My skin paled as I stared at the scene before me.
I’d never been to a gathering before.
Or a…
‘party,’ as everyone insisted on calling it.
It was certainly…
something.
Lev had shown up only a few moments after Steph regained consciousness.
He looked relieved.
Happy, even.
It was the worst acting I’d ever seen.
After explaining everything to Steph and informing Elder Nam that she was awake, the elders nearly lost what little sanity they had left.
The expressions on their faces were worth framing.
The celebration was still in its early stages, taking place inside the Fallen King.
Simply put, the Fallen King was an enormous stone spire standing at the center of the district.
Time had hollowed out its interior long ago, leaving behind a colossal empty chamber.
People said it had once towered over every structure mankind had ever built.
Looking at the cavernous space within, I could almost believe it.
Once, it had stood above the city like a king overlooking his kingdom.
Now…
The king had fallen.
I stood before the massive entrance, contemplating something of utmost importance.
How the hell was I supposed to act at a party?
Since Lev had refused to come, I’d left him in charge of looking after Steph.
Which meant I was on my own.
Fantastic.
‘Come on…
it’s just a gathering.
Stop standing here like an idiot.’ Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside.
A barrage of bright lights immediately assaulted my eyes.
“AH!” …Since when did we have actual neon lights?
More importantly, who was the lunatic hoarding them in the Storage Vault?
And why did nobody tell me?
Bastards.
By the time my vision recovered, the enormous hall was already buzzing with conversation and laughter.
Four massive circular tables had been arranged throughout the chamber, each surrounded by groups of Ruined enjoying themselves.
A short distance away, Elder Nam was chatting with the other elders.
Well…
No point running away now.
I walked over and called out to the youngest member of the group.
“Hey, Elder!” Elder Nam turned around and broke into a grin.
“There you are!
How’s the girl doing?” “Better than I expected.” He laughed and smacked me across the back.
Ow.
He…
he really needs to stop doing that.
Before Elder Nam could say another word, a raspy voice interrupted him.
“Kuon…
I heard the news.
Congratulations.” Elder Jin.
Out of all the elders in the district, he was the oldest by a country mile.
The old fossil was creeping toward ninety, yet somehow refused to look even remotely bothered by it.
Seeing him always made me smile.
“Thanks, Elder.
I’m glad to see you’re still alive and kicking.
This whole celebration must be exhausting for someone your age.” Elder Nam immediately shot me a glare.
Elder Jin simply laughed.
Beside him stood Elder Mel, her neatly washed white tunic almost glowing beneath the lights.
“It is good to see you, my child.
How is young Stephanie doing?” Before I could answer, Elder Nam folded his arms.
“Really?
That’s all?
Not even a congratulations?
You really are an old hag.” Elder Mel sighed.
“Child, would you kindly shut this insolent brat up?
It would do us all a favor.” “Hey!” I couldn’t help laughing.
Some things never changed.
“So,” Elder Nam asked, folding his arms with a smug grin, “what do you think?” I glanced around the hall before shrugging.
“…No comment.” “Oh, come on!
You’re the guest of honor!
At least pretend you’re enjoying yourself!” Smack.
Ow.
Seriously.
One day…
One day I’m smacking him back.
Elder Jin chuckled quietly before his smile slowly faded.
“I wonder where Murphy and young Jonah are.” The laughter around us suddenly felt distant.
My gaze dropped to the floor as a dark emotion stirred within me.
Behind me, Elder Nam scratched his head.
“…Now that you mention it…
where the hell is Murphy?
I haven’t seen him since yesterday.” Elder Mel nodded thoughtfully.
“Yes…
it is rather unusual.” Sensing the mood beginning to sour, Elder Nam waved a dismissive hand and forced a smile.
“Well, I’m sure he’s fine.
Murphy and the kid are probably just…” “They’re dead.” Silence.
Every pair of eyes turned toward me.
Confusion slowly crept across their faces.
Elder Mel blinked.
“…Pardon, my child?” My jaw tightened.
In the span of a day…
Everything had happened so fast.
The fortress.
Steph.
The Ability Core.
The celebration.
Somewhere along the way, I’d forgotten that no one else knew.
No one knew Mr.
Murphy and Jonah were gone.
I hadn’t even had the chance to tell them.
And now…
I’d just blurted it out.
Damn it.
Damn it all.
A nervous laugh escaped Elder Nam as he reached over to smack my back again.
“Hey, don’t joke about something like tha…” His hand stopped halfway.
“They’re dead,” I repeated quietly.
“Both of them.
They…
succumbed to the virus.” I lied.
Once again, I lied.
Jonah had been the only one infected, not Mr.
Murphy.
How…
how was I supposed to tell them he had committed suicide?
No matter how common it was in these godforsaken Ruins, It still felt wrong.
Just…
wrong.
However, just then, another thought crossed my mind: Do I have to?
No, I don’t.
And so…
I won’t.
No one spoke.
The laughter surrounding us faded into the background as silence settled over our small circle.
Elder Jin slowly lowered his head.
A faint grimace crossed his weathered face before he looked away.
“…Tch.” It was barely more than a breath.
Elder Mel closed her eyes and quietly folded her hands together.
Even Elder Nam’s smile disappeared.
“…Oh.” That single word carried more weight than I expected.
No one questioned me.
No one doubted me.
Not because they didn’t care.
Because they believed me.
A few moments passed before Elder Mel softly offered a prayer for the two of them.
Elder Jin added a few quiet words of his own, recalling Mr.
Murphy with a faint, nostalgic smile.
“He was a stubborn fool.” A weak chuckle escaped Elder Nam.
“…Yeah.
He really was.” They spoke of Mr.
Murphy for a while.
Then Jonah.
Mostly the good memories.
The stupid ones.
Especially the stupid ones.
My eyes widened a little.
It surprised me how…
quickly they accepted it.
Then again…
Maybe it shouldn’t have.
Death wasn’t a stranger to the Ruins.
It sat at every table.
Walked every street.
These people in front of me…
They had witnessed the cruelty of mankind ever since they were mere children.
Born amidst the raging wars of rebellion, they had suffered insurmountable loss since the day they learned how to read.
They had lost loved ones.
Friends and family alike.
And yet, they did not let grief shove them into the ground.
Perhaps this was simply how people survived.
By grieving…
Then continuing to live.
Elder Nam suddenly inhaled deeply before forcing a grin back onto his face.
He turned toward me.
Then…
Smack.
“…Ow.” That…
that one really hurt.
“Come on,” he chuckled.
“Don’t go making a face like that.” He looked around at the others.
“Murphy would’ve smacked me upside the head if he saw us turning this marvelous occasion into a funeral.” A few quiet laughs escaped the elders.
Elder Nam folded his arms.
“And Jonah…
that kid would’ve been blown out of his mind.” He clapped his hands once.
“So…
as I said before, wipe those gloomy faces off, because tonight…
we celebrate.” He paused for a moment, then sighed and said with a soft smile, “Besides, if that old bastard really is watching from above…
I don’t want him to think I got all sentimental…
I didn’t!” He definitely did.
Even Elder Jin let out a quiet laugh.
“…He’d never let you hear the end of it.” Elder Mel nodded.
“Agreed.” I exhaled deeply, relieved that nothing bad happened.
Just then, I heard humming from the distance.
That hum slowly turned into a melodious tune.
Then, a full on song.
Before I could turn my head to its direction however, Elder Nam laughed heartily and grabbed the back of my cloak.
“Finally!
Those bastards have arrived!
Took them long enough!” “Agh!” I yelped as he pulled and started dragging me toward the nearest crowd of Ruined all while bobbing his head to the song.
“Come on, guest of honour!
Let’s party!” Oh, hell no!
Then, We ate.
We drank.
Then…
We danced.
The horror…
At moments like these, I seriously contemplate whether I should’ve just stayed home.
Though, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of everyone having fun.
Lively smiles were printed across each and every face.
Some were dancing.
Some were locked in hearty conversations.
A thieving bunch were just stuffing their faces with food.
It was quite chaotic.
But it was also breathtaking.
I smiled.
That smile, however, was short lived.
Steph will soon awaken her AF Core.
She will awaken her Ability and finally become a full-fledged Superhuman.
When that happens, we’ll both be taken out of the Ruins and sent to the higher classes beyond the walls.
Steph will be admitted into a Superhuman training academy with all her expenses and fees paid for by sovereigns.
We’ll be given a home, food and necessities.
We’ll have warm beds to sleep on and clean clothes to wear.
Both of our lives will completely change.
But…
what about them?