Halfway toward the residential street, I spotted a familiar figure up ahead.
Finn.
Except today, he was dragging a shovel behind him… and it was smeared dark with something that looked very much like blood. He didn't see me.
My steps slowed anyway.
Finn finally stopped near the fountain, setting the shovel against the stone edge.
Up close, he looked worse than usual, if that was even possible.
His clothes were more patches than fabric. His hair hung in greasy tangles.
Most people gave him a wide berth, crossing to the other side of the plaza like he carried something contagious.
I'd gotten to know him when I first moved here. Unlike everyone else, I'd actually talked to him.
Seemed like a decent enough person under all the grime.
"Finn," I called out.
He looked up, squinting through the rain. His face brightened slightly when he recognized me.
"Oh. You're back."
I nodded toward the shovel. "Interesting accessory. Where'd you pick that up?"
He glanced down like he'd forgotten he was carrying it.
"Graveyard. Found some dead cat that needed burying. This was just lying there, so I figured I'd clean it up and wash it off."
Made sense. Finn had a habit of taking care of strays, both the living and dead variety.
"You heading to the graveyard tonight too?"
"Yeah."
He tilted his head.
"Why?"
"Got some work to do there myself. Mind if I tag along?"
Finn shrugged. "Sure. Meet me at the fountain around midnight."
He paused, studying my face with more curiosity than usual.
"What kind of work?"
I gave him my best harmless smile.
"The boring kind."
He didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway.
As I turned to leave, something made me stop. "Finn. You eaten today?"
He grinned .
the first real expression I'd seen from him.
"A man who asks no questions of the universe receives all the answers he deserves."
That was either a yes or the most philosophical way of saying no I'd heard all week.
either way i slid my hand into the pocket, and handed him some paper notes, just in case he felll unconcious while in the graveyard tonight.
he didnt protest or say anything and took the money, because this was not the first time i had give him money to eat.
it was every other day i gave him out.
it wasnt empathy at all.
though i hate it,but someone who had no one to love in this world, and by caring for him i thought that as a cope up.
because i knew what not having a family felt like.
I walked ahead, still mulling over his cryptic response, when I noticed a crowd gathered near the market district.
People were clustered around something on the ground, voices low and worried.
I pushed through the outer ring. "What happened?"
A middle-aged woman looked up at me, her face pale.
"Another one. Guy got knocked out cold."
In the center of the crowd, a man lay unconscious on the wet stones.
Someone had draped a coat over him, but he wasn't moving.
"Knocked out by who?" I asked.
"Some thug or skinwalker for someone ," an older man replied, shaking his head.
"Been going around at night, asking people for money. When they won't hand it over…"
He gestured at the unconscious man. Strange.
Nothing like that had been happening when I left for the pyramid expedition.
The older man looked me up and down, taking in my soaked clothes and the spear still gripped in my hand.
"You should get home fast, son. Could be you're next."
I started walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey!" The man called after me.
"Where are you going? That's not the way to the residential district."
I glanced back. "Shortcut."
His expression said he didn't believe me for a second.
I ducked into a small shop on the corner, the kind of place that sold everything and asked no questions.
The shopkeeper barely looked up from his ledger as I browsed.
Found what I was looking for near the back: a simple mask that would cover most of my face.
Nothing fancy, just black cloth with eye holes.
"How much?"
"thirty Orz."
I paid without haggling and tucked the mask into my jacket.
Then I found a quiet alley and settled in to wait.
"i have to even go to the graveyard tonight too"
i whispered under my breath, as the rain kept falling. The city slowly emptied as people headed home.
Hours passed and the rain finally stopped, leaving the streets slick and empty.
Even the streetlights seemed dimmer in the thick darkness.
I decided it was time to head home.
The alley felt different as I stepped out, heavier somehow.
Like the air itself had weight.
Then I realized why.
The air around me had shifted.
Someone was manipulating its behaviour , turning their properties solid.
I could feel the invisible cage forming, pressing against my skin from all direction as i coudnt move anymore.
I tried to manipulate them again, to turn the air gaseous again.
but nothing changed.
Whoever was doing this had much more information particle density per time dialation compared to me.
That didn't felt concerning for some reason.
then Footsteps echoed off the wet stones.
A figure in a dark cloak almost as tall as me emerged from the shadows, wearing a crude mask that covered most of his face.
He moved with the confidence of someone who'd done this before.
"Tell me,"
he said, his voice muffled as if pressing down his ligaments on intention to keep his voice low, but young.
"Do you have no fear?"
I kept my expression neutral.
"Depends on the day."
"Today you should."
He said as i felt his expressions falter behind his mask and stepped closer, and I could see his eyes glinting behind the mask.
"Empty your pockets. All of it."
"That's a bold request for someone hiding behind cloth."
"The cage around you says otherwise."
His voice carried a hint of smugness.
"You can't break free. Your I.Q is less than even an average person let alone against mine." He spoke and wasn't entirely wrong.
Though i wondered how much confident in his power he must be, to pull such a risky stunt.
one person.
One person with I.Q higher than his is all it takes, and he would be dead meat.
But he'd made one mistake.
I shifted my grip on the spear, angling it just right.
"You know what's funny about cages?"
"What?"
"They only work if you stay inside them."
Instead of trying to break the particle cage, I drove the spear's base hard into the ground and used it as a lever, launching myself up and over the solidified air barrier.
The cloaked figure stumbled backward, clearly not expecting that.
I landed behind him and grabbed for his mask.
The fabric tore away easily. He spun around and yanked at mine in return, panic making his movements clumsy.
My mask came loose. For a moment, we just stood there in the dim light, both of us breathing hard.
Both of us staring.
Then realization struck in , and well...
so did the other one's instincts.