It was a farewell letter from the Fallen.
It wasn't written by the current, weakened Fallen leaning on Katerina for support; the rust-like stains on the edge of the envelope indicated he had prepared this letter back on the ship.
"What does it say?"
The Fallen rarely asked such questions, but his improving condition seed to have made him more talkative.
"It's nothing," Lu Li replied.
Before Katerina could ask, Lu Li handed the letter to Prusius. Only the illiterate Katerina and the amnesiac Fallen were left in the dark.
"How strange..."
The Fallen didn't press the matter, nor did he ask why he had lost his mory of that period.
"What's the last thing you rember?" Lu Li asked.
Prusius, nipping at Katerina's trouser leg, lagged behind the group and quietly told her everything.
"Being on deck, right after we saw Belfast," the Fallen answered.
About four hours ago.
Having learned the truth, Katerina and Prusius rejoined the group. Katerina was terrible at pretending and didn't know how to act around the Fallen, though that, ironically, wasn't much different from her usual self.
Prusius's attempt at acting normal was terrible; he kept chattering at the Fallen and followed him around like a shadow.
After passing through the Elm Forest, a place steeped in emotions of joy and sorrow, the burnt-out shell of Elm Street ca into view at the end of the road.
The area was still a recognizable ruin. Being so close to the Elm Forest, it was rely a charred wasteland, which ant it didn't attract the attention of anomalies.
They took temporary shelter in a stone building at the edge of the forest to discuss their next move.
The fire from over twenty years ago had destroyed an entire block and spread to other districts. This stone house had contained the flas but not the intense heat; everything inside had been incinerated, and the passage of ti had long since carried away the ash.
Now, only an empty shell remained.
"The dog and I will go. You two wait here for word from us."
It wasn't a suggestion. The Fallen's words were an order.
"Why?" Katerina demanded.
"He's seen the entire city. He can be our guide."
"I an, why can't we go with you?"
"Are you an inhuman or an anomaly? And as for Lu Li..." The Fallen made a look of 'disgust,' covering the holes on his face.
"Your sweetness is nauseating."
Sniff, sniff!
Elder Sister poked her head out of the hood and sniffed at Lu Li's neck.
"But how strange... why has it gotten weaker?"
The Fallen was referring to Lu Li's humanity. Back on Sea Gaze Cliff, Lu Li had expended a portion of it trying to revive Enni.
"How are you planning to investigate?" Lu Li asked.
"First, we'll head to the nearest settlent."
Belfast's urban districts were dotted with ugly settlents built on the ruins, like the mounds of dirt left by burrowing worms. The Fallen planned to make contact with them.
Prusius was an inhuman. The Fallen was still technically human, but his aura was close to that of an anomaly.
Lu Li and Katerina would be a liability.
"We'll bring back good news!"
Prusius called back over his shoulder as he followed the Fallen, who had pulled on his cloak and was leaving the stone building.
"We'll wait."
Katerina looked around, but finding nowhere to sit, she pulled a blanket from her suitcase and folded it into a cushion.
The four-day voyage had given her a case of land sickness; it wasn't severe, but whenever she stood still, she felt the world swaying as if she were still on a ship.
According to Prusius, the settlent was supposedly only two or three blocks away.
If all went well, they wouldn't have to wait for long.
The wait was longer than they had anticipated. Three hours passed, and still the others had not returned.
After another ten minutes, Lu Li and Katerina were preparing to leave and search for them when, at that very mont, the Fallen and Prusius reappeared.
Prusius, his tail wagging excitedly, began to recount their findings.
Katerina opened her mouth to speak but stopped, seeing Prusius's excitent.
Hopefully, so good news can chase away the gloom of that letter, Katerina thought.
The Fallen leaned wearily against the doorfra, quietly watching as Prusius recounted their adventure to Lu Li and Katerina.
Unfortunately, the settlent closest to Elm Street turned out to be an anomaly nest. They had been about to go around it, but the anomalies inside had spotted them.
The Fallen then pretended to be an outsider looking for a settlent; his aura was so similar to that of an anomaly that he didn't arouse any suspicion.
It was a mixed nest. Inhumans and anomalies gathered there, banding together to hunt and fend off more powerful entities.
Their arrival was t with two kinds of greetings: the kind reserved for comrades, and the kind reserved for prey.
After all, anomalies prey on other anomalies too.
The distinction between comrade and prey was a matter of strength. The Fallen, however, managed to avoid being tested by the anomalies, claiming he had many comrades waiting outside whom he would bring to join them.
The greedy, simple-minded anomalies hesitated for a long ti before finally deciding to let them go.
In the anti, the Fallen had asked about any incidents involving the dead being resurrected, or any traces of other humans.
"There are still human survivors in the city!" Prusius exclaid.
A group of survivors calling themselves the "Church of Twisted Vines" had made their presence known. Though they were heretics, their faith in so unknown evil god hadn't transford them into hideous monsters or mind-warped cultists.
They occupied several blocks in the center of the ruins, in the area marked on the map as the Bauhinia District.
"They just let you leave?" Lu Li asked, his brow furrowing.
"Of course!"
Prusius waited for praise, but Lu Li simply turned his calm gaze to the Fallen.
"I didn't sense anyone following us..." the Fallen said.
The next instant, his face split apart, and a roar erupted from the abyss beneath.
"Run!"
Startled, Katerina bolted first, followed by Lu Li and a hesitant Prusius.
They leaped out the window and sprinted for the Elm Forest.
Harsh snarls and furious roars echoed from behind them as they ran full-pelt toward the safety of the trees.
A sharp whistling sound closed in fast. Katerina whipped out her Black Thorn and hurled it at an irregular, fruit-like black silhouette.
The Black Thorn pierced the oval silhouette, but failed to stop its advance.
Just as the silhouette was about to slam into Katerina, an outstretched hand snatched it from the air.
Held in the hand, the silhouette's form suddenly clarified—it was a head, covered in cracks like an abyss. An instant later, it let out a horrific shriek and dissipated into nothing.
A warmth, the thing called humanity, surged into his chest, and the surrounding landscape warped violently.
Whoosh!
The sea breeze blowing through the trees seed to beco tangible, transforming into radiating waves of force.
Lu Li and the others, already retreating, vanished into the woods.
The Fallen looked away. He started to lean against a tree stump to find a more comfortable position but stopped halfway, too weak to continue. He pulled the letter from his pocket, then shoved it back in.
He struggled to stretch the features of his face, trying to draw in as much air as he could, his breathing ragged and hoarse.
His labored breaths grew quieter and quieter, until finally, his chest ceased to move.
The Fallen's grotesque corpse, abandoned in the wilderness, would perhaps slowly rot away with ti. Or perhaps not...
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