“Hey,” I said to Amber, “someone’s been here recently.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, peering into my quarters.
“There’s a fire burning in the fireplace,” I said. I squatted down in front of the fireplace to get a better look at it. The ashen remains of two logs laid at the bottom of the pit. Active flames did not rise from the remaining burn, but large embers still blazed atop the remaining log, producing a not-insignificant amount of heat. This had once been a large fire. I called out to Amber. “It’s been burning for a few hours.”
A few pieces of cut wood had been set aside next to the fireplace, so I grabbed a piece and started working on making the fire bigger. I had learned the basics of making a fire back when I was a Boy Scout in middle school.
I heard the approaching footsteps of Amber as she slowly entered through the threshold into my quarters. Her feet shuffled uncertainly as she turned her head to look in order at the living room, the kitchen, the far wall, and me.
“How did all of this get here without the door being opened? The history books tell us that the previous Thirteenth Apostle was an ascetic man who slept on a bed made of stone.”
I didn’t turn my head away from my task as I said, “GM did it, obviously. He knows what I like, and he furnished this room accordingly.” I smiled at the fire as a thought occurred to me. “Hmm. I wonder if there’s a bookshelf upstairs.”
“The God of Machines is truly powerful,” Amber said, zealotry uncomfortably clear in her voice.
I blew on the embers until the new log began to catch fire. Content with my progress, I stepped away from the fireplace. With my hands on my hips, I gazed down at my work. The fire was progressing nicely. As my gaze wandered upward, I saw the television’s remote sitting on the same shelf as the game console. I plucked the TV remote from the shelf as if moving a baby bird. I dared not grasp it too hard, lest I crush the delicate machinery held within.
As I walked back to the sofa, I pointed the remote at the television and pressed the “on” button. There was a brief peal of static before a man’s voice began to emanate from the direction of the television.
“Breaking news! We just received word from the High Priest of Castle Bosporus that the Dark Apostles have been successfully resurrected! No one outside of the priesthood or the monastic sorcerers have yet laid eyes on the Apostles, but the clergy assures us that they’re all here on Merkopia. Believers and protesters alike are already gathering outside of Castle Bosporus. Today is a historic day, folks. You’ll tell your children and your grand-children about where you were today,” the man on the television dressed in a two-piece suit said. He spoke into a large microphone that he held in his hand. It was the kind of microphone that reporters or stand-up comedians used.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
As I listened to the news channel, I sat down on the sofa. The wooden structure of the sectional creaked, and I sunk lower into the leather than I thought I would. Despite this, it was comfortable.
“Come, sit,” I said, gesturing to the other seats of the sofa, “and take off the mask if you don’t mind.” As I made these requests, the newsman was still talking.
Amber removed her mask and sat down on the sectional a few feet away from me. She had to brace her feet against the ground in order to not slide towards me. I was creating a depression in the sofa, apparently. Amber sat with her hands on her lap and her back straight. Evidently, she wasn’t very relaxed.
“How much do I weigh?” I asked, thinking about the depression in the couch I had created.
“What?”
“This sofa can barely hold my weight. I’ve definitely gained a few pounds,” I said with a good-natured grin.
“Oh, right. When a Revenant becomes a Dark Apostle, the Revenant’s weight quadruples. Your body needs the extra mass in order to house the mechanisms for your enhanced strength, agility, and durability. Based on your build, I’d say you weigh about six hundred pounds.”
“Hmm,” I said, lightly tapping my fist to my stomach. “I gained mass, but I didn’t gain any volume. I assume that means I am significantly denser now?”
“Yes, sir. You have the approximate density of Barium,” Amber said this line with a smile. She seemed happy to tell a Dark Apostle about the nature of his existence. I could tell that Amber had practiced that line many times in her head, and she was happy to finally be able to use it in practice. “Though, your molecular and visceral structure are still the same as any living organism, so you do not have the same hardness or tensile strength as metal.”
“That makes sense,” I said as I sank lower into the sofa. “That explains why bullets were able to damage Nailman and CosmiCrow.” I grunted in annoyance. “Not being naturally bullet-proof is a bit of a pain, though. I mean, we’re fighting against thirty thousand people armed with rifles.”
“There are thirty thousand Revenants? How did you know?”
“I read an article that said the servers are supposed to hold thirty thousand players each.”
A look of confusion and a hint of nascent fear appeared on Amber’s face. “Server? Players? I don’t understand.”
Oh, that’s right. I had forgotten completely that Amber was an NPC. When we were talking, she seemed more “human” than most humans I had ever spoken to. I felt like a child who had just accidentally revealed a family secret. I couldn’t hide the grimace from my expression when I turned to Amber.
“It’s complicated.”
“I’m one of the most intelligent people in Merkopia, sir. I took classes in organic chemistry and calculus when I was thirteen years old. Please do not withhold information because you think I am unable to understand.” As Amber spoke, her words increased in intensity, and she leaned her face closer to my own. I pulled my face back in confusion at her intensity and embarrassment at her proximity. Apparently, “intelligence” was a sore spot for her.
“Okay,” I said. As I spoke, Amber’s cheeks flushed red, and she pulled her face away. She looked around as if fully perceiving the scene around her for the first time. The roaring fire, the leather couch, the opulent rug.
Amber jumped to her feet and shouted, “I’m so sorry! Please don’t think I’m some kind of…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I get it,” I waved my hand and laughed a bit harder than I should have. “Anyway,” I cleared my throat, “I was just about to tell you the nature of the Old World.”