Interlude: The Second Apostle
Your name is Jamie, and damn, you're tired.
You just got those kids to sleep. They were really bummed about their friends leaving them, but… it had to be done. These two weren't Infected- they actually could get adopted- find a family. And… you can't deny them that.
You look at the kids, sleeping on the "bed" you made them.
Two mattresses, a bunch of pillows, and a bedsheet. It's… it's the best you could do, but it's not enough. You don't want them to get cold at night.
You had a really lucky break today.
It was good that this one couple you found today was willing to take those kids in. Even if you had to hide the fact that they were living with Infected kids for the past months.
If you told them that, you're quite sure they'd be afraid of infection, and not take them in. All's well that ends well.
…you still have to write that letter.
You stand up from the chair, caress July's golden hair. She's… she's so much like her. Like your own daughter.
God, Magdalena. You- you haven't seen her in
months.
All the news she's seen of you are those letters you've been sending them. You can't even go back home, give her a hug, not with… with how bad you are doing. You don't want to let your kid see her father coughing blood on their doorstep.
Speaking of coughing blood, it seems things have gone up the shitter for you. Again. Ugh.
Your head hurts, now. It's difficult to breathe. You don't want to wake up the kids with your coughing. You'll… you'll have to take this outside.
You walk out of the bedroom, and into the dilapidated kitchen of this decrepit house you've got. It's the best you could find for the kids.
Walking through the living room, you look at the Pinus Sylvestris emblem Sora got you, sitting on a table. It makes your heart feel a little less heavy. These kids- Iwona, Justyna, Sora- are doing something good, at least. It's one of the few things, alongside taking these Infected kids here, that you don't regret.
You can't hold the coughs back anymore.
When you finish scarring your throat and manage to breathe freely again, there's a little bit of blood on the ground. Dammit. You'll have to clean that again.
You take your path back to the kitchen, to grab a piece of cloth.
On the table- you didn't see it before- is one of the letters you've sent to the Knights Association, so they can let you keep competing. Despite your worsening condition. You pick it up, and put it in your pocket. You didn't read it before- the bribe worked this time. You can keep fighting for a little longer… keep paying your bills, keep these kids- and your sweet little girl- afloat for a little longer.
It's better if the kids, or the rest of Sylvestris don't get a hold of this. They could get worried.
Maybe you should go for a walk. Maybe get a drink. You found a 100 LMD bill in the street today, in yet another stroke of good luck. Should you, though? You could buy something for Magdalena with this… send it in the letter?
You'll… you'll buy both. You're just so damn tired, today. 100 LMD should be enough.
Picking up the piece of cloth, you walk back to the living room, and try to clean up the blood on the ground. After finishing your cleaning, you go outside, and take a deep breath…
Okay, then.
You'll go, get a drink, buy something for Magdalena. Then, you'll go back home, and practice your sword drills. You'll have a few nasty matchups in the near future- a free-for-all, a solo matchup against a horde of gloompincers, and another free-for-all. This one will almost certainly have the Bloodboil Knighclub competing, and those bastards are absolutely going to zero in on you and any other Infected knights there.
You sigh.
It's time for that drink, then?
You walk through the streets of Kazimierz, doing your best to cover up the piece of Originium that protrudes from your arm with the fabric of your long-sleeved shirt.
Hopefully no one is going to scream anything at you today.
You continue to walk around, trying to think of something to buy for your girl. You can't think of anything. She never liked dolls, and you don't have money for anything really cool. You… you remember the last time you saw her.
You took her on a walk around the town, and she talked about those small toy cars her mother gave her, with that bright smile. In the toy shop, there were a whole lot of those up for sale… and they weren't that expensive. You could buy one, and send it with the letter. It would even leave a bit of money for a drink…
Okay, so the car, if you remember it well, was for fifty. Maybe you remember it wrong- maybe sixty. You'll spend ten on a drink, and buy the toy car tomorrow…
Oh, you got here.
The bar is nearly empty when you enter, save for a couple of regulars you recognize in one of the corners. A competition knight, a Chamber of Commerce salaryman… plus old Mec, the owner of the bar. There's also two unknowns.
The other is… uh, what is one of these guys doing here? It's a Sankta…
You didn't know they could have traits so ornate. The guy you're looking at has a very… priesty appearance. Long, flowing clothes, black boots, pale silver hair, wings that remind you of blades pointing diagonally at the ground, and a halo with a tiara shape embedded on it, alongside many half-circles. You haven't seen many Sankta in your life- maybe one or two? But you never knew that they could look like this. You thought their halo was just a circle.
You realize you're staring, and shake yourself off it. Then, you approach the bar and steady yourself on your seat by the counter.
"Hey." says Mec. His ears are rigid, and he's not looking at you very kindly. "What will it be?"
You know the guy. He knows who- or most importantly, what you are. And he doesn't like it. But Mec would rather toss himself off a bridge than be rude to a paying customer. As long as you buy something, he won't do anything.
"I'll have the usual." you tell him.
"Long day?" asks Mec, purely out of habit.
"Long day." you answer. "Bit luckier than usual, though."
He shrugs, and hands you a cup of what you usually ask for- the cheapest swill he has.You reach for it and drink the entire thing in a gulp. It tastes like piss, but just having something to drink makes you more relaxed.
You turn towards the Sankta and his buddy. They're talking to each other. The other guy is going with a simple white robe. That, and an arm covered with tattoos, make him look like a total weirdo. But you suppose you don't have anything to say about that.
The man in the robe turns towards you as well, says something to his friend and walks out of his seat, taking the chair next to you.
He shoots you a slightly amused look.
"Good night." he says.
"Good night." you answer.
There is silence for a bit. He gestures to Mec.
"Would you like to have a conversation?" he asks.
"Only if you pay me a round."
He smiles.
"What'll be, then? Ask, and ye shall receive."
Well, if this old-fashioned weird guy wants to pay you for a drink, you'll just take it. It's not like you can't just smash his head in if anything goes wrong.
Hm. That Sankta there might pull a gun, though.
"You're going to pay, then?" you ask him. "Won't your friend there feel lonely?"
"Andoain?" says the man, with a pause. "He is not one to partake in such things. Neither am I. We arrived here to have a conversation. We have finished ours, and now it is time to leave. But I believe I can make time for some… small talk."
"All right, then. Mec, hand me something good."
The owner of the bar simply nods, and takes a bottle of Victorian whiskey from the shelf.
"That's an expensive one." you note. "You still willing to hand it over, man?"
The tattooed man nods.
"I have given you my word- have I not?"
Well, if the guy wants to pay for some crazy expensive whiskey, who are you to refuse? You know Mec wouldn't poison you or anything. If he wanted to kill you, he'd just charge you when you left the bar and bludgeon you to death with his bare hands. But only outside- he would never risk getting blood on his precious carpet, nevermind "polluted" blood from an Infected.
Mec pours the drink for you. The man refuses when he is offered one. You take a sip- it's pretty good stuff.
"So-" you ask. "What's your name, and why are you going around handing out free drinks? Not that I'm complaining."
He chuckles.
"I am Adam."
The Sankta from before walks right beside you and Adam, and out of the bar. Now that you look at him, there's
something behind his head. Like, a glow? Some sort of… light, shining behind. Cross-shaped, maybe? Maybe you're just making up things. Maybe some Sankta are just like that.
Nevermind.
"All right, stop playing the mystery man. What did you come here for? I'm almost thinking that you recognized me from television."
Adam smiles.
"I do not know you. But answer me a question? Do you know
yourself, knight?"
You're almost tempted to deck this cryptic guy in the face. But there's
something about him. A charisma, maybe. The question legitimately makes you think. Do you? Do you know yourself?
You think you're Jamie, an Infected knight of Pinus Sylvestris. But what does that
mean? Who are you?
What are you?
You know that, in the near future, your worsening Oripathy will kill you. But have you accepted that? Have you faced that future? Have you made preparations, got someone to take care of the kids? Send your last words to your daughter, to the woman you love?
…you aren't ready.
"...you do not know yourself." says Adam.
"Your buddy just left. You're not going to follow?"
"No."
"Hm. Mec, I'll have another one." you say. He's paying, anyway. And he doesn't seem to care.
The heat is pleasant, even if the alcohol's strength makes you wary. A slight shudder follows after each sip. Damn.
"...what's a Sankta doing here, anyway?" you mutter.
"Andoain has been on a journey around the world. It was only recently that he came into my care- and saw my vision." answers Adam.
"Your vision?"
"I believe in the future."
"Not a thing many people do these days."
"Everything changes, no? Perhaps- one day, in the future. Perhaps we will all hope and desire a better tomorrow. Perhaps we will come to desire freedom."
"Good luck on that."
Heh, like that would ever happen. You think, yes, that there's something better in the future. Maybe not yours- but you think that, by your actions, you can make things a little bit better for other people.
But not many people think that. Everyone just… lives their life, you guess. They're not free- they can never be free. But they don't want to, and they don't care. They don't care about the suffering that their shining city is built on. Why would they? They're not Infected, they don't have to fight monsters in an arena for the amusement of the crowd.
"Every single person just stays silent, even though each and every one of them knows how many ethically morbid compromises their glorious nation- and all others- are making. Those who are not under the spell of control die as loners and failures. That's where we've ended up." says Adam.
"Yeah, what you just said."
…die as loners and failures.
You don't want to die as either, but that might be outside of your control.
"Who was I in the past, who am I in the present, who should I be during the future- these are the questions that bring upon growth. All of us have stopped asking them a long time ago. Have you?"
…maybe you have.
"Yeah. Maybe I should."
"If you want to ask these questions, I can help you."
You turn your head towards him. His yellow eyes look into yours, in curiosity.
"I think I've had a little too much to drink. Mec, hand him the tab."
Adam simply throws a strap of 1000 LMD bills in the counter. Mec makes the moves to protest, but the guy just handed- wait. A strap… you count the bills there real quick. One, two, three, four…
did he just hand him twenty thousand LMD?
What the-
"Keep the change." he says, and walks out of the bar.
Something pushes you toward him. You follow almost without thinking. It's sort of magnetic effect- you cannot help but listen to every word that he says.
You step through the door, and look up to the dark sky.
"...you." you babble incoherently.
"Do you wish to follow me, Jamie?" asks Adam.
If you were a little less confused, you'd ask how the hell did he learn his name. If you were a little less lost, maybe you'd run away. But now you can barely muster a coherent thought.
He walks through the city, and you follow. You can only follow.
As you two walk together, light slowly begins to shine from two spots Adam's back, materializing into two vast black-feathered wings. Then, two more wings materialize, feather by feather by feather. One at a time. Two pairs of merciful wings, and a faint purple aura shining behind the man's body. He looks at you, and you feel a sense of relief.
"I will save your life from destruction and raise you from the end of the world. Place your trust in me." he says.
You turn around. There is no one else around you.
His wings grow larger and larger, until they envelop the both of you completely. He looks into your eyes, and he grasps your hands. His eyes are incomparably beautiful, and for a second, you feel doubt, and fear.
Then, it is all gone.
"I shall heal you, curing you of all disease and injury you possess." he says.
All fear, all doubt, all terror. Despair, hopelessness, pain and agony. All of it is gone. All of it has been cleansed. You feel stronger.
The Originium chunk in your arm cracks and crumbles into dust. That small trickle of pain, ever present in your body, seems to disappear. Your breathing is light, and you feel nothing blocking it. Not anymore.
The Infection monitor that Iwona bought you lets out a small beep.
You hear the sound of a bell.