Insistent little taps broke Lorelei's sleep. She turned to see a small child kneeling beside her. They exchanged a quick gaze, and he got up.
"I'm hungwy," he said.
A little growl resonated across the room as he rubbed his belly. Lorelei rose and put on her jacket before venturing across the house. She came across a room filled with closed brown cabinets. The child stood right beside her, clinging to the doorframe. He pointed at one of the cabinets, and Lorelei went over to open it. She found a few slices of bread packed in a bag and took them out—but when she turned around, the child was gone.
"Where did h—"
She retraced her steps into the living room and found him standing in front of a door. Despite the cold weather claiming the room, the child didn't seem cold at all. Lorelei stepped closer and saw him staring at the body of his dead father. His gaze was unyielding, leaving no room for sadness to appear.
"Lorelei, kill him."
She ignored the figure and tapped the little boy, who hadn't even noticed she was standing behind him. When he saw the bag, Lorelei handed it to him, and he sat down before taking small bites of the bread slice.
"You're delaying his death; that's what you're doing. Kill him and get it over with."
"Shut it! Just shut up!" she screamed in frustration.
The little boy was startled by her scream and backed away, but when he saw that she didn't attack him, he slowly crept back to the slice he was eating.
"Even if you don't kill him now, how will he survive? You killed his parents. How is he supposed to survive winter with nobody to take care of him?"
"…"
"You can kill him painlessly with your hands. That's the best thing you can offer him, before the weather claims his life."
Lorelei knew the figure was speaking the truth. She couldn't stay here forever. She had to leave—but once she did, how would this little child take care of himself? The town seemed almost empty; since she'd arrived, not a voice had been heard outside. Nobody would come to look after him, and with the hole in the roof, it wouldn't be long before he froze to death.
"I will take him with me," she declared, confident.
"Don't be stupid; he'd die before we even reach the pillar."
"I'm in control here, not you."
She got up, grabbed the blanket, and wrapped the little boy tightly in it.
"Hold on tight."
The boy held on to her jacket. She picked up her sword and kicked the door open. The storm raged furiously, but she had already wasted too much time staying here. The boy pulled the blanket over his head, and Lorelei started walking through the snow. Step by step, she got away from the town and headed towards the pillar. Her every breath condensed into visible particles in the air. Not only was the snow blurring her vision, but also her long bangs, which nearly reached the bottom of her eyes. The snow grew heavy in her shoes, and her stamina rapidly depleted.
"I told you."
"Shut… up…" she said, muffled between heavy breaths.
"I'm cold," the little boy cried out.
Lorelei fell face-first to the ground, and the boy was thrown off her back. She crawled to him and held his body close to share her warmth.
"I'm… cold." He let out a few coughs, and his hands gave out.
Snow piled on them quickly. Before the child died, Lorelei used her mouth to pull off her white glove and gently touched the boy. Part of his body started decomposing into blue particles—the same blue as nature's energy. The particles flew out of the blanket and dissipated among their kin. She felt her body freeze in place and her lungs press against her ribs. Every breath became a loud gasp. She jumped from ledge to ledge, trying to delay her death, but the inevitable came, and her lungs stopped working.
0 000 006
"Come on, how long are you going to stay there?"
"…"
"We got a lot to do. Get up."
Lorelei jumped awake and gasped for air. She touched her torso and made sure everything was working normally. The storm had overnight turned everything into a sea of crystal white snow. The very same snow Lorelei had died in now presented itself innocently. She bent down and picked up her white glove, poking out of the snow. Right next to it lay the beige blanket, half-buried.
"I told you. You were only delaying his death."
"…"
"Get used to killing, Lorelei. I mean it."
"Rei. Call me Rei," she declared, in an irritated tone.
She picked up her sword before setting forth towards the pillar. Though the snow was hard to walk in, without a weight on her back, it was easier to navigate. Soon after, she reached the forest where the pillar was. It was still far in the distance, but Lorelei was sure she'd get there today. While walking, she spoke with the figure.
"Hey."
"…"
"When I died before—the first three times—I went to that place with you, so why isn't it happening anymore?"
"I don't need to do that anymore. We can just speak freely like this. And talking about dying, mind yourself; you aren't immortal. The numeral's effect will run out soon, and when you die, you'll drown in your sea. Believe me, a few seconds there is enough to get your brain running wild."
Lorelei used the trees to support herself and move faster through the forest.
"I'm doing my best not to die here. If you'd tell me what to do before it happens, maybe I wouldn't have died twice."
"I did tell you what to do. You just don't listen."
She sighed and ignored it.
"Maria, Silvia, that lady and the kid. When I killed them, they disappeared into energy particles, but that merchant, when I was younger. I killed him, no? I can see some of his memories. How did Silvia remember him?"
Lorelei seemed to hear a little sigh from the figure.
"I was hoping you'd never ask that."
"Well, I did. So?"
"That woman was crazy. From the first time you met her, she'd already lost it. That's the simplest explanation I can give you. And I suggest you content yourself with it."
A screech echoed through the forest, and Lorelei reacted by flinging her blade upright and gripping the hilt. The noise grew louder, so she decided to investigate. As she got closer to the source, she heard a group of people talking. By instinct, she hid behind a tree and observed them. They had pierced a beast-like monster to the ground—at least twice the size of a normal human—but compared to the one she'd fought before, it was basically small fry. It wagged its tail and roared, making the ground tremble.
"Start with his scales, on the tail," one of the men ordered.
At his order, a hooded figure raised a hand. Symbols and particles formed in front of them, condensing until they formed a brown rod. He launched the rod at the tail, puncturing it and stunning it in place.
"You, get the energy stone. It should be worth a few hundred with this size of big boy."
Another man climbed on top of the monster and pulled out a dagger before slowly cutting it open. It screeched even louder and violently thrashed its head. Purple blood poured slowly onto the snow, dyeing it the same colour.
"Mercenaries."
"What?" she whispered.
"Mercenaries. They hunt monsters for their materials and sell the parts at Loath's Respite."
Lorelei shifted slightly, and the snow under her compressed, making a crunching sound one of the men heard. A woman from behind shot an arrow at the tree, and the man slowly moved closer. Lorelei jumped up, grabbed one of the branches, and pulled herself onto it. She watched as the man walked over, looked behind the tree—but nothing was there.
"I thought I heard something…"
He looked down at her footsteps in the snow.
"There's someone here!" he screamed to the rest of the group.
"Then get to searching!" the man who seemed to be the leader ordered.
They dispersed, even those dissecting the monster, their hands still covered in its blood.
"If they find you, they'll capture you."
"Why?"
"Human slaves sell for a lot. Especially women."
"You're saying they capture people and make them slaves?"
"Precisely."
Lorelei drew the gun tucked in her pants and held it in her mouth. She waited until one of them strayed farther than the others, then dropped down with her blade aimed at the ground. She pierced his head and landed on his shoulders. From there, she leapt to another tree and settled back on a branch.
"Clean."
Lorelei counted about seven people. She wasn't confident in taking them all at once, so killing them one by one was the best strategy she could come up with. Another came by, this time a woman—the same one who'd shot the arrow at the tree. She saw the body and whistled to get the attention of the others, but before they came, Lorelei jumped down and drove her sword through her head. She pulled it out and ran behind a tree trunk, waiting for the others. About three surrounded the two bodies. They turned to face each other and formed a triangle formation. Lorelei threw her blade in the air, drawing the attention of the one looking in her direction, before rushing at her and finishing her with a single bullet. The other two turned and charged at Lorelei. She waited until one closed the distance, shot him in the shoulder, and dodged the strike of his partner. When she got behind him, she pulled the trigger—but no beam came out. Lorelei flicked the barrel open and realized the energy stones were drained.
"Shit!"
He lifted his blade and struck directly at her, but she blocked it with the gun. Lorelei swept his legs and rolled over to her sword, lying in the snow. By the time he got up again, Lorelei delivered a gut punch, knocking him to his knees, and drove the sword into his throat. She thought she was done, but the man she'd shot in the shoulder was still crawling on the snow, trying to get away. When he saw that Lorelei had noticed him, he waved his intact arm in the air.
"Please! Please! I don't want to die! Money, right? You want money, right? Right?!" he pleaded as Lorelei grew closer.
Lorelei towered over him and lifted her sword above his head, then pierced straight through. She wiped the blood staining her cheek and swung her sword in the air, trying to get the blood off.
"Brutal…"
"What's wrong with it?" she asked, sarcastically.
"No, no, nothing. Just wished you could be a little more like that."
Lorelei sat down next to the tree and took a short break, trying to catch her breath.
"Two left."
"I kn—"
The tree erupted in a wild fire, but Lorelei got away before the flames reached her. Behind the tree, a heavy, muscled figure appeared—the man who seemed to be the boss. A smaller hooded figure cowered behind him.
"You did this?" he asked.
"Yeah," she answered proudly.
The man raised his hands to clap, but Lorelei didn't give him the time. She lunged, swinging for a direct finish, but her blade was deflected by a brown projectile. She looked at the hooded figure behind him and saw energy particles still emitting from his hands. By the time she regained control of her footing, the man had put on his gauntlets and punched her in the stomach. Then he charged up another blow, this time aiming to blow her head right off, but Lorelei blocked it with her sword. The impact sent her gliding across the snow.
"You're good, kid!" he screamed, almost laughing. "Why don't you join us?"
Lorelei spat out some of the blood that had risen to her throat before getting back on her feet and pointed her blade at him. She crossed her blade with her gun and threw him a savage glare.
"Fuck you."