Ghost was sure of it.
His eyes were tightly closed, his lips bloodless, no breath, no heartbeat. By any measure, Kariél was dead. Despite the body being intact, there were no signs of life left in it.
Ghost already knew well what death was. He could state it with complete certainty.
After all, he himself had caused quite a few horrific massacres. His goals were noble, but his means were cruel.
Ghost knew it was necessary; he understood the meaning of fear: if the villains aren't made to fear, the name "Night Ghost" won't become a symbol.
The people of Nostramo needed a symbol of retribution. That's what Kariél said.
Ghost didn't fully understand this, but he realized its importance.
However, Kariél's death was different from all others. Ghost never thought he could die. In his eyes, Kariél was omnipotent.
How could he die?
Ghost lowered his head.
Grief and despair washed over him again. Moreover, the salvation promised by that voice never came.
"Was I deceived?" he thought.
+ I did not deceive
you, Konrad Curze. +
The voice sounded again.
For some reason, the Ghost was not surprised. And this time, when it sounded, he did not feel an icy shiver.
"Who is Konrad Curze?" he thought.
+ You. +
"My name is not that."
+ Whether to accept it or not is up to you. I will not force you, I only hope that when we meet, you will change your mind. And also, I really did not deceive you. +
"Then why did he?.."
+ Scientific methods of treatment are useless for someone who committed suicide with psychic powers. Therefore, time does not matter for his resurrection. I have done all I could, now everything depends on the strength of his will. +
"What does will have to do with it?"
+ Because the pain that the resurrected ghost will have to endure is no less than the pain of a new death. He will pass through the Veil again, and on the way, he will have to face his own demons. +
"Demons?"
The Ghost looked confusedly at Kariel – or rather, at his body. The word echoed in his mind.
"Demons?"
+ You don't understand what I mean... I see. Then don't worry about it. Wait, Konrad Curze. He will wake up... I and your brothers will arrive soon. +
"Who are you?" the Ghost frowned. "And who are my brothers?"
+ You've seen them, haven't you? In your visions, you saw their faces. As for me... we'll talk when we meet, Konrad Curze. +
+ And also, take care of yourself. +
"I don't remember, but thank you. And goodbye," the Ghost thought.
Politeness is important.
This time, the voice did not answer. The Ghost tilted his head in confusion and tried to remember the name – Konrad Curze?
A strange name.
He turned to Kariel, who still lay lifeless. There was nothing left to do but sit down next to him and wait motionlessly.
"That voice said it didn't deceive me," the Ghost thought. "I hope that's true."
…
"I've been here before..."
Looking at the surrounding darkness, Kariel thought.
"I've been here," he repeated to himself, then closed his eyes and slowly stepped forward.
The next moment, an icy cold pierced him.
Then something began to pull him down with force. Invisible claws dug into his skin, flesh, and even bones. They penetrated everywhere, digging into every particle of his body.
Suddenly, a mad chorus of thousands of voices rang in his ears.
"Stay!" they shrieked. "Your place is here! Don't you dare leave again!"
"No, my place is not here... I am not like you."
Sighing, enduring the pain, he took another step forward. And just this one step turned the world upside down.
A familiar stench hit him in the face – the unique air of Nostramo's underhive greeted him most hospitably. Then the sound of rain was heard, a heavy downpour.
Kariel opened his eyes.
He saw a boy, a wounded boy. Bleeding, he lay in the pouring rain, clutching two blades too large for him.
His face was contorted with hatred.
The boy raised his head.
"It's you," he whispered, and his voice, breaking through the veil of rain, reached Kariel's ears precisely.
"It's me," Kariel nodded. "Get out of the way, okay?"
"Only if you've already avenged yourself," the boy mumbled. "We had a deal, ghost... I'm ready to give everything just for you to kill them."
"I have already avenged myself," Kariel replied calmly. "And you... you don't need to talk anymore."
He sighed and continued to walk forward. With each step, the pulling force became stronger.
The pain intensified. Flesh and bones protested loudly, nerves twitched, blood flowed from his nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and pores, giving him a terrible appearance.
But Kariel remained unfazed.
He needed to return.
"Did you avenge yourself?" the boy asked doubtfully. "Why can't I see anything?"
"Because... you don't actually exist, that's why you can't see."
Kariel shook his head and suddenly laughed.
"If you want to blame someone, blame that head. He told me the truth," Kariel said with a smile. "But you won't see him anymore. I'm sorry."
The boy looked at him in confusion and, lying in the rain, coughed. Blood flowed from his wounds, but he still didn't let go of the two blades.
After a while, he asked:
"How did they die?"
"I killed them."
"No, I want to know the details of their death."
The boy's face, stubbornly insisting on his way, suddenly distorted under the rain, like a washed-away painting.
"We had a deal, ghost, we had a deal!"
"It's started."
Kariel lowered his head and replied:
"I promised to kill them, but I didn't promise to describe their death in detail."
"But how do I know you're not lying?!"
The boy roared:
"You took my body! I gave you everything, ghost! I just wanted revenge!"
"Yes, I took everything from you, yes..."
"I know perfectly well what I did."
Kariel stopped. He breathed calmly, but a complex feeling slowly appeared in his eyes – either regret or cold determination.
He sighed quietly and said to the boy:
"I have fulfilled your revenge."
"But I didn't see it!"
The boy screamed, his figure under the rain began to change monstrously. Some force flared up and disappeared, filling this hastily created memory with real power.
They came from the darkness, and now they turned the memory into darkness itself.
A huge monster rose from under the rain.
"I didn't see it!"
It roared, and its voice was like thunder.
"You betrayed me, you deceived me, ghost! You are a liar! You just stole my body, my name, and used them for your own affairs!"
"I don't deny that."
Kariel replied calmly, but his hands clenched into fists unnoticed.
"…But the revenge you wanted, I fulfilled."
"Then show me! Show me their corpses, I want to see with my own eyes how each one who participated in the destruction of House Lohars was dismembered!"
"I can't do that," Kariel shook his head. "The dead are already gone."
"I can't show you what I saw, child. You died a very long time ago, and I... I never thought you were still alive. So you are just an echo from beyond the Veil."
He gritted his teeth and repeated:
"You are from beyond the Veil, and that's why I can't show you my memories."
"Liar! Treacherous traitor!" the monster roared and lunged at Kariel. Its hands turned into two sharp, silver-gleaming claws.
It swung them, and the veil of rain was torn to shreds in an instant. The howling of the wind at that moment merged with its roar, turning into an even more terrible duet.
"Call me whatever you want."
Kariel took a step back, dodged the attack with ease, as if anticipating it.
He raised his head, looked at the monster's distorted face, and said calmly:
"But we both know that's not true."
In response to his words, the monster gave him a terrifying look. Breathing heavily, it laughed quietly in the rain.
"The liar's lie!"
"No, I am not a liar. And I am not lying."
Kariel closed his eyes and fell silent – words were useless in such a situation. Before him was not a rational being that could be convinced.
That boy died thirteen years ago, on that rainy night. He was born from sin and the blood of victims, nourished by their flesh. Before his death, he called out to a wandering ghost.
With boundless hatred, boundless evil, and his own blood.
The wind whistled again, and Kariel, turning his head slightly, dodged the blow. A continuous roar was heard in the veil of rain. The monster attacked furiously, but could not hit him.
"Answer, liar! Or do you have a guilty conscience?!"
"No."
"Fight me! Kill me or suffer here with me!"
The monster shrieked, its voice changed again, and the same chorus of ten thousand voices that had screamed in Kariel's ears joined its roar, becoming ever more deafening.
"Your place is here, you can't leave!"
"No, my place is not here."
Kariel opened his eyes, and a golden light flashed for a moment in his dark pupils.
He gritted his teeth, and burning heat emanated from his fingers. The next second, golden flames erupted in the veil of rain, incinerating everything around.
A piercing scream was heard.
The monster flinched and recoiled, its huge body began to shrink. The darkness dissipated, and a foul stench hit his nose, different from the acidic stench of the Nostramo underhive, and then a crackling sound was heard.
As if rotten bones were burning.
"The boy who made a deal with me died thirteen years ago. You are not him."
Kariel said quietly:
"I must leave, and I will leave. Your tricks are useless."
"Traitor! Liar! Arrogant bastard!"
The monster in the darkness screamed in a thin, ridiculous voice:
"The Fire Thief will devour you! He will leave nothing of you but bones, he will show no mercy!"
"The Fire Thief... Prometheus?"
Kariel froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Golden flames flared up again, the Veil ignited and trembled, and he was pierced by an icy cold. He closed his eyes, allowing the pain to carry away the remnants of his consciousness.
And the next second – through the roar of impotent rage from the darkness – a real light dawned before Kariel's closed eyes.
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan