The Shadow Awakens
Chapter 9's
“So, tell me what happened there.” Florentina smiled broadly as she stepped towards her desk. Her right hand seemed to move around holding the pen back into her long white coat pocket while her bright blue iris was still not separated from Luna who was sitting leaning on the bed. The yellow-orange glow glow glow seemed to fade behind his skin.
Florentina took a sitting position on the edge of the table while his hand had grabbed a cup of coffee to his right. He inhaled the coffee deeply while enjoying the warmth of the steam that steamed up.
“Come, Luna. Tell Rei's heroic actions when driving out Arken,” his insistence is getting impatient.
“You know Arken? The dragon?” Luna raised her head looking at Florentina in surprise and surprise.
The woman nodded once. “I even know much more banya—”
“Like Rei is Rei Nathanael?” Luna made a quick ambush and Flo suddenly frowned.
“Is that what's been bothering you?” Florentina asked back regardless of Luna's previous question.
Luna nodded slowly as the gaze turned on her two hands which were now starting to squeeze each other. “Ya... someone told me about it.”
Florentina put his coffee cup back on the table. Then he began to fold his hands in front of his chest. The bright blue iris looked at Luna with a full searchlight. “Rei Nathanael... Do you know that name from Karen?” Sounds too serious intonation behind his words. Luna nodded back. No wonder she knew her mother too.
“Keep aside about Rei. What did Karen tell you about it? I mean.. about Rei Nathanael it.”
“Rei Nathanael must not have the fire power of death.” Luna replied without taking her eyes off her hands.
“Besides?” Flo was not satisfied with the answer Luna gave. But only the answer was the silence he got. Florentina took a breath while putting both of his hands in his white coat pocket. His feet seemed to start tapping slowly on the white granite floor in the 7x7 room.
“What is your mother, Karen, saying who is Rei Nathanael and why she should not have that power or why she told you about it?”
Luna did not answer, because honestly her own mind also asked the same thing. Maybe his mother had said that, just that Luna herself could not remember too much because at that time she was only about 9 or 10 years old.
Florentina finally gave up looking for answers from Luna. “True, Rei is Rei Nathanael. Same with Karen's story. Rei was the previous owner of the fire of death and he was the one who gave the fire to your mother and trusted her to keep it in the human realm.”
“But take it easy, Rei has no intention of taking that power back from you, Luna. He alone has decided to unleash that power forever.”.
“I know..” reply Luna. He had known since the brief conversation between Arken and Rei and the anger of the young man when the dragon was about to kill him. Everything seems so clear.
“But why?” Luna did not understand why Rei did not want that power anymore, not understanding why Rei insisted on refusing to take back the fire or why he had to willingly challenge Arken, the dragon, and why he had to, to keep the fire from him.
Florentina put on a bland smile. A smile that implies bitterness is also a sadness that is completely unable to be interpreted by Luna. Why is he putting on such a smile?
“The fire of death was like Rei's nightmare. Because subconsciously the fire had turned Rei into a completely different person. People call him The Slaughterer.”
Luna frowned. He was still trying to digest word for word that was thrown by Florentina. Somehow this conversation felt too heavy for his brain, as if there were thousands of information that had to be processed at the same time.
“Rei himself does not even know who he is now. The fight, the sacrifice and the fire of death; all of it has whipped up the body, the soul and also the original side of Rei.”
Luna's eyelids are widened. Something suddenly popped into his mind. The veil of memory that had been tightly shut by a fog was revealed. Luna remembers now.The follow-up words her mother spoke about Rei Nathanael.
Meanwhile, Florentina continued to speak. “Well, don't look at him always being indifferent. Rei used to be neither as me nor as flat as that. But that's what happens when someone loses emotions and feelings. Two important things that only by—” has
The sound of a rough clash between the door leaf and the wall suddenly shook the room briefly. Luna hurriedly darted out. He no longer cared about the continuation of the words of Florentina who had now turned into a faint hum behind his ears.
The human girl was seen galloping across the hallway of the Central hospital on the fourth floor. He ignored the strange sight of the people in the hallway. Right now there was only one he wanted to do; meet Rei!
Luna's steps were forced to stop in front of the elevator between levels. His chest rose and fell rapidly, while his index finger continuously pressed the button down the elevator impatiently. Her violet iris glanced upwards waiting for the semicircular tube of the elevator to immediately descend to pick her up.
“If you want to find Rei, maybe he's on the fifth floor, the hundred and third floor eight.” Florentina's voice sounded just as the elevator clinked open. Luna rushed in.
“Trims,” says short before elevator door closes again.
*****
The final battle had forced Rei to kill himself. He shouldn't sacrifice like this. Rei will lose his human side…
The elevator clinks back, the two-sided metal door on the hundred and third floor eight open and instantly presents an astonishing sight. The sky at night felt very close, coupled with moonlight and stars that seemed able to be reached with just one small jump. From here the whole view of the city will be destroyed along with the Shadow Realm is clear and impressed very stunning.
The floor made of a layer of black glass formed a single straight path that poked out from the outer wall of the Center. The length may be only about six or seven steps normally of the elevator door while the width is no more than one and a half meters. There are no barriers or refusals on the left side, right or front, as if this place is deliberately designed to provide a sensation of dust.
The night wind was blowing calmly through Luna's body while playing her long cherry-brown hair. Under the moonlight, Rei was seen sitting on his back to the elevator at the outermost end while his legs seemed to be left hanging touching in the free air. The young man's gaze was straight away toward the sky, long fixated on the farthest star his brown iris could reach. Meanwhile, the tip of his black hair that was combed upwards seemed to sway slowly to the rhythm of the wind.
Rei was just a human being. Simply by remembering that one sentence alone, Luna's heart felt like it was torn to shreds, wanting it to feel like she immediately ran and hugged the young man. But that intention was soon broken. Fear of something bad happening, free fall from the height of thousands of feet for example.
“Your wounds are healed?” rei asked, realizing Luna's arrival.
“Why didn't you say you were human too?” Luna asked without moving from her place. His feet were still silently peeking at the elevator door and began to freeze due to the gusts of the night wind that was getting colder.
“What is important?” reply Rei still without looking.
“Ya, ten—”
“But I'm no longer human.” Rei continued, cutting off Luna's words while twisting her body slightly. Her brown irises now look at each other with Luna's violet irises. The corner of Rei's lips was drawn faintly. His fingers gently patted the glass surface on his left side. “Sit down,” the door and Luna according to it.
“Did Karen not tell you why I let go of my human side?” Rei continued in a relaxed tone. There was no sadness or anything behind her words. Rei still continued to speak with his distinctive style of speech.
“Well, I don't think he can say it.” Rei laughed a little. “I still remember, at that time Karen immediately cried when she knew this. Ah... what a very difficult time to forget especially when Karen finally showed her attention to me.”
“You like my mom?” The question spontaneously escaped from Luna's mouth and she hurriedly clenched her mouth tightly. He had no intention of digging it deeper, only it was very difficult to believe that Rei and his mother had ever had this kind of relationship.
Rei looked back far away. Both of his hands were straight back supporting his weight. “Yes, I once liked Karen. But that feeling has long since disappeared.—lewap is imprudent. I now do not even feel any emotion when reminiscing back in those days.”
For the umpteenth time, Rei told a quiet story, as if all of this was just a series of words. Well, that's the truth. These memories of hers are only stories in words.
Karen and herself…? It's not possible. Yes, from the very beginning Rei knew and even since Karen was still in the Human Realm once. It was not because of the fact that they would live in two different realms or because Rei was no longer human. But for another reason. Complicated reasons Luna won't understand.
Hearing Rei's story, Luna did not respond much. His head seemed slightly bowed while his fingers held firmly on the edge of the glass surface. His eyes stared dimly at one small spot under his feet. Although he finally knew the reason why Rei was paying excessive attention to him. But that doesn't make him feel better. In fact, the glimmer of this strange feeling somehow felt strong in his heart and made him feel very upset and look ridiculous.
“Don't think I helped you because I liked Karen. I never thought of you as a projection of Karen, Luna. Although you look similar but you are still two different people.” Rei seemed to be able to read Luna's thought.
“How can I believe? After knowing all this, I feel like a fool.” Unknowingly Luna expressed her frustration and she had no regrets. Not sorry at all!
A long pause seemed to fill the silence between them before Rei decided to go back. “Listen to Luna, my feelings for Karen haven't been around for a long time. So too with all the other emotions in me. I helped you because I just wanted to help you. Nothing to do with Karen.”
Rei silently took a breath for a moment before continuing, “So..please don't think I'm doing this all because of my feelings for Karen. There is no longer such thing as emotion or feeling like in me. Both are gone.” This calm intonation seemed to imply something profound.
Luna finally lifted her head, venturing to return Rei's gaze which she had been avoiding ever since. “Alright, we can ignore my mother. I just wanted to ask you one thing. That's also if you don't mind to answer,” he said somehow became as confused as this as if the question he would ask was quite sensitive.
Rei raised next to his eyebrows while nodding slowly assuring.
“Why are you so calm? I mean you're human, but you're not anymore. You have emotions and feelings of love but you can't feel them anymore. Don't you feel sad in the least?”
Rei did not immediately reply as if his mind was going on a prolonged and endless war. “Is it important?” Rei repeated the question again and this time was a little cautious. “Kurasa no pen—”
“Ya, essential.” Luna attacked quickly. Faster than Rei could respond. “Because I can't believe that something that should have a human can really disappear like you said, Rei,”.
Rei was stunned for a moment. For the first time someone said that to her. His mind mechanism stopped for three seconds before he regained control. With the usual attitude Rei then replied, “My human side has long betrayed this body, Luna. Then, why should you be tired of caring about me who has bu—not this human?” his tan half gave up and he seemed hesitant to say the word ‘not man’. What does it mean that Rei is beginning to doubt his self-reliance?
“Because you are human, Rei. because in my eyes you are still a human being.”.
Rei remained silent. He really doesn't know what else to answer. Luna's answer was a powerful whip that at any moment was capable of disabling the entire mechanism within her and this was extremely dangerous.