off whenever he wants to use that move is frustrating. SID continues running and aims for Shen yet that blood bullet turns into a little wall just meant to push it away. Nikolay then flies towards Shen just to check up on him.
“I’m sorry but you have to leave. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to bring you here!” he yells. Pacing around getting all fidgety as he thinks of ways to navigate this situation, Shen stands by wondering how he can be so worked up when he can lose limbs without issue.
“Do you know how to beat it?”
“What?”
“Maybe it was a mistake to take me with you, but I can help you,” Shen claims determined. “There are like a few kilometers between us. The babies in those cribs disappear after you ‘kill’ it. It seems like one of them has reappeared since then… After a minute? Those weird hooded ‘sages’ or whatever also oddly move whenever she dies.”
“What are you saying?? We have to-”
“We have to beat that thing. We can’t have dying people waltz in here with the little time they have left, right? It may also be exacerbating their symptoms. Let’s finish it now.”
Nikolay nods. He walls off Shen and summons two bloody blades going straight for the infants. SID begins to cry out in fear with an ear-shattering scream trying to stop Nikolay. He swiftly cuts off her legs and the damage remains meaning she’ll have to regenerate them. Nikolay attempts to slaughter those infants as he begins feeling weak. Cancerous lumps grow all over his body likely due to the sages protecting these kids. Yet, despite his issues, he makes quick work of the sages and then rids this monster of its lifeline. Before its legs can fully regenerate, Nikolay cuts SID into two perfect halves. The space pops like a bubble as Nikolay returns to Shen. His lumps slowly recede as he heals.
“See! It all worked out in the end.”
Shen falls into Nikolay’s arms exhausted from all the adrenaline and fear.
“Whoa! Are you okay??”
“I’m fine… Let’s just untie that poor nurse and head home.”
They fly home after releasing the nurse satisfied with their little endeavour. Exhausted, Shen rests on Nikolay’s couch after retelling his little adventure to his phone. Meanwhile, Nikolay is already at it dissecting what they had just experienced. After just a few minutes he dozed off into deep sleep.
“Well, arent’t you cute,” Nikolay tells Shen while caressing his face.