Chapter 162

After the Yield

It took some time for it to dawn upon the group that they had defeated Lek and, no less, with everyone somehow surviving through the encounter. Lack of items did sting a bit, but the title, as well as the homely-seeming boy that was joining them did dampen the blow quite a bit.

Slowly, everyone sat around in small circles around rapidly-made campfires; some immediately toppled over and passed out, too tired to even keep their eyes open. Others, yet, stayed awake, though silent and adrift, their gazes dull and distant. Only a few had the mind to immediately break out dinner and drinks, taking off bloodied pieces of armor and setting them aside for a later wash.

“What was it like being Entombed?” Jamal asked one of the guys from Kramer’s group, a late-twenties and already-balding lad.

“... hmm, kind of... kind of like a lucid dream, I guess?” the man replied. “Y’know, with the exception of being able to move. I could see and feel everything, but I felt like I was sort of... uh, outside of my body? Something like that.”

“What was it like becoming the freakin’ freight-train for 30 seconds?” Senna asked Jamal who immediately broke out into a grin.

“Almost better than sex.”

“Dude!”

“Khm, sorry--but, seriously, it was... I don’t know. I can’t even describe it. Like, whatever I thought of, I could do. Wherever I wanted to be, I’d be there. However I wanted to attack... I’d attack. I’ll miss the feeling so much...”

“Did something like this ever happen to you before?” Kramer asked Emma, who paused with her rather vicious nibbling of a chicken wing.

“Nah,” she replied. “First time. You?”

“Us? No way,” Kramer chuckled bitterly. “Even if the boss scaled down to 9-10 people, my group would still fail to even reach 30%, let alone burn through it all in 30 seconds.”

“How’d you guys get together, anyway?” Jamal asked. “You knew each other beforehand?”

“Some of us,” Kramer said. “Sigmund, Anton, and I are ex-military. Spent about four or so years together abroad. We met Amelia during one of our extraction missions, and she became our rogue-like tech support or something. We met Ryu in the Tower, about a month in or so, and picked others somewhere along the way as well.”

“Ooh, military--were you guys black-ops and stuff?” Jamal asked, appearing rather interested.

“Something like that, I guess,” Kramer chuckled as he took a bite of the jerky.

“What was the most dangerous mission you’ve ever been on?”

“That’s classified.”

“... so?” Jamal shrugged. “What will the government do to you? Put you in a jail?”

“... alright,” Kramer took a deep breath. “It was a sting operation in Congo, about eight-nine years ago. It was a part of a wide-cast-web to try and quell blood-diamonds trade. Our mission was to locate three local, prominent warlords and dispatch them in a single night.”

“Uhm, uhm.” Jamal’s ears perked up with interest as he even forgot to eat.

“Anyway, Congo’s terrain, especially where we were stationed, ain’t exactly... human-friendly. We went in with a team of around eleven, and by the time we actually located the warlords, there was six of us left. One of us went in undercover, posing as a rich Arabian Prince interested in offshoring a huge chunk of diamonds. Due to the numbers, the three warlords gathered together to discuss even distribution. In the meantime, we dug a nearly half a mile long tunnel that led to just underneath the building and, at midnight, set off C4 charge. We, then, went in, guns-blazing, and had cleaned the place up within a couple of hours. That was the first mission Anton, Sigmund, and I took together.”

“Wow! That sounds like something straight out of a movie!” Jamal exclaimed.

“That’s ‘cause it is.” Kramer grinned mischievously.

“... what?”

“It’s from a movie -- well, plenty movies, dude,” he laughed freely for a moment as others joined in. “Come on, don’t look so disappointed. Actual stories are hogwash-boring, if I’m being honest. Months of sitting around and watching computer screens, and for the most, I never even fired a bullet. In a few months we’ve been in this place, I’ve found far more exciting stories to tell than from the years of my military experience.”

“... that hurt,” Jamal said, pointing at his chest. “Here. Hurt, man.”

“What about you?” Kramer turned to Emma and asked. “How’d you all meet?”

“Ah, it was mostly just Cain picking up strays,” Emma said. “And brainwashing them to stick around.”

“Well, damn. He has a good eye,” Anton joined in suddenly. “Each and every one of you could easily be a leader of any of the front-running groups in here. It’s kinda like cheating that you’re all pining under him.”

“Eh, we were mostly lost pups and chumps when he found us,” Daniel shrugged. “What you see is the end-result of many-a-fight that he broke down and shamed us for.”

“He can be quite a prick, eh?” Jamal mumbled.

“Quite?” Senna scoffed. “If he saw a baby crying, his first instinct is to make fun of it.”

“So is yours.”

“W-what? No, no it’s not!”

“Oh, really?” Emma grinned. “So, when Lana fell and scraped her knee, you didn’t first spend nearly half a minute trying to stifle your laughter before walking over and helping us?”

“... that’s... that’s different.”

“How?”

“She fuckin’ flew!!” Senna exclaimed. “She didn’t fall, she flew and crashed!”

“...”

“Khm, I’ll, I’ll go and take a nap...”

“Yeah, you do that,” Emma stiffened a chuckle as she watched Senna walk into one of the corners, hiding underneath a blanket. “Anyway, Lek, now that you’ll be walking and dining with us, tell us something about yourself.”

“... myself?” the boy shyly peeked around and mumbled lowly.

“Yeah, like uh... what do you like doing?”

“I... I like watching the spirits.” Lek replied.

“Is... is that so?”

“Uhm,” he nodded. “No two spirits are alike. Some are angry, some are lost, some are lustful, some are--”

“--did you... did you just say ‘lustful’?” Kramer abruptly interrupted and asked.

“Yes,” Lek nodded. “It isn’t odd to randomly stumble upon a rather queer scene out here.”

“... ghosts can have sex?” Jamal whispered to Daniel who merely shrugged, though could hardly hide the curiosity in his eyes.

“Right, right -- so, you like watching spirits. What else?”

“Hm,” Lek strayed into his thoughts for a moment before replying. “I enjoyed talking to the big sis. She taught me many things.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“About this place,” Lek said. “About other places, where there aren’t as many dead. Big Kingdoms, Empires, about the Underwater Clans, about this City that is built on top of a star, about Cosmic Court and their famous balls, about many heroes -- my favorite was always Rael,” Lek’s lips stretched into a faint smile as his voice grew an octave. “He started off as a tiny fisherman in a tiny village in a tiny Kingdom. However, one of the Divines saw the immense potential he had and afforded him a Treasure. With just that one treasure, he quickly shot forward, conquering his foes, obtaining new treasures, making... making many g-girls love him, and even the Divine that gifted him the Treasure, in the end.”

“Wow,” Emma exclaimed softly, leaning over to Daniel. “Isn’t that like every adventure story ever?”

“Yup, pretty much.”

“Good to know love for it is universal, eh?”

“--big sis always had a lot of stories,” Lek said, looking up at Emma suddenly. “Do... do you have any stories?”

“Uh... sure,” Emma said, startled for a moment and wondering whether she ought to tell her own adventures, or rip one of the books. “How about I tell you how we cleared the first floor to get to here, huh?”

“E-eh? You guys were the ones that did that?” Lek exclaimed with a faint trace of admiration appearing in his eyes.

“Yup, we did,” Emma grinned proudly, prompting Kramer and his group to cough awkwardly. “It was really difficult!”

“Uhm,” Lek nodded fervently. “Big sis said that this was a record!”

“E-eh?”

“She said that this was the fastest anyone’s done it,” Lek continued. “And that new Conquerors will definitely become heroes like Rael! Tell me!” Lek scurried over to Emma and landed on her lap, his ears perked. “Tell me everything!”

“O-oh, a-alright. I’ll tell you everything.”

“Uhm!”

“So, it all began on this day I thought a... khm, let’s call him a friend--on the day I thought this friend of mine... died...”

As Emma began recounting the tale of their journey, a pair of eyes from beyond the veil stared at the group. They were strange, ashen in the darken clouds yet still alight like stars. The figure they were attached to was ephemeral, exiting and yet not within the scalding dimensions of reality. An impenetrable veil covered the figure’s features, like a permanent cloud masking that which nobody was allowed to see.

“... they will die if you don’t help them.” a voice trickled from seemingly afar yet close nearby, prompting the pair of eyes to look to the side.

“The Thief will come.”

“Not in time.”

“That will be on him, then.”

“Your beauty fades under the veil of jealousy.”

“The Thief is too cautious and tame; his outburst just now was the first time I ever thought he had anything other than calm in him. Perchance, I’d like to see more of it.”

“... at least, Lek seems happy. Are you sure you are fine with letting him go?”

“It was time,” the figure replied in a desolate and absolute tone, hollowed out by the eons it had lived through. “With this Soul, he had reached the peak of his life. Now, at least, he stands a chance to reach somewhat higher realms.”

“... they are right -- you’re quite a cruel mistress.”

“And you are not doing your job.”

“Ah, there he is; I was right--he’ll be late.”

“Not completely... he won’t.”