The visitor ~ The one who can't be beaten

Countdown for the cut: Less than an hour before the end

I arrived, strolling as if everything was right in the world.

I didn’t care what happened to Orphie, Euryce or any of the others I let go along the way. What I know is that it’s a matter of hours before Nochightdad finally succumbed to the darknes and the violence and I could not wait to see how it all ended.

It was already happening, in a way. I took a good glance at the mobs of armed people that I had incensed before coming here. I must thank little Lyra for motivating me to do that, making me distract Orphie’s guard. In the end, this is even better than I had anticipated.

But, before I can enjoy the end of it all, first goes first. How could I deny a visit to my dear friend Pole?

I have to say that I never expected him to try anything at this point, he has more guts than I imagined. I thought he would run away and die in the wilderness, which I am sure that he would have done if it hadn’t been because of Lyra. Instead, I almost took it upon myself to get him out of here, using the nightmare apparatus.

I must not get my hopes up, after all, not many people actually wake up from the dreams that device can create. Having to recreate step by step your biggest regrets i such a backwards and painful thought that not many decipher it before their bodies perish of dehydration or hunger.

Leaving that aside, what is he actually trying to do? Why did he invite me here?

If I didn’t know better, I would think he is trying to kill himself. Which would be great for Nochightdad if he were a worthy sacrifice, but he is not. And I had already checked that he didn’t have enough time to be one before the stream connected. So, if he wasn’t gonna kill himself, what was he trying to do? I simply had to find out!

I paced around the veils, vibrating, moving slowly, until I reached a clearing along the path and there I saw Pole, waiting for me.

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw him, standing with his arms crossed, trying to hide his nervousness in a facade of confidence. What did he see in that dream I thrusted him into, to change his demeanor like this? It was supposed to be a nightmare, not a motivational hallucination.

“Stop right there.” Pole said, with a hoarse attempt at an authoritative voice.

I almost laughed at his face. He looked ridiculous, but my curiosity was too strong, I did stop when he told me to.

I have to tease him to get back at him, there’s no other way.

“How great it is to see you again. You see, I imagined you would still be trapped in the nightmare. Is not usual for someone to actually get out of it, you know?” I said, with a smile that tensed the skin I inhabited.

Pole looked at me, deeply unimpressed. He waited for a moment before speaking.

“Those veils that are now on Nochightdad… they are your plan to destroy the city, aren’t they?”

I couldn’t help but smile even wider. He may even be growing a brain in that head of his.

“How smart Pole. To think you would understand that much. But don’t you think that it’s a bit naive to think that’s all the cards I got to play?” I said, baiting him, hoping that he had catched at least a little more than that.

Pole smiled at me. Look at him, the dork thinks he’s being smart. Let’s see how much his pea brain developed.

He talked again.

“And I also understand that’s why you wanted to get me out of here. As long as they had me, they could sacrifice me and the city would be able to survive much longer, but without me, they have very few options left” He said, stone faced, trying to analize my reactions.

I gave him one. I put my hands in my face feigning surprise.

“I can’t believe you got that one too! I guess, I mean, one thing lead to the other, two birds with one stone and whatever. But if you know that, why are you here? You do realize that they will throw you in the stream to save their own lives, right? And most importantly, that I don’t want you here” I said, making an emphasis on I.

Pole smiled, slightly.

“Yeah, you have been very clear about how much you want me out of here, and I should be. But as you know, I wanted to see you again.” he said, with a smirk.

I’m gonna rip that pea brain from this head.

No, not yet. I must know.

“Oh, is that so? I am flattered, I didn’t think you considered me so close to you to say goodbye before you leave” I said, dramatically, starting to walk towards him.

“Stop right there.” Said Pole, but I didn’t listen to him.

This mutt thinks he can tell me what to do? Maybe I should rip his head off.

No, not yet. It will be more fun if I let someone else do that for me.

Soon, I was standing right in front of him.

“But you see, as far as I am concerned, you are not my friend. So really, if you went through all of this to bring me here, you better have a good reason for it or I might be… bored. And you don’t want to see me bored, do you?” I said, towering over him. Enjoying the fear in his eyes.

Pole gave a couple of steps back, before finally responding.

“Last time we saw each other, you told me that if we saw each other again you may answer a question or two, and I intend to take you on your word.” Pole said, with his irritating fake confidence.

At the very least his words are slightly more entertaining. Slightly.

“You must have a very pressing question to go this far for an answer. But you know? I do remember saying that I MAY answer you a question. So what makes you think that I will?” I said, poking him further.

Cmon, prove me you have some worth in you, little lamb.

Pole doubted for a moment before answering.

“Last time you told me that you hoped I would discover the correct question to ask. I want to see if I managed to figure it out.” He said, trying to poke me back.

Really smart and stupid to try to do so. But at the same time… it may be entertaining.

What is this idiot gonna ask? How to get back to his home? Hopefully. I can’t wait to deliver those news to him. I even got a speech prepared about the impossibility of the task, some really heartbreaking stuff to make his remaining hours of life miserable.

“Go ahead then, ask. Let’s see if you found the correct question.” I said, deciding to give him a try.

His eyes brightened a little bit, displaying his full naivete. Until they narrowed, as he finally asked.

“Can you tell me what the stream really is?” He said, pointing to the pillar of light coming out of the mountain.

My smile spread so wide. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

I laughed so hard. I could not believe it.

“You did it. You finally grew a brain!” I said, grabbing Pole by the head and moving him a bit. “I thought you would never ask!”

I truly did think he would never do so. I had been waiting so long for an excuse to tell someone this. To finally bring some marvelous and ominous perspective to this puny world.

“I’m so happy you asked Pole, of course I’ll answer you that.” I said. Clearing my throat while starting the speech I had prepared beforehand.

“You see Pole, that which you call the stream is nothing more than the same thing the locals here call veils, but instead of moving the darkness, it moves the light.” I said, hoping that he would catch the call and ask the correct question.

He only looked at me. I waited for a moment, but he did not ask. Fine, I’ll do it myself.

“And before you ask, veils are not just blobs of darkness like the fools around here think they are. They are streams of darkness, connecting the darkness below this world, to the world on top. Below us is another world, with it’s own veils, pushing their darkness unto us, that’s why there’s always darkness available under our feet!” I said, effortlessly invoking the darkness below, creating a veil that shot into the sky.

Pole had to jump back with a yelp of surprise. His stumbles were laughable.

“Don’t be afraid of a little thing like this.” I said, dissipating the veil with a flick of my wrist. Laughing a little bit at Pole’s fear. I decided to go on.

“Now, let me tell you a secret. Nobody here knows it, just like in most other worlds, but the thing is that the light of this world is being stolen.” I said, smiling at him, hoping that he would ask the foolish obvious question.

“Stolen?” He said, asking the foolish obvious question.

“Stolen indeed!” I said, with a happy reaction. “That same light that separates everyone from the monsters inhabiting the darkness they call veils. You see, there are some people who have an interest on reuniting all the light they can get their hands on, but they are not dumb. They know that if they took all of it at once everyone in all the worlds would die and they would not get any more light after it. So instead, they devised a system.”

Before Pole could answer something else I grabbed him by the shoulder in a kind of hug, knowing how uncomfortable that would make him. I got close, seeing him eye to eye. Ready to enjoy every single reaction that he had with morbid expectation.

“They decided to give tools to the people of these worlds. Tools that allow them to bring people from outer worlds and create light with their lives, transforming a limited resource into an infinite one. If the people of these worlds do their task, they can get the light stones that keep them alive until the next sacrifice. If they don’t, then they take the light anyways and that creates a void. That void is filled with darkness, which will eventually cover everything until all that remains are the monsters that can dwell in it.

But well, who cares about what happens to the people of an useless world that can’t even fulfill such a simple requirement, right?”

Pole face sunk, the understanding of what was going on finally landing. He looked horrified.

I had wanted to see that expression for so long.

“And now, the stream is connected, awaiting a sacrifice. If no one enters it then it will take the light from the world instead. And with two veils in the middle of Nochightdad, barely being contained by its barrier, what do you think is going to happen once the stream weakens it?” I said, smiling, grabbing Pole from the sides of the face as I looked at him.

I had been waiting so long to tell this. To twist the dagger once it was in.

“You were brought here as nothing more than a resource, and the people here are just executioners that don’t even know why they have to do it. They are a cog in the machine and you are just the oil that is going to keep it going.” I said, smiling so wide that I could feel my skin barely keeping on with it.

Pole finally broke free from my grasp, taking a couple of steps back, looking at me in horror.

“Aren’t you glad to know now?” I said, before my senses went into alert.

The veils that were spread everywhere, vibrating, started to move.

Of course, they are all invoked veils, someone tried to set a trap for me, how cute.

“Now, show me what you devised for me, Pole.” I said, bowing down towards him, just as someone shot from the trees at high speed and tried to cut my neck up to down with a spear.

Of course, Lyra sprung the trap as soon as Pole freed from my grasp, how quaint.

She could see the spear going through the neck, before stopping near the ground. She looked up, confused by how I managed to stand when she should have cut my head off.

Only then she saw my figure distorting, an ilusion of light as I had long moved from that position at high speed.

“You are stronger than the others, aren’t you?” I whispered in her ear, from behind.

She turned around, swinging the spear at me, cutting an afterimage for a second time. As she did, the veils all around us started to move in fixed patterns.

“Show me what you got little cogs! Show me that you are not part of the system that will ground you to bits!” I screamed, as I started moving all around, the place we were in starting to devolve in a chaos of darkness and light.