Blood Lazarus

14 \ time of sorrow

The room is a furnace on a precipice. Three sweating bodies form an equilateral triangle, a disquieting disequilibrium of words and feelings gushing overhead. They trade blows with their breaths and gestures, and no one will rest or they will succumb to the heat and fall.

Their dispute goes beyond defending their ego. Rather, they forgo their ego in an attempt to reach a common ground. The furnace cools down as it migrates to the foot of a hill, and the trio are levelled in life, much like how they would be in death. Their tragically unique bond thus leads to a few takeaways.

One, Jun learns of Asher's death and resurrection. Two, Asher learns that the foreigners support each other a lot in a place like Kuron. Three, there is no three till the mystery of Raven Angeloff is solved.

Varen sighs when Asher pulls him by the collar. "Mate, I'm not playing for time. I will speak when you let go."

A hand rests on his tight wrist, then Jun gets between them. "You got to calm down. I didn't choose violence when you said you murdered to bait your murderer. We all know which is the graver."

Asher glares at Varen and releases his grip. "But you saw through me all along. This is different. Even you, his supposed best friend, don't know it."

Jun shakes him twice and sniffs his chest. "That's between us. Besides, he wasn't the only one lying to me. Secrets and lies are different."

Asher frowns as he falls back onto the sofa, swooping his espresso. Jun has always been his voice of reason, with a slightly stronger intuition than he. Of course, listening to him would be right. Secrets bury truths; lies distort them. This much Asher knows, yet still needs reminding.

Varen eyes the duo and nods weakly. "You're right. I was Raven Angeloff. It's my birth name. But it's as though death follows wherever I go, so I changed my name."

When asked about his novel, he glances away before staring into space. It was to be a memento of his past life, though his registration as Raven Angeloff, tarot and gaming shop-owner, screwed it up for he hurled himself back into his past once more. People don't compartmentalise and stash away their memories easily, he says, sometimes the past escapes confinement or shatters itself into bits to infiltrate recesses. As a result, Xion is reborn as a non-playable character in Blighted Life, with the hopes of rehabilitation and an alternate future.

After all, who could accept a loved one to be a monster? It'd hurt more than if bloodstreams were Phlegethon.

An unspoken understanding sinks in as the trio looks at each other and sips their drinks. They huddle together.

"There's something else." Varen shifts the receipt across the table and waits till Asher picks it up. "Blake got this from someone. We think it isn't legit."

Asher inhales sharply. "It's legit. I think Blake's in danger."

Just because I didn't buy them doesn't mean the killer didn't.

Grunting, he texts Blake. She doesn't see his gradual spam. Calls don't work on her either. She couldn't be tracked and neither of them knows where she stays. She isn't online on Blighted Life, isn't home the trio reaches there. Her room reveals no clue to her whereabouts, and Asher can't expect Cerberus to bark an answer.

"They must have known she's related to me and gave her the receipt as bait. She could have gone back to them for more evidence," he mutters, slamming her wall. "Blake isn't the type to be easily convinced. I fear for her."

Jun embraces him from behind. "Maybe she left something in your room?"

They scramble into his room to find everything still intact. Varen scratches his chin and examines the deer skull. He digs his fingers into the sockets.