The girls stared at the open sarcophagus, their mouths agape.
Master Reimi, the voice in our heads continued, a faint note of disapproval coloring its polite tone. It has been quite some time. And you appear to have… soiled your attire. Might I suggest a cleansing routine after we've concluded our current business?
"I'm busy," I grunted, jerking a thumb at the frozen block of ice. "Deal with him. Entropic Saturation. Stage three, at least. Full systemic decay."
The sarcophagus seemed to consider this. The light within it pulsed thoughtfully.
An… irksome affliction, the voice noted. Most worlds facing the Blight have developed rudimentary resistances or cures. How delightfully primitive of this world.
"Can you fix it?" Maya pleaded, taking a hesitant step forward, tear-streaked face full of desperate hope. "Please? Can you save him?"
There was a pause.
A cure is possible, of course, the sarcophagus replied smoothly. A prognosis, however, is contingent upon a full analysis. The subject will need to be placed within the containment field. I must warn you, Master Reimi — the procedure is… expensive.
"Yeah, no kidding," I muttered, scrubbing a hand over my grimy face. "Just give me the bottom line, Majalis. What's the damage? It shouldn't be too bad with the amount he was exposed to, should it?"
The procedure to reverse advanced-stage Entropic Saturation, even for a regular human, factoring in the energetic cost of trans-dimensional soul-weaving and stabilization of the subject's anchor to this reality, will require a minimum of 4,500 Aetheric Units. Possibly more.
I froze.
I stared at the floating black box.
Four. Thousand. Five. Hundred.
I had just made a bit under three thousand clearing this entire godforsaken dungeon. The work of the last hour, the rage, the blood — it wasn't enough. I was in the hole.
The sarcophagus was silent.
I could feel the girls' eyes on me. I could feel their desperate pathetic faith in the magical talking box.
I let out a long slow breath.
Shall I prepare the extraction protocol, Master? the sarcophagus inquired, tone maddeningly calm. Or will you be leaving your… guest… to thaw? I assure you, the resulting particulate cleanup would be most distressing for your companions.
"Shut up," I snarled, kicking a loose piece of concrete. "Just… get him in there."
The sarcophagus's inner light glowed brighter. A shimmering green field of energy enveloped the purple block of crystal containing Julian. The stasis field shattered, and the ice dissolved into a fine shimmering mist.
Julian's limp body floated gently toward the open sarcophagus, guided by unseen hands.
"Wait!" Maya shrieked, hands flying to her mouth.
She watched, heart in her throat, as her dear friend was lowered into the box.
The lid began to close, the silver iris sealing him inside with a final soft click.
The sarcophagus went dark and inert. Just a box again.
Payment has been rendered, the voice of Majalis echoed one last time in my mind. The process has begun. Prognosis is… guarded, but hopeful. This shall be quick.
Silence.
The sarcophagus hung there — a floating box of dark wood and silver in the gloom of the railyard. The oppressive weight of Majalis's presence receded, leaving behind the quiet evening, the chirp of distant crickets, and the sound of Maya's ragged breathing.
We all stood there, staring at the box. At the tomb holding her best friend.
My stomach churned. I was in debt to my own damn gear. And for what? To save some civilian idiot who couldn't take a hint.
I kicked at a loose rock, sending it skittering into the darkness with a clatter. Petty. Childish. But it was all I had.
"So… is that it?" Star Topaz whispered, finally breaking the trance. "Is he… going to be okay?"
"The box said he'd be," Star Ruby answered, her usual cocky bravado completely gone.
I scowled, turning to Maya. "Why do all of you insist on lugging around useless civilians? This is what happens. He put us all in danger. Plus, put me in the red here on points."
Star Morganite didn't look at me.
She just stared at the sarcophagus, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her pigtails drooped, her ribbons slumped crooked, and her dress sputtered as the pink light faded out in a soft poof of glitter.
She was just Maya again. A teenage girl, face streaked with tears and dirt.
She was small. And she was shaking.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" she said, voice a raw hoarse whisper.
She finally turned to look at me, eyes red-rimmed and filled with a fury so hot and pure it was almost beautiful.
"He followed me because he was worried about me. Because he thought I was in trouble. He didn't have a magic wand or a talking box. He had a baseball bat. A freaking baseball bat! And he still came for me. And all you can do is complain about the cost?!"
I didn't answer.
'I'm not the luggage. I'm the rescue party!'
The words echoed in the silence, a ghost of his stupid wheezing voice.
My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms.
The anger was cold. A shard of ice in my gut — not the hot explosive rage from the dungeon. Something more personal.
'He's my best friend,' Maya had sobbed, face a mess of tears and snot. 'He gave me half of his sandwich on the first day of kindergarten because I forgot mine!' This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
A sandwich. How utterly, vomit-inducingly quaint.
He didn't save her.
I did.
He just got in the way. Dove into a place he had no business being, armed with a child's toy, driven by a cocktail of adrenaline and arrogance.
He thought he was the hero. The one who gets the girl at the end with a witty one-liner and a smug grin.
A brat like that was a liability. A walking talking liability who'd had the gall to charge into a hell beyond his comprehension and play knight-in-shining-armor.
The image of a tall athletic boy flashed behind my eyes, sheathing a sword with a silver rose emblem on the hilt as a pigtailed girl with vibrant pink hair tackled him laughing. The pink highlights in the girl's hair shimmered just like the sparkles of Maya's transformation, her smile just as stupid and bright.
Kaito had been different.
He'd always been a thorn in my side. I'd have the girls dead to rights and somehow he'd always know they were in trouble. He'd find them. He was the best of them. A real hero. A problem I had to solve and never could — until I didn't want to.
This kid Julian? He was an annoyance. A bug to squash. Cheap, easy, and dead weight.
And yet —
I looked at Maya.
She was staring at the sarcophagus, whole body trembling, as if she could bring him back to life with stubborn force of will.
I crossed my arms.
"Tch. Pathetic," I said, the words tasting like ash. "All this drama over a boy who got in over his head. You're all a bunch of emotional babies."
Maya's head snapped up.
Her eyes, still red and puffy, narrowed to dangerous slits. The trembling stopped. The despair was gone, consumed by a fire that burned hotter than any I'd seen in this world so far.
"What did you just say?" she asked, voice dangerously quiet.
Sapphire and Topaz both took a step back, eyes wide. Even Ruby looked nervous.
"I said," I repeated, voice dropping to a low contemptuous growl, "that you're pathetic. Weeping and wailing over a boy who was too stupid to stay out of the fire. A boy who, I might add, I am now out of pocket for because of your little melodrama."
I took a step forward, boots crunching on gravel.
"This is the real world, Maya Hoshino," I snarled, face inches from hers. "People die. They get erased. There's no magical reset button. Sometimes all you're left with is the bill. So yeah. I'm complaining about the cost. Because it's the only real thing in this whole mess."
Maya didn't flinch.
She just stared at me, eyes burning with a cold hard light I hadn't seen before.
And then she punched me.
It wasn't a very good punch. Her form was terrible — all arm and barely any hip, a telegraphed desperate swing that I saw coming from a mile away.
A normal person would have staggered back with a bruised jaw.
I didn't even move.
The impact was a dull thud against my cheek — for me, like being hit with a wet towel.
I looked at her.
She was shaking, knuckles white, face a mask of pain and fury. The impact had clearly hurt her more than it had hurt me.
"Feel better?" I asked, voice dripping with condescension.
Maya just glared, cradling her hand to her chest, jaw tight.
I sighed, a long weary exhalation that fogged in the cool evening air.
"Look at you," I said, voice softening to a mocking murmur. "You're a mess. A child playing dress-up in a warzone. You think this is a story?"
I gestured to the floating sarcophagus.
"Him. He was the first. Who's next? Her?" I pointed at Star Topaz, then each of them in turn before landing on Maya again. "Maybe it'll be you. Maybe you'll be the one to take a hit you can't handle, the one to get erased. And you know what? It won't be a noble sacrifice. It won't even be tragic. It'll just be a mess."
"I'm… not… a child," she stammered, voice cracking.
"Aren't you?" I asked, leaning in. "You cry when your friend gets hurt. You punch when you get angry. You cling to the naive childish belief that everything will be okay if you just believe in yourself hard enough. That's not strength. That's a death wish."
I took a step back, lip curling in disgust.
I had believed in the power of teamwork and friendship and happy endings once.
And I'd crushed that hope with my own stupid and selfish actions.
For a moment, I let myself understand I felt something other than anger. A flicker of something I hadn't felt in a long, long time.
Something I had no right to feel. It'd been bothering me the entire time, and I'd finally put my finger on it.
She was crying because she still believed he'd be okay. I couldn't remember the last time I'd believed anything.
I envied her. Her stupidity. Her hope. Her unwavering, idiotic belief in a world that had already proven, a thousand times over, that it didn't deserve it.
I envied that she still had it.
I wanted her to stop. Stop hoping. Stop making me watch someone do something I'd forgotten how to do.
But as I looked at her, at the fire in her eyes, I knew it wouldn't work.
She was… too strong. This story is hosted at g.com.
Stronger than me. Stronger than I had ever been.
Because she could still hope.
And I… I couldn't.
"Hey. What's the hold up, Majalis?" I snapped, my patience worn thinner than a rusted tin roof. I kicked the side of the sarcophagus, a dull unsatisfying thud echoing in the gloom. "You said this would be quick. I've got things to do. These girls probably have a… curfew."
The sarcophagus remained inert for a long theatrical moment. The silver inlay along its edges shimmered with a faint condescending light.
My humblest apologies, Master Reimi, the baritone voice purred in my mind, the tone one of deeply feigned respect. One must allow a moment for the… marination. The soul is a delicate tapestry. You cannot simply rip out a thread of entropy and expect the pattern not to fray. One must coax it. Gently persuade the cosmic loom to re-align its fibers. It is an art, you see. Not a… butchery. Besides, it is rare for a being such as I to find such a treat.
"Get on with it," I growled. "Or I'll find a hack saw."
As you wish, Majalis replied, a theatrical sigh echoing in my head. Though I must protest, Master. Such brutish language. It offends the aesthetics of the craft.
The silver eye-latch on the sarcophagus clicked. A soft green light pulsed from within, casting long dancing shadows across the dusty railyard.
Maya gasped, hands flying to her mouth.
He was inside.
Julian lay on a bed of what looked like pulsating moss, floating serenely in the center of the box. He wasn't covered in frost anymore. But he wasn't… okay.
The blue veins were gone. The skin was back to its normal light yellow hue. But he was still. Too still.
His eyes were open.
Not rolling back. Wide, staring blankly at the lid of the sarcophagus, pupils blown.
The subject is stable, Majalis announced, tone as placid as a butler announcing afternoon tea. The immediate cellular degradation has been arrested. I have… pruned the most aggressive fraying of his soul-thread. However, a… snag has presented itself.
"A snag?" I barked, patience completely gone. "I just spent every damned point I earned and then some on this 'snag.' What kind of snag?"
It appears, Majalis said, a hint of dramatic flair in its voice, well, he will likely be okay, but —
Before I could protest, the green light in the sarcophagus intensified.
You see, the Miasma attempted to erase him. To unmake him. But it seems young Master Julian's… ahem, narrative imperative was simply too strong.
"What the hell does that mean?" I snarled. "Is he going to be okay or not? I'm down 4,500 Credits. I want a refund if he's just going to be a brick."
Refund? Oh, my dear Master Reimi, you wound me! Majalis exclaimed, voice full of mock horror. The service has been rendered. The subject is… alive. Mostly.
The green light intensified, and a holographic display flickered into existence above the open box.
Let me illuminate the situation for the uninitiated.
The display showed a complex three-dimensional diagram of a human body, glowing with a soft white light.
This is what we consider a normal soul, Majalis's voice droned from the box. A standard-issue, run-of-the-mill anchor to a given reality. Mundane and serviceable. A little… beige.
The hologram shimmered, and the white light was suddenly infiltrated by writhing lightning-blue tendrils. They snaked through the diagram, corrupting the light into a sickly bruised color.
And this, the box continued, is what the Miasma does. It's a metaphysical solvent — unravels the threads. A rather messy process. I've seen it turn clusters of galaxies into… well, let's just say a cosmic spill, if you will. Ordinarily, a single human soul would have little chance.
The display shimmered again. The blue tendrils were gone, and the white light was now threaded with thin pulsing lines of vibrant glittering silver.
The problem, you see, Majalis said, a note of academic glee in its tone, is that while I was… reviewing the corruption, he was for all intents and purposes already beyond the threshold. The erasure process was already underway. But then, something happened.
Majalis projected a bright silver glow over the blue threads in the hologram. Something managed to anchor him to this reality. An anomaly. A foreign body but not quite foreign, if you will. A parasitic infestation of… well, for lack of a better term, constancy.
Maya, who had been staring transfixed, tilted her head.
"Constancy?" she asked, voice a small confused whisper.
Indeed, Majalis confirmed. A most peculiar strain. One that was derailed by a certain presence here. It seems young Master Julian's… ahem, "story," was too strong to be completely erased. The Miasma couldn't simply unmake him. Even with Master Reimi's derailment. So it did the next best thing. It tried to… overwrite him.
The hologram zoomed in on a single glowing pink thread surrounded by silver in the center of the diagram. It was brighter than all the others, pulsing with a steady determined rhythm.
This particular thread is… remarkably resilient, Majalis noted. It's been… woven into the very fabric of the world. I've managed to isolate it, to contain the damage. But it's… changed him.
The box paused, letting the weight of its words sink in.
He is, for all intents and purposes, a new man. Or rather, the same man, but with a… footnote. A very, very persistent footnote.
"What does that mean?" Star Sapphire asked, Sapphire Lens flaring as she tried to scan the display. "Is he going to be okay?"
He will live, Majalis said flatly. He will still be a regular human — walk, talk, breathe. But he will be different. He will see things. He will know things. He will be… a conduit. A living, breathing receptacle for divine comedy.
The hologram faded. The green light in the sarcophagus softened, and the lid began to close.
He will carry a piece of a world with him. A piece of its story… the box said, voice a final dramatic whisper. He will not be the boy who gave away half of his sandwich. Rather, he will be the boy who remembered giving away half of his sandwich. And that, my dear Master Reimi, is a much heavier burden.
"Hey, what the hell does that mean, you cryptic asshole?!" I snarled.
Majalis cackled, and suddenly an invisible force tossed Julian out in front of the box. Star Ruby quickly scrambled forward, catching him in her arms.
I look forward to our next transaction. Do try and earn some more points, Master Reimi. I get so, so dreadfully bored when you're broke.
With a final dismissive hum, the sarcophagus's lid slammed shut with a deafening CRACK.