Chapter 8: Drowning in Indulgence

Chapter 8:
Drowning in Indulgence

 

“HEY, THAT’S a little tight there, Gaddy.” Tia smiled as his massive arms wrapped firmly around her.

“Tia…” Practically every possible emotion was running through Gadhio as her name escaped his lips.

“Don’t look so blue. I’m right here.” Her love and affection was clear in her voice as she slid her own arms around his waist.

“Tia…”

“Getting such a warm hug from a shy guy like you, Gaddy, really makes coming back totally worth it.”

He could feel her in his arms, warm and alive. She was too real to be a dream.

“But I’m serious, you’re really hugging me a little tight there. I give, I give!” Tia playfully punched her fist into his back.

Gadhio finally came to his senses and loosened his grip, instead moving his hands to her shoulders and looking her in the eyes.

“You’ve gotten a lot stronger, Gaddy. Those six years passed like nothing for me, but I can tell you changed just looking at your face.”

“And you haven’t changed at all, Tia.” He brought his hand to her pink cheek, but his finger shook before making contact. He was afraid he’d send this illusion crumbling down like a statue made of sand. When his index finger finally made contact, he was greeted with the feeling of silky soft skin.

No matter how many ways he reconfirmed it, he still had a hard time believing it.

“But your warmth hasn’t changed one bit.” Tia placed her hand over his as he stroked her cheek. She smiled warmly and looked up at him, almost as if she, too, were confirming that he was there. Kleyna watched from a distance, a complicated look on her face, as the two remained lost in their own private world.

After a short while, Tia slowly, reluctantly drew her hand away.

“There’s a lot to discuss, so why don’t you come inside?” She turned to Kleyna. “So, whatever happened to my room?”

“Um, well…we left it just as it was. I’ve kept it clean, too.”

“Oh, thank you. I guess we’ll continue the discussion there, then?” Tia took Gadhio’s hand and led him inside as Kleyna watched on.

She couldn’t believe it. Without any knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes at the church, she couldn’t even begin to assemble an explanation for what happened. All she could do was stand there, alone, and watch Gadhio and Tia disappear into the house.

 

***

 

Off in the countryside, there was a grove of trees that grew the most beautiful fruit. The fruit, however, would slowly consume the body of anyone who ate it. This was common knowledge to all who lived in the region.

One man, in an attempt to prove his mettle to his friends, decided to eat one of these fruits. He managed to get one down, showing them what he was made of, but strangely enough, he began to eat the same fruit day after day. Everyone he knew pleaded with him to stop, but he continued until the poison got to him, and he vomited blood and died.

Now, why did he continue to eat the fruit, knowing what would happen to him?

The answer was surprisingly simple: the fruit was unbelievably delicious. The man simply couldn’t resist.

Louh had told Gadhio this story many years prior. At the time, Gadhio laughed it off and thought the man was an idiot, but considering where he was now, he wondered if he was in any place to judge.

“Hmm, you’ve certainly gotten wild, Gaddy.” Tia sat atop Gadhio’s lap on the sofa in her bedroom and ran her hands across his face.

This was the way they always sat whenever she wanted to be doted on. In truth, they’d only really been that close for a year or so prior to her death. Not very long at all.

“I liked how clean-cut you were back in the day, but I think you look pretty good now, too. You still have the same face, but you look so strong and rugged. I’ve got a pretty amazing husband.”

“Oh?”

“Yep, without a doubt. At least I think so.” She dragged her finger across his well-toned chest. Gadhio unconsciously slid an arm around her waist. “Six whole years, and yet it feels like it all happened just a month ago to me.”

“I guess the house hasn’t really changed much.”

“Yeah, I was surprised to see my room was pretty much as it was. But the layout of the capital and the people around town are all so different. Kleyna and…Hallom, was it? Them too. It’s hard to imagine Sohma’s kid is so big now.” A twinge of sadness hung in Tia’s voice. It was no simple matter to overcome a six-year gap.

Gadhio’s guard slowly began to drop the more time he spent with her. She had emotions, and her body was warm. If this wasn’t Tia, then he didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“I guess that means I’m changing too, huh?”

“You mentioned coming back to life. What happened?”

It was the one question he didn’t want to ask, but the whole situation was so beyond the realm of what was normal that he had to believe that the church was somehow involved. He had to ask.

Depending on her answer, he might have to kill her.

“Honestly, I don’t really know, but apparently something called an Origin core was put into me that brought me back to life.”

And there was that name, just as he predicted.

Gadhio clenched his hands into fists and spoke in a terse voice. “Hmm… I see.”

“You sound like you know what an Origin core is, Gaddy. I guess I don’t really need to explain then, huh? Anyway, they managed to rein it in to the point it wouldn’t turn me into a monster, and then they gave me permission to leave.”

Her explanation took him by surprise. If the church was trying to lay a trap for him, why reveal such information so freely? Or maybe they were hoping to get him to let his guard down by feeding him lies.

Gadhio frowned and knitted his eyebrows over his inability to figure out their plan.

Tia watched his face for a long moment before slowly extending her finger and tracing the wrinkles in his forehead. “You’ve got your serious thinking face on again. We’re finally back together, you know. You should smile a bit more.”

“It’s not that simple. Origin cores are incredibly dangerous. The monster that killed our team was transformed and powered by a core.”

“Dafydd said as much. Apparently, they couldn’t really control the cores as well back then. I doubt I can really convince you of much beyond that, but all I can say is that I’m alive again.”

“Dafydd Chalmas… So it is the Necromancy project.”

“So you know about that, too. He’s a rather calm, reserved man with glasses who’s always in a lab coat. Apparently, he brought his own wife back from the dead.”

The more he asked, the deeper the story became. Gadhio was starting to wonder if all he needed to do was ask to find out where they kept their lab.

“You’re looking at me like you’re not sure why I’m telling you all this. I have nothing to hide from you, Gaddy. Besides, Dafydd told me I didn’t need to keep anything secret.”

Gadhio started to become annoyed.

“I just don’t get it. Just what does the church want here? What do they hope to achieve by bringing you back to life and sending you here to meet me?”

Tia smiled gently back at Gadhio before continuing on. “I don’t know what’s going on with the other research teams, but at the very least, the Necromancy team just wants to bring back the dead. They want to help anyone out there suffering over the loss of a loved one. Dafydd knows the feeling all too well. I think that’s all there is to it.”

She didn’t seem to be lying. At the very least, not to him, judging by everything he knew about her before she died.

It was true that an Origin core could perform miracles unlike anything man had ever seen—assuming its power was contained and bound. In fact, one such miracle was sitting right here in front of him.

“…No. I just can’t believe it.” Gadhio shook his head.

Tia looked at him sadly for a moment before a smile sprung to her lips. “Dafydd said it was tough to get people to accept it in the beginning. After all, I’ve been dead for six long years—not just to you, but Kleyna, too. Of course it’s a shock for me to show up all of a sudden like this.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could just be happy about it.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Will you meet with me again?”

“Again? Do you have to go somewhere?”

“They still need to make some small adjustments to my body. If I let my guard down too much, Origin may take over, apparently. I need to head back to the lab in another two hours or so.”

“I see…” The disappointment was clear in Gadhio’s voice.

No matter how much he suspected it was some trap of the church’s, this was still his long-lost wife sitting in front of him. There was no denying the joy he felt.

“Aww, I’m touched you’re so sad to see me go, Gaddy. Listen, I’ve been told that once the adjustments are done with, we’ll finally be able to live together again, so just hang in there for a while longer, okay? Can we at least stay in each other’s arms like this until I have to go?”

“I have no complaints.”

Tia giggled. “Good. You’ve always been a sweetheart.”

The time passed peacefully, almost like a dream. Though the feeling of uncertainty still reigned within Gadhio’s heart, it grew weaker and weaker the longer he felt her warm body resting against him. It was dangerous; he knew that. But the reward was massive compared to the risk.

Slowly but surely, Gadhio felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into a warm, comfortable mire from which he could not escape.

 

***

 

Kleyna took the box Gadhio dropped back to the kitchen and opened it, only to find two slices of cake. Obviously, he hadn’t bought them for himself.

She bit down on her lower lip as a host of feelings she couldn’t identify washed over her.

Suddenly, Hallom was at her side. “Hey, Mommy, who was that lady?”

“That’s Gadhio’s wife.”

“Daddy’s wife? Isn’t that supposed to be you, Mommy?”

She’d never said the words, but she always felt that was the direction things were going. Hallom, and even Kleyna, held out hope that the day would come. Maybe not now, maybe not even in a year, but she figured that in another two years or so she and Gadhio might finally marry.

“His real wife came back. There’s no place for me anymore.”

“Real wife? So you were a fake, Mommy?” Hallom meant no harm with her words, but they stung deep. After all, Kleyna’s feelings were all too real. “So does that mean that Daddy won’t be my daddy anymore if she’s around? If that’s how it’s going to be, I don’t want her!”

“Come now, Hallom, you can’t say that…”

“But she’s scary! You’re a lot better that she’ll ever be, Mommy!”

“Well, I guess I can’t be mad when you’re flattering me like that, kiddo.” Kleyna knelt down and patted Hallom’s head. “Tia’s a good person. I’m sure you’ll take a liking to her once you guys have a chance to talk.”

“Not a chance!”

“You know it’s not right to make up your mind before trying something.”

“No, I don’t mean it like that, Mommy! She’s just really scary!”

Hallom didn’t seem to hate her. Rather, she just seemed afraid. The look on her face said it all. Kleyna looked worriedly at her daughter and began to stroke her hair when Hallom leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“That lady is empty, Mommy.”

Kleyna tilted her head at this odd statement. “Empty?”

“She laughs, but she isn’t really laughing. She looks like she’s having fun, but she really isn’t.”

“Hmm? I’m sorry, honey, but Mommy doesn’t understand what you’re saying. Can you put it another way?”

“I can’t really explain it. I don’t really understand it either. But that’s how I felt!”

The way children saw the world was sometimes incomprehensible to adults. Kleyna figured Tia had just rubbed Hallom the wrong way, but once they actually had a chance to talk, they’d get along. After all, Tia had always won children over, no matter where they went. If anything, Kleyna had been the one they were afraid of.

Dismissing what her daughter had said, Kleyna went back to stroking her hair. She shot Hallom a smile. “Do you want to eat some cake? Gadhio bought it for you.”

The look of worry stayed plastered to Hallom’s face even as she nodded stiffly. She was in no position to turn down cake.

 

***

 

After parting ways with Nekt, Flum dashed through crowds at full speed with her arms still tightly wrapped around Milkit. Her only concern was getting back to her house in the shortest time possible.

Even when it came into sight, she ran full steam ahead straight into the house, shouting for Eterna as she went. “Eterna, are you okay??”

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

Flum was instantly relieved to find Eterna relaxing at the dining table. “Haah…haah…it’s good to see you. We ran into Nekt just a bit ago, and he made it sound like you could be in danger. But I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

She slumped down in exhaustion. Even with her massively buffed endurance, it still took a lot out of her to run through the city at top speed, carrying another person the whole while.

Milkit hurried to the kitchen to get a towel and handed it to Flum to wipe away her sweat.

“The Children? What’re they up to now?”

“That’s just it—he actually came to propose that we work together to crush the Necromancy team. Apparently, team Children doesn’t get along with the others. Obviously, I turned him down, but…I dunno, it looks like Nekt must’ve tricked me.”

She took a look around the room and couldn’t identify anything out of place. But why would Nekt lie to her about Eterna being in some kind of danger?

“Where did you run into him?”

“In the East District near Satils’ mansion.”

“What were you doing out there? I thought you and Milkit were out on a date today.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a date, you know, and…” Milkit’s cheeks flushed a pale pink as she rejected Eterna’s assumption.

“We ran into Satils on the main thoroughfare, just as alive as she’d ever been!” Flum cried. “I figured it had to have something to do with that Necromancy group Gadhio mentioned before.”

“Hmm, so Necromancy brought Satils back…?”

A dark look came over Eterna’s face, and she averted her gaze. Flum was confused.

“Umm, well, so I kind of came back here as soon as I could to talk it over with you. What do you think? I was thinking maybe we could keep an eye on her, take her out again if we have to, but it’s pretty clear the church brought her back for some purpose. That could only mean we’re already being watched.”

“That sounds about right.”

Even Milkit was confused now at Eterna’s uncharacteristic response. The room fell into silence for a few moments before Milkit finally spoke up. “Eterna, are you…?”

“I want to go think…alone. I’ll be away for a bit.”

“Oh, umm…okay. Be safe!”

A gloomy look clouded Eterna’s face as she left the house. Flum and Milkit turned to each other as they heard the front door clatter shut and cocked their heads to the side in unison.

“Eterna certainly was acting strange.”

“I don’t know why she would’ve been so taken aback by the story about Nekt and Satils. Unless maybe something else happened that I didn’t notice?”

“You know, it’s been bothering me for a while, but the glasses up on the shelves are out of place.”

Flum looked over at the shelf, though she was unable to notice any real difference. “So maybe Eterna and Ink used them?”

“Three have been moved, so it wouldn’t make sense if it were just the two of them.”

“Hmm, maybe someone came over, and Eterna made tea for her guests? It’s probably best to just ask Ink. She should’ve been able to hear whatever it was from the second floor.”

The two made their way upstairs. Unfortunately, Ink was still unable to leave her room, so they had little choice but to talk through the door. Flum’s knock was met with a bored greeting from the other side.

“Hey, Ink,” she said. “We’re home.”

“Oh, hey, welcome back! How was your date??”

Flum’s shoulders slumped. So Ink was in on it, too. “I’m tellin’ ya, it’s not a date…”

Ink giggled. “Oh yeah?”

Judging by the energy in Ink’s voice, it was hard to imagine she was still in recovery at this point. It seemed like her convalescence was progressing perfectly.

“Listen, that’s not important right now. There’s something I want to ask you about.”

“Oh, you mean about the guests? I don’t know anything about the people who came over.”

Milkit mumbled under her breath. “I knew it…”

“I guess that makes sense,” Flum muttered. “You can probably only hear people moving around from up here, anyway.”

“No, I can hear conversations just fine, I’ve got great hearing. I was asleep. I only woke up in time to hear them getting ready to leave.”

“Do you know how many people there were? How old?”

“One man and two older people, a man and a woman.”

“Three people…”

“That matches the number of glasses.”

“The old man and woman seemed to be pretty close with Eterna.” There was a certain sadness to Ink’s voice as she said this.

Flum had never heard of Eterna having any acquaintances in the capital. Then again, she knew very little about the circumstances that brought Eterna to the capital in the first place or even what kind of life she led. Eterna appeared to be around Flum’s age, but from how she spoke, she seemed older than that. Her mastery over magic was far beyond what someone in their teens could achieve. She was well versed in the use of medicinal herbs and long-lost healing arts. One could devote their entire adult career to these studies and still never hold a candle to Eterna’s knowledge.

“I’m guessing she didn’t tell you anything about the visit if you’re here asking me.”

“Did she keep it a secret from you, too?”

“I wish she’d just keep it all under wraps, but Eterna isn’t really good at hiding things and just kinda gets into a bad mood instead.”

That pretty much matched Flum’s experience. Something big had happened, and Eterna must have been sorely conflicted over whether she should discuss it.

“Maybe you should ask her yourself?” Ink suggested.

“No, Eterna’s probably decided this is something she doesn’t need to discuss with us right now. All we can do is wait until she decides it’s the right time.”

“You’re really thoughtful, Flum.”

“Not really. I just know Eterna is a whole lot smarter than I am. I figure she must be doing the right thing.”

“Well, I’d still say that’s thoughtful.”

“Me too.”

“You know you guys aren’t getting anything special from me no matter how much you compliment me, right?”

Though Flum might not be giving anything away, Milkit was more than satisfied by the look of embarrassment on her master’s face.

 

***

 

Shortly after leaving the house, Eterna found herself roaming the streets of the East District. The words of the man who visited her only a short time ago echoed through her head.

“True strength lies in overcoming the death of one’s body. There is no act more powerful in this world than cheating death…or at least, that’s what I think.”

The man, Dafydd Chalmas, had brought her surrogate parents, Kindah and Claudia, with him.

As she mentioned to Ink just a short time ago, they died many years ago; she had already made a pilgrimage to honor their graves. That could only mean they’d been brought back just like Satils was—through the power of an Origin core.

“I have a dear friend named Susy who is my polar opposite,” Dafydd had said. “She’s incredibly active and hates being cooped up in the house, but despite our differences, just being together helps us bring out the best in one another. When we were very young, we promised we would get married someday. As the years went by and we grew, matured, and settled into our own jobs, we stayed as close as ever, and finally, we decided to make good on that promise. At the time, I felt like nothing in the world could come between us and the bright future that awaited us.”

As Dafydd spoke, Claudia gently stroked Eterna’s hair, as a mother would her daughter’s, while Kindah watched affectionately.

The touch stirred up distant memories and soothed the ache of wounds Eterna forgot existed. But as the happiness flooded back, so did her fear of loss.

“Susy was an adventurer, you see. Gifted in the art of the spear, she rose through the ranks quickly and reached A-Rank at a young age, much to the astonishment and admiration of her peers. I was immensely proud of her, but there were others who were jealous of her achievements.”

Dafydd’s face grew dark as an uncomfortable memory sprang to the forefront. His gaze dropped to his hands, fixed on his wedding ring.

“One day, she was betrayed by her colleagues. They hacked her to bits and left her behind. It was only thanks to an adventurer who happened across her body that I even knew of her fate.”

He went on to describe the gruesome details of her death. Susy’s face had been distorted with agony, what remained of her hand clutched tightly around her treasured pendant. Her body was beginning to rot by the time it was returned to him, but somehow, even her grave-stench exerted a powerful pull on him.

“From there, I hit rock bottom. All I looked forward to was the day I could die and be together with Susy. It wasn’t until I found the church of Origin that I felt hope again. I was drawn into their ranks until I found myself studying the Origin cores.”

There was something Eterna found deeply annoying about Dafydd. The church was her enemy, but she didn’t believe he was lying. Everything from his words to his expression and tone of voice carried the weight of truth.

“While I was conducting my research, I reached a revelation: I should be able use this power to bring back the dead. I wrote up my thesis and submitted it to a cardinal. Much to my surprise, I learned my proposal would join the Children and Chimera projects as one of the church’s highest priorities. With that, the Necromancy team was born to begin our research into how to completely raise the dead—not as bizarre monsters twisted by the power of Origin, but returned to their original forms, with the same personalities and spirit. I’m sure it sounds strange for a person so heavily involved in their affairs to say this, but frankly, I didn’t really give a damn about God or the church. All I wanted was to bring my Susy back.”

Perhaps the fact that she felt honesty radiating so strongly from him said more about Eterna’s mental state than his. Surrounded by the warmth and affection of her parents, she wasn’t quite at the top of her game. Part of her wished to let down her guard completely and just embrace their return, though she was aware of the danger that posed.

“I imagine there must be many people out there who suffered losses like mine, and I want nothing more than to offer them salvation. You and the church are enemies, but I came here in the hopes that you would see my side. I apologize for the long introduction, but I came here to invite you along on my journey.”

Eterna wasn’t wandering the East District without a destination in mind. She knew exactly where she was heading. She stepped off the main thoroughfare onto a smaller street, just wide enough for a single carriage to pass. She found herself in a run-down residential part of the East District full of decrepit houses and derelict storefronts. Few people walked these streets, which made it a perfect place for a carriage to slip in undetected.

Dafydd had spoken of his dream with a great deal of excitement.

“I’ll be waiting here, at the location marked on this map, tomorrow morning. I’d like to show you our research facility. There you will find people who have been saved from the living hell of losing the ones who mattered to them most. I’d like you to see those people and, hopefully, understand what we hope to achieve.”

If he hadn’t already proved his ability to raise the dead, she would have written him off as a crackpot waxing on about impossible fantasies. But Kindah and Claudia were no different than they’d been when still alive, their affection for her just the same. She knew there was truth to his words, and that shook her to her core.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll…”

Eterna stopped at the place where they were to meet and closed her eyes. She couldn’t help but feel taking Dafydd up on his offer would be betraying Ink, Flum, and Milkit. But she would also be able to see her parents again. Maybe this time around, she could live with them like a normal family—a dream she’d held close to her heart for over fifty years.

What’s more, meeting with Dafydd would give her the location of their lab. If she deemed the place too dangerous, she could always destroy it. She could still protect Ink and the rest of her friends.

“But that’s just an excuse.” Eterna shook her head in self-reproach. “No more sugarcoating it. I need to make a decision and take responsibility for my own actions.”

There would be no one to blame but her.

Eterna turned to look at the sky as the bright amber of the setting sun began to give way to the deep purples of dusk.

 

***

 

A carriage arrived at Gadhio’s house shortly after nightfall. It was time for Tia to return. Gadhio held her hand firmly all the way to the gate, intent on seeing her off.

Standing next to the carriage, he came face to face with Dafydd.

“Good evening, Gadhio. I’m…”

“Dafydd Chalmas, right?”

“I should never underestimate a hero. Much like Eterna, it seems you already know of me. Yes, I am Dafydd, the chief researcher for the Necromancy project. Pleased to meet you.”

He offered his hand, though Gadhio initially ignored the gesture. Feeling Tia’s gaze resting upon him, he slowly reached out and gave it a terse shake.

“Sorry for surprising you like this, but I was in a rush, you see.”

“Why?”

“I was worried the top brass in the church might do something rash after your run-in with the Children. They want nothing more than to weaponize Necromancy’s work.”

It made a degree of sense, though Gadhio doubted he’d been promoted by pure altruism. Some of his suspicion was alleviated by the fact that Tia was here with him again. Slowly but surely, she was finding her way back into his heart.

“Let me just get this out of the way: are you setting some kind of trap for me?”

“I can say with absolute conviction that no, we are doing nothing of the sort. I, too, lost a wife. I figured you would understand the pain of losing the one that you love the most. It’s a pain that can only be relieved by having that person return to your side.”

Dafydd’s words struck home. At the same time, Gadhio resented this newly exposed weakness. He hated the church more than anything else, had sworn that he would get his revenge against them, and yet, the sight of Tia’s face shook his resolve.

Considering losing her had given rise to that hatred in the first place, perhaps it wasn’t so surprising it would weaken once she was restored to him.

“I’m fully aware you consider yourself an enemy of the church,” Dafydd said. “You’re correct in your understanding that the top members of the church have already weaponized the Children and Chimera projects and intend to use them to sinister ends.”

“So you’re telling me you’re different, and I should look the other way?”

“Basically, yes. Besides, this allows you and Tia to live on and continue your lives together.”

“So you’re using her as a hostage?”

“If you wish to think ill of me, then sure. But I believe this research can do wonders for a great many people. I only want to sustain the project that brought my own dearly departed Susy back to me.”

That much, at least, Gadhio believed, and the force behind Dafydd’s words lent him a great deal of credence. Looking him in the eye, Gadhio understood how he felt.

“Anyway, I only came to introduce myself today, but I was hoping you would consider visiting my lab to see for yourself.”

“You want to take me to your research facility?”

“I won’t force you, of course. I’ll bring Tia back tomorrow, so I hope you’ll think it over and have a decision ready by then.” Dafydd turned and climbed into the carriage with Tia.

“Tomorrow?”

“See you, Gaddy.”

“Tia, wait…you can’t just leave so suddenly!” Gadhio reached out to take Tia’s hand, but she swiftly drew it back.

A sad look washed across her face. “It’s already past my deadline. I don’t want you to see what happens to me, Gaddy.”

Her resurrection wasn’t entirely complete yet. Even Gadhio had to admit that he didn’t want to see his beloved wife with a spiral for a face. He clenched his jaw and let his hand fall to his side.

“I wish for you two to spend as much time together as possible, which is precisely why I invite you to come visit,” Dafydd said, “I hope for good news when we next meet.”

The carriage took off with Tia and Dafydd on board. All Gadhio could do was stand there and watch as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

“Good news? What does he think…?!” He punched the nearby wall with all his might. “Dammit!”

How cruel of the man to burden Gadhio with a decision like this. Could he really reject him outright now that Tia had been returned to him? On the other hand, it was undeniable that Dafydd was part of the very same organization that Gadhio loathed. His capacity for love and his long-held hatred warred within him, each struggling for supremacy.

Gadhio returned to the house, anger and despair etched plainly across his face. Kleyna was waiting for him inside.

“So I guess…Tia left?”

“Right. She’ll be back again tomorrow.”

“That’s…great, isn’t it?” Kleyna did her best to say the words with a smile. But the jealousy she felt sat just beneath the surface, despite her best efforts to squash the feeling.