With absolute horror, Devon stared at the skeletal hands that were pushing out of the dirt. He could see their skulls and shoulders starting to appear fully now.
"What is it, Dev?" Raline whispered, watching her older brother tense up, and she instantly grew anxious too.
Devon moved toward Raline, grabbing her hand and the binoculars resting beside her. She followed him without asking any questions, the tension made her completely forget how easily her brother was making all these movements.
He brought Raline to the side of the window, to a gap in the glass, and offered the binoculars to his sister. She immediately took them, looked out, and nearly dropped the damn thing.
Devon swiftly caught the binoculars, looking at Raline's terrified expression.
"Th-They… they're all coming out of the ground…"
He just sighed, then sat Raline down on a bench that he'd set up that afternoon to spy on several gaps in different parts of the window. She was speechless, her body shaking badly.
"What the..."
Before Raline could finish her sentence, Devon placed his index finger over her lips, signaling his sister to be quiet. He then listened intently, peeking out the window.
A few of the skeletons had fully emerged, and some were already shambling in the streets, walking with a staggering gait. They walked without direction, yet they seemed to recognize each other and possessed eyes, not bumping into one another as they moved.
Three of the skeletons staggered toward the building where Devon and Raline were hiding—they were the closest to it. A moment later, a scraping and dull pounding sound echoed from the ground floor.
Raline made no sound at all, her hands clamped over her mouth. But Devon could see tears streaming down her cheeks, and he couldn't do anything about it right now. He could only hope the skeletons wouldn't be able to open the makeshift barricade he'd put up to the second floor.
After a long while, the scraping and pounding noises stopped. Devon couldn't see their aura anymore. He realized his new Death Sight could penetrate walls, and he saw the aura of the skeletons on the ground floor now starting to walk away from the obstacles he had set up blocking the way to the second floor.
He let out a sigh of relief and waited for a few more moments, until he was sure there were no more skeletons near them.
Then, he guided Raline back to the mat and sat her down there. Her body was still trembling violently, and Devon hugged her gently, sitting down beside her.
"… What the hell is actually happening…?" Raline whispered weakly and softly, her voice punctuated by small sobs.
"I don't know myself," Devon admitted. Even now, he was still weighing whether he should tell her about his connection to Anubis.
Finally, he decided to tell his sister. It wasn't impossible that she would find out eventually, and he had no intention of leaving her alone, ever.
"… Raline," he called, feeling her sobs had subsided.
"Mmm?" she answered, leaning against his chest.
Devon stayed silent for a moment, gathering his courage. 'I hope she can handle this after the non-stop shock she's had since this morning…'
He began to recount his dream, where he met Anubis, who said he was giving him the power to fight. Devon then explained the System he saw, and how the death god himself had granted it. He deliberately left out the scene where he watched Anubis throw the dice that displayed his name.
Raline listened silently, and only spoke when Devon was done telling his story.
"After everything that happened today, I have to believe you, Dev…" she said slowly, as if she didn't want to hurt Devon's feelings. "But, I mean, does that mean you have to fight as a gladiator for those gods? Fighting devils?"
"… Maybe," Devon replied. He wasn't sure what Anubis's words or the dice-throwing scene meant either.
"And you're a superhuman now…?"
"… At least I think so. If I can see clearly in the dark like this, and also see the aura of those skeletons, it's probably not a dream…"
She sat up on her own and looked toward her brother's face, though it wasn't very clear because of the darkness. Devon, however, could see his sister's expression, which looked both worried and excited.
"You have to get strong, Devon. Stronger than everyone else, and win. Promise?" she asked with a hint of excitement, sticking out her pinky finger, just like she always did when asking him to promise something.
He couldn't speak, just staring at his sister blankly. "You want me to fight?"
Raline, still holding out her pinky, nodded firmly. "Yep."
"…"
She insistently took Devon's hand, attempting to link her pinky to his. But he pulled his hand away.
"Raline, I have three months to prepare for a fight. I can't train now, the skeletons will hear…"
"Why stress, Dev?" she laughed slightly, finding her brother's tendency to overthink a bit silly. "You can fight those skeletons."
Raline's words made him ponder. She was right. To truly get stronger, the most effective way was to fight those skeletons.
He was a street fighter, often fighting thugs in the market and on the streets to support himself and his sister. Store owners often tipped him to protect their shops from those thugs.
And Devon was well-known in their area. He was famous for his fighting skill, unafraid even if his opponents carried sharp weapons. Even his body was covered in scars here and there.
But in the human world, no one dared touch Raline, because he lived in the area of his friends, and they helped keep an eye on her. Now they lived in a world where skeletons walked around, killing every human they found.
He had no friends left to help him protect his sister, and she was always getting sick like this.
Raline seemed to read his mind and said in a cheerful tone, "I'll try not to get sick, and I'll get strong. So I can keep watching Dev win."
Her words made his heart ache. And it made him more confused than ever.