SING CRIER CH.14 - Apoptosis 「 ...Did it work? 」 「 E-Erm... I'm... I'm not quite sure myself... 「 If I may run a test, however... 」 「 Quickly, please. 」 Nodding, and swallowing his bated breath, Xaiyoya raises his staff to the ceiling once more. He seems... more enthusiastic all of a sudden. ...It's making me anxious. 「 Arise! 」 Thud! He shouts before striking the base of his staff against the ground... But nothing follows. No magic circle, no magical noise, and the dark cloud still hovers in the centre of the room, obscuring our vision. He raises his staff again. 「 Muster! 」 Thud! Again, no response. 「 Annul! 」 Thud! This time, however... something does happen. The dark cloud begins to pulsate as if breathing, whilst starting a slow creep towards Xaiyoya. I immediately move to pull him to safety, but he holds his arm out to stop me. 「 No, it's fine... it's harmless. 」 ...It's as he says. The dark cloud is promptly sucked into his metal staff. I'm not sure why, or how he did what he did... but if the cloud is gone now... that means... I turn to her. Sing. Lying on the ground with her eyes open. Her eyes... open... open? They're open?! I scramble to her side and prop up her back with my arms. It's true, her eyes... her red... dead... fish-like eyes... Her body is colder than the stone tiled floor... Wait... is she... still dead...? No... no that can't be! I hover my antennae over her mouth. There... there! She's breathing, the faintest breaths... She's not dead... hah... she's... it worked... thank goodness... Her chest is just barely rising and falling... I worried myself over nothing... 「 She's breathing, Xaiyoya... Alph-Xaiyoya... ha ha... 「 This is great... I... you don't know what I've been through just to see this...」 「 ...Xaiyoya? 」 I look over my shoulder. He's giving his staff a stern look. 「 What is going on here... 」 「 Xaiyoya? Isn't... this fine? It worked, right? Didn't it? 」 「 ...Don't panic, but I may... have good and bad news... 」 Oh no... please, not this... 「 She may... already be released, and out of my control. 「 That dark cloud was how I kept undead under my command. 「 If it wasn't absorbed by her... there's a good chance she's already hostile.」 I turn back to her. ...She's just breathing. Hostile? She seems harmless enough... 「 It doesn't seem like she's released... 「 The good news? Wait, don't tell me- 」 「 That was the good news. 」 No no no no no. We have a very different idea of what is good and bad news! That is neutral at best news! "She's not voracious and deadly," well, that's great, but "not awful" isn't synonymous with good! 「 The bad news is that she may be... effectively dead. 「 Without my cloud, she may not have the means to do anything. 「 It's possible that right now, she's... stuck in a sort of command oblivion, 「 awaiting orders that will never come, unable to act otherwise, like a... doll.」 「 ... 」 「 T-That said, I don't think we're quite done here. 「 I meant what I said about that good news. We have options. 」 「 ...Tell me. 」 「 This is just speculation... but she may only require some... 「 stimulation, in order to awaken to her "released" state. 」 「 Stim...ulation...? 」 「 Yes, a... jump-start to her senses... 」 「 That's... no, we can't. 」 「 It's impossible? 」 「 She's too young. 」 「 Pardon, too young for what? 」 「 Y...You know. That. 」 「 ...Polimion, I don't have a very good sense of humour. 「 But if you're serious, I believe food should work fine as stimulus.」 「 ... 」 「 ...So, shall I get those leftovers? 」 「 No, I have food on me. 「 Please forget what I just said. 」 「 ... 」 「 Sorry. I'm just... really unstable right now. 」 「 I haven't said- 」 「 It's fine if I'm not "professional" every now and then. 「 I'm young so... it's fine. It's only natural to think weird things... 「 And I've been taking care of her for a long time so it's not weird of me 「 to have those kinds of thoughts too. Really, it's only natural... Is this fine?」 I hold a preserved fruit up in the air, keeping my eyes on Sing. 「 ...That's fine. 」 「 Good. Seriously don't tell anyone. 」 「 ...I won't. 」 「 If you tell anyone, I'll tell them- 」 「 Aren't we pressed for time?」 「 ...Y-Yes, I'm sorry. 」 I shift my body to support the back of Sing's head. Carefully, I hover the fruit in front of her eyes... When she doesn't react, I bring it closer... Closer... closer... CHOMP! She suddenly takes the fruit out of my hands and ravenously devours it. I-I'm... in a bit of shock. Seeing her suddenly move with so much... vigour. This delicate unmoving girl... being so lively... I wasn't expecting that... Well, maybe that's just the effect of being a released undead... 『 A-Augh! 』 「 Hey! Don't eat so quickly! 」 She holds her throat and starts coughing. I pat her back with some force to help out. She really is like a kid- Ah! She's throwing it up! 「 Geeze... this is why I said to slow down...」 She throws the fruit across the room. Hey, why are you getting mad at the fruit for? Goodness... Mak, where did you find this girl? Did you find her in a cave or what? 「 Ah, wait, Polimion, look at her teeth.」 「 Her teeth?」 I hold her chin and brush aside her lips. Sharp! These are meat-eating teeth! Why haven't I noticed this- Crunch. A jolt screams through my hand. 「 G-Giiiiiiiiiii! 」 「 Ah-! 」 「 My finger! My finger...! Giiyaa! 「 It hurts! Aaaah! Why?! Why why why...! 」 「 I-I'm unanimating her now-! 」 「 No! Do not! I... I'm... f-f-fine!」 I grit my teeth. She tore my finger clean off... And now she's... chewing it...! This... how did it come to this...! This isn't what I had in mind at all! B-But...! 『 ...? 』 I hold my hand out to her again... 「 Polimion, what are you- 」 「 Shut up! ...J-Just, I... I need this moment, okay? 」 This moment... when she first wakes up. I... I worked really hard for this moment... This isn't what I had in mind at all but... I... I don't want this to be just an awful memory... Even if... it's feeding her... 「 Nnh! 」 She bites off another one of my fingers, before the first one stops bleeding. I want to do this for her... With my other hand, I reach into my pocket and pull out a red vial. My hand is shaking... ha ha... this is... such a ridiculous situation... She opens her mouth to take another bite, but hesitates, and pulls back. 「 Oh... do I taste bad? Or are you just full? 」 Well, as a demon, it's probably... the former... She looks at me. Her eyes have changed completely. They're glowing... like... mine... 「 I-I'm fine! 」 I drink the vial of regeneration. I only need to take a few sips for my fingers to regenerate to full. I could speed it up by drinking more but... it's fine... this is expensive stuff... Even at a time like this, I'm being frugal... hah... I can't help it... I show her my regenerating fingers. 「 See? A-All better! 」 She blinks. Then her pupils contract. Her eyes dart all over the room as if looking for something. 「 Oh, give me a second... 」 I reach into a far back pocket and pull out two items. One of Mak's daggers, and her red hair ornament. Sing was the one who was given Mak's dagger if I'm remembering correctly. So, it should be correct to give this to her... Maybe she can find security in it...? 「 Hmm? 」 She looks on, ignoring the items being presented to her. She's looking at something else intently... what is- Oh. Her... sister. She tries to stand up. I catch her when her legs fail. She must have already figured out her sister is in the coffin... Should I... let her see her? I look at Xaiyoya. He's making this really scrunched up face as if looking at something incomprehensible. Well, Mak picked these two for a reason... right? I'd be thoroughly surprised if they were wholly normal... 「 Well... alright... 」 I pick up the coffin off the wall and set it down by her side. I don't think it'll be possible to bring her along while she's unsure of her sister's fate, short of physically forcing her to come with us, which I naturally want to avoid... So... Click click.

Thump. Click click. Thud. I undo the buckles and locks, and creak open the casket lid. There she is... Crier. Wrapped head to toe in bandages... Sing is giving her a long blank stare. I squeeze her hand for comfort. 「 We'll bring her back too, okay? 」 ...She holds her sister's hand. That's sibling bonds for you... As I look closer, I notice her trembling. Ah, does she... even speak my language? She's from the other side of the realm so maybe not... but what would be the right language for her then...? 「 Can you speak? ςคภ ץ๏ย รקєคк? ርልክ ሃዐሁ ነየቿልጕ...? 」 I ask if she can speak, in several languages, but she responds to none of them... Well, we should get along fine even if it's just intonation... hopefully. She turns her attention to me again. I tilt my head and smile. 「 Yes, Sing? 」 『 ... 』 Slowly, and timidly... she picks up her hair accessory. Examining it with both hands... she turns it over and back. She tries to put it on too, but her hands are shaking too much... Giii... I can't just watch, so I help her keep the ornament steady. I'm finally putting it on her... Sweet catharsis...! Next, she reaches for Mak's dagger in the same timid fashion. Engraved on the handle is the phrase "Dream-Zero," when translated. I never found out the what the contexts behind his dagger engravings were... But still, I wonder... what she went through to warrant receiving this one... She picks it up and points it at her own neck. 「 No! 」 I swipe it back. She starts tearing up. What in the heavens... Is her sister that important to her? "I can't live in a world without her," something like that? Sibling bonds are scary...! 「 C-come on, cheer up! Don't cry! It'll be fine! 」 「 Polimion, I think we should get going. 」 「 We...like this?! But she's...! 」 「 I think you should carry her. 「 She'll need time to sort out her own thoughts sooner or later. 」 「 But... 」 「 Don't lose track of why you came here. 」 「 ... 」 He's... ...He's right. I've... already stretched our time thin. We really... need to get going... I need to... bring her to... 「 ...Stay here, Xaiyoya. 」 「 Hmm? 」 「 She's already released, right? So just... stay here, 「 your job is done. You don't need to come with us...」 「 She's not released, this is something else entirely! 「 Undead don't... behave, and feel emotion like she does-」 「 She's not an object to be researched! 」 「 This isn't about research, Polimion! 「 This is a troubled child, can you handle her for the whole trip? 「 Do you feel comfortable facing all the problems that may come up?」 「 ... 」 「 I'm a necromancer second, and a caretaker first. 「 You may need me for this trip, so... think carefully. 「 You still have me until sunrise. 」 I look at her... Her trembling hands... She just... ...tried to... kill herself... I don't know how to deal with that... How would I know... how to deal with that...? It... it would be a mistake to let him off here... What was I thinking... asking him to stay... 「 I understand... please... come with us, Alph-Xaiyoya. 」 「 ...I'd be honoured to join your party, Alph-Polimion. 」 I squeeze my antennae, giving myself a wake-up shock. A very real clock is ticking... there's no time for this... I slide my hands under Sing's, and lift, trying to incite her to stand, but she refuses. Or rather... her body has gone limp... 「 Hey... come on, it'll be okay... 」 I adjust her position to carry her, but as I look, I notice her eyes have gone dead again; ignorant to her environment, staring endlessly forward. Mak... what has she been through? Why did you pick her? Why did you pick... me? I thought I got over these questions on my journey, but now that I'm here, they're resurfacing once again... So many old feelings and questions... 「 Polimion? 」 「 Huh? Ah, sorry, I'm coming... 」 Put them aside. She's the only thing that matters right now. Getting her to White Ash safe and sound. Nothing else matters. Nothing but them... I can... I can do this... if it's for them. Closing the caskets, I lift them onto my back. I carry Sing in my arms and follow Xaiyoya up the steps, leaving behind the eerily dark basement of forbidden magicks. Returning to the much warmer, and welcoming, ground floor. Xaiyoya is waiting for me at the top of the steps. He promptly closes the hatch behind me and covers it with tapestry. 「 Do you need a cloak? 」 「 No, there'd... be no point... 」 Anyone would be able to recognise me by my rucksack. It's not exactly quiet either, so stealth isn't exactly my area of expertise. Xaiyoya on the other hand, I imagine, is well known around here. While it'd be normal to see my species walking around at night, he'd have a bit of explaining to do... So, that's what I presume he left to go get, a cloak. In the meantime, I'll go back out to the living room to prepare my things... 「 Poly? 」 I freeze. 「 Are you leaving already? 」 「 Ah... y-yes, some business came up... 」 「 ...Is my dad going? 」 In the corner of my eye, I see Xaiyoya making a u-turn in the hallway. There's no way his son doesn't already know with a father like that... Let's not play the lying game today... 「 Yes, for a short while. I need him to do something only he can do. 」 He looks at me, then at Sing. Sing is looking back at him. They look about the same age, now that I'm seeing them face to face... 「 ...Okay, please take good care of him then. 」 Wait... what? What is the social hierarchy in this family? Is this a common occurrence or is he just this mature?

「 ...Why are you up so late? 」 「 As if anyone could sleep with all that noise... 」 All that noise...? 「 What noise? 」 「 Magic, right? Like... glass and wind. 」 「 How loud was it? Do you think someone could hear it from outside? 」 「 Huh? Ah... um... I don't think so... 」 I let out a held breath. 「 Are you... doing something bad, Poly? 」 「 Something... 」 ...bad? 「 ...No, we're... the good guys. 」 「 ...Okay. 」 I can't tell if he believes me. 「 I'm going to bed, goodnight. 」 「 Night... 」 Sleepily, he trods off... That kid wants to be an adventurer...? 「 Don't stay out too long, dad. 」 I cringe. I keep working quietly even as Xaiyoya's footsteps approach. There's... an awkward silence, knowing he's standing behind me... 「 Kids... right? 」 「 Y-Yeah... 」 That kid is already a young man if you couldn't already tell... Clink. Shuffle. Click. 「 Okay... I'm ready. 」 「 Do you know the way? 」 「 Yes, I came straight here from the mountain. 」 「 I'll follow you then. Will you handle the gate guards? 」 「 Yes, I'll handle everything. Just help me if I look like I'm in trouble. 」 「 Not like The Cardinal Merchant will need help negotiating... 」 「 Y-Yeah... 」 Remembering that encounter with Goz... If it's anyone from The Highlanders... I might not be able to stay composed... 「 Alright, let's head out. 」 ...Avoiding them will be our top priority. 「 Yo~ 」 It's Goz, waiting just outside the front door... It hasn't... even been a minute...! 「 Finally done, are we...? 」 「 Y... You... what... are you... doing here... 」 「 Haa? That doesn't really matter at this point, right? 」 Her gaze falls onto Sing. I hold her close and turn her away. 「 ...Neat. 」 「 Leave. 」 「 Give it up, you won't get out of here unless you bring me along. 「 I already had a chat with the gate patrols. You're boxed in. 」 I give Xaiyoya a glance. He's unmoving and straight-faced. It's anyone's guess what he's thinking right now... 「 ... 」 「 Well? Leading the way? 」 I look down at Sing, nodding off to sleep... Without a care in the world... As if nothing is wrong... I... I can't fight. Not with her in my arms... ...I march past Goz without making eye contact, with Xaiyoya following close behind... 「 Good choice, Poly... 」 I hate this... I hate this but... If I can get her to White Ash... Then... I... I don't care what happens to me afterwards. [END]