Dan and Liam left the cemetery. Silence punctuated their steps until Liam suddenly broke it:
"Did you kill them, Dan?"
Dan froze, his saliva dried, then muttered:
"What do you mean?"
I mean those who died. I'll rephrase the question: "Why did you kill them?"
Dan said:
I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm not a murderer.
Liam sighed, as if he already knew the answer:
"Of course, you are not."
Dan quickly changed the subject:
So tell me... why did I come back to life even though I didn't want to? I have the right to know.
Liam smiled bitterly.
Even a child doesn't want to be born, yet they are born anyway. That's called fate... and yours is written in the blood of the ( First Dead.)
I don't understand... explain more. My head aches from the many twists and turns my life has suddenly taken.
Liam said, peering into the darkness ahead:
You came back to life because of your blood, the blood of the First Dead. A man who lived a long time ago, no one knows how he became like this, but what is known is that with every death... you come back stronger.
Dan nodded:
Yes... I've become more ( resilient ). I felt it.
Liam nodded:
That's just the first ability. There are fourteen. Ability Zero is the last, but it's unknown and no one has attained it... but what is known is that the ability before it is immortality.
Dan said:
So... if I die fourteen times, I'll become immortal?
Liam smiled coldly as he opened the door of a nightclub:
It's not that easy. The pain increases with every death, and you might just return with a body devoid of soul or mind. Throwing yourself to death without knowing the outcome... do you dare?
Dan didn't answer, but asked sharply:
And what are you doing here? In a nightclub restroom?
Liam smiled and gestured for him to enter:
"Follow me."
He entered the restroom and placed his hand on a hidden spot in the wall. A secret door opened, revealing a dark elevator. They entered together, and the door closed, plunging them into unknown depths.
When the elevator stopped, another city appeared before Dan... the world of the dead, the world of ghosts, or the world of people resurrected from the dead.
Liam whispered in a heavy voice,
"Welcome... It's the organization."
Dan entered the organization, and the place seemed vast and imposing.
He smiled sarcastically and said,
"Are all these ghosts?"
Liam answered coldly, "No, just employees assigned to us by the King. The real ghosts within this organization... five. Excuse me, six. now."
Dan stopped in his tracks as a girl walked past him. Her hair was red as a flame, and she was wearing a pure white dress. She moved lightly as she danced in the corridor, as if she didn't belong in this world. He exchanged a strange look with her, and he looked away in surprise.
"Who is that?" Dan asked.
Liam smiled. "Um... Eleanor. She usually does that; dancing is her way of expressing herself."
They continued walking, and Dan asked, "And what is your role, anyway?"
Liam said seriously, his smile fading. "We fight ghosts that haven't completed their rebirth. When the body returns without a mind, it becomes like a predatory animal. Have you ever tried to become someone's food?
There was a brief silence before he added in a low voice, "That was my first death... I never imagined I'd ever become a meal... They're a real danger, you'll see."
Dan grinned sarcastically. "Who said I'd stay here? I don't see any reason why I'd join you."
Liam laughed. "Do you have money in your pocket?"
Dan reached out and was surprised to find some bloodied coins. He frowned.
"No... I don't have anything..."
Liam leaned closer and whispered,
"That's why you must stay with us. Outside, you're just a ghost. Here, you're among your real family. We're the ones who shared the blood of the first dead."
They continued walking until they reached a massive door. Liam pushed it open without knocking. "Now... I'll introduce you to Moron"
Dan walked in with cautious steps, extending his hand to shake Moron's, but he did not expect that at the same moment, a powerful punch hit his face and knocked him to the ground, and he lost consciousness immediately.