Away from the darkness.
I must... away from the darkness.
But why? The darkness protected me.
Painful.
Am I bleeding?
Confused, chaotic thoughts rushed through his head. The Ghost didn't know if he was still alive; he only felt pain and another sensation he didn't want to admit to himself.
He wanted to return to the darkness, to the bottom of that mine. It was damp and warm there, there were rats for food and dirt to hide in.
He didn't want to endure this torment... they shouldn't have treated him like this.
But some voice whispered to him, urging him to abandon this thought.
"Away from the darkness, Ghost, this is not the fate you deserve," it said.
Fate?
This unfamiliar word burst into his already muddled thoughts, making them even more insane.
The next moment, countless visions descended upon him. They writhed and snarled, clawing at him with sharp talons, proclaiming their truth.
"You have no choice, child, no choice!"
They roared, their voices thundering like bells, like midnight thunder.
"Foolish dreams! The predestined cannot be changed, you must obey! You are destined to drown in blood, to cover yourself in infamy, only then can you become..."
Become what?
The Ghost stared blankly at the distorted images, when suddenly a light blinded him.
...
"Awake?"
The Ghost sat up sharply and began to gasp for air greedily. Without thinking, he jumped up and, following his sense of smell, crawled on all fours into the most familiar corner.
Only after shivering for a dozen seconds did he realize who had called him.
And where he was.
Kariel sat in the darkness, looking at him impassively.
"Are you leaning against the wall, Ghost?"
"...What?"
"I'm asking, are you leaning against the wall?"
"Yes," the Ghost replied in a trembling voice. "I'm leaning against the wall."
His shoulders trembled continuously. The horror caused by the visions had not yet subsided. He didn't understand what it was and didn't want to understand. He just wanted to forget.
"Come here," Kariel said. "Don't lean against the wall, it's bad for your wounds."
"No, I don't want to..."
The Ghost instinctively wanted to refuse. He didn't want to leave this corner. It felt as cozy here as it did at the bottom of the mine.
But all instincts vanished the moment he saw Kariel's eyes.
The neon light, filtering through the holes in the dilapidated door, scattered into many irregular, jagged glints. They fell on half of Kariel's face, making his pale face resemble a gruesome painting.
His eyes glowed.
The Ghost's trembling stopped.
"Come here, Ghost," Kariel repeated softly. "Don't lean against the wall."
This time, the Ghost obeyed.
Hunching over, he cautiously stepped out of the corner. The pain in his back made it difficult for him to walk straight; something sticky trickled down his spine.
"Blood, my blood," the Ghost thought.
He pursed his lips. It hurt a lot.
"You have serious wounds," Kariel tilted his head, looking a bit distracted. "You were hit by a hook-shooter. They hunt with that thing. You're lucky."
"Hunt?"
"Yes. Outside the city, there are many who were expelled for non-payment. They survived with difficulty, but they had to pay for it – they turned into beasts."
"And then the aristocrats invented a new form of entertainment. Bandits also like to participate, but not with the aristocrats. They call it 'following fashion.' Funny, isn't it?"
He laughed, but there was no trace of amusement in his eyes.
"It's not funny," the Ghost said quietly. "What is a hook-shooter?"
"It's a terrible thing, Ghost," Kariel said with a smirk, shaking his head.
"When it hits, it explodes, the tip shatters into a dozen fragments, and each has cruel barbs. It burrows into the victim's flesh and bones, penetrating as deeply as possible. So your back must be a gruesome sight right now."
"Will I die?" the Ghost asked silently. He remained silent, but his expression was more eloquent than any words.
"No, you won't die," Kariel replied. "In fact, in a few hours at most, your bleeding wounds will start to close, Ghost."
"..."
The Ghost didn't answer, just sat silently on the floor. He looked dejected, and Kariel didn't miss it.
He rarely made mistakes. Almost never.
"Are you upset?" Kariel asked.
The Ghost raised his head, looked at him, and lowered it again.
"...That question... I won't get an answer to it?"
"Yes."
"...I forgot to close the window," the Ghost said with annoyance. "They... reacted so quickly."
"Trying to make excuses, Ghost?"
"..."
Kariel couldn't help but laugh at the Ghost's reaction, but there was little genuine joy in this laughter.
This laughter was more of a mockery of himself.
"You were shot with a weapon capable of tearing apart an adult, you fell from a roof ten meters high, you were dragged across the ground..." he thought.
"Your flesh was torn by the power of three coupled motorcycles, and then you lost almost a bucket of blood under acid rain."
"And you're still alive. Moreover, quite healthy."
"Your wounds will heal in a few hours."
"You're a terrible monster, Ghost, but you have a heart like only humans do."
"And what am I supposed to do with you?"
The smile gradually faded from his face. Kariel fell silent, looking at the Ghost, and his face slowly became calm.
After a while, he spoke again.
"For a beginner, you did quite well. You bypassed the guards and sentries on the roof, opened the window without making a sound..."
"It took you less than a minute to kill those three leaders. All of this is very good."
"But don't look at me like that, Ghost," Kariel said calmly. "I'm not praising you. You're not a beginner anymore."
The Ghost nodded dejectedly, agreeing with Kariel's words. He didn't object because he knew Kariel was right.
Kariel was always right.
He lowered his head again.
"Six months ago, you started this job. You're not a beginner, Ghost. You've killed many who deserved death, but you still haven't learned the most important thing in this business."
"You must always be careful, Ghost. Remember my words: always maintain caution."
"If killing the one in front of you will lead to your exposure, don't do it. If the enemy is hiding, wait for him to appear, and only then act. If you don't know what lurks in the darkness... don't enter it."
"But..."
"No 'buts,' Ghost," Kariel said softly. "Listen. If you don't understand, memorize. Sooner or later, you'll understand, you must understand... I don't have much time left to continue. You must learn everything."
The Ghost's eyes widened. For the first time, he looked so taken aback.
"What does that mean?" he asked quickly. "Why don't you have time? Are you leaving?"
"No, I'm not leaving. I don't have time because I'm going to die soon," Kariel replied calmly.
"But you're perfectly healthy!"
The Ghost spoke excitedly: "I see, I know a lot, Kariel – you won't die, I know that, just as I know how long I've lived! And do you know how long you've lived?"
Kariel did not answer.
The Ghost's rambling speech made him smile again – a pale smile. Then he changed the subject.
"Do you know what a time bomb is, Ghost?"
"It's a funny little thing. A regular bomb explodes a few seconds after activation. But a time bomb doesn't."
"The time is set manually, a ticking countdown... And when it reaches zero, it explodes."
The Ghost looked at him with extreme anxiety, awaiting the next words.
"And I... I have such a countdown," Kariel said. "There are two problems. First: I don't know when it will end. I don't see exact numbers, only a vague feeling."
"Second: I am much more dangerous than a time bomb, I feel it... and so do you, Ghost, remember? You said that the power I use is dangerous... yes, it is indeed dangerous."
At these words, the Ghost snarled angrily. His teeth were straight and white. His face, smeared with acid rain and his own blood, was dirty. But Kariel saw the truth.
Beneath that dirt, the Ghost was perfect.
Without a doubt, he was not human.
But now he was furious.
"You said that time bombs are set by people!" the Ghost roared. "A countdown? Who set your countdown? I'll find him, I'll kill him!"
A wave of anger washed over him. Kariel squinted, feeling a clear, terrifying threat.
The Ghost had no hostility towards him; in fact, his rage was directed at protecting Kariel. But even the echoes of this rage made Kariel instinctively reach for his blade.
"Perfection, perfection, Ghost. You can definitely change this world."
"Calm down, Ghost," Kariel said with a smile. "No one set my countdown. In fact, if anyone is to blame, it can only be myself."
"...What?"
He didn't answer his question – or rather, he explained, but in his own way.
"In this world, everything has a price, Ghost. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's hidden."
"For example, the power I use. It's convenient, fast, so powerful that it defies the laws of reality. It can even summon a wandering soul from the depths of space..."
"And the price is usually associated with such things."
"It changes me, Ghost," Kariel said softly, almost as if in a dream.
"I feel these gradual changes... And, based on my experience, for such immense power, I will have to pay a monstrous price."
The Ghost looked at him with bewilderment, completely not understanding what he was talking about. However, it was even better this way. Kariel didn't want to reveal the whole truth in half an hour.
Some things the Ghost had to understand through actions. He was already wary of this world. But for a world like Nostramo, his wariness was not enough.
He was still too naive.
He had to treat his enemies with absolute cruelty, and before striking, consider them the most terrible monsters in the world.
One's attitude towards the world should depend on how the world treats you. If the world kisses you with pain, you are not obliged to answer it with a song.
But burning the world to ashes is also not worth it.
"Rest, Ghost."
Kariel stood up.
"Your first solo hunt was not a complete failure, but you did not achieve success either. As for the answer to your question... I'll think about it later."
"Where are you going?" the Ghost asked.
Kariel turned with a crooked smirk: "And where do you think? Returning the motorcycles? The night on Nostramo never ends, Ghost, and your failed hunt obviously requires completion."
The Ghost silently watched him go. For the first time, the dark corner stopped being so cozy.
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan