I was walking through a park in the city center of… I don't remember the name of this place, but it's very beautiful.
"Haha."
The sky glowed with the warm shine of the sun, and the clouds decorated the firmament with their soft presence.
"What a beautiful day, hahaha. Don't you think so?"
I said to my skeletal friend, but he didn't respond.
"Mmm, you're in such a bad mood. Don't you understand how good sunlight is for you?"
My friend ignored me again.
"…"
He's not a bad guy, he's just a bit shy.
"Hey, you could at least try to walk by yourself, don't you think? I'm really getting tired of carrying you."
It was my idea to go out for a walk in the park. I thought getting some fresh air would be good for our health, but my friend refused. He said something about sunlight and how we would be burned to death if we made a wrong step… and he was also tired, so I gave him a solution: I would carry him on my back so he wouldn't have to make any effort.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, I managed to see something peeking out from between the bushes.
"Ah! Hey, look, it's a snake!"
With its striking golden markings over its white, scaly skin, the snake crawled along the ground as it tried to eat a shiny red apple. But, to its misfortune, that apple was far too big for its small body, so its attempts were practically useless.
"Poor thing, it's going to starve."
I felt sorry for it. No matter how much it tried, it would never get anywhere.
"…!"
But then, the snake changed its strategy. Instead of trying to swallow it whole, it began cutting small pieces off with its fangs. That way it achieved its goal; it wouldn't have to starve… to die…
"Of course… it was that simple…"
It was very beautiful; its colors mesmerized me. I slowly approached to pet it.
"..."
SSSHHHZZZAAAARRR!!!
Whoa! When the snake turned around and leaped at me with hostile intent…
"AAAAAAAHHHGG!!!"
I couldn't move away in time and, as a result of that failure, the snake bit hard into my left arm; more specifically, a part of my forearm, close to the wrist.
It hurt a lot, but I did my best not to fall into despair.
"DAMN IT!!! AAAAAGGGHH!!!"
But I failed, unfortunately.
"Why the hell did I do that?!"
"Ouch… ouch!!"
The pain was so intense that I fell to the ground and twisted in agony as tears escaped my eyes.
"Ouch… I'm such an idiot."
"….."
"Hey, Robert."
Then I heard someone calling me.
"Hm? Who's there?" I asked.
"Over here."
The voice answered immediately. I searched around me, guided by that mysterious sound, but I ran into a problem:
"What are you doing?"
My friend tried to cover my eyes with his bony hands, but I managed to push them away effortlessly. And that's how I found the origin of that mysterious voice.
"Eh?... Is that you?"
I was stunned: the one talking to me was none other than the same snake that had bitten me.
"Yes… it's you, right?"
"…Robert… you."
"Me? What?"
The snake paused briefly and then continued.
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."
Just then, my friend leaned in toward my ear, and with his almost inaudible raspy voice, he said:
"Ru… ruuun…"
FFFUUUUAAAAF.
Suddenly, a torrent of flames surged up from beneath my feet. I had no time to react and, as a result, I was burned alive.
"AAAAAAAAARRRG!!!"
"I'm so sorry…"
While my skin burned under the flames that covered me, I looked up at the sky seeking some kind of comfort from life itself, but there was no sun anymore; the clouds had swallowed it. Now the only lights in the world were those four golden orbs attached to a shadow covering everything. It opened its mouth, and I swear I could hear it. I clearly heard it speak, its words loaded with restrained rage:
"ROOOBERT"
***
"AAAAAAAAAAGGG!!!"
What the hell was that?! Why did it do that?! Why?!
"Eeeec… aac… Wh-what's going on?"
That… was just a dream, a complete nightmare…
"Calm down, Robert…"
I told myself. I had just had a terrible dream, although now I couldn't remember what it was about…
"There was a snake…"
…
…
…
"…!"
"Wait a second… where am I?"
With that question as a trigger, I got up from what seemed to be a medical cot. There were many of them around me; on all of them there were injured people… or maybe dead.
Gulp.
I didn't want to think about that, so I looked in another direction.
This place didn't look like a cave, nor like the ruins of a battlefield. This… is this a tent?
"This is a medical tent."
If I'm here, then that would mean I'm injured.
I got up from the cot and checked every part of my body; I had no wounds or anything serious. That made me feel relieved, but only for a second, because when I finally felt truly at ease, I… remembered. I remembered everything…
"Ah… aaah, wait… my arm."
As I explored my body, looking for any sign of injury or any evidence that could prove that everything I had lived through had really happened, I came across my left arm, the same one that had once been ripped off mercilessly in that dark cave.
"But… then, if this is here… was it all real?"
I was having trouble speaking, and I was also shaking uncontrollably. I was scared, but in the middle of all those tormenting thoughts, a new question rose up from deep within me.
"What if it was all a dream?"
Yeah, that made sense. During the attack on the city, I must have been hit or something that knocked me out. That's why I'm in this medical tent. That… that makes sense… Wait…
"What about my mask?"
Until now I hadn't noticed; I was speaking out loud. Surprised by that fact, I touched my face… and there was nothing there. I didn't have my air-filtering mask… so why don't I feel anything?
"….."
I'm breathing normally, and the air is… fresh.
"…Hello, are you there?"
I had to check. I had to check if all of that was just a dream, and maybe he could give me the answers I needed.
"Cube."
"…"
For a moment, there was no answer to my call.
Beep.
But suddenly, a beeping sound echoed through the tent and a coal-black cube, about the size of an apple, rose up from a pile of dirty rags beside my cot.
[Hello. Very good morning, Mr. Robert.
…
Congratulations, you survived your first day of work.]
"Ah… yeah, great."
Well, so it was all real. That must be…
Kof kof.
At least I'm alive, isn't that what I wanted?
"Mmm, I guess that's fine."
Beep.
[You have a message from Mr. Lucius.]
"Huh, seriously? Let me see."
BEEP.
[Does this thing work?... Oh, wait, I think it's on now.]
The cube projected a holographic screen showing Lucius, that elegant blonde, sitting at a desk.
[Hello, kid. How are you? Confused? Scared?… all of that at once…]
In the video, his face showed deep curiosity toward whoever the message was addressed to, but because of the way he was speaking, for a moment I thought he was just making fun of me.
–What a weird guy.
I said internally, but the more I watched him, the more I noticed something strange: his voice and his expressions didn't match at all. It was like seeing and hearing two different people.
[Haha, well, I'm sure you have many questions. Unfortunately, right now I can't answer any of them.
Let's just say… mmm… I'll be busy this week. I'll have to attend to some unwanted guests.]
This time, his face and voice matched the emotion he was feeling, though I couldn't figure out what it was: excitement, annoyance, interest… anger.
[Anyway, for now you just need to know three things.
First, you now work for me as an exterminator. When I ask you to, you will have to confront those horrible parasites, just like you did today in the cave. If you don't obey me, I'll kill you.
Second, you can't tell anyone about the things you've seen, nor about the things you'll do in the future, nor anything related that could interfere with your work or the work of any fellow exterminator. But don't get confused, this is not a threat or anything like that; literally, from now on it will be completely impossible for you to reveal even the slightest information about your new job or the matters related to it. Oh, well, you won't be able to unless the person you're talking to already knows. Basically, you'll only be able to talk about these topics with your closest colleagues and your most mortal enemies.
And speaking of the latter…
The third thing you need to know is that, sometime this week… someone will try to kill you.
...
…
..
.
Well, that would be all. If you have any questions… talk to Cube, let him be the one to answer your doubts… Oh, yeah, don't die, please. Half of my employees are already dead as it is.]
Beep.
[That is the end of the message, Mr. Robert.]
Beep.
[As Mr. Lucius said, I will be more than willing to answer each one of your questions.]
"…"
[Mr. Robert?]
"That guy… he's supposed to be my boss now, right?"
[Ah, well… yes, you now work for our secret organization, 'Dead Star'. We handle eliminating interdimensional threats and so on… Since you're an employee, that makes Lucius your boss.]
"Great, I'm working for a lunatic."
I'm really grateful for the opportunity Lucius gave me. I can keep on living and I can also change the path I want for this life. But… that guy is definitely not alright. There's clearly something very wrong in his head, and working for someone who sounds that erratic… it scares me a little.
"Haaa…"
Not to mention that now I have to fight those things again.
"Damn it, I need air."
[Good idea. Breathing fresh air will be very good for your health, and now that you don't need a mask, it should be even more comforting for you.]
"Yeah, yeah… you just stay here."
[It would be better if I go with you.]
"And what will people think if they see me with a floating cube? Wouldn't it be easier if… you stay here?"
[Ah, so that's it. Don't worry, people who are not affiliated and don't know about our organization can't see me.]
"Well, if you say so…"
I got up from the cot and walked through the tent; it was full of people covered in bandages, several of them still breathing, alive, but others weren't moving and were covered by sheets.
"No, no, no…"
I didn't want to see them. I wanted to get out of there. I had to get out.
"…!"
Wait a moment, this is supposed to be a medical tent, right? In that case, why aren't there any doctors or nurses here?
It was at that moment, when I fell silent, that I could hear sounds: multiple voices and groans coming from outside.
I quickened my pace until I reached the end of the tent, where the fabric covering us opened up, revealing the lights and colors outside. After being in the darkness for so long, seeing that kind of natural light from the moon and the stars decorating the sky almost made me want to cry; I don't know if from joy or something else, but the point is that I felt extremely good.
Although that feeling didn't last long, because when my eyes finally adjusted to the light and colors, I found myself looking at what seemed to be a crowd of hundreds of people screaming and shoving each other.
–Crap, don't tell me a fight's about to break out right in front of a tent full of wounded.
I thought, but then I noticed how these people looked. None of them were wearing stabilizing masks.
–Oh no…
"A superhuman fight…"
I had to get out of there right now, or there would be nothing left of me but dust.
With that in mind, I moved through the crowd, focused on avoiding any type of physical contact. One accidental hit would be enough to break a couple of my bones.
"What are you waiting for, we have to do something!"
"Idiot! Are you seriously going to fight those lunatics?!"
"Why wouldn't I?! Who do these bastards think they are?! They only show up out of nowhere when we're vulnerable! What if they're here to take the little we have left?!"
–Who are they talking about?
People sounded very worried. They were talking about a group of individuals who had just arrived at this refugee camp, and from what I had heard, they were not welcome at all. I tried to peek over the crowd to see what was happening, but it was useless; I couldn't see anything from there, so I chose another method.
"Excuse me, do you know what's going on over there?"
I asked the man next to me, a pretty tall guy who was staring toward what seemed to be the center of it all.
"Oh, what, you don't know? Didn't you hear anything those crazies said?"
"It's just that… I was asleep."
"Asleep?"
"M–messed… I mean, lost. I meant lost. I just arrived."
I changed my story a bit. I figured it would sound weird that with all this commotion someone could've been sleeping.
"Well, everything started when they showed up."
"Who?"
The man paused while still looking toward the heart of the chaos.
"The Heirs."
"…!"
–Did I hear that right? Did he really say it?
My vision blurred and I started shaking with fear again.
"I… no… they…"
"Hey, kid, are you okay?"
I had to escape, I had to run, as fast and as far as I could. I was about to do just that when…
"Silence."
A voice coming from the center of the crowd echoed through it so clearly that each of the spectators heard it perfectly. No one resisted; everyone fell silent all at once, as if they had received an absolute order.
–Is this magic?
I said in my mind.
Beep.
[That is correct.]
–Eh? Who said that?
[That was me.]
Suddenly, a geometric shape appeared in front of my face. I was startled for a moment, but then I realized who it was.
–Is that you, Cube? Where are you?
[I've been here the whole time, Mr. Robert.]
That cube had been floating around me without me noticing… well, not to mention I had completely forgotten he existed.
–Great… wait, I'm not speaking. How am I communicating with you? And also, you can talk?
[Do not worry, Mr. Robert. We are connected thanks to the link in your brain. Because of that I can hear your thoughts, and in the same way, you can hear my voice.]
–A link in my brain…? You know what, you can explain that later. For now, could you, I don't know, rise up a bit and tell me what's going on?
[That will not be necessary. I can see perfectly from here.]
–And what do you see?
[A lot of superhuman individuals.]
–Be more specific. Who is the person that just spoke and what does he look like?
[Hmm… He is a man wearing a red cloak. He has a mask covering his entire face, and there are ten more just like him.]
–Oh no…
[What is it?]
–They're Heirs.
[Heirs? I am not familiar with that term.]
–Basically, they're a bunch of lunatics who kill humans for fun, and when they're not doing that, they spend their time glorifying the name of the Immortal.
[I see, so they are a cult.]
–Exactly.
[I understand… hmm.]
–Well?
[I detect traces of magic in the air.
From what I can see, that superhuman is a sundrel and is using techniques based on the principle of emission. He spreads his magic like sound waves through the air, reaching all the people here. That is why no one can speak.]
–Got it.
With this new information, I decided that the best thing I could do was stop trying to talk. I wouldn't achieve anything against something I couldn't even see. Maybe it was better to listen to whatever those lunatics had to say, and then I'd make my next move.
There was silence for a while, until that voice rose again.
"My dear compatriots, we have not come here, where you have sheltered yourselves from danger and tried to heal the pain that that monster caused you, to give you more reasons to suffer. On the contrary, we are here to warn you: a great danger is stalking you."
The one who seemed to be the leader of the sect spoke in a quite polite and captivating tone; every word reached the hearts of the people, calming their fears and doubts.
"Among you, a mutant is hiding. He seeks to scare you, harm you, but above all, divide you. You must stand united before the danger that stalks you."
Mutant. That single word was enough to sow fear throughout the crowd. The Terrans had faced hundreds of threats during the Vultrack War, but without a doubt, among them, mutants were the most annoying: they look like us, sound like us, but the moment you let down your guard, they change; they're monsters hiding in Terran skin. And if that lunatic was telling the truth, there was a monster hidden somewhere in this sea of people.
"And why should we believe you?!"
Suddenly, someone in the crowd raised their voice against the Heirs.
"You're a bunch of bastards who only lie to sow chaos and scam people! On top of that, you cause massacres in towns and places where you know there are no heroes or anyone who can make you pay for it! Cowards! You only came here to trick and mock the people who already lost everything!"
There was rage and hatred in every one of his words, but the more he shouted, the more a question grew in my mind.
–And how come he can talk?
Beep.
[From what I can see, he is also a sundrel.]
So, a sundrel, a superhuman with a magic core. That means he must have sensed the magic in the air and maybe found a way to negate its effect on him.
"I understand very well what you're saying, kid… Our order promotes a message of total unity and, unfortunately, some bad seeds have taken our discourse in a more radical way, using our name and identity for horrible acts."
"LIES! You planned all of this! You seek damaged and lost people and use them as puppets!"
"Hmm… You were hurt by them, weren't you?"
"Tsk."
In response to the Heir's words, the person who at first wouldn't stop yelling could only click his tongue, annoyed by the calmness with which the Heir spoke.
"Listen to me, compatriots. We have come here to warn you, not to harm you. There is a mutant among you, and we know where it's hiding."
The Heir spoke calmly; he didn't stutter or hesitate over his words. Maybe that was the reason a small spark of trust toward him began to rise.
–Is what he's saying true? Is there really a mutant here?
BEEP.
[I am scanning the area. It will take a minute.]
"Is th-that true?"
–…! Someone else is speaking.
"I'm afraid it is."
The Heir answered.
"Where is it?"
"Who is it?"
"Please, tell us!"
As time passed, more people regained the ability to speak, and the first thing they did was beg the Heirs to tell them more about that threat: who it was and where it was hiding. In the end, what fueled people's trust in those lunatics was fear.
"The mutant is hiding…"
The Heir revealed his arm, previously hidden beneath his red cloak. It was covered in armor made of a black metal adorned with crimson patterns and edges. He raised his arm while the entire crowd paid special attention to the movement of his hand and his index finger. He pointed toward us and said:
"It's over there…"
"…!"
We all tensed up, staring at his finger and following the direction in which he was pointing. People watched in fear, maybe thinking:
Is that thing near me? Or… is it the person behind me?
Surely they were thinking things like that, just like I was.
Everyone's uncertainty grew as heads turned toward where the Heir was pointing. There came a point when I was truly afraid of what was about to happen, because for a moment it felt like everyone was staring at me. But they weren't. They weren't looking at me, but at what was behind me.
"The mutant is hiding inside that tent."
It was that tent, the same one where I had woken up. All this time… had a mutant been in there?
"It's in there?"
"I thought there were only dead bodies."
"Hey, don't forget there are wounded people inside too."
Once the monster's hiding spot was revealed, people took a few steps back, trying to get away from that tent, and thanks to that, we ended up even closer to the Heirs.
"Someone should take a look."
Said someone in the crowd, which led those closest to glance at each other as if asking: Who's going? or maybe: Are you coming with me? In the end, only four people stepped forward, three men and a woman. No one stopped them, and no one cheered them on either. They walked silently toward the tent.
Tap… tap…
And after a few steps, they went in, and from then on, no one could see them… until it happened.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
Screams echoed from inside the tent. It had been less than ten seconds since the four people entered, and now they were fleeing in terror. They came out so fast that two of them tripped and rolled on the ground, while the other ran without looking and crashed into several onlookers. But that was when many noticed something: three of them had come out; one of the men was missing.
Tap… tap…
The sound of footsteps from inside resonated among the spectators; someone or something was approaching.
"Ah… aac."
Until it finally appeared: a pale, tall, and thin figure, covered in bandages and blood and, above all, eyeless.
"Heee… hel…"
That monster moved its horrible mouth, trying to form words, but it was useless. It might not even have a tongue.
"He killed him… he killed him…"
Said the woman who had bravely gone into the monster's lair. Judging by her words, she was talking about her companion, the missing man; that thing had killed him.
Tap… tap…
More footsteps were heard inside, and soon the source was revealed: more like him, more mutants. The medical tent was full of them, and I knew them; I had seen each and every one of them as I left. I… slept with them there. I couldn't help but wonder what would have become of me if I hadn't woken up in time.
"Kieee… eeec."
"Hep… HELll."
While the mutants continued to spew disgusting noises, a group of people walked toward them.
"Hee… lp."
BAM!
It all happened so fast. In less than a second, a man moved with a speed almost imperceptible to me and struck the mutant so hard that the sound of the hit was almost like a bomb explosion.
That blow crushed the mutant's face and sent it flying into the others, slamming into them with great force, but it didn't stop there. More people from the crowd ran toward them and beat them with all their strength. It was a massacre.
–Well, at least they're getting rid of them.
BEEP
[Scan complete.]
–Huh?
[According to my analysis of the genetic signatures of the people within a 50-meter radius, there are:
–147 ordinary superhumans.
–5 sundrel superhumans.
–1 human.
–0 mutants.]
–What…?
B-but… then what are those things that came out of the medical tent?
Beep.
[9 of them are corpses controlled by magic; the other 4 are still alive, but as controlled as the dead ones.]
–Those people are killing…?
[Yes. It is quite unfortunate.]
"Hee… heeelp."
–They're talking…
[They are trying.]
–They're still alive… I have… I have to stop them!
" "
–…!
–My voice, what's wrong with my voice?!
[You cannot speak.]
–Yeah, I noticed, but why?! Is it because of that guy's magic?!
[No, the remaining traces of magic in the air have already dissipated, so the Heir must have canceled his technique some time ago.]
–Then why?!
[I… do not have an answer for that right now.]
–DAMN IT!
I had to do something, but I had no way to communicate with the others, and when I tried to get someone's attention, I couldn't stop them from running off to join the slaughter in front of me.
–No… no… wait!
But then I had an idea: they couldn't hear me, but they could see me—and they could see Cube too.
–Cube, talk to them.
[What?]
–Tell them! Tell them those aren't mutants!
[I cannot do that, Mr. Robert.]
–What?!
[As I told you, people cannot see me… only you and the ones affiliated with Dead Star.]
–Eh?! No… Then… what do I do…?
Boom!
They kept hitting them endlessly. The force of their blows was so great that it caused small tremors in the area, but then it happened: maybe they hit one too hard, or maybe they started pulling at him, whatever they did, they caused a piece of his body to fly off and land at my feet.
-….
It was a face… an arm… or an organ, I don't know anymore. It was so beaten you couldn't tell. But… did it come from a living person or a dead one?
" "
–Why can't I talk…?
No matter how hard I tried… nothing came out. I couldn't say a single sentence, I couldn't even produce the slightest sound.
–Damn it… This is all their fault. They orchestrated all of this, and for what? They must be laughing at how easy it is to trick everyone into doing this kind of barbarity.
Helpless. That's how I felt, so all I could do was blame the others, even though I knew I couldn't do anything against them.
The crowd kept moving toward the tent, as if they were desperate to at least land one hit on those supposed monsters. And as so many people moved, I could see them: the ones who had started all of this—the Heirs—wearing their red cloaks and black masks. They just stood there, watching all the chaos they had unleashed with a few sentences. They just watched; they didn't laugh, they didn't celebrate.
–What was all this for?
I thought, and suddenly, one of the Heirs looked in my direction.
"…"
I felt like… he was looking straight at me. After a few seconds of staring at each other, he just nodded and then turned around with the rest of the Heirs. They… left, just like that, leaving behind a pointless massacre.
"Shit…"
Oh, it seems I can talk again…
"Okay…"
I muttered. I didn't feel well. I wanted to go somewhere quieter, sit down and sleep a bit more, and I'm pretty sure some blood had splashed on my face…
But before that.
I turned toward one of the people who was about to join the blood festival; it was a girl and, if I'm not mistaken, she looked about my age. I stopped her and said:
"Hey, maybe it's already too late, but I should tell you this anyway: those are not mutants. They're people controlled by magic. Just look, the Heirs already left—they only came here to mock us."
"What…?"
The girl said, surprised by everything I had just told her.
"I just wanted to tell you that. Have a good night, goodbye."
In the end, I did it. I managed to accomplish my goal by revealing the truth. And so, I just walked away from all the screams and blood.