Chapter 16: Signs

Within a certain castle’s walls, and throughout abandoned halls, two creatures spoke.

A dark figure of black that walked the lurid soil, as a creature of fables led him, a will o’ wisp.

Together, they roamed the forgotten edifice bordering the terminus of where they lay.

As they walked, the beings chattered, talking in queries and answers. Though, it was chiefly the figure that questioned, as the will o’ wisp tried to answer to the best of its ability.

It was a losing fight for the wisp, as the figure’s inquest ran amok, preventing it from uttering out a single word.

Nonary enjoyed this, for his companion refused to stay its hand. Willow took the boy’s provocation as a challenge, answering each question with grace. But the speed at which the questions rose overtook the wisp’s responses, leading the queries to pile up.

As it begged the boy to lessen his verbal pace, he only smiled with glee.

☼[I-I give up...]

At last, the wisp had given in. It only wanted to educate the boy regarding the world’s matters, but its efforts had been in vain.

☼[There’s... too many...]

The wisp, incapable of panting, wished it could show the boy its exhaustion. As while it could not tire in corporeal terms, the speed in which the boy asked the wisp had left its spirit weary, and the mind was not something that could recover within a second’s count.

The boy had taken advantage of its kindness.

★[You’ve yet to answer over 156 questions of mine, and 33 of your answers have left me dissatisfied]

As if reading out of a book, the boy listed out his discontent over the wisp’s remarks.

★[I expected too much of you, Lady Willow]

That last, scathing remark of his became the bane of her reposed self. Sure, she could have done better in answering him, but this was a bit too much for her already compromised temperance at the boy’s foolish catechisms, one that she could scarcely keep up with.

Nonary kept asking questions which, for some odd reason, were unrelated to anything he formerly wanted to know.

They were all analogous to tidbits of knowledge that one would deem to be pointless. His behavior was questionable, as she couldn’t see any value in what he asked.

Unless he was trying to annoy her, and that was precisely what he had done.

☼[Listen here, Nonary! I am a Replicator of the Imaginary Numbers, one famed for being the most knowledgeable regarding the world’s affairs and yet you keep asking these stupid questions!]

Enclosed within the hallway, the shouts resounded. Her voice carried the weight of her emotions, as she aimed them towards a single individual, Nonary.

☼[Here I am, trying to help you know better about this world since you ‘claim’ to have lost your memory, but why are you acting like this? Is it wrong of me to ask for little respect?]

With the fanfare’s concord, Nonary watched the wisp cry out her sorrows towards him. He didn’t move from his position, his body erected in place.

This only incited her further, as this was a show of disrespect in her eyes. Strange eyes at that.

☼[Perhaps if you’d asked me what you wanted to know before, then I wouldn’t be fuming right now!] She continued, sincere at her request.

Though it appeared to be an angry assertion, she was genuine in her curiosity towards his foolish conduct.

☼[What are you even going to do with such useless knowledge?]

Little did she know that every question of his was another piece of knowledge that he could use. Scrounging for any sort of information that he could manage down the line once he’d established a foothold in the new world.

From the variations of countless objects that he had never heard of, to the wisp’s proclaimed gender and hobbies, they were all instrumental in what he wanted to do.

Though trying to find out about Willow’s gender became nothing more than a curious action of his, as it felt cruel to keep referring her as nothing more than a mere ‘creature’.

This was his way of showing the wisp of respect, though she didn’t know that.

If she did, her emotional outburst never would have happened, as she would be quite happy at his intentions to bridge the gap between them. This was the extent of his kindness, however.

Acting too friendly was beyond his capabilities, and he couldn’t afford to do so.

‘Hmm, so this is her breaking point. I should keep that in mind’ Studying the nuances of such an exotic companion became his primary aim.

If the contract were to be believed, the wisp would have access to his emotions, albeit only capable of vaguely guessing what his mind conveyed. But it remained a dangerous variable, one that she could use against him, so having a few countermeasures set-up would do him good.

He couldn’t trust Willow yet, as he knew too little of her.

☼[Do you even plan on-] As she was about to speak, a terrifying thought occurred to her.

Then it clicked.

Nonary didn’t seem too keen on exposing his nature, yet he observed her actions. Though her attention became diverted with the use of such cheap jabs at her dignity, he never moved his gaze. Not one second did it move, as if he was studying her.

The question was, how long had he been doing this?

☼[Nonary...] Her voice harbored disappointment, the pride she held destroyed by his simple ploy. Disappointed not him, but towards herself.

☼[It would be best if you were to cease your misconduct. Your actions only showcase how much of a threat you are.]

While she knew that trust never came in such a short term, the boy was far too detached from the notions of societal norms.

His demeanor only reinforced the fact, with his actions being far too abstract for the common populace to interact with. If he was to relate with other people, his attitude would need to be mended.

★[I’m already aware of that, Lady Willow.] He scoffed, faking out a displeased attitude.

★[I only want you to know that I cannot, for the life of me, trust you at all. This place… I just want to protect myself from...]

★[... whatever you are] A quick lapse of his judgement caused him to complete his interruption, unwittingly so.

As the words left his mouth, he froze. Maintaining his composure became impossible in front of her, and it showed.

The moon’s presence, though faint, still emanated from the will o’ wisp, affecting his mind.

It was an odd phenomenon, one that he couldn’t deter. Avoiding it was nearly inconceivable, unless he left her vicinity. He couldn’t keep his mind intact within the creature’s sight.

Willow didn’t show any sign of awareness, not noticing how she affected him, and he wanted to keep it that way. But if this were to continue, he would only slip out more.

☼[I cannot comprehend your hatred, I really don’t... but it does not give you the right to act like that. You’re only making a fool out of yourself, Replicator.]

She wanted to know the reason for his enmity, one that he refused to reveal. The boy in front of him kept isolating himself from her efforts to ease his pain.

☼[Your body lacks any scars yet our suffering remains present. It has only been a few days since the energy fluctuation and yet... you seem to have suffered through so much so...]

☼[During those days, what horrors have you seen? Not having anything to remember must terrify you, and your identity plagued with questions. Of whoever you are...]

In a voice befitting that of kindness, she asked the boy. Her words were weighing down his conscience.

☼[If you need help with anything, you can tell me okay?]

Though his past remained unknown, the mental scars were visible to her. She didn’t need to read his emotions to know just how afraid he was, that the world scared him.

Just from the way he interacted with her, it became obvious.

And she was right. As of right now, it terrified Nonary. He had been trying to avoid a scenario like this, where his weakness would be hers to expose.

It had only been a few minutes since they met, yet he ended up yielding to the wisp. It was a laughable waste of effort, that was what his actions were.

All because he slipped his tongue, with the will o’ wisp catching on.

‘Am I overthinking too much? She can’t be that awful person who only watched me suffer. There’s no chance, right?’ His head became engrossed with his chaotic self, his thoughts preoccupied by the gaze he once felt. ‘Maybe she isn’t an enemy? Do I need to be wary of her?’

He kept questioning himself, weighing his options. If the wisp was an ally, then his efforts would have been for naught. Every mental barrier that he established was in vain, purely because of his overdriven fears.

If he considered Willow as someone he could rely on, then the need to protect himself would be eased as a burden. It would reduce the amount of effort he needed to exert.

That was one possibility.

If Willow certainly was his enemy, then what? The moment his emotions lay bare, then his actions would be easy to expect. Sometimes, emotions equated to actions, especially when said person isn’t sound of mind, a label that applied to him.

His derangement wasn’t something he could measure yet, but he was certain that if his bouts of insanity continued, he would bring himself to ruin.

If he was right about the moon’s presence, he would have exposed himself to the person he vowed to bring down. That lofty presence that hung from the sky, gazing down on him. It, looking down on his meager form... was something he couldn’t bear.

And that was another possibility.

‘Goddamitgoddamitgoddamit’ The boy became at odds with himself, remaining undecided over which side he should take.

Both choices had their own downsides, which only made choosing harder. As his mind remained in conflict, he clenched his fists, unknowingly drawing blood. His gloves, tattered by the strength he carried.

☼[That’s enough.]

A blue strand held his arm in place, interrupting his thoughts. Before he could harm himself further, the strings entwined his bloodied fingers.

☼[I won’t pry any further but... you should stop what you’re doing. You’re bleeding already.]

A certain crimson liquid flowed from where he made his marks, his hands now moist with sanguine fluids.

★[What... Why is it red now?]

Nonary glanced at his hands, only to see that they were indeed bleeding. He raised his wounded palm, noticing that he now bled red. The former beryl liquid that caused him grief had returned to its dark-red color.

And he was aware of what caused the change.

Though his words were something he whispered, the wisp heard them clear. She turned to him in confusion, not knowing what his words meant.

Was his blood not meant to be red? Crimson blood belonged to most of the sentient races. The existence of green blood belonged to a select few animals, and the person in front of her was no beast.

While the beast men were a race in existence, comprising various sub-species, the boy was not of their kind. He lacked fur and claws, scales and fangs, and his hands were more akin to the elven folk and dwarven people.

His body did not hold to the beast men’s standards. That much she was aware of. Yet she was curious of why the boy spoke of his blood like that, as if they were formerly a different shade.

★[Hey Willow..., About everything... Can you forget what you heard?]

This was another matter he need to solve, the irresolute nature of his blood. Another task, another problem. Though he was, admittedly, in dire need of escape.

The pungent smell of rotting wood imbued the walls with odorous smells, and he needed to leave this place before he grew even crazier with their stench.

★[I’ll shut up since we keep getting sidetracked, capiche?]

☼[I don’t even know what that word means but, alright!]

The last word he said was something the wisp didn’t know of. Though asking about what it meant would inconvenience the boy further. With the conclusion of his mishap, Willow returned to her cheery tone, leading the way once more.

She promised him her silence, so ignoring what he said was desirable for the both of them.

☼[I’ll tell you about the contract’s details once we arrive there.]

With their goals now set, they walked again, with no conversations between them. Though the silence remained deafening, none of them spoke, instead continuing their quiet jaunt.

While the wisp had many questions to ask, she promised not to pry, instead holding a firm belief that Nonary would open up to him once enough time had passed. Neither boy nor wisp said a word, nearing the floating island’s edge, if Willow were to be believed.

The outlandish pair passed through empty halls and barren rooms, none of which caught their eye.

A broken palace had aged too much, its glory brought down to ruins by the murmurs of time. Its furniture broken, their wooden works a fractured whole. The walls, blighted in broken lines, their frail appearance a testament of how cruel time could be.

To Nonary, it felt ironic, as someone who claimed to embody the temporal concept accompanied him.

With the thought in his head, he slightly chuckled, catching the attention of Willow. Though she noticed his laughter, they did not stop their idyllic stroll. Her commitment to keeping her word was imperative, and she took pride in doing so.

While it may have been a particular choice of the wisp, her non-interference prevented any problems from arising.

And before they knew it, the castle gates stood before them.

No grand entrance awaited them, nor was there something worthy of their attention. It was a simple, portcullis gate, its iron lattice that hung low, tarnished and bent.

A considerable gap, one he could fit through, was visible as the lattice fence became cemented by decay.

Rust covered the entire port, giving it a shoddy finish. He expected a glorious exit, one he could make a joke out of. Dashed were his hopes as an ugly passage graced him. Not one that befit a king, but only a hideous sight that bled decay.

Beyond the gate, the island’s edge became visible. They stood by the precipice, its fringes hemmed with fractured stone.

Nothing stood ahead of it, a black space that seemed to imply their suspended location. If this were the sky, then it would make sense. A few hundred meters above, afloat in the vacant sky.

From his standpoint, such poetry was possible, though his mind lay elsewhere.

★[This place is ugly.] He muttered aloud, his opinions made clear to his only listener, Willow.