"Josh…do you know where Michael is?" Elyas's desperation for the answer was evident in his tone.
Joshua raised his head, meeting the eyes of the man half a head taller than him. "He was a good kid, helped me a lot. The only reason someone like me got the job was his recommendation…You raised a good kid."
For a moment, Elyas didn't react. The words hung in the freezing air between them, refusing to settle.
Then something inside his chest cracked open.
His breath hitched violently, like a man breaking the surface after drowning. His knees buckled.
He grabbed the back of the frozen bench for support, fingers digging into the snow-covered wood until they hurt. A sound tore out of his throat, half-laugh, half-sob, something raw, ugly, and completely involuntary.
"Alive…" he whispered, voice cracking like thin ice. "He's… he's really alive?"
Joshua nodded. "Your son is a man now, one kindhearted soul. He even had a fiancee when he left the town."
Four hundred years of guilt, of replaying that final night in the void, of choking himself unconscious just to escape the memory of leaving his son behind. It all came crashing down at once.
"He grew up…" Elyas managed, voice hoarse. "He had a fiancce. He… he made it without me."
The relief was so sharp it hurt. It cut through his ribs and settled somewhere deep, warm and aching at the same time. But beneath it, the guilt didn't vanish. It twisted into something sharper. Because Michael had survived despite him. Despite the father who abandoned him in the middle of hell.
His voice was barely above a whisper when he finally asked again:
"Where… where is he now?"
Josh shook his head.
There was no reason to feel down. Elyas propped himself up and rubbed his face. All he had to do was to get the help of the Librarians or the Protocol in finding him.
Joshua examined his face now adorned with a shaky smile and said, "Old friend…I asked to talk because I need you to do me a favour."
"What is it?" He owed Josh a great deal for relaying this good news to him. Elyas was determined to make it up to the man.
At his words, Joshua's face once again brightened with a warm, friendly smile.
"I need you to kill someone."
…
"Why did he run out so fast? Noah asked the giant walking beside him.
"It's none of my business. But what is, is the tab he left me to pay!" Julius raised his hand holding a receipt, waving and pointing it in different directions. "Why did he have to pick the most expensive option!?" This time he shouted, not able to keep his anger under control.
Noah looked at him with pity and sighed. "I'll talk to him. Don't worry. I'll make sure he at least pays half of it."
"Yeah, you better! Otherwise I might have to rip your boyfriend in half! That bastard—Fifty coins. Fifty goddamn gold coins! That's three months of my salary!"
Noah glanced at him with a weird expression, having only heard the first part. "What do you mean by boyfriend? I'm a man."
Julius scanned him up and down, clearly not calm enough to put it lightly. "Bullshit. News travels fast, silver. Every Protector, including the retirees, know that the former captain had sneaked a man into his house."
"..."
"It's nothing serious."
"Oh, no feelings attached? So you just do it? I didn't expect you to be that kind of person, but alright." Julius sneered, his usual self managing to seep through even his anger.
Noah turned red, either flustered or angry. The giant, seeing his face, calmed down even more and laughed. "It's not like that! You know what I promised the old man. You should know better than anyone that—"
"I know, I know. I'm just messing with you… But you should really make him pay up. Even as a D.E.B teacher and a retiree of the Protocol, I can't afford it."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have a few Sealed Artifacts laying around? I heard they fetch a good price. Especially now that Benders are on the rise thanks to that red lunatic. The demand is high."
"Yeah, I know. But I want to save them for my kids. It'll act as a good investment in a few years when me and Angie have our second child."
Noah stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth wide open like a cave. He couldn't believe what he had heard. "Why didn't you tell me?! You have a child?! Is it a boy or a girl?" He slapped his forehead before adding, "Shit, I should have given you a gift already! Wait, does that mean that I'll be uncle Noah?"
Julius watched his friend's reaction, amused. "You're happier than I am! No need for gifts, not yet at least. There's still a few months left."
"But I'll make sure to come pick up my medal when the baby's out of the oven. After all, I put a lot of effort into it." Noah's joy after receiving the news wasn't affected by his friends' perverted jokes. At this moment, Julius narrowed his eyes, staring ahead into the darkness.
"Who is… If it isn't the devil himself!"
Noah followed the giants' example. Squinting, his eyes took a while to adjust, but after they did, he could see silhouettes. As they approached, he noticed that the figures were two men conversing in the middle of the street. One of them seemed familiar.
Noah raised his hands and waved.
"Hey! Elyas! we're going home…What are you doing outside? it's snowing!" He shouted. The silhouettes turned their heads. As Noah and Julius moved closer, they managed to hear parts of the conversation.
"I…consider… approach. I'll notify you when it's done." Elyas said with a somewhat solemn tone. Josh nodded and walked away. Moving past the giant and Noah without paying them much attention.
Julius turned back, his eyes following Joshua who ignored their presence as he moved towards Telly Burger. "Hey, why is this guy here? Isn't he afraid to die?"
Elyas, only a few steps from the giant, stopped and gave him a questioning look. "Is that supposed to be a threat? Julius looked down. It took all his willpower to not beat him to a pulp right there and then. Elyas wasn't backing up either, probing the giant to attack.
Noah watched all of this from the sideline. Not wanting their relationship to be strained any further, he decided to act as the mediator… He found himself doing that a lot recently.
"Can you two not fight for two seconds? And you Elyas…do you remember what Julius told you about the restaurant?"
Elyas, although surprised by the sudden question nodded.
Seeing his answer, Noah added, "Good. One of the restaurant's powers is that it keeps its employees alive. As long as the business is open, and they are considered employees." Noah glanced at him before shifting his gaze to the giant. He clearly looked irritated, and rightfully so.
Elyas was puzzled by Noah's answer. He gave it some thought and after a bit, understood what Julius was trying to say. "You mean, if they stop working…"
"Yes, if they stay outside for too long they will die. Also you have to pay your tab. I'm not paying for shit." Julius said before adding, "I'm going home. Bye Noah." With that, he headed to his home in the south gate district while ignoring Elyas entirely.
"Let's go. I need to wake up early tomorrow." Noah followed his example. Walking alongside the wind to his warm, cozy hovel of a home.
Elyas watched both of them move apart, Julius disappearing into the night with Noah doing the same, going east. Seeing the gap increase rapidly, he rushed to catch up.
"Hey Noah, do you know a gardening shop?"
Elyas tried to ask it as innocently as possible. But the weird look Noah gave him told him he had failed… for the most part.
"Yes I do… But it's winter. I don't think gardening is going to bear you much fruit. Why are you asking anyway?" Not lingering for even a moment, Elyas answered honestly:
"I'm going to buy a shovel."