40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 12 12. Rain, Night, Past, Fate

Rain-night.

Rainy night.

A common word, a common weather, a word that can almost be called a synonym for Nostramo.

Caril opened his eyes.

No, he was not sleeping.

In fact, the peaceful and quiet sleep had been far away from him for a long time. Unlike ordinary people, the scene he saw when he closed his eyes was not the quiet and gloomy black.

He would see many things, but not peace.

Sitting up, Caril's expression seemed a little dazed, and the soreness of his muscles and the groaning of his bones were far away from him. Even so, he still took a few deep breaths to calm his mind.

This has almost become a habit of his, and he also needs to be calm enough to deal with everything that may happen next.

The nobles will not give up, and Caril knows this better than anyone else.

"It's noisy outside."

The ghost in the corner said so.

He squatted on the ground and gently poked a piece of wood picked up from the garbage dump with the index finger of his right hand. When he doesn't use force, his nails can be less sharp. Therefore, the board is still intact now.

However, it's hard to say what will happen next.

At this moment, a neon light happened to sweep in from outside the window, shining its noisy light through the window.

Khalil could clearly see the ghost's dirty and sticky black hair, which was scattered on the pale forehead and looked terrible.

He frowned at this.

"Really?"

"Yes. It's very strange tonight, Khalil."

The ghost raised his head and blinked: "I went to No. 17 to observe. The Scarlet Finale's base has been taken over by another group of people. They didn't fight for it for many days like before. This is very strange."

"No. 17?" Khalil asked.

He did not pay attention to the key information provided by the ghost for the time being, but turned his head to ask another seemingly insignificant thing.

"Gargoyle No. 17" The ghost lowered his head and answered in a low voice. "I like it."

"Ah, so what's the point of you naming them again?"

"Ah?"

"What do you like about it?"

Hesitantly, the ghost raised his head again. He grabbed the wooden board, shook it in his hand twice, and then answered Khalil's question.

"Its surface is very flat?"

"Answer me in a positive tone, ghost." Khalil smiled slightly. "People should be firm when expressing their likes or dislikes."

"Its surface is very flat." The ghost straightened his back and said so. Even his voice was a little louder.

"What else?"

". It's new? It's new, Khalil."

The ghost laughed. He was not used to this expression, so he did it very stiffly. However, this is already an improvement.

"It's new." The ghost repeated. "I like it."

"So, do you like the new gargoyle better?"

"No, it's not." The ghost shook his head, still not putting down the wooden board in his hand. "I have found No. 18 and No. 19, but I still like No. 17 the best."

"Then why?"

"Because."

The ghost's voice ended here, and he looked at Khalil blankly, not knowing how to continue. He couldn't give more reasons.

What a poor ability to express.

You talked about 23 different ways to cook rats on the way back, and no matter how much I wanted you to be quiet, it was useless. Now, you can't tell me the third reason why you like the gargoyle No. 17.

Staring at the ghost, Khalil had two thoughts in his mind.

'Incomplete mind', and--

"Do you have any impression of the past, ghost?" Khalil asked.

"Ah?"

"The past, your past."

The ghost answered Khalil's question with a blank expression in a blank expression.

Sighing softly, Khalil had to repeat his question again and add descriptions.

He has realized that when talking to ghosts, you'd better not use metaphors or deliberately say only half of the words.

"Before you met me - or, before you entered that mine full of rats, very warm, and full of mud, where were you?"

"."

The ghost didn't answer immediately. He frowned and began to think. Khalil didn't urge him. He could see the ghost's efforts from his face. Therefore, he didn't care too much about the result.

Of course, if the ghost could tell one or two, it would be the best.

Khalil could figure out one thing even with his toes - the ghost could never be a naturally born human or creature. He was very concerned about this.

"I"

"Hmm?"

"The fire is still there, and I'm descending." The ghost whispered. He now looked nothing like the innocent monster that Khalil knew.

His body was shaking, his face too, and the muscles under his skin were even trembling constantly, like an epileptic seizure, but the ghost himself didn't notice it.

Or rather, he noticed it, but couldn't stop it.

Khalil frowned seriously and gritted his teeth. He had realized something and was ready. Frankly speaking, he was a little regretful about asking this question now.

In fact, he was very regretful.

The "Twenty" ghost continued painfully, his voice trembling.

At this moment, something began to stir in his dark eyes. Like rotten corpses swallowed by the swamp, they reluctantly want to see the light of day again.

Khalil clenched his fists suddenly, and an ominous premonition began to well up in his heart.

He tensed his muscles and whispered: "Stop, Ghost."

".Destiny! Destiny!"

The ghost roared sharply, and veins popped out on his neck.

Then he screamed and fell backwards.

"No! No! I don't belong there! I don't want to go back to the darkness!"

Screaming, the ghost fell heavily to the ground, his dark eyes still staring at the ceiling of the shelter. The limbs twitched and the pain was excruciating.

Karil's preparations worked. He approached the ghost the moment he fell to the ground. His right hand even held one of the ghost's hands, and was about to use his strength to pull him up. However, at this moment, Karil You are like being struck by lightning.

There were sounds in his ears.

Wait, is that really a sound?

Or is it just his own imagination? Amidst the sharp noises and terrifying whispers that penetrated the curtain, Khalil let go of his hand in pain, and endless numbness and pain were coming from the skin in contact with the ghost.

The ghost still screams, and he

No.

Shivering, Khalil exhaled a burst of cold air. A cold blue light lit up in his eyes - and then, in a burst of ruthless indifference and cold trembling, he noticed it.

they.

Something from another world, another dimension.

They were slamming into his heart with superhuman imaginable power, like a building collapsing, trying to unearth the truth hidden deep in the heart of Khalil Lohars, the son of the lost noble of Nostramo.

They screamed with malice and stabbed Khalil's heart with tiny, poison-coated blades.

They wanted his past, his story, his desire, and they promised him everything before they knew it, from worldly wealth to endless power, even to show him a new face of Nostramo. appearance.

But there is no Khalil Lohars here.

"Get out." The ghost said tremblingly but firmly. "I have nothing to give you, I have no desire for you to drive."

The ghost stretched out his right hand and quickly grabbed the ghost.

"Get out! Get out!" He roared and ordered, the blue light in his eyes shining so brightly for the first time. "Stay away from him!"

——

"Khalil? Khalil? Wake up!"

The panicked cry of the ghost made Khalil open his eyes tiredly. He wanted to speak, but the dry lips stuck together were stopping him.

I don’t even have this strength anymore? He thought dumbfounded.

"Khalil?!"

Shake, shake, shake - then, the ghost picked him up tremblingly and placed him on the tattered chair he had found, very gently and carefully. Then, there was a breeze.

Khalil saw the ghost fanning the rotten board. His mouth was pursed, his eyes were wide open, and his face was paler than anyone else on Nostramo.

"Don't," Khalil said reluctantly.

"you are still alive!"

Yes, I'm still alive, but if you scream a few more times I might die. I really will.

Khalil glanced weakly at the ghost, who had evolved unprecedentedly at this moment.

He understood what Khalil meant just by looking at him, and then the ghost immediately became quiet, grabbed the legs of the chair, and stopped talking.

Of course, this couldn't last long.

After a period of silence, Ghost spoke cautiously.

"Are you okay, Khalil?"

"...Water," Khalil said with difficulty.

The ghost jumped up suddenly, kicked open the door at a speed that ordinary people could not catch, and ran outside - Khalil knew what he was going to do. There was a small rainwater filter on the top of the shelter.

Three seconds later, Ghost ran back quickly. He took out a tin cup with a chipped mouth from under the hem of his robe, and slowly handed it to Khalil's mouth.

Apparently, he hadn't forgotten that it was raining outside.

"Are you okay?" Ghost asked cautiously.

"Better - and thanks for bringing me some water, Ghost," Khalil said. "Also, I'm sorry I asked you that question."

"." Ghost pursed his lips in silence and lowered his head.

"Keep your head up," Khalil said softly. "Don't act like you made a mistake. You've done a good enough job."

The ghost raised his head and looked at him blankly, not understanding what he was talking about.

Khalil just smiled slightly.

You'd do well enough if you could hear those things all the time

He sighed, "But I still have something to tell you—keep your head up."

"oh."

"In the future, if you have the same feeling as before when you are performing a mission alone," Khalil said slowly. "Whatever you're doing, come to me immediately."

Ghost was stunned for a moment, and then his expression became happy at a speed visible to the naked eye: "Won't your countdown return to zero?!"

".Is it raining outside?"

Khalil turned his head and looked at the open door. He could clearly use his eyesight to discover the truth of this question, but he still asked this question, and he didn't even forget to close his eyes.

"ah?"

"Is it raining outside, Ghost?"

"It's raining, Khalil—isn't your countdown going to zero?"

".Is it raining heavily outside?"

"It's not bad, but will your countdown return to zero?"

"."

It's also raining tonight in Nostramo, but not too heavily.