78. The Silent House is crying

It took at least two minutes for the scraping sound of my voice to die away.

“What a creepy house,” Lei chortled behind me. “As expected from my bro.”

For a moment, the silence was absolute. Then, the stifled creaky sound of an opening door could be heard. I saw Axel Sunclaw come out of the Silent House. I scrutinized him as he approached. From his punky looks, no one would think he was from one of the wealthiest families in the Farskyer Peninsula. His casual shirt displayed a distasteful ‘HATE’ in upper case with fake blood trickling down the letters. As he stopped before me, his eyes stabbed mine, then turned to his brother.

“What are you up to, Lei?” He whispered, probably so his voice wouldn’t reverberate inside the bubble.

“Aya-aya, don’t glare at me, dear brother. That guy seems to bear a grudge against you, and I just felt curious. After all, it’s sooo rare that someone wants to smash your face in.”

“Actually,” I intervened. “I’m here to ask you some questions first.”

“Aya-aya, are you backing down in front of the beast?” Lei mocked.

“Tsk. I’m not.” Wait, did he just call his brother a “beast”?

“Get out.”

Axel’s curt words were filled with venom. Why, even though he looked rather calm, did his aura exude only anger and disgust?

“I won’t unless you answer my questions,” I said. “In the tower, you used your power on Oliver. And you said you would leave him alone if he didn’t get near you. But I get the impression you won’t.”

“… That’s not a question, worthless worm. But, in any case, you’re right.” Axel’s eyes strayed on his twin brother, then went back to me. “I’m planning to get that monster telepath’s badge in the meeting and have him suffer and repent until he quits the training.”

“…!” He was… not kidding. Damn, so my instinct had been right… “But why?!”

“For my mental health, of course.”

… What? Behind me, Lei whispered lightly as if to give voice to his brother’s thoughts:

“Look here, my mind is too sensitive to bear a little kid, so it’s his life or my sanity—wait, whose sanity? Mine? Did I have something like that in the first place?”

“Shut up, Lei.”

Axel’s calmness was scary. As a former gangster, I had learned that letting people trample on you is rarely a solution, but… would I be able to beat that guy? I breathed in.

“Axel Sunclaw. Tell me…” I looked him in the eye. “Did you ever use your power on Linah?”

Axel raised an eyebrow.

“Depending on your answer,” I added, “I might actually challenge you to a duel… for my mental health.”

A twisted smirk appeared on his face.

“Plenty of times.” I froze as he muttered: “My little sis, and my stupid brother over there… they fear me like hell. That’s the only way to see them as my siblings. It’s a balance. Armen Moon. I accept your challenge. But I don’t guarantee your sanity will be unscathed after we fight. Hate me with all you’ve got, that will be heaven for me. Though you cannot hate me more than I hate you, nor more than I hate myself.”

His dark, blue eyes were glowering at me. I shuddered; a mix of fear, anger, and horror squeezed my heart.

That guy was insane. He even admitted to mistreating his siblings. And he said he hated himself. How negative could he be?

What a monster. What a freak. He may have ended up like this because of his power, true, but… pitying him was not a solution. Just imagining him using his power on Linah and planning on ruining a kid’s future while not even feeling an ounce of regret… made my anger blaze out.

“I ain’t got the whole day,” I said. “I’ve got a curry to put in the fire. So let’s fight. If I win, you’ll let Oliver be and won’t ever use your power on Linah, Ray, or Zeeta.”

“Hoho, such a greedy wish,” Lei teased. He had settled down on a low garden wall, sitting like a monkey. “What about me?”

“Mm. You won’t use your power on Lei either,” I added, for Axel.

“Buahaha, I can’t believe you said it!” Lei’s laughter echoed and distorted sinisterly in the bubble. “So? What about you, Axel? What will your condition be?”

“…” Axel looked really, really annoyed. “Since you are greedy, so will I. If you lose, you will quit the training, won’t ever enter the WHO, and will never talk to Linah again.”

So, in the end, it did bother him that Linah and I got along so well. We scowled at each other. I gave a firm nod.

“Okay.”

“I’m the referee!” Lei exclaimed. “By the way, Armen, I suppose you know how those things work, but a deal in a duel between martial artists is unbreakable. Once the fight begins, you can’t go back on your word, or your reputation will be ruined, and no trainee with a bit of pride will accept any challenge coming from you. That’s how honor works in the world of martial arts. Still fired up?”

I nodded.

“Still fired up. Let’s get started.”

“Aya-aya, you’re the impatient type, huh? Well, let me suggest the rules of this duel.” Lei indicated the garden courtyard on his left. “The combat field is that square. If you lie on the ground for more than ten seconds, your opponent wins. No weapons allowed. No shoes. No blows on the head. You trample on a flower, and you have a five seconds penalty during which you can’t move. The nature protector dixit.”

“What’s with that stupid rule?” Axel replied.

“Haha… The referee sets the rules, right? Could it be you’re scared of losing because of a daisy, dear brother?”

The negativist clicked his tongue. I nodded energetically. There weren’t that many flowers on the lawn, anyway.

“I’ll keep that in mind. No collateral damages allowed.”

“You said it, Beanie Zombie.”

“Then let’s start,” Axel grumbled. He had already entered the combat field. I followed him as Lei giggled.

“Aya-aya, bro. Are you looking forward to the fight? That’s so unusual!”

“Shut up and give the signal.”

“Just a moment.” Lei jumped down the wall, drew closer to me, and whispered to my ear: “Let’s make a bet. If by some miracle you win, I’ll stop bothering Ray and move to his house as a subordinate.”

“No need to move to our house, that would totally bother Ray,” I snorted. “What if I lose?”

Lei smiled.

“You will accept to be my disciple.”

“…!”

Again with that disciple stuff? The first time I had met him he had wanted to take me in as a disciple even though he didn’t know I was an undead at the time. Lei was a person I had trouble understanding; well, compared to his twin brother, he was sympathy itself. I shrugged.

“If I lose, I’ll have to quit the training, though.”

“But you’d still stay in Phoenix City. You can’t stay away from your master, can you?”

I grimaced. Was he already looking forward to having me as his disciple? I nodded.

“I’ll win, anyway.”

Lei grinned and pointed at me with his forefinger, acting cool.

“Good luck, Zombaby.”

“…” Ugh. I would definitely win. There was no way I’d become the disciple of that clown. Ever.

Lei returned to his sitting position on the low wall and said:

“Ready, guys? Then… Three. Two. One. Fight!”

I launched myself at Axel, avoided a daisy, fixed my eyes on my opponent’s, and activated my power.

My plan was simple: run at Axel, close his eyes on the way, grab him, and eat his lifeforce without letting him go. If I succeeded, I would probably win in a matter of minutes.

However, Axel was a martial artist. As soon as I entered his range, he spun around, making me lose contact with his eyes, and he threw a blow at my chest, kicking the back of my knee at the same time. I lost my balance and got knocked over.

“Daisy! Armen! Five-seconds penalty!” Lei cried out. “Five—four—three—two—one!”

“Those were at most half seconds,” Axel tsked, glowering at Lei.

“Aya-aya, sorry I’m bad at counting seconds, dear brother!” Lei laughed. “I’ll try to do better next time. Get up, Armen! Does it hurt?”

As I jumped to my feet, I sent him a fierce grin.

“You know it doesn’t. I’m still fired up.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Axel looked at me, annoyed.

“Come at me, worm.”

“Sure.”

I lunged at him again. This time, Axel moved forward, too, but without hurry. He waited until my hands almost touched him then kneed me in the stomach. Had I been alive, I would have probably doubled up in pain. But I didn’t. I tried to grab his leg, in vain: Axel had already bounced backwards. What was he, a squirrel? He repeated the same attack, alternating between kicks and palm strikes. On seeing me seemingly unscathed, he grew exasperated, grasped my shirt, and made me lose my balance…

That’s all I needed.

I grabbed his wrist and began to eat his lifeforce. With my other hand, I tried to grab Axel’s neck, or at least punch him, but he deflected all my attempts. Whatever. I kept aspirating his energy.

Tasty.

It would get even tastier if I managed to empathize with that negativist, wouldn’t it? And the more pleasure I felt, the more painful it would be for him, right? A good meal was always welcome, of course, but… all I wanted now was to win.

Surrender, Axel!

Axel began to tremble. He was striking me to free himself, but his blows didn’t make me budge in the least. I was like a cursed stone swallowing his lifeforce with delight.

Then, Lei cried out:

“Stop the attack! Get up both of you, or there will be no winner! Ten, nine…”

When did we fall to the ground? I couldn’t remember. Anyway, Lei’s intervention had me snap back to reality. I let go of Axel reluctantly, and we both pulled away. He was huffing and puffing. But his eyes glowed with hatred. It was not enough. I had to eat more to make him resign.

The problem was, Axel was now totally aware that he had better not let me touch him.

“Are you a telekinetic and an emotion manipulator?” he asked when he caught his breath.

I smiled.

“Are you scared?”

Axel threw a bored glance at me then dashed forward. He began landing blows so fast I could barely tell where he had struck me, but he most likely wasn’t choosing the least painful attacks. He was like a crazy boomerang, going back and forth, dodging my hands, moving to my blind spot, and striking. I was in awe. So that was how it felt to be fighting a martial artist. How many hours had he spent enhancing his skills?

Axel Sunclaw was incredible.

Still, he feared me. I could tell whenever I would lose my balance and fall to the ground: he didn’t try to approach and would always wait for me to get up.

The more he hit me, the more his eyes glowed with rage.

After a while, I could see his cheeks shining with sweat.

“Why?” he muttered, then shouted: “Why don’t you drop dead already!”

His voice distorted in the bubble of the Silent House, rattling like that of a ghost. Lei let out a guffaw.

“You’re losing it, dear brother, calm down! You are making enough noise to wake the dead! Though you may have woken one already, hahaha!”

Axel breathed in. His expression became icy as he whispered:

“Shut up. I’ll take him down in one attack.”

His determination worried me. One attack? What was he trying to do? I had no idea, but one thing was for sure: I had to take hold of him in one way or another. First, let’s increase the chances of contact. I took off my shirt, tossed it away, then glanced around at the daisies. If only there were more of them… What was with that Silent House, really? Everything seemed so gloomy!

“Armen, wake up! You’re in the middle of a fight! Why are you stripping anyway?”

Lei’s warning came too late. The time I averted my eyes from the flowers, Axel was on me. I didn’t see his attack, so I couldn’t tell where I was hit: I fell over on my back. Axel loomed over me, and instead of jumping back, he drove a kneel into my torso, and thrust my elbows to the ground with his hands… his hands?

He was using his sleeves to cover them.

Axel smirked.

“So that’s your condition. You need to touch your opponent to activate your power, but it doesn’t work through clothes.”

I tried to free myself, to no avail. Axel barked:

“Lei! What are you doing? What about the ten-second countdown?”

“Oh, right. Ten. Nine. Eight.”

What should I do? Dammit, if only I could eat his lifeforce! His wasted lifeforce was not enough. His lifeforce. All I needed was his energy!

“Seven. Six. Fiiiive…”

“Why is he dragging the syllables?” Axel muttered under his breath.

Then something clicked in my mind.

“Fooour. Threeee.”

I fixed my eyes on a flower and activated my power.

“Twooo… Oooone… Daisy! Penalty, Axel! Five seconds, stop your attack!”

Axel widened his eyes in confusion, then saw the daisy I had plucked with my telekinesis and put under his knee.

It worked! Well, probably because Lei was expecting it. Was that daisy rule an advantage he had set for me, after all? As Axel let go of me, boiling with anger, I grinned at him, passed my hands under his shirt, pulled it up, and grabbed him with my arms, as tightly as possible. I had never used such a big contact area to eat lifeforce, and the incoming energy burst inside me. Lei was counting the seconds. Axel began to scream.

“… Three…! Oi, Axel, you can’t hit him during the penalty, stop it right now or you lose!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!!”

Axel wasn’t listening. I myself was barely aware of my surroundings: I was giving myself up to Axel’s energy, body and mind. I had even forgotten I had to concentrate on making my meal pleasurable. It was tasty, anyway, and I was starving. The more I ate, the hungrier I got. A strange passion arose inside me, all directed to the incoming lifeforce. Admiration for the living. Love and respect for life. Respect for a life that was being destroyed by myself… Such a horrible contradiction. Such a nightmarish emotion.

Yet… I couldn’t stop.

My core was working like an infernal machine when I sensed another source of energy. With the renewed deathforce, I could feel how some hands were trying to make me lose my grip. One part of me wanted to let go of the food, because I knew all too well that what I was eating was a living being’s energy; even though he was a negativist, even though he had used his cursed power on Linah, I didn’t want Axel to die. I actually didn’t hate him…

So, please, let him go, please let him go…

I was telling that to the other part of me, which only wanted to keep eating. Keep eating and become livelier. Keep stuffing myself with the energy of the living so I could live and grow.

‘The personality or will of the Fury hardly makes a difference when its life-lust is at its peak.’

It was just as Ray had said: a Fury, regardless of its willpower, couldn’t fight its own instincts. That’s why an undead needed a master. That’s why I needed Ray.

But I had told him not to see through my eyes or hear through my ears. Ray probably felt through our necro-bond that something was going on. And if he learned I had given in to my life-lust…

I was ashamed. Ray had trusted me, and I was betraying that trust.

I didn’t want that. My soul was screaming inside. But, unlike in the tower, my will seemed to have no control over my body anymore. What a Fury didn’t want was of no importance: all that mattered was that there was still lifeforce left to absorb.

“Please,” I grumbled. “Please, Lei, help me let go of him, or he will die!”

My hearing was altered, and I couldn’t see Lei, since my forehead was pressing against Axel’s skin as if glued, but I still sensed his lifeforce as his hand touched my back. When he activated his magnetic power, my body was forcefully catapulted away, flew over the garden square, and hit the wall of the Silent House. The only problem was, I had dragged Axel along. Lei touched alternately the stony wall and my hands. My left lost grip of Axel as it crashed into the wall. Then my right hand, then my feet… Finally, Axel was freed. He collapsed to the ground.

My core was frantically transforming the absorbed lifeforce into deathforce, making me breathe hard as it was asking for more.

Nailed on the wall, I looked down at Lei. He had crouched beside his twin brother.

“Holy Crystals. He passed out. First time I’ve seen him defeated like that.”

“Is he okay?” I asked worriedly. My panting was calming down as my life-lust was decreasing.

“He’s breathing just fine. And his qi is still working, so, yeah, I think he will be okay. I can’t believe I pitied him, just now, when he was screaming like a harpy. But what did you do exactly?”

“I…” I swallowed. “I ate his lifeforce.”

“I guessed as much, but is it that painful? I mean, I know you ate a bit of my lifeforce just earlier, I’m a qi master after all, but it wasn’t painful.”

“Yeah… It’s not painful for you, but it is for him.” My gaze paused on his twin brother lying unconscious on the slabs. Seeing his relaxed face at that moment, with his systematic frowning gone, I realized Lei and he looked just like two peas in a pod. “Thank heavens he’s all right…”

Lei raised an eyebrow.

“It’s painful for him, you say? Does that mean you’re very happy when you steal lifeforce?”

I grimaced at the word “steal” but found myself incapable of correcting him. I nodded.

“Sorta. We undead need lifeforce to keep ourselves alive, and it’s even more true in my case, since I’m becoming a Fury, so—”

“So your instincts make you find it pleasurable. Makes sense,” Lei pondered. “I’d have thought that modern undeads with artificial cores would have no instincts based on pleasure or suffering, but it seems it’s not totally the case. How fascinating. By the way, you used a truly devilish strategy. I’m in awe.”

Was he praising me?

“… I lost control, though. I couldn’t let go of him, so… thanks for helping me, Lei.”

Lei looked at me, still glued to the wall thanks to his magnetic power, and gave an amused nod.

“You’re welcome. It’s true that I quite enjoyed my brother’s defeat, but I’m not a sadist, and of course, I don’t want him to die. He’s my bro, after all. I should thank you for telling me he was going to die if I did nothing. Anyway…” He clapped his fingers, just for show, when he deactivated his power, and my body suddenly detached from the wall, no longer attracted by it. I landed on my knees, then stood up as Lei added: “You’re not gonna attack, right?”

“Shouldn’t you have asked that before releasing me?” I replied. Anyway, it wasn’t like I was going to pounce on them like a hungry tiger. I may be a Fury, but I wasn’t a monster. Or rather, I would never allow myself to become one. Now that I knew firsthand what it was really like to lose control of my life-lust… I threw a glance at Axel, then added: “I won, right?”

“You knocked him out. I could say your fighting style was not fitting that of a martial artist, but… technically, even if I cheated a bit with the countdowns, in the end Axel was crushed by a guy who doesn’t know how to fight. He won’t deny that. Plus he broke a rule: he tried to fight back before the five-second penalty. I’ve rarely seen him panic like that. So, yeah, you won, dude, high five.”

I was going to bump my palm against his when I remembered about my life-lust and stopped in my tracks. Lei chuckled. Was he doing it on purpose? Anyhow, though I had won, I could hardly revel in my victory right now. After all, I had come to see Axel with the righteous intention of protecting my loved ones, and I had ended up behaving like a demonic glutton…

“Damn. I feel like the bad guy here,” I confessed.

“Hahaha, you are a dark being, after all!” Lei’s eyes pierced mine. “Your way of winning sure wasn’t artistic. As a martial artist, I’m disappointed. But apart from that, I think winning by eating is cool.”

“… Is it?”

“Since I say so! Anyway, you just got lucky because of that daisy rule. Hadn’t it been for that, you would have lost. It was a close call.”

He was right.

“Also, if you had been alive, your body would have collapsed under his first blows. It was so funny to see him strike your acupoints, and then see him all confused because you weren’t going down! Buahaha!”

Looks like Lei had enjoyed the fight more than anyone. Axel’s body slightly quivered. He was waking up. I walked away immediately, saying:

“I’m leaving. Tell him he’d better keep his promise.”

“Running away from the loser, huh?”

I picked up my shirt, shrugging. Axel must hate me from the bottom of his heart now. If I stayed, that would only make the situation more awkward. Lei nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell him. By the way, don’t forget your shoes.”

Oh, right. I put them on. As I glanced back, I locked eyes with Axel and froze for an instant. He said nothing as he sat up. He looked fine. Relieved, without a word, I left the Silent House.

* * *

Sitting on the paved square before the house, Lei and Axel looked at each other.

“Your eyes say you’re in a pretty bad mood, brother.”

“… I can’t believe I lost.”

“Hahaha! I can’t believe it either. Underestimating your opponent led you to a thorough defeat—”

“I won’t accept you as a referee ever again, Lei.”

“Huh? Did I perform poorly?”

Axel glared at him.

“… Tsk. Who is that guy anyway?”

“…?! Aya-aya, you don’t remember his name?”

“I do. My head’s fine. What I mean is… what’s his social position?”

“Oh. I’d say, he’s a close friend of Ray’s.”

“Ray…” Axel’s eyebrows twitched. “What’s with his body?”

“What do you mean? Aya-aya, don’t look at me like that, you just promised you wouldn’t use your power on me, remember?”

“… Can’t control it. Damn you. I’ve heard you guys talking. You said: if you had been alive. What does that mean?”

“Ah… You heard that, huh. Well, you’re smarter than I am, aren’t you? So you must be able to understand what it means, dear brother.”

“… Who is he? No, what is he?”

“…?!” Lei raised an eyebrow. That glint in Axel’s eyes… Was it interest? “Hoho.”

“What?”

“Could it be one of those ‘countless worthless worms on earth’ you despise so much has caught your interest, dear brother?”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”

Lei flinched under his brother’s glare. His body had begun to tremble in fear. He shoved backwards. All the teasing tone had abandoned his voice when he said:

“Aya-aya, calm down, Axel. Are you seriously going to break your promise so early?”

Axel frowned at the ground.

“Can’t control it,” he repeated. His eyes glowed. “Never hated someone as much as I hate him right now.”

“I’m speechless. Wasn’t I the person you hated the most?”

Axel turned hazy eyes toward his brother before hissing:

“I want to make him miserable, torture his filthy mind, and throw it into hell.”

“Ah… Dear brother, remember our father told you not to strain yourself too much. Believe me, that undead is not worth your precious time. Leave him to me. I’ll keep an eye on him for you, how about that?”

Axel glowered at him. He already knew his stupid brother was interested in Linah’s friend and wanted to take him on as his disciple. Lei would rarely make the same offer to the same person twice, yet he was still sticking to that worm. Now Axel understood why. Armen Moon had picked Lei’s interest because he was an undead. So that was why he wouldn’t budge under his arm strikes. Axel had chosen some powerful attacks that should have had him crawl on the ground, writhing in pain for hours, but instead… he had lost to a walking corpse.

“Is it allowed for such a monster to wander around freely?”

Lei burst out laughing. He probably thought: who’s the monster here, Armen or you? His laughter reverberated in Axel’s heart, squeezing it, making it throb in pain and send a strong feeling of irritation all over his body. His curse wouldn’t allow him to even withstand a giggle without reacting. Lei knew that. And still, he kept grinning in front of him. Axel hated him for that. He hated all the people who ignored his pain and were trying to be happy around him. He had unwillingly used his power against his twin brother a lot of times, even making him curl up in fear at his feet sometimes and scream and tremble like a defenseless kitten… Axel had grown accustomed to it through the years. Lei had not. Although he would always try to make it look otherwise, he was actually terrified by him. There was a time he would even avoid him like the demonic plague. Axel could see right through him. They were twins, after all.

Still, Lei’s laughter was nothing compared to what he had just lived through.

That feeling of intense pressure against his chest, that sensation of having been cast into the deepest hell… What did Armen Moon do? Was it an undead’s skill? He had no idea, but one thing was for sure: positive and negative sensations were proportional in intensity. That meant, since Axel had suffered a torment, then Armen must have felt the opposite.

Exasperating worm. Insufferable monster. Obnoxious abomination. Loathsome beast. Demon.

Hatred kept growing within him.

“Er… Dear brother? Are you all right? You’re sweating rivers—”

“Leave.” The word tore the air in a muffled and hissing tone.

“…! Don’t tell me you’re gonna explode?! Didn’t the last explosion happen just before the training?”

By ‘explosion’, Lei meant the nervous breakdowns Axel underwent every now and then, when the negative feelings had piled up in him and reached the limit.

Axel slowly got to his feet and snarled:

“Leave!”

Lei was already running away. He wavered before crossing the bubble of the Silent House. Was it worry that gleamed in his eyes? No, it couldn’t be. Lei hated his twin brother. He had no choice but to hate him after all he had done to him.

Curry’s seal-like head was peering through a window at its master. Axel pierced it with an infuriated gaze.

“I told you not to get out, Curry.”

The kompa flinched back, shaking, and disappeared from the window.

Standing alone in the silencer bubble, Axel gazed at the night sky, then at the ground, then at his clenched fists. He hardened his body with qi. He didn’t want to injure himself more than necessary. Then, finally, he thrust a fist into the wall of the house with all his strength.

A dull pain ran through his body as he kept hitting the wall. A crack soon appeared on it. He began to scream like a madman:

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!”

His negativity swirled out into the air. Anyone standing around would have been overwhelmed by it. It was invisible, yet it was dark, it was blazing, it was hideous. Burning tears were flowing down his cheeks, releasing a deep, horrendous sadness.

But nor hatred, nor anger, nor sadness would ever completely leave his mind, always to be reborn like a cursed phoenix.

At those times, he hated himself the most. For what he had become, but also, for enduring alone like a dying rabbit in its hole. He could have gone to that meeting full of elite trainees and shared his torment with them, just to relieve part of his burden, yet for some reason, he didn’t. Was it shame? Was it because he still kept an ounce of kindness inside him? Or maybe it was selfishness? Or a survival instinct?

If he hadn’t been a Sunclaw, he would probably have been sent to the Champion Institute to be kept like a dangerous creature, away from the world…

Wrong. If he hadn’t been a Sunclaw, his mental power, which was originally a soothing and inoffensive one, would have never changed, because he would have never gone to that party nor met that monster…

His eyes bulged out as he remembered. The darkness everywhere, outside, and inside his body. People at the scene said afterwards that they had felt nothing more than a temporal yet complete loss of their senses. No one else but Axel had undergone a second quirk that day. No one else but Axel had been cursed for life after that day…

His fist relaxed as he turned away from the wall. His eyes fixed the Wind House, flying a bit farther and higher than the Silent House.

“Ray Styxer,” he whispered.

Father had told him Doctor Styxer’s son wasn’t the cause of his second quirk, but Axel never swallowed that. His power became distorted and cursed because of that darkness. Father said that wasn’t scientifically possible. But that was what happened.

There were many monsters at that training, but out of all of them, the Lightning Veil’s son was probably the worst. His power may turn out to be an even eviler curse than Axel’s.

Ray Styxer. His heart was calming down. Should I kill you one day? Should I make you my ally to fill the world with loath and sadness? Or will you be able to undo my curse?

After a long silence of meditation, he murmured:

“Now that I think about it, if Armen Moon is an undead, then… who’s the necromancer?”