Serious Talk

  The wheel of fate turned again. Get me an eyes deflector and a suit. - The note from an unknown person to an unknown person, no one knows where.

  Gloomeye didn't remember what Princess had said, or the sardonic comments of Splinter that trailed behind them. He tried to make sense of what had happened, but he had too little information.

  In the end, they said goodbye, Princess promised to send him an invitation, and Gloomy and Splinter went home. When they reached Gloomeye's room, Splinter was about to walk past him into her next room, but the guy grabbed her by the arms and pulled her in.

  "We should have started this conversation a long time ago," Gloomeye informed her.

  "What, a girlfriend appeared and immediately became an adult with a whole bunch of serious conversations behind a shirt?" Splinter half-lay down on his soft sleeping spot, supporting her torso with her elbows.

  "Let's compare our versions of events," Gloomy suggested, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall as his soft sleeping spot was occupied. "You wanted to visit the palace, you were looking for a certain place, you found the daughter of the ruler, who was supposedly attacked by the Mourneer spy, which you also claim to be. Strange coincidences have decided to present us with this day.”

  "My version is exactly the same, only without the coincidences, but with the organisation of these events by me. I met the cursor, that ghost, this morning and asked him to attack our little princess so that you could rescue her nobly and gain influence at court. Is that bad?"

  "You're not making it any easier to trust you," Gloomeye began to think about the new information.

  "I told you not to trust me!" the intonation of 'oh you' was clearly heard in the girl's voice. She lay on her side, her head resting on her hand. "But in this case, I just took the chance. The cursor found you without my help, and anyway, the blackies will try to kill the city's rulers. They don't let the weepers in here, in Capital. And maybe there's another good, or rather bad, reason why, but I have no proof at the moment.

  "Are they mages?" Gloomy asked dully.

  "No, probably not mages," Splinter's eyes darkened at the mention of magic. Gloomeye noticed that this was her only genuine emotion - hatred of magic.

  "Okay. Last question: to whom are you more loyal? If you have to choose between us and the Mourneers?"

  "I am not with the Mourneers. You can see that my face and hands are normal. I won't show you the rest, but you felt when you carried me that I had an ordinary body. And there were no anomalies when we sparred, were there?" Splinter looked down at her body as if to confirm the truth of her words.

  When she saw the uncomprehending look in his eyes, she caught herself:

  "Demons! It's their secret. Well, I'll tell you, as further proof that I'm not with them. They drink magerot. Naturally, they die like swarmers. But those who survive gain powerful abilities. You think, why are they wrapped in their rags? The Mourneers are no longer human. Some have membranes on their hands, some have feathers on their chests. I've seen someone's face arched inside their skull, a disgusting sight. And then they crossbreed with those with similar abilities to pass them on to their offspring. So, what's the verdict? Am I to be branded a traitor and banished in disgrace, or shall we tolerate my company a little longer?"

  "Of course you stay," said Gloomeye. "If we were to banish all the unreliable, there would be no Worldedge. You're our kindred now."

  " Well, if we're done with serious talks, why don't we switch rooms? You have such a soft bed."

  Splinter stayed for some time, but Gloomeye's thoughts intuitively came close to what might be called the concept of false dichotomy: if one choice is false, then the other is not necessarily true.

  ***

  A few days of summer passed. Dayorb warmed the air and the ground beneath it, and they in turn warmed Capital. Gloomeye and Splinter explored the city, went to the bazaars, and once watched from the side as a group of citizens sang and danced in the evening.

  They met more and more representatives of Worldedge, who had found their place in Capital. Gloomy's pants still tended to be on the ground, not on his hips.

  The girl suddenly had new clothes: a white shirt with open shoulders, tight trousers that only reached to her ankles, and a corset that turned into straps that wrapped around her legs to her knees. When asked about these clothes, she rolled her eyes and said that the guy was stuck in Cycle 499 of the 7th century, and now it was Cycle 0 of the New Era, and women could wear pants (although Gloomeye didn't ask about that).

  The city somehow combined monumentality and gigantism with ruin and slop. The foul stench, juxtaposed with the intoxicating smells of food, created an intoxicating stench. They also saw peg stables, which they had missed on entering the city. Pegs were riding alms with incredibly long, powerful legs that had to be completely bent to sit on the ground. A leathery membrane ran from the front legs to the body, and the snout looked like a smooth, pointed worm. As Gloomeye approached a grey peg, its head split open into a few pieces, revealing a mouth full of flat teeth and small black eyes hidden beneath vertical eyelids.

  One hot morning, Aigo stood outside the house, wearing his heavy armour as usual:

  "Young Lady Dara is waiting for you. I'm here to escort you."

  Well, Gloomy didn't have any special plans for his life anyway, so he agreed. Splinter followed, of course. When they passed the Sword of Light, Aigo gave it a thoughtful look.

  Dara was waiting at the entrance to the palace. Impatient, she shooed Aigo away with her hands like a little swarmer and grabbed Gloomeye's arm:

  "Come quickly! The passage is stabilised!" Princess dragged Gloomy deeper into the palace. She chose not to notice Splinter.

  "Did Aigo bother you too much? That fool thinks he is a knight. He keeps walking around that sword in the street, licking his lips at it like a dangerous tree at a small alm. But he is afraid to use it, for fear of his life," Princess was nervous and spoke quickly.

  She led Gloomeye (and, reluctantly, Splinter) down a palace corridor that led nowhere but down. They were clearly already underground, at street level in the city gates, or perhaps even lower. The white stone around them began to darken until it was completely black. Eventually the group reached the bottom and walked down a long corridor with many doors and guards.

  A guy with things hanging from him and a rucksack twice his size was sitting by one of the doors. The door next to him opened and a girl stepped out, wearing a headband that protected her face from the black hair that fell in waves over her shoulders. She wore an iron breastplate with leather straps and leather trousers. Behind her was the hilt of a sword with a face-shaped pommel. She walked over to Gloomy, silently examined him, and left with the guy who was waiting for her.

  Strangely, Gloomy thought he had seen this girl somewhere, but his memories were vague. Could it be that she visited Worldedge when I was at an unconscious age?

  "We made it," Princess said, relieved. "Go to door 60, where the heroine Valkali came out. Then to 6.

  What's behind that door? A treasure trove for heroes? Gloomeye went to door 60 and turned around, but everything he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.

  Princess was prostrate on the floor, whispering: "Glory to Evil." Splinter stared in surprise at this new side of Dara. Where has she taken us? Suddenly, the guy was pulled into the opening by an unseen force. He couldn't resist and was dragged through the door, which slammed shut immediately.

  Inside the room-abductor, flat connected planks on the ceiling spun around a dim light that couldn't dispel the darkness of the room. The whole wall was painted with the silhouettes of curved columns ending in a bunch of cut leaves, and the shadow of the ceiling thing moved on them. Unusual music was playing, but there were no musicians in sight. There were several doors, and Gloomeye tried the one he'd come through, but it wouldn't budge. Of course it's locked. How could it be otherwise?

  But the door with the number 6 on it opened without a problem. Gloomeye found himself in a dark room full of strange things. He recognised only a few: a bed and a table. On the table was some kind of box. In the centre of the room was a chair, occupied by a man in a strange suit.

  The dark cloth encircled his body, leaving only the triangle of his chest exposed, revealing a white shirt and a dark vertical strip of cloth on which something metallic glinted. In the mysterious man's hands was a disgusting maggot the size of a hand. He stroked it, not noticing that it was smearing something sticky on his suit.

  But that wasn't the strangest thing about the man. His face was always out of Gloomy's sight. Only at the very edge of his vision could he see what looked like swirling and intertwining bands of darkness where his face should have been.

  "STOP TURNING YOUR HEAD!" A low, demonic voice rang out, echoing with flames. "THE DEFENCE ISN'T PERFECT, AND YOU'LL ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO SEE ME. THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU WANT."

  Gloomeye twitched with what he hoped was sufficient dignity. For some reason, he expected to hear a normal voice, since this creature was not dressed in demonic way (as the guy imagined demondom) and had a pet (though the choice was questionable). And such a voice must have belonged to a monster the size of a house, destroying that same house for the glory of chaos.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  "I AM REGENT, FIRST AMBITION AND RULER OF THE DEMONS. AND THIS IS SELF-DESTRUCTION," Regent lifted the maggot with an nasty squelching sound. Gloomeye thought one end of the maggot was blurred.

  "Most people I know wouldn't advise me to talk to you, sir," Gloomy said, as if apologising for the people he knew. And just in case, he used a respectful form of address. "You are evil incarnate. That is, not you personally, well, you personally and all your kin," Gloomeye made a good decision to shut up.

  "THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG, GLOOMEYE. WE ARE NEITHER GOOD NOR EVIL. WE ARE THE MIRROR."

  The guy didn't know what to say. At least, he didn't know what this mirror was. Now, in addition to good and evil, there is a new side to his world - the mirror? It must have been the beginning of the infamous demon's fooling of mortals.

  "TOO BAD YOUR FRIEND SPLINTER DIDN'T SHOW UP. I'D LIKE TO TALK TO HER," the demon continued. "AN INTERESTING GIRL. AN INTERESTING PIECE. I WOULD CALL HER A PAWN THAT HAS REACHED THE END OF THE OPPONENT'S BOARD AND IS NOW CHOOSING WHAT TO BECOME. MAYBE EVEN CHANGING SIDES, EVEN IF IT'S NOT ACCORDING TO THE RULES.

  "What do you know about her?" Gloomy didn't let the strange statements confuse him. And she is a whole human, not a piece. Well, maybe a skinny one.

  "IT WOULD BE RUDE TO DISCUSS A MORTAL BEHIND HER BACK, WOULDN'T IT? ASK HER YOURSELF, BUT SHE'LL ANSWER," Regent suddenly spoke in a demonic version of Splinter's voice, "'IF YOU ASK YOUR FRIEND, THE DEMON KING, I'M SURE HE'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT BY ROLES, HE MUST BE VERY GOOD AT PARODYING VOICES, ESPECIALLY MINE.' I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT SHE WILL BE WRONG HERE. I AM NOT A KING, I AM THE REGENT."

  Gloomeye felt what he would have called surrealism, had he known. The demon ruler jokes by parodying Splinter, who jokes about being parodied by the demon ruler. Is he just joking? Or does he see the future? Or does he know people that well? Wait a minute! The demon ruler! Demon. Ruler.

  "Why did the Break occur?" the guy asked out of place. He remembered the question of another strange acquaintance, the arch of ancient ruins.

  "YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR KNOWLEDGE. FOR KNOWLEDGE, AND EVEN MORE SO FOR KNOWING," the demon either answered or refused to answer. "YOU WERE RIGHT TO REMIND ME OF THE BREAK, AS YOU CALL IT. YOU'RE MUCH MORE TALKATIVE THAN THE WOMAN BEFORE YOU, BUT IT'S TIME TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU WANT TO DISCUSS VALKALI AS WELL."

  "Why should I discuss her?"

  "YES. EXACTLY. I WANT TO RETURN TO MY OWN DIMENSION."

  "I... I'm sure I know less about dimensional travel than you do," Gloomeye said, trying to tame the flow of information that was much more intense than he was used to receiving (even including the last few busy days).

  "I'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING IN A MOMENT. AFTER YOU CHANGED THE WORLD, MY PRESENCE IN IT BECAME UNDESIRABLE FOR ME. BUT ALL THE PASSAGES LARGE ENOUGH FOR ME WERE BLOCKED. AND FOR HIM," Regent raised Self-Destruction again, realising that his interlocutor couldn't see his head nod. "WE ARE TOO BIG ENTITIES. LUCKILY THERE IS THIS THING," the demon pointed with a sticky hand at a small metal box on the table. It was dark, but it was possible to make out some sort of ornate design on it. "THIS IS THE MAGINARIUM, THE MACHINE THAT CONTAINS THE GOD. NOT THE FALSE GODS THAT YOU HUMANS HAVE MADE, BUT THE REAL ONE. RELATIVELY. BY REPAIRING THE MAGINARIUM, I CAN MAKE A WISH AND GET OUT OF YOUR WORLD.”

  "And you want me to fix this thing somehow? I'm not very good at fixing gods from machines either," Gloomeye admitted.

  "YOU ARE CLEVER FOR YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. IT NEEDS SPARE PARTS THAT WERE HIDDEN IN YOUR WORLD. YOU WILL BRING THEM TO ME, AND I WILL GRANT YOU AN EQUAL NUMBER OF WISHES. TO SAVE TIME, LET’S SKIP YOUR QUESTIONS AND GET STRAIGHT TO THE ANSWERS. MAGINARIUM IS STRONGER THAN ME, BUT I HAVE ENOUGH POWER FOR YOUR WISHES. I CAN'T PICK UP THE PIECES MYSELF, BECAUSE I CAN'T BREAK OUT INTO YOUR WORLD. WE ARE IN A POCKET DIMENSION BETWEEN WORLDS. I CAN'T SEND MY SUBORDINATES EITHER, BECAUSE THEY SERVE ME, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE AMBITIOUS AND ALWAYS READY TO BETRAY ME. I CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT I REALLY WANT TO LEAVE, BUT THINK ABOUT IT, GLOOMEYE, HOW CAN I HARM THE WORLD IN ITS CURRENT STATE?”

  "I'm still not sure I want to work for the demons," Gloomy said, trying to increase his worth as Merchant had taught him.

  "YOU WILL BANISH THE DEMON RULER TO HIS DIMENSION. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVELY HIGHLY MORAL ACT. HEROIC EVEN. AND THE DEMONS... MY DEMONS WILL NOT RESIST YOU, BUT RATHER HELP YOU. NO HARD FEELINGS, ONLY GRATITUDE. THE CONDITIONS ARE BETTER THAN IN ANY FAIRY TALE".

  "Okay, I can look for some thingies for you," Gloomeye exhausted all his trading skills.

  "NO, TO WORK FOR ME, YOU HAVE TO SHOW SERIOUS INTENTIONS. KZARINA!"

  A woman wearing a tight black skirt, a white shirt, a red vest and an incredibly funny little red cap on her head came out of the wall. She had white skin and hair, and an inhumanly sharp face. Or maybe it was the darkness of the room that made it seem so. She carried a tray of a parchment and a thin metal spike.

  "I can neither read nor write," Gloomy said honestly. He knew what the items on the tray were for.

  "NOW YOU CAN."

  The guy suddenly realised that he understood the sentence on the parchment: "I agree" and two dashes.

  "READING WILL BE USEFUL IN YOUR QUEST. AND MY AGENT MUST LOOK PRESENTABLE. KZARINA.

  Kzarina pulled out her belt and placed it on the tray. Her skirt was tight around her hips so it didn't fall off. How happy she is!

  "NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO HOLD ON TO YOUR PANTS ALL THE TIME, AS IF THEY HAVE A PILE OF JEWELRY IN THEIR POCKETS. AND COME ON FOR A NICE NUMBER, I'LL GIVE YOU A THIRD GIFT - UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGES.

  "I... thank you. Probably. But I haven't agreed yet."

  "YOU CAN LEAVE WITHOUT SIGNING THE CONTRACT. BUT I PROMISE THAT THE CONTRACT IS WITHOUT A CATCH. I WILL FULFILL YOUR TRUE WISH. IF YOU FEEL THAT I AM NOT BEING HONEST WITH YOU, THEN THE CONTRACT IS VOID. THAT’S THE LAST THING I'LL SAY, AND IT CAN'T BE CHANGED."

  ***

  Princess and Splinter were waiting for him at the door, desperately oblivious to each other. Splinter was leaning back against the wall, and Princess was sitting on the floor. When she saw Gloomeye come out, she jumped up, threw her arms around him, and buried her head in his chest.

  "You're alive, then, the Overlady (what? Did I go through the wrong door?) has made you Her Chosen One," she said, looking up at his face. Her eyes glittered, and her lashes fluttered rapidly. "I didn't doubt you, Chosen One!"

  There were retching sounds, which Splinter was fortunately only imitating. Princess looked grimly at the source of the sounds and said through clenched teeth:

  "Maybe still execute her?" Dara looked back at Gloomy, her eyes hopeful.

  He'd never had much female attention in his entire life, and now it was too much.

  "I'd appreciate it if I was warned in advance about my meetings with rulers, especially demonic ones," the guy said indignantly to the air. "But it went well. Regent gave me a job. And he also made it clear that you would provide us with supplies for the journey, Princess."

  "Right! I'll take orders immediately!" Princess moved away and ran in a manner that was clearly not typical of royalty.

  "Come on, tell me what happened there, I need it for my report," Splinter pulled him by the arm. "You didn't fall in love with that demon-loving girl, did you? She's such an obvious schemer. Or should I train you to resist the woman's charms? Then we'll have to find some tavern wench..."

  "Do you think her mother knows?" the guy put a finger in his mouth, which he had to cut to get blood to sign the contract (he also urgently needed a signature for himself. Gloomeye decided on "Gloomeye"). He did not dare to suck his finger in front of Princess.

  Splinter let go of Gloomy and walked over to a wall banner with the city's symbol on it.

  "I'm sure now. Do you think this is the symbol of the desire for hope?"

  "Yeah, that's what you told me," Gloomeye said, examining his wet finger. The bleeding had stopped. "That's your 'You can't trust me with anything, ever' thing again, isn't it?"

  The girl took the edge of the cloth and turned it over so that the star was at the bottom of the bird of paradise.

  "And that's way is the fall of mankind into the Abyss. This pentagon resembles the pentagram, a symbol that is associated with the summoning of demons. They hid it in plain sight. Have you heard of... Who am I asking!? There is a sect called the Sisters of Regina, demon worshippers. I think they had something to do with the noticeable absence of men in Capital before or during the Break."

  "Oh," was all Gloomy said.

  "Have you already fantasized the ruler of Capital as your mother-in-law? Did you like the town and decide to inherit it?" Splinter quickly made up for the amount of sarcasm she'd missed during the explanation.

  "Princess said they haven't decided on a form of government yet," the guy blurted out. He was already lost in his own thoughts, leaving the rebellious mouth to carry on the dialogue.

  "I see you're hanging on her every word. Although maybe demon worship won't be a no-no thing for you. What did you say about Regent's mission?" Splinter decided to go on.

  As they walked, Gloomy told her about his recent conversation. Just in case, he didn't mention the words 'Regent' and 'demon' again, even though he was sure that all the guards here wouldn't mind hearing about demons. But in a world where there are Mourneer cursors, it's best not to try your luck just like that. As for the discussion about Splinter, he just said:

  "He knows you, by the way. Still don't want to tell me about yourself?"

  "If you ask your friend, the demon king, I'm sure he'll tell you all about by roles, he must be very good at parodying voices, especially mine," the girl replied sarcastically.

  "He's... not a king," Gloomy said thoughtfully.

  By the time he finished his story, they were already out on the street.

  "I'd like to get out of here, too. Out of this world, I mean. I believe him," the girl concluded. "So, what's our first step?"

  "Do you want to come with me?" the guy wasn't particularly surprised, but he was expecting different scenarios.

  "You're a strange person, hero. How can I make reports away from you?" Splinter made the sign of doubting the sanity with her hand near her head.

  As they entered the tavern by the Sword of Light, they encountered Wolves and Merchant. Wolves was wearing an apron and a headscarf. He was wiping cups with a rag and telling something funny to Merchant, who was laughing and drinking at the table.

  "Father, I've been assigned a mission in the palace," Gloomeye announced immediately.

  "Great!" the father was delighted.

  "Splinter and I are going to leave here, and probably for a long time," the guy continued to develop his verbal success.

  Gloomeye's parents looked at each other. Wolves turned serious and stood in front of his son:

  "Good luck on the road."

  "Aren't you going to talk us out of this?" Gloomeye was really surprised now.

  "I have taught you everything I know: how to fight, how to hunt, well, the principles showed. I hope I've passed on my understanding of the world and life here," Wolves poked his finger at his son's forehead. "Although Storyteller ran the place, which I'd like to negate.

  How can I stop you? By what right? My grandfather, even not from a good life, chose freedom. That's what he called his gang, the Free People," Wolves hugged his son. "I was so afraid of being a father, I thought I was going to ruin everything. Thank you for being with me along the way, helping me out. It's going pretty smoothly, isn't it?" Wolves ruffled Gloomy's hair. "You have to travel light on the road, so I'm sorry if it wasn't smooth somewhere. And know that I forgive you, too."

  Gloomeye felt something in his throat. At that moment, Merchant came up to them and hugged them both, saying:

  "I'm not your real mother, but unlike her, I raised you, which makes you my son. We'll always be waiting for you, just come back."

  "That was the demon lord. He asked me to collect some things to get him out of our world," Gloomy couldn't lie at a time like this.

  "Wow, so he can give a real royal reward," Wolves chuckled contentedly.

  "You don't mind?" Gloomeye realised now that all the previous surprises in his life (including the most recent ones) were child's play compared to this one.

  "I told you about freedom. Free people do good, do evil, do nothing. But I'm sure you'll do the right thing. Besides, I knew a..." Wolves glanced quickly at his wife, "...a representative of the demonic race. They are generally normal non-humans. More human than elves, if you ask me."

  After the family separated, Wolves hugged Splinter, and then Merchant hugged her:

  "Take care of my son, okay? You probably already understand the principle of men. How they like to pretend to be confident, especially when they don't understand anything."

  "Hey!" Wolves protested for show.

  Splinter was stunned by the hug and it was impossible to read her expression.

  "I hope you're not leaving right now, but at least tomorrow morning?" Merchant asked, brushing something from her eyelid.

  Why a gloomy cheap American motel (and this is it. I hope I have described the ceiling fan and the palm tree wallpaper clearly enough)? Why a modern business suit? This may become clearer as I explore more of the lore of this world, but in reality, scenes often just pop into my head, and this is one of them. I really like it, I could probably write it endlessly.

  Regent speaks in small caps, not just capital letters. He doesn't shout, just his normal voice is loud (there will be other characters with loud speech later in the story). He had the ancient Roman meme "What? Is it in Greek? Unreadable?", but at this point an explicit reference to our world would be too much.

  I think everything is clear with the deconstructions in this chapter: the evil princess, the main quest-assembling deus ex machina and sending the main demon to his dimension at his own request, the main character asking his parents for permission to go on an adventure.