“Is it over yet?”
The pretty voice of a beautiful young blonde whispered, hidden behind a red coral, waiting for her signal.
On the other side, a harrowing, raw scene unfolded.
Nightmare Creatures torn to pieces, unable to move, their bodies in fragments and pools of blood forming from the sheer abundance of it.
Most of the beasts were still alive, writhing and letting out anguished sounds.
Even so, their limbs were useless, and they weren’t even a threat anymore — fully neutralized before being crushed under claws, their heads split open, letting raw matter spill out over the ground of the labyrinth.
“Yeah.
Let’s continue the journey,” Aisling announced.
An odd pair made their way into the labyrinth.
Their heading was north, in search of something blonde Cassie needed.
At first, Aisling had seemed quite surprised, only to accept it very quickly, without even listening to what Cassie had to offer in exchange.
Though Cassie seemed reluctant to travel alone with Aisling, it turned out to be a decision she’d made herself after consulting with Nephis.
* * *
A couple of days earlier, inside the outer settlement, Cassie had met with Nephis to discuss a matter concerning her visions.
“Neph, the locations on the map are correct.
Everything matches my visions.
Even though I couldn’t see his Attributes, you should also know he was honest in every single word — a bit strange too, but that’s just how he is.
His Flaw might have something to do with it, but it could just as easily be his own choice, which would explain his peculiar way of being…
We’re talking about hasty guesses here.
It could be anything.”
“Honest?”
Nephis recalled the conversation she’d had in her first days after arriving at the Dark City.
“I don’t think so.
He’s rational.”
Cassie tilted her head, looking nowhere in particular.
“Rational, you say?”
“Yeah.
Remember I told you all about how he helped me.
He offered me what I needed, answered my questions, and talked with me about his own problems.” She looked at her hand, remembering how her food had fallen and he’d simply picked it up, nothing more.
“At first it seemed strange, and it is.
Now I understand better that he’s rational, and why Effie likes him so much.”
“So what should we do?”
Nephis shrugged.
“No idea.
If what I think is right, he’s rational, not understandable.”
They fell silent for a moment.
Then Cassie spoke.
“Can he be trusted?”
“I don’t think that’s what matters.”
If Cassie could have looked at Nephis, she would have definitely given her a confused look.
Changing Star herself seemed to notice her confusion.
“It’s complicated.
Different reasons, though none reaching the level of distrust I have for Seishan.
I wouldn’t trust him with my back, but I would with a few secrets.”
Cassie stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then she simply nodded.
“I guess that’s enough.”
Nephis looked at her, not quite understanding.
Cassie held her own head, and said, a little hesitant, probably aware she might come to regret it:
“I need him to watch my back.”
* * *
“Hold on tight, I don’t want you breaking your neck.”
The arms of a beautiful blind, blonde girl wrapped around the neck of the young man with dirty ash-grey hair.
Carrying Cassie, Aisling climbed the red coral as if she weighed nothing at all.
At first, Cassie had been wary of being carried, feeling guilty about being a burden that would slow down the journey.
But, faced with Aisling’s insistence, she’d given in, and her worries turned out to be for nothing.
Cassie had complicated feelings toward Aisling, and she had plenty of reasons for it:
First was the natural scorn everyone felt toward Aisling in equal measure — that couldn’t be changed, and Aisling didn’t seem to mind living with it.
Cassie couldn’t say it didn’t affect her; she’d felt a revulsion since their very first meeting, and it was hard to shake.
Second was the latent ability she’d gained upon overcoming her First Nightmare, the capacity to read others’ Attributes when close enough.
That ability didn’t work on Aisling.
That was the reason she grew even more frustrated, and felt an even stronger revulsion.
Third had to do with her affinity for fate.
She’d never once had a vision where Aisling appeared explicitly.
That wouldn’t be considered extraordinary in itself, given that whatever he does doesn’t affect or harm anyone, but ever since she’d gained her Aspect Ability, she’d been receiving fragmented visions that were missing important parts — places where there should have been something, or more precisely, someone.
And once she realized this might be tied to questions surrounding him, her mood only worsened.
Cassie understood she couldn’t get anything out of Aisling, not through his Attributes and not through her visions, nor could she study him closely enough to understand him; the only place she could get any information was from Neph, who, ironically, was the person who’d spent the least time with him, yet understood him better than most.
Finally resolved, Cassie asked her question, now that she was on his back and he was busy enough to be caught off guard.
“Aisling, if it doesn’t bother you, can I ask you about your Runes?”
“Oh!
Of course you can.
I’m glad you’re taking the initiative, after dodging my questions these past few days.”
Aisling’s answer came quickly, in high spirits, showing no sign of fatigue despite his exertion.
That voice, without a trace of annoyance in it, was hard to make sense of.
It was as if the simple act of thinking were somehow misaligned in him — as if being transparent were the norm, and hiding something were the crime.
“Is your Aspect connected to fate, or do you have some affinity with it?”
“A game of question and answer?
Fine.”
His words made Cassie realize she’d fallen right into his trap.
“Wait, that’s not…”
“No, my Aspect has no affinity with fate, but I do have an Attribute that makes a brief mention of it.”
“Really?!”
Aisling paused for a moment, wincing and shaking his head as if he had an annoying bug on him.
“Ah…
my ear.
I’d appreciate it if you didn’t shout so suddenly.
My hearing stays sharpened at all times, just in case, so that hit me hard.”
Cassie felt a little embarrassed for getting so worked up over something so small, quickly forgetting about it, and pressed on.
“What does your Attribute say?”
“How bold of you…
What should I say?
“Fine.
I’ll tell you.
I have an Attribute called: Enemy of the World.”
Cassie frowned, understanding something at once.
“Is that the cause of the dislike and revulsion?”
“Yes.
Though it’s pretty easy to guess, honestly.
Let me recite it for you.” He cleared his throat, trying to sound like the ethereal, magnanimous voice of the Nightmare Spell — which it wasn’t.
“You are a little of everything and a little of nothing.
The gods and fate disregard you, and you will be despised by the world.”
“Fate disregards you?”
“Yeah, kind of ugly.
Though, lucky me, since fate disregards me, I feel, in a way, free to act, even though nothing’s actually changed.
But the ugliest part is the scorn — that’s just unfair.”
Cassie fell silent, thoughtful.
That didn’t stop Aisling from continuing to talk:
“It’s really unbearable how something as childish as plain hair sets that off.
But when I put a dead rat on people, they don’t get mad at the rat — they get mad at me.
What’s a rat got that’s so much better?
Before I was affected by the Spell, trying to answer that question of mine, I put rats in pockets and bags and waited for the big reveal.
Satisfying!
Sublime!
I have to admit it.
The moment they saw it, they jumped like sardines — I think that’s the phrase.
Doesn’t matter.
The important thing is, I confirmed a dead rat has an impact, just a smaller one, but a live rat is a full-on panic.
If everyone from the outskirts died, would people show complicated expressions before quietly rejoicing?
It’s possible.
But if you wipe them all out, there’ll be no balance, and the next group closest to being degraded would become the outcasts…”
Cassie tried to get his attention, which was hard, since he wouldn’t stop talking.
“Ahem…
Aisling…”
“What’s up, Blondie?
Has anyone ever put a rat in your pocket?”
Cassie pressed her lips together.
Honestly, what was she supposed to say to that?
“No…
that’s never happened to me.
About that matter of fate…”
“Right.
Fate disregards me.” He didn’t stop talking, and went right on.
“Now it’s my turn.
But I wouldn’t know what to ask you…
Let’s see, do you take care of your hair often, or do you just let it soak up the sun?”
Weighing whether she should just let go and fall from hundreds of meters up, Cassie truly didn’t understand him.
At least, when she ignored his questions, she could stay protected without exposing anything personal.
Unfortunately, one of her reasons for making this trip was to uncover the anomaly of his presence, and find out whether there was any way to change something.
Parting her delicate lips, Cassie said:
“I take care of it…
every morning.
It’s hard to train or focus on anything else by myself, given the condition I inherited.
But, getting back to the topic…”
Aisling nodded and carried on regardless.
“I understand.
Flaws are hard to manage.
I’m very careful with mine.
I’ve never been blind when it comes to understanding, but I see more than I can bear.
It’s not my Flaw, but I do have a cruel relationship with the world.”
Cassie tightened her hold around his neck without meaning to; he kept changing the subject every chance he got, and there was nothing she could say about it, so she decided to play along for the moment.
Besides, she wasn’t about to admit that part of her was curious.
“Did you learn to live with it?”
“No.
I wake up sick of my own body every single day.”
“What?” Cassie blurted, unable to believe what he’d said.
She hadn’t expected words like that from someone who’d spent years surviving in that place.
Aisling let out a small laugh at her reaction.
“Even the light itself hurts my eyes, even though the sky’s always clouded over; the cold sinks into my bones harder; the heat wears me out faster; loud sounds can confuse me more than they help; strong smells make me more impulsive, and worst of all, the pain is unbearable.”
“Then why don’t you just stay shut away somewhere?”
Aisling smiled, amused.
“The price of freedom is steep.”
Cassie fell silent.
Aisling didn’t speak again either, until they reached the top of the coral.
* * *
At nightfall, Aisling took the first watch while Cassie lay down to sleep.
The world lay wrapped in the darkness of night, and they couldn’t light a fire either, so as not to attract any kind of Nightmare Creature.
Not that either of them needed one anyway.
Aisling was already used to it, and Cassie was blind.
For a long while Cassie tried to settle into sleep, but in the end she gave up.
“Why do you call me Blondie?”
She whispered the question into the air, knowing he’d hear it, given the short distance and his sharpened senses.
Aisling scratched the back of his neck, not quite understanding the question.
“Because you’re blonde.”
“I know that…
what I mean is…” She fell silent, working out her next words.
“You don’t seem like the most tactful guy around.
I’m sure I have more notable features.”
Aisling’s answer came quickly.
“You want me to call you Blindy instead?”
“That’s not…!
I mean…
why Blondie?”
“You’re not very sharp, are you.”
“Ugh…”
Cassie felt embarrassed and regretted having spoken at all…
but she caught herself right away.
Why should she be the one in the wrong?
She hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary.
How is this guy rational?
“You still haven’t told me…”
“Sorry, I didn’t think it needed an answer…
About that.
You have pretty hair.”
What is she supposed to make of that?
He just throws out lines without any care for how they land.
Aisling went on, not bothering to notice how Cassie’s brow was furrowing.
“When I first saw you, what caught my attention most was your hair; your blindness doesn’t really draw much notice.
It’s not a condition you can’t help but flaunt — I knew plenty of blind folks back in the outskirts, and all of them believed they deserved pity.”
There was a hint of pride in his voice that she couldn’t understand.
Cassie had her fists clenched tight.
“Do you think I’m after pity?”
“No, of course not.
You’re better because you know how useless you are.”
“…”
He was definitely unbearable.
“You’re the worst.”
Aisling laughed and started walking off into the darkness of the coral.
His footsteps were soft but loud in the unsettling silence.
Treading over the red coral, Cassie could hear him circling around her, steady and strangely quiet.
It was just like that day when she’d asked him about Sunny, but now he didn’t seem to be paying her any attention.
Long seconds passed in silence.
Just as she was about to speak, to put an end to the unsettling feeling building inside her, Aisling’s voice reached her.
“I wonder.
Would you rather be a parasite?”
That caught Cassie off guard.
She caught on to his question quickly.
“Obviously that’s the last thing I want.”
“Then don’t be one.”
“But I can’t help being one.”
“Then you are one.”
“Of course not!” Cassie raised her voice.
She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, knowing some abomination could come crawling out of the black sea.
“Is it that hard for you to understand?!” she whispered, restrained, nearly reaching a shout despite herself.
“That’s exactly my question — are you going to keep shouting to vent at an innocent guy like me until some ugly monster comes along and devours us both?
You’re free to do it; I won’t stop you.
I think I could survive one and keep you alive too, but win outright?
I doubt it.”
Cassie took a deep breath; this guy was making her lose her mind.
It had been too revealing — not because of him, but because of herself.
She wanted an answer; she knew how it would all end and there was nothing she could do to stop it, because she’d already made her decision, and she still couldn’t shake the guilt she felt.
She felt so awful that all she could do was keep helping to pave the road toward a future where everything would end in the worst possible way.
She felt so guilty that, without realizing it, she wanted to pin the blame on someone else, someone who had committed worse acts.
“I know.”
“You know?”
The most important reason Cassie couldn’t trust Aisling had to do with her own visions — not just of the future, but of an incomplete past as well.
“A Dreamer who was begging for his life was…
consumed, by someone without the slightest consideration.
He wasn’t the first, and he wasn’t the last, either.
You’re not innocent.”
She saw terrible acts committed by a being indifferent to his own wickedness.
That same being kept walking as though her words meant nothing to him.
“Innocent?”
Aisling’s footsteps stopped at that word.
Cassie stopped sensing Aisling’s presence.
A chill ran up her back.
She didn’t move, nor did she dare breathe carelessly.
He can’t do anything to me.
It was a fleeting thought in Cassie’s mind, but she couldn’t help doubting it.
Aisling was the very same deadly Spectre who never hesitated.
A cold touch landed on her shoulder, and she couldn’t tell whether it was the air itself, the cold surface of the coral, or the touch of an executioner.
“Give me a reason…” Aisling whispered in her ear.
“Give me a reason not to throw you into the dark sea.
Just one reason not to kill you.”
Cassie’s breath caught, hoping he wouldn’t hear her heartbeat pounding out of her chest, though she knew it was pointless given his sharp senses.
She pressed her lips together, swallowing hard, far too loud to even consider whether he’d heard it.
He definitely knew what state she was in, and he was simply watching her closely, savoring the fear he was causing.
“No…” Cassie let out.
“You won’t…
Why throw me into the dark sea…
when my body would suit you so much better?”
“Ah…”
A gasp escaped Aisling’s mouth, caught off guard by an answer he hadn’t expected at all, before he burst out laughing, overflowing with the genuine delight of someone who’d just heard the best joke of their life.
“For real!” Aisling tried to rein in his loud laughter, but he found it hard, his booming, drawn-out laughs echoing out over the black sea.
“You’re right!
That’s the most coherent thing you’ve said since I’ve known you.
And not just that — more coherent than most of the poor wretches trapped in this place!
No one’s capable of being honest, no one can smile without remembering the past, no one can find hope because they’re all so trite.
Thank you, Cassie!
I’ve decided not to sacrifice you, for now.”
Cassie didn’t know whether to feel relieved or unsettled.
Without quite meaning to, she let out an awkward laugh.
Neph, get me out of here.