“What did he say?”
“Not much. He asked if I saw the same thing and—shit! Is that a tower?”
I nodded. “Looks like it, but why don’t you tell me what he wanted first before we try to figure out what that thing is?”
“Right, right,” Sandro whispered as he leaned back against a wooden table. “He asked if I saw the same thing about those messages, and wants me to come in right now.”
This wasn’t according to my plan, but twelve hours was a long time to stay hidden. In that case, there was only one thing we could do.
“Call your men and have them gear up. I’ll need some clothes as well.”
More sirens resounded in the distance and were followed by explosions, flames licking the sky, and smoke wafting above the city skyline. For some strange reason, I felt as if the sound was somehow drowned out. I could hear screams in the distance, but the way it all sounded was wrong. It was then that I noticed a shimmering dome around this place. I closed my eyes and looked away, wanting to draw the knowledge if I’d lost it out for a minute longer.
“Shit,” Melina whispered. “If that thing rose from the ground, then that area over there is devastated, and thousands are dead!”
“Death and chaos,” I murmured. “We can’t save everyone, and neither do I want to. All that matters right now is to take care of his old boss and to keep you safe. Once we’ve accomplished the prior, we’ll work on the latter.”
“Oh? And why is that? What is it to you that you want me to be safe?”
I nodded toward Sandro, and she rolled her eyes.
“We can talk later once all of this—whatever it is has passed. I don’t want to get caught outside when the next adjustment period starts, but if we’re not back by then, hide somewhere safe.”
“Boss?” Sandro said, drawing my attention. “None of them are answering. I’m afraid they might have been caught when that thing rose. They all live in that direction.”
I nodded and looked back at the tower. It was a monstrous construct that pierced the heavens and didn’t look like it had an end. Both square and round in places, it looked like a giant chunk of stone with pillars and windows and carved… something along its exterior.
“Turn off your phone and sit it out. We might as well sit it out until the world is done throwing shit at us.”
“I agree. It’s not smart moving in such chaos,” Sandro replied.
“And besides, the most important thing is to keep Melina safe.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. What is it that I did to deserve such a protective man in my life?”
“In your life?” Sandro muttered.
I stared up at him, and he quickly excused himself, leaving us standing on the balcony.
“You treated me with respect and even went so far as to make me feel wanted and comfortable. Why wouldn’t I treat you the same?”
She smacked my shoulder and nodded for me to follow her, which I did. We waited for all three of the adjustments inside her room. More earthquakes, more landmass shifting, more frozen bodies, and a mass of incredible pain later, all three finally passed.
By the time the last adjustment was over, I found myself lying on the floor right next to Melina in a large puddle of black and dark-red liquid. I had no idea how it got there, as we’ve been out of it most of the time, but to my surprise, neither of us looked hurt. At least not on the outside.
I pushed myself upright and leaned against the bedside. My body ached, but not in an unpleasant way. It was more like when you worked out too hard and then your muscles cooled down. I looked down at my arms and grinned. They looked more defined than they had last night, but not by much. This was one of those things that happened after cultivating. Impurities and toxins were pushed out of the body through the skin and mostly ended with blood puddles, but this one was quite great.
“Melina?”
She still lay there, unmoving, but I could see her chest rise and fall steadily. That was all I needed to know right then and there. I got up and steadied myself. The robe she’d given me last night was partially ruined and resembled a mess of black and dark red caked blood.
I looked around the room, making sure there were no immediate dangers. Nothing had really changed, so I guessed the latest tremors hadn’t done much to the ryokan. Sandro lay in the corner on a mattress, which was now also covered in blood, but much less than with the two of us. To my surprise, he looked smaller, or rather his girth did. The shirt didn’t look as if the buttons were about to pop anymore.
I kicked his side. Nothing happened. He slept like a log. I kicked again, this time harder. He finally stirred but just rolled around and started snoring again.
“Really?”
“Huh? What?” Melina asked.
I turned around and saw her sit there on the corner of the bed. She looked like a mess. Sure, a hot mess, but a mess indeed. Her hair was disheveled, and caked blood clung to her short kimono dress and hair alike.
“Nothing. I’m just annoyed by Sandro not waking up,” I replied and turned to face the woman. “You look—”
“Like a mess? I know. I feel like one too,” she murmured and pulled some of the caked blood from her hair.
I didn’t comment on her look, as it probably wouldn’t be appreciated. Instead, I shifted it toward a topic that was much more important.
“How late is it? Did the thirteen-odd hours pass already?”
“Yeah, wait up.” She turned back to her pillow, stuck her hand under it, and pulled out her phone. “Hmm, no signal, but it’s working—and shit. There are still about twenty minutes left. I checked last night how late it was during the second message.”
“Want to get cleaned up in the meanwhile? Seeing as Sandro isn’t waking up, we might as well leave him here.”
“Taking a bath together?” She chuckled as her hand moved to the hem of her dress.
“If you prefer, yeah. I was more thinking of just getting a quick shower to rinse all this blood off.”
Melina stuck her tongue out playfully as she got up and ran past me. “Come on, I promise I won’t bite.”
Several minutes later I found myself standing in front of a shower stall. It was completely see-through, so it defeated the purpose of having separate stalls, but I didn’t mind. The body I’d inherited was decent enough and well built. Sure, it wasn’t hung like a horse, but that would only get in the way.
“Here, a towel and another robe for you. This is my last one, and I don’t have any other male clothes,” Melina said as she handed me the small pile.
I nodded and flashed her a smile. “More than I could ask for, but trust me when I say that I’ll make up for it many times over.”
“Then you can start with helping me unwrap my chest. I can’t do it alone.”
I stood there as she undid her kimono dress and let it drop down her shoulders, waist, and legs. It landed on the marble floor and left her standing there with me facing her back. I had no idea why she’d gone through the trouble of wrapping herself, but shit, there was a lot of the bandage used.
The white stood out in stark contrast to her slightly darker skin. It was—marred. Scars ran down her back, and they didn’t even look very old. Some kind of salve stuck to the bandages as I ran my fingers through it.
“Healing the scars?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, I am.” Her voice was weak, and she almost sounded apologetic.
“Who did this to you?”
“Don’t, please. It’s old news now.”
She covered her chest with her arms and turned her body toward me, but only slightly. The weak smile on her face almost broke my heart, but I couldn’t figure out why.
“Yeah. What’s worse, you remind me of—someone I knew a long time ago.”
“You mentioned it already once.”
“I did. I… loved the man, but he was killed for wanting to be with me despite the warnings.”
Her shoulders slumped slightly and she turned away from me. A pang of guilt
washed over me like a cold shower, but—no. These were a new life and a new opportunity. Why wouldn’t I be able to feel this kind of emotion? It wasn’t like I was betraying someone I had an obligation to. My wife and newborn were dead, and all I lived for was to get our revenge. Why not add a second reason to live for along the way?
My hands moved to where the bandage was tied on her back, and I slowly pried and then untied the rest of it, slipping the long piece down her back and legs.
“I thought you were going to tell me off,” Melina said with a weak voice. “And I’m sorry if I’m trying too hard, but—I’m in a quite similar situation myself. The love of my life is dead, and it has been quite some years since I’ve let any other man see my body, much less come near me.”
“Can you give it some time?” I asked and pulled her in closer, then turned her around to face me. She looked up at me from behind loose strands of hair that covered part of her face.
She nodded weakly. “If you don’t mind the scars and the fact that we just met.”
I chuckled and shook my head slightly. “Trust me, Melina, I’m scarred beyond repair myself. Maybe this body isn’t, but my soul is marred beyond recognition. As to the just-met part, I feel as if we’ve known each other for an entire lifetime. Two broken parts of a whole.”
I pushed her arms away and pulled at the bandage. It unwrapped itself mostly and stopped just as two strips of the fabric were left. She dropped her hands and pulled at the last strips of bandage, revealing her breasts. I didn’t look at them as I should have; no, I stared almost in horror at the fifteen deep scars that ran along her skin. There were many more on her back.
I looked up again into her eyes and then looked away, almost embarrassed by what I just did. But why would I have to be? We were both adults and of a similar age. It would be more embarrassing if I acted like a little boy and ran from her advances.
“Did he do that to you?”
She nodded weakly. “Not the one I loved, but the one who killed him. His friends as well when he—marched me in front of—”
I put up my hand and pressed her lips shut gently. “Don’t, not yet. I don’t deserve to know about your past. Just look at us. We only just met, and for some reason, we’ve been acting like we’ve known each other for a lifetime.”
“Maybe we have, but not in this life?”
The way she said those words made my heart race, even more so as her hands moved to the sash around my waist and undid it. She dropped it to the floor and then pulled the yukata off my body. I stood there only in my underwear, but I didn’t move.
I pulled Melina in for an embrace. Her body was hot and almost felt as if she had a fever, but I didn’t move or do anything beyond that. We just stood there, enjoying each other’s presence and warmth. She smelled great, oh dear lord. Almost intoxicating. I traced my tongue over my lips—but then I stopped. This was enough for now; it had to be.
I pushed her off me and she didn’t protest. The last piece of bandage dropped off her chest, but I looked away. Sure, it was a stupid reaction, but I didn’t want her to think I was all into her because of her killer body. Yeah, she looked like a Goddess, even better. Her face was beautiful with perfect lines, and the way she did her hair and makeup… it was to die for.
“Thanks,” she whispered and walked over to the shower stall next to mine. To my surprise, the moment she walked in, the glass turned into—I didn’t know what the word was or how to even describe it. It just wasn’t see-through anymore.
I chuckled and shook my head as I undid what little I had on me before I joined her in the shower. Well, in my own shower stall. The water was perfect despite being hot. Strangely, I didn’t even want it to be any less than that. It did my muscles good and helped get the caked blood off my short black hair and skin.
A small window appeared again but this time slightly in my periphery. It was counting down from five minutes.
4:59
4:58
4:57
“You seeing this too?” I yelled so she could hear me above the water.
“Yeah! I’ll need at least three minutes to wash my hair and then another for my body. I don’t think I’ll make it.”
“Need help?”
“Oh? How come you’re not shy anymore?” she shot back.
“I never said I was shy. It’s just that I think I like you too much to see you as—you know?”
She burst out in laughter. I could hear her clearly over the water slamming into our bodies and the glass of the shower stalls. Her honest laughter was like music to my ears, and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle of my own.
“Come in when you’re done, but keep your hands to yourself, okay? After saying it so nicely, I think you’re right. This might be worth taking it slow.”
“Sure thing. Let me rinse off real quick.”
I took the bar of soap and quickly soaped myself.
“Nice move,” a voice rang out in my mind. I froze. It was familiar as hell, but I couldn’t place it.
“Did you just say something?”
“Huh? No.”
I narrowed my eyes on the glass wall separating us. All I could see was a skin-colored outline of her body, but she didn’t seem to be wasting time on anything but washing her hair.
“Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten your promise?”
“Fucking hell,” I cursed under my breath. Then realization dawned on me. “Scar?”
A wolfish snicker resounded in my mind.
“Who else would want to keep up with you?”
I rolled my eyes.
“You have shitty timing, but I’m not going to bitch about it. I’m glad to hear your voice.”
“Oh, so am I. It means you did as promised and followed me in the afterlife.”
“I guess,” I replied. “But you gotta understand something. I can’t remember shit other than that we died back then.”
Scar snickered, almost sounding humanlike. “I know, Krajolik told me. It sure sucks to be me, though. I used to have a physical body, and now I live in your mind.”
“Can we have this conversation later? I’m just about to help Melina get cleaned.”
“Keep the timer in mind. Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it.”
“Do you know what?”
“Of course I don’t! I’m a part of you. How do you expect me to know such a thing?”
“Whatever. Just stay quiet for now, alright?”
“Who are you talking to?” Melina asked as she stood behind me in my shower stall. I froze. Shit, I hadn’t heard her shut off her water and walk over as I talked with the wolf.
“Umm, it’s like a voice in my mind or something,” I murmured. “You done already?”
My butt cheeks clenched slightly at the thought of her staring me down.
“Yeah, all but my back. Mind if I take you up on the offer?”
I nodded as I turned around. She was as naked as I was, and it made me feel slightly uncomfortable as we stood there holding eye contact. She didn’t look me over and I did the same. Shit, this was a damn hard contest of wills, but I wasn’t going to lose.
“Just the back?”
She nodded and pushed past me. I picked the soap back up and stared at her scarred back as my hand moved down her smooth and tattooed back. Every inch of her was like silk, all but the hardened lines where her skin had been cut. I guessed it had been something very sharp and thin from the way it had healed. A razor?
“We got two minutes left,” she said once my hand stopped moving.
Her back was all soapy, but it quickly slid down her hips and legs. Her hair was longer than I thought it would be and almost reached to the small of her back, covering most of the tattoo and scars as it hung loose.
“I love the tattoo,” I said, tracing my finger down her spine.
She pulled away and moved into the stall. I knew it was time to stop and pulled my hand back.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I turned around and walked out of
the shower stall, picked up my towel, and dried myself off.
She turned the valve, and the water stopped splashing her body. She walked out and joined me, not even trying to hide her body. More scars ran down to her navel and even lower. Fuck. What the hell had this woman been through?
I stopped drying myself off and stood there with a deathly look on my face.
“Is he still alive?”
Melina shook her head as she stopped next to me and picked one of the two towels up, moved it through her hair several times, and tied it up over her head. I started drying myself off again and put on my underwear, then the yukata just like she showed me last night. I was surprised to see her already tie the sash around her waist by the time I was done. She was quick.
“No, he’s not. He died a while back.”
To my disappointment, the kimono was a much more modest version of what she’d worn last night and this morning. This one reached down to her ankles and covered her arms, shoulders, and chest. She shot me a smirk as if doing this just to tease me. What other reason could there be anyway?
“Lucky bastard,” I muttered and looked away.
“Why?”
“Why? Easy. I’d have cut him to pieces, the wretched creature!”
“Hold it, lover boy. Don’t get carried away after spending just a day with me,” she said with a wink.
This little game that was going on between us was much more than having sex with someone; no, she was trying to establish some kind of control. From what I got to know about women, they liked to give you everything, but only when they felt like it. And here she was doing just that. Giving me everything but only the way she wanted it. Sure, I could go along with that.
A sudden beeping resounded in my mind. The countdown timer was down to ten seconds. Nine. Eight.
I held my hand out for Melina, and she took it without any hesitation. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments before everything went dark for a mere second. The darkness disappeared the moment it fell over our eyes, or at least that was how it felt. I had no real way of knowing if that was true or not until she looked at her phone.
“We were out for a single minute.”
“Only? How strange,” I whispered just as my mind started thumping like mad. A new message appeared before my eyes.
Beginner Quest: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 1) Page 6