Only recently had he realized how unusual this familiar ability of his was for others.
For Ghost, darkness was not an obstacle that obscured vision. In most cases, it was his ally. And he knew that if he was careful, it would always be so.
Therefore, now he could easily see from a distance of a hundred meters a shadow moving near a weak light source.
"Mine, shadow. Sounds harmonious," Ghost thought.
"…I only see one person, Kariel," he said.
"Do you see the dark green tents, Ghost?" Kariel asked.
He didn't answer Ghost's question directly, but shifted the conversation to another topic.
His tone was calm, too calm. "Something is wrong," Ghost thought.
"No."
Ghost answered and immediately asked warily, "Is that good?"
"The dark green tents are the miners' dwellings."
Kariel said calmly, still not answering Ghost's question.
His voice became calmer and calmer. So much so that Ghost felt uneasy.
"Their lives are mostly spent underground. Constant labor destroys their bodies. When the mine they work in is depleted, the owners don't spend another penny on them."
"But they still have one small value left."
"…Value?"
"There are many butcher shops in Quintus, Ghost."
Kariel continued calmly, "The dark green tents where the miners live are issued by the mine owners and serve them their whole lives. But in the butchers' slang, these tents are called 'commodity cloth'."
Ghost was silent, barely suppressing a terrible urge rising from the depths of his soul.
"Unbearable, isn't it?" Kariel asked quietly, without looking back.
He walked ahead, knowing the terrain like the back of his hand. His ability to see in the dark was inferior to Ghost's, but his knowledge of the terrain compensated for it.
Ruined houses, narrow alleys, possible pits in the ground – Kariel navigated all of it easily and effortlessly.
He even smiled. And this smile was exactly like the one that appeared on his face on a rainy night: skin stretched over muscle, teeth slightly grinding in the air.
"Yes…" Ghost replied quietly. "But, Kariel, there's another person there."
"It means that some butcher shops have already taken their goods."
Kariel said calmly, "They only need the dead. That's why those who are still alive are left… if there are many of them, they will come again."
He stopped abruptly.
"Kariel?"
"…I'm fine. I'm just sorry, Ghost."
"Sorry?"
"Yes. I wanted you to see them, but it seems we're too late."
Ghost heard a quiet chuckle ahead.
"It seems we're unlucky, don't you think?"
"…"
Ghost did not answer.
They walked in silence after that.
They quickly approached a weak light source. It was wind-powered, and in Ghost's opinion, the only reason it hadn't been taken was that it was on the verge of breaking.
He saw the lamp flicker, and now a strong wind was blowing. Obviously, the instability of the light was not related to the power source.
And under this light, a trembling, thin man lay on the ground.
"Incredibly thin," Ghost thought.
He was dressed in rags. A terrifyingly indifferent expression was frozen on his pale face, which made Ghost abandon the thought of remembering it.
The man lay on the ground, his limbs spread out on the cold, hard surface, like a toy. A fraction of a second later, Ghost realized he wasn't lying like that to relax.
Ghost slowly looked away.
He didn't want to look at him.
He dared not.
Kariel, on the other hand, approached him and greeted him quietly, with a familiar familiarity.
"Hakan."
The man's eyes turned lifelessly towards Kariel. He was silent.
"It's me, Hakan. Kariel."
The miner shook his head lifelessly, and some semblance of emotion finally appeared on his indifferent, withered face. He opened his mouth, and a hoarse sound escaped:
"…Ka?"
"Yes, it's me."
Kariel knelt down and asked quietly, "Did everyone leave?"
"The butchers… came."
Hakan answered Kariel's question in fragmented phrases.
"The tents… are gone. I'm… cold."
Ghost saw Kariel lower his head.
"…Ka?"
"I'm here," Kariel replied softly.
"I… want… to die."
The miner said slowly, and Ghost saw tears glint in his lifeless eyes.
"I'm… tired."
Ghost heard a sigh, and then Kariel's words. His body was healthy, but his voice sounded as broken as Hakan's weak voice.
"I understand, Hakan."
"…Save…"
"No thanks needed. Forgive me, Hakan, forgive me… I'm truly sorry, I'm truly sorry."
A silver glint flashed in the darkness.
Kariel slowly stood up. Ghost didn't hear another sound from him. He saw Kariel help the miner up, the miner's eyes were closed.
Ghost didn't notice a wound, neither on his neck nor on his chest – Kariel usually struck there, but today everything was different.
"I need to go down into the mine… Ghost."
"Into the mine?" Ghost asked warily. "Are you going to bury him?"
"The rats are already gone," Kariel said, standing with his back to him. "The mine has been abandoned for at least a week… they're smart, they know where the food is."
"Are you going to bury him?"
"Yes," Kariel said, then fell silent for a few seconds. This was unusual for him.
"I will bury him. A person deserves their little corner of earth after death."
"…Do you need help?"
"No, you don't. It's too cramped for you in there, Ghost, you were uncomfortable in there even when you weren't as tall… I'll manage myself."
Kariel turned around, and Ghost saw his profile – he understood that Kariel was smiling encouragingly at him.
But there was no joy in this smile.
He turned away, and Ghost behind him also put on a frozen, encouraging smile. Kariel didn't see this, and Ghost began to regret his momentary hesitation.
"What's wrong with you, Kariel?.."
"Hakan?" Ghost asked.
"Yes, Hakan. A man of few words."
Kariel smiled slightly and shook his head.
"He had no friends, but everyone knew him. Because Hakan was not a bad person. Every day he left half of his ration for those who were punished, so they wouldn't starve."
"…Did you know him?"
"Of course, I knew him, Ghost."
Kariel replied in a lighthearted tone, "Otherwise, how would I know his name and his character?"
"Did you work as a miner before?"
"For a while. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you in that mine."
Ghost nodded silently. He didn't know what to say.
Before meeting Kariel, he knew nothing about Nostramo. After meeting him, he already understood a lot about this world.
But just now, he realized that he actually knew very little about Kariel Lohars.
Besides his name and character, he knew almost nothing about him.
"Mining ore is not easy work."
Sitting on the edge of a tall building, Kariel spoke quietly.
He was surprisingly talkative and garrulous. Before, if Ghost didn't ask, he usually didn't talk so much.
Ghost listened silently, vaguely guessing Kariel's mood.
"The conditions underground are terrible. Almost everyone, except the shortest, has to work bent over in very poor lighting."
"They have a daily quota. If the amount of ore mined does not reach the quota, they are punished."
"Adamantium is very valuable and highly prized. But it's not easy to find. Coal is the most common, but also the cheapest, then comes iron. Oh, there's also this pale blue crystal."
"It's very beautiful, so it's also highly valued. The aristocrats like it. But most people spend their whole lives mining only coal and iron."
Having said this, Kariel chuckled. Ghost noticed that he quickly rubbed the blade of his knife with his index finger under his sleeve.
"Ah, by the way, do you know how coal is formed, Ghost?" he suddenly asked.
"…The remains of plants buried underground, under the influence of complex geological processes, turn into coal," Ghost replied quietly.
He hadn't known this a minute ago. But as soon as Kariel mentioned coal, he knew.
This knowledge naturally surfaced in his mind, like an instinct.
No, perhaps it was an instinct.
"Yes, plant remains… it means that a very, very long time ago, Nostramo was not like this."
Kariel said quietly, "Its sky must have been blue, day and night alternated, the sun did not hide behind clouds… and there were plants. For example, trees, grass. And, of course, seas and lakes."
Ghost listened silently. After a while, he asked, "How do you know all this, Kariel?"
"Sometimes I have dreams. Visions from the past."
"Dreams?"
"Yes, dreams. People have dreams, Ghost. And dreams usually have no logic. Some dreams are warm, some are absurd, and some are very scary. But the word 'dream' doesn't always mean what you see in a dream."
"…Do you have dreams?"
"Sometimes, Ghost, sometimes."
Kariel slowly stood up and shook his head.
"And also… forgive me."
"What are you apologizing for?"
Ghost frowned and stood up silently, not knowing what to say. And Kariel, standing to the side, continued.
"I was going to go down into the mine and see if there was any iron ore left to make you a knife. But I forgot about it."
"…I don't care," Ghost replied quietly. "And, Kariel, you need a forge to forge weapons, and we don't have one."
"Yes, we don't."
Kariel smiled slightly. He turned his head, and a cold blue light flashed in his eyes.
"But we have this."
He stepped forward slowly and jumped from the tall building. Ghost followed him.
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan