Sitting on the edge of a building, Kariel slowly ate nutrient paste from a plastic container.
With a stone face, he consumed this black mass, outwardly remaining impassive.
But each time he swallowed a piece, he gulped for a long, agonizing moment.
He ate silently and stubbornly, paying no attention to his numbed tongue or the protests of his own body.
He needed to eat to live.
…..
After eating the last piece, Kariel put away the container, closed his eyes, and waited patiently in the piercing wind.
He had to make sure the food had fully passed down his esophagus.
If not, after some time, he might suddenly vomit.
Kariel didn’t want a repeat of that.
Wasting food once was bad enough.
However, the cause of the vomiting wasn’t just nausea and disgust.
Mainly, his throat and stomach instinctively rejected this food.
They didn’t recognize it as food.
Every meal made his body cry out in protest, demanding something else, but Kariel remained deaf to these pleas.
On Nostramo, only nutrient paste counted as normal food in his understanding.
It was disgusting in taste, terrible in appearance, and smelled more of chemicals than food.
Yes, aside from quenching hunger, it had no merits.
But at least it wasn’t made from rats or what was sold in the meat shops.
Kariel slowly stood up.
He confirmed that the task called “eating” was complete.
Now all that remained was to methodically carry out all the other business.
Standing at the edge of the building, he stretched his shoulders.
Without his cloak, his garment of coarse rags fluttered in the wind, making a strange, rhythmic sound.
The hem of the robe flapped in the wind, and Kariel absently wiggled his fingers inside his sleeves.
His body was cooling, his hands were beginning to get cold.
But that was even good.
These unpleasant sensations always helped him stay clear-headed.
And he needed to stay clear-headed.
All the scions of House Skraivok were dead, along with their viceroys in the Underhive of Quintus — the “Glorious Warlords.” This was a serious matter, even for the Skraivoks themselves.
Suffering such losses on the eve of the Great Purge would undoubtedly enrage some of them.
But this family wasn’t as fragmented as the “Knocking Teeth”; their discipline was strict.
Without an order from the head of the house, the Count, no one would act on their own.
This meant that if the Count turned out to be a cold-blooded man, the next step of the plan would have to change.
At this thought, he narrowed his eyes and shook his head — the affairs of House Skraivok could be dealt with later, but the people from the “Knocking Teeth” still hadn’t shown up.
Either they had forgotten, or they didn’t care about the death of their new slave.
Kariel leaned toward the second option, and it disappointed him greatly.
After all, there was only a month left until the Great Purge.
At this time, the peaceful residents of the Underhive would lock themselves in their shacks or half-ruined apartments and tremble in fear.
The gangs, on the other hand, would begin a merciless slaughter, casting aside all rules and restrictions to defend the interests of their aristocrats.
In such times, aristocrats wouldn’t stick their noses into the Underhive.
And after the Great Purge, any sane person wouldn’t think of looking for a killer in the chaos-ridden Underhive.
The “Knocking Teeth,” though crazy, weren’t stupid.
And if they didn’t send people…
Tch.
Were they really just going to give up?
Kariel had no answer, but something else about the Great Purge came to mind.
The Great Purge was actually a commonly accepted name.
Everyone on Nostramo called it that.
But the aristocrats were a bit different.
When they, dressed in luxurious outfits, elegantly conversed at balls or exchanged bloody deals at negotiation tables, they called this brutal event by the word “purification.” In all official documents, they called it exactly that.
Purification.
And what was even more interesting, at one point they even propagated it everywhere.
“Let us purify the Underhive, rid the people of Nostramo from decay, poverty, and violence.” This phrase glowed day and night on the holographic billboards near the factories.
Kariel couldn’t help but smirk.
It seemed so absurd to him that it provoked a hollow laugh.
The workers couldn’t read, after all.
Who were these slogans around the factories meant for?
Purification…
What a sense of humor they have.
How I hate that sense of humor.
“Kariel!” A voice came from behind him — Ghost’s voice, filled with genuine joy.
“I found an unclaimed water purifier!” Turning around, Kariel saw Ghost’s beaming face.
In his hands, he held a heavy, rust-covered, and deformed apparatus.
It was obviously thrown away because it was broken.
“Can we use it?” Ghost asked hopefully.
“Maybe…
but it’ll take a lot of work to fix it,” Kariel nodded vaguely.
“But where did you find it?” “At the dump near the factory in the center of New Town.” Ghost answered quickly.
“I noticed it during today’s patrol.
It looks like it’s been lying there for a few days, and no one has taken it yet!” “You think you were lucky, huh?” Kariel gave a silent smirk.
“But your luck is that no one wants a broken old water purifier, Ghost…” “This thing is damn bulky.
Besides you, probably no one else could even carry it in one hand.
Plus, it breaks down all the time.
It’s been out of production for a long time.” Most old water purifiers dumped at the scrapyard disappeared into some corner of the city, gradually buried under a layer of dirt or corpses.
It was always like that.
Always buried, always ignored, always forgotten.
Kariel blinked, momentarily giving in to the surge of feelings, took a deep breath of the cold air, and then slowly smiled.
“You were lucky,” he said with a smile.
“I’ve never found one like this before.” “Really?” “Yes…
Put it on the ground, let me see if it can still be used.” Ghost immediately crouched down and carefully set the water purifier on the ground.
Kariel walked over.
He crouched down and tapped the apparatus’s casing with his finger.
A dull sound rang out, slowly fading away on the roof of the tall building.
“Can it still be used?” Ghost asked hopefully.
…I just tapped it.
Kariel replied with a bitter smile.
“How can I tell its condition from just one tap?” “Besides, we don’t have electricity, Ghost.
The rainwater filter works because it’s a very simple device, so simple that it doesn’t even need electricity…” “But this giant you brought is a real energy hog.” “Oh,” Ghost nodded in disappointment.
“I thought you knew…” “How can I know everything?” Kariel said in passing, wiping the side panel of the water purifier with his sleeve.
Usually, the date and place of manufacture were indicated here.
Knowing that, one could find suitable spare parts in the corresponding shops in the city.
In those shops that moonlighted, or rather specialized in the black market, you could find practically anything.
From machine parts, weapons, and ammunition to internal organs…
They traded in almost everything.
Except for what could be bought in the meat shops.
At this thought, Kariel froze for a moment — they had no money, so spare parts could be a big problem.
And besides, there was one condition for replacing parts in the old water purifier.
“Alright, let’s take a look first.” He continued wiping the side panel impassively.
The dirt quickly came off.
In the light of the neon glow reaching this spot, Kariel made out the letters engraved on the side of the water purifier.
He studied them carefully, then raised his head and shook it, looking at Ghost.
“It looks like it can’t be fixed, Ghost.” “Huh?
Why?” “Because the factory that made it closed down ten years ago.
These old water purifiers had many models, and the one you found is one of the least efficient.
That’s what caused the factory to close.” “It sold badly; few people wanted to buy it.
The officials and other factory owners had better options, so not many of these survived…
So you really were lucky to find it.” Ghost blinked and asked with disappointment.
“So we can’t fix it?” Kariel nodded quietly.
“Can’t we replace parts from other water purifiers?” Ghost persisted.
“The internal structure of every machine is different.
Even if you manage to replace parts from other water purifiers, it’s unlikely to work as before.” …Sorry, Kariel.
“Mhm?” Ghost crouched down in disappointment.
“I brought a useless thing, wasted your time.” “Why do you think that?” “Because…” Ghost muttered.
“Your countdown…” Kariel fell silent.
A cold wind blew.
For the first time, he didn’t know what to answer this naive monster.
Involuntarily, he remembered the past.
A long time ago, in the days when he was merely a ghost, the sky of Nostramo was already shrouded in darkness.
Evil reigned everywhere; it was the foundation of this world.
Every corner of the Star of Eternal Night was sick, corrupt, insane.
Every second spent on Nostramo, that ghost heard countless screams.
The innocent were killed by the thousands, while the guilty went unpunished.
So-called “justice” and “retribution” never came.
They didn’t even bother to be late.
And then, after terrible years, that ghost became Kariel Lokhars.
Ghost lowered his head and sighed.
“Kariel?” Ghost called out anxiously.
“Are you alright?” “I’m fine,” Kariel answered quietly.
“But your countdown…” “Yes, my countdown.” “If I don’t use this power too often, I can live peacefully, maybe even for a long time.” “But I can’t, Ghost.
I have to use it.” “I am the only one who knows what is truly wrong with Nostramo.” “Ghost.” “Huh?” “Don’t worry about the countdown,” Kariel said calmly.
“I’ll find a way to deal with it.” “Really?” “I’ve never lied to you.
Now, shall we talk about the next plans?” Ghost looked at him and nodded.
Kariel smiled slightly.
“There’s only a month left until the Great Purge.
By tradition, the aristocrats will soon send their representatives to give a speech in the center of New Town.
It’s a pompous and meaningless tradition, but for us, it’s very advantageous…” At least, for now.