Ethan: "Why don"t you ask her about all this then?"Who"s he talking about? Ms. Spirit-User? Come to think of it, there is someone like that on the island, isn"t there?
Dragon: "Ah! I see. So she is here as well."
Moving sounds come from the bushes and a woman with blond-hair and fair skin comes out.
Sona: "Yeah, I"m here too. Did you think I wouldn"t come?"
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Dragon: "Of course not."
As the two of them exchange words, I start remembering her as well. Yeah, she came to kill the dragon. She said she knows a way to get out of this island, right? I can kill the dragon for her and then she should at least take me out of here to return my favor. Uh … but I think she said only spirit-users can use it. d.a.m.n! She"s useless. No point thinking about her.
Ethan: "Well now, if you can answer my question, that would be a big help."
Sona: "And exactly what is it that you are asking me?"
Ethan"s question was pretty vague and even I don"t understand what it meant. So I suppose it"s only natural for a low-level spirit-user like her to not understand it either.
Ethan: "What do you think about – Kais killing Ro?"
Sona folds her arms as if she is not at all interested in the situation.
Sona: "And why would I worry about any of that?"
Ethan: "Come now, think about it. If Ro"s conscience is s.n.a.t.c.hed away, he could become a very powerful spirit, right?"
Ro: "The h.e.l.l!?"
I can sense him getting gooseb.u.mps on hearing that. Others aren"t much different though.
In the stories that b.a.s.t.a.r.d had told me, there was a method to take human conscience away from a ghost and to turn them into a spirit. It is an inhumane concept the brutality of which is equivalent to slavery – at its extreme.
Sona: "T-that"s insane!"
Ethan: "Sure, sure. I know how horrible it sounds but didn"t you decide you"ll sacrifice anything to defeat the dragon."
Sona falls into silence. All gazes are fixed on her. I don"t know what Ro"s expression is right now, being talked about like he doesn"t even exist here. I also don"t know what the dragon"s expression is right now. Well, I can guess neither of them is happy.
Sona: "It-it"s just not possible. H-his ability …"
The smile on Ethan"s face widens into a smirk.
Ethan: "Oh? His ability won"t let him die. So if there wasn"t a case like that, you would have done something so inhumane to that ghost?"
Sona: "Ah! Well, I-I …"
I sighed at the sight unfolding before my eyes. I am pretty sure she was only using that as an excuse to say no because she didn"t wanted to say that she would deny an opportunity to kill the dragon, and I bet Ethan knows that as well.
Ethan: "Ha! Whatever! You have a misunderstanding, so let me clear it for you. This dragon"s ability is not omnipotent."
Dragon: "Oh? Are you saying there is a way to kill me?"
Ethan: "Sure there is, and within four days as well."
Four days? Is there some reason he said it like that? I look at the dragon and Sona"s faces. While the dragon has clear feelings of anxiety within himself, Sona is shocked.
Sona: "You … even know about that? Oh, that"s right."
She added the last few words as if remembering something.
Ethan: "Of course I do. Didn"t that girl tell you what I told her?"
I guess he is talking about that ma.s.s of energy the dragon created. According to what she said, Ethan told her that the island will be destroyed in a few days after she sees the dragon outside the tomb, or something like that.
Ethan: "The reason for this island to get destroyed is precisely that. The dragon is dying in four days and when he does die, he will take the island with him."
Dragon: "What the h.e.l.l are …?"
Kais: "All to protect Ozyllus" secrets, right?"
A smile emerges on Ethan"s face indicating I am right.
Barry: "Hold on a second! This conversation has been going in random directions for while now. And I don"t feel safe leaving the reins to someone like you."
He says while looking at Ethan.
Barry: "So let me bring us back to the topic."
All eyes turn towards him. But why the h.e.l.l did you feel this urge to "bring us back to topic" now?
Barry: "The reason I came here is – well, there"s a war going on between The Dragon Alliance and The Vampires."
What"s the dragon alliance?
Barry: "For those of you who don"t know, The Dragon Alliance is an alliance formed between Vermillion, an organized group of psychics; the dragons, the few brethren of this thing standing here (pointing at the tan-skinned human-like-looking dragon); and The Ghost Nation, which hosts almost all the ghosts on the planet. And they are fighting against all the vampires in the world."
Well, that"s how it is I guess. I only knew Vermillion was waging some kind of war. I didn"t know who they were fighting and that they were in alliance with others.
Barry: "Well, that"s the outline basically. I and Ro are ghosts who fight from the side of Vampires, Sneha used to work for Vermillion so I guess she was our enemy but now she has turned traitor so I have no idea where she stands right now."
He and everyone else turn towards Sneha simultaneously.
Sneha: "I can"t say."
Barry sighs.
Barry: "Well, so it seems. Anyway, I"m pretty sure Ethan is on no side right now."
Ethan: "Yeah, I"m neutral."
He says with a smile as if to mock Barry.
Ro: "Neutral? That"s what we call someone who stays completely out of it. You are trying to sabotage anyone you can. How"s that neutral?"
With that, Ethan has started to look like a complete idiot who is only marching towards his own death with every single step.
Barry: "Moving on. I am pretty sure the dragon wants to stay neutral but can"t. Especially after hearing that he will die in four days, he probably will go down after doing some damage to at least one side, whether he does it directly or indirectly."
Dragon: "I won"t act like I know everything. Maybe my actions will end up doing something like that. Regardless, my duties are limited to this island."
Barry sighs again.
Barry: "Fair enough. Ms. … Sona, was it? If you are a spirit-user, you"ll probably end up joining the ghosts in the case you refuse to join us. In which case, we will kill you."
He says with a straight face. He isn"t joking about this. He really will kill her. The intent is clear in his aura.
Barry: "Lastly."
And then the b.a.s.t.a.r.d turns towards me.
Barry: "You are the biggest anomaly here. Whichever side you join; that side will gain a heavy advantage over the other."
They all look at me curiously.
Kais: "Huh! I"m not …"
Barry: "And let me make it clear for you, there"s no way you can stay neutral. If it isn"t persuasion, then it will be deception; if not deception, then it will blackmail; if not blackmail, then some political agenda, but one of the sides will get you on their side."
Kais: "Is that so? Well then, how about I destroy both the sides."
All of them look at me with wide-eyed shocked expressions, all except one – Ethan Kales. He started laughing as I said that.
Ethan: "Hahahahaha! That"s right. That"s what I am talking about. Why would you possibly bend to their whims when you have enough power to defy them?"
I don"t know what he is thinking and frankly, I don"t have the free-time to start figuring out how his brain works, so I would ignore his comments for now.
Barry: "Well, you right now can probably do that. But …"
He stops mid-sentence for some reason. Go on, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
Barry: "… but will Kais really agree to that?"
Huh? Again with that nonsense? I already said I am Kais.
Barry: "Well, I guess we"ll just have to ask him."
What? I"m right here. Who else is this b.a.s.t.a.r.d going to ask?
As I wonder that, he puts his right hand in front of me and then snaps his fingers. Wait, what? That was too fast. I didn"t even have time to react. I find myself falling on the ground and my vision getting blurry. I see. This is why that b.a.s.t.a.r.d used all that time talking. He was trying to distract us from noticing his hands. It was all to buy enough time for him to prepare himself to hypnotize me into going to sleep. But why did he do so? d.a.m.n! What"s wrong with him?
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A demon wanting to kill Ro who is already dead and has become a ghost, Ethan saying there is a way to kill the dragon, Sneha saying she can"t say where she stands in this war, Barry saying I am some kind of anomaly in the war – was that all a dream? I think this to myself as I float in The Cage.
I wonder when I will wake up. When will it be? Huh? Wait, isn"t that strange?
I wish I could stay in this abyss forever – is what I used to think. Just when did that all change? And why did it all change? Why do I not want to stay in the abyss? Why do I have to think about waking up?
"It"s because there is something you want to do, right?"
Something I want to do? Is there?
Without even thinking about the disturbing fact that I can hear someone"s voice in my head, I start trying to answer his questions.
I don"t know what I would want to do so badly that I would give up this peace I can find nowhere else.
"It"s a strong desire you see. It"s what drives that blonde woman and it"s what will be driving you know."
Blonde woman – oh, you mean Sona? What drives her? What? Oh, I-I see. That"s what this desire is.
"Yes, you want to kill someone, don"t you?"
I don"t know why but I think I am smiling right now. But of course, it feels so good after all. This desire to kill – is really something, isn"t it? But who do I want to kill?
"There are so many people for you to kill."
Yeah, you"re right. Ethan is pretty annoying with how he acts. I wouldn"t want him getting in my way too much. Maybe he is the one I should kill.
Or maybe the dragon – he did try to deceive me about the blood belonging to Barry.
Obviously, I wanna kill Barry, even though he is already dead. I also want to kill Ro, even though he is also dead.
I don"t know why but I also want to kill Sneha as well. I just feel like she has done something to deserve it.
And I also want to kill Sona – she gets on my nerves some times.
"You see, there"re so many people to kill. Don"t you feel the urge to kill them?"
I do. I so much do.
"Then let me out. I can kill them."
Yeah, you probably can.
"Well?"
But the answer is no. You were in control just a little while ago. Why did you waste your chance? Now wait for the next chance.
The voice sighs.
"Ah! Fine! That"s how it will be. I will wait for you to give me the next chance. Till then, I will rest myself."
Sure.
I feel something as big as a building descending behind me. I can"t turn to look so I won"t know what that was. But I get a feeling there was a really large head with monstrous scales and two horns behind me, like the devil had been taking to me.
For some reason, I didn"t feel even a bit of fear or shock though.
What was that? Who was that? Oh well, it"s not like I can figure out the answer to every mystery in front of me just by thinking about it. I should probably focus on the mysteries I will be faced with after waking up. Yes, after all, the next time I allow him to take charge – he"ll kill all of them. But the thing is – as soon as I wake up, I"ll forget about this deal. I"ll forget about this demon. And I"ll also forget the feeling that this devil wasn"t the one in control just now, that it was a just my own demon.
And just as I think that, I feel strong light s.h.i.+ning on me even though it isn"t. I feel like I"m being pulled towards that light. Well, I guess my time in The Cage is already up.
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