[REND] 22 - A New Face, A New Start

Wakey, wakey, Erind… A voice singing in annoyingly high spirits bounced around in my head.

“De-Deen?” I groggily said, waking up with a start. I was surprised that I had fallen asleep. “What, uh, time is it?”

My eyelids felt like they had been glued shut. My whole body was heavy, like severely waterlogged cotton clothes. Oddly awkward to move. This feeling of being underwater again. Could it be…? Or was this because I swam quite the distance earlier?

I forced open my eyes to see what was on my lap—the head of a sleeping Deen. She had bunched up her hair before lying on me to not tickle my thighs. She still had some strands of her golden locks resting on her pinkish cheeks. The weirdo put some blush on for the docks mission.

Even weirder was her unmoving chest. Not breathing?

She was frozen. Like, literally. As well as everything else. It was too quiet.

I looked around.

We were on the sofa in the living room of Deen’s place. The open glass doors leading to the backyard showed that it was starting to darken outside. Some of the lights around the pool area had automatically turned on. Everything seemed normal at first glance. But looking closer, the curtains had paused mid-wave from the nonexistent wind. Some falling leaves stayed in the air.

“I’m going to bet Deen’s money that this isn’t the real world,” I said. “Though Deen’s money is probably useless here.”

It's not Deen's money; it's her parents' money.

Looking over my shoulder, I found a person standing behind the sofa. Or couch. I didn’t know the difference between them.

I don’t either, she said with words that directly popped into my head. Her mouth moved, with no sound coming out. Her reply meant that she could read my mind. Such an annoying ability.

“And I was right that this is a different dimension. I was waiting for you.”

It’s nice that you wanted to meet me.

It was Spooky Erind.

She had her hands on her hips, gazing down at me with fiery ruby-like eyes shining through the slits of her mask. The mask that was also a face. Same as the wolf mask she had given me. What special ability would Spooky Erind’s mask give if I wore it?

We should be the same height, if her ‘meyoumeyou’ shtick was to be believed. But she had such an imposing presence that it felt like she was atop a mountain and I was stuck in the depths of a crevasse.

Oh, Spooky Erind had high-heeled boots, didn’t she? That might be the reason. I could try wearing high heels someday. I never did because it made it seem I was conscious of my height. I was—it would’ve been nicer if I were taller, for various reasons—but I didn’t want others to think that.  

Like our previous encounters, Spooky Erind wore a sleek, tight-fitting, black suit and pants, adorned with golden lines that formed peculiar patterns. Underneath that was a white dress shirt and a black tie. A white fur coat was fixed on her shoulders, giving her an air of luxury and elegance. The badass golden-clawed gauntlet was on her right hand.

“I didn’t say that I wanted to meet you.” I grinned to show I was just joking around. Wouldn’t want to upset the Adumbrae taking over my body. “I was waiting because I knew you’d come.”

Spooky Erind’s half-white, half-black mask laced with gold crumbled into shimmering lights, like curtains pulled back to reveal her beautiful face—our beautiful face, ehem. If she didn’t move, one could mistake her for an expertly sculpted marble statue, given her unearthly complexion with a purple tinge and a slight reflectiveness.

What light was she reflecting? I didn’t know. She brushed away her wild, wispy, white hair that floated in the air and returned my grin.

Oh, really? How did you know?”

“It’s the end of the movie,” I said with a shrug. My hair bounced but came back down to my shoulders in slow motion. “The big fight scene is done. The bad guy’s base is destroyed. The movie should’ve cut off with me swimming away into the sunset—well, it wasn’t really sunset earlier—but since we’re continuing, it makes sense to have some sort of epilogue.”

This is an epilogue? The things meyou could come up with. This is proof that we’re one.  

I held up a finger, excited with a sudden realization. “Ah, this could be the post-credit scene. That’s the trend in recent movies now, and I don’t like it. I’m already done watching after the—hang on, before I get sidetracked, there’s a lot of stuff I wanted to ask you about.”

Spooky Erind tilted her head, spookily smiling. That means you did want to meet me?

“Eh, I guess so,” I said with a shrug. “You probably have a lot of things to say to me, too.”

I’m always happy to meet you. And yes, there’s been a lot of… developments, hasn’t it? But before that, as per tradition, isn’t there something you want to ask me first?

“Tradition? Right, right. Am I dead?”

You’re not dead. Spooky Erind chuckled.

“Just making sure,” I said, giggling. “I did check if I was alive before I fell asleep.”

This was such a weird interaction that it became comedic. It was interesting that I felt a certain closeness with Spooky Erind that I hadn’t experienced with anybody else, including Deen. Probably because this Adumbrae was in my head. Couldn’t get any closer than that.  

A very good habit. And it’s also a nice change that you didn’t ask me that stupid question the moment I showed up.

“I don’t know if this is a bad thing, but I’m getting used to all these deadly situations that I won’t be really surprised if I’m dead. Like, maybe the 2Ms decide to bomb this place and kill me in my sleep or something. It’s fine. Part of this business.”

Spooky Erind reached out with her gauntlet and patted my head. It was heavy, but the sensation of the weight didn’t sync with each pat. It felt like a computer lagging. Another nice change is that you’re being nice to your best friend. Isn’t that nice?

“This?” I nodded down at Deen. “She was crying from stress or whatever earlier. Just bawling her eyes out, saying stuff like I’m the only person she could show her vulnerable side to. I don’t like too many emotions. She was ruining the end of my awesome day, so I told her to sleep all her worries away. Hey, that—!”

Hey, that rhymed! Spooky Erind cut in.

“It definitely did,” I said. Spooky Erind’s ploy to make me like her was working. “I thought Deen was going to sleep in her room, and I’d stay here, watching the TV for news about our shenanigans at the docks. I was thinking of ordering a bucket of fried chicken and just pigging out. But Deen was being a drama queen and insisted she lay her head on my lap.”

A bony pillow, Spooky Erind said, circling the sofa so she could stand next to the coffee table and have a better view of our… setup.

“Yeah, that’s what I told Deen—you should know since you can tap my senses. In the end, I relented and let her do what she wanted. I did promise myself to be nice to her.”

Kudos to Deen for coming up to my giant werewolf self to save me from the BID and the Corebrings. If I headed to the buildings and continued wreaking havoc, I’d eventually get vanquished. Vanquished. I liked that term. Because I was a monster. It’d be an awesome way to go, fighting the Corebrings. But it was better not to die. Duh.

It must’ve been Deen who pushed my artificial Core to activate. Our connection, whatever. Or was it something I ate in the pickup truck? In any case, I was grateful to Deen. Pretty normal to care for tools that helped me, right? It was like washing a car, which I didn’t have. I’m just taking care of my stuff.

Meyou is always nice, said Spooky Erind.

She shrugged off her fur coat—it disappeared into thin air—and sat on the upholstered armchair opposite me. She bounced her left leg on her knee. Her shoes had not-that-high heels.

After all, Spooky Erind continued, I’m the hero of this story. The likeable main character… She narrowed her eyes at me, her pupils growing brighter.

Very spooky.

“Uh, anyway, why are we here?” I gestured around us. “Where’s the usual outer space with a magical lights background? Just a change of scenery?”

Yes. A change. And also, to keep our privacy from that. She pointed at me with a golden claw.

“From me?” I touched my chest. “Oh, you meant the artificial Core. Yep, it’s been doing weird things. It’s really melding with me, isn’t it? That bothers you, I suppose?”

‘Bother’ encompasses a lot of things.

“I thought you were cool with me taking this Core? Something about a different path, wasn’t it?”

I… dislike the intruder to our sanctuary, said Spooky Erind, with a smile. I couldn’t tell if she was truly angry or just messing with me. But as for you, good job! That includes tapping into the power of the intruder. You wielded it well.

“You know me, I’m the main character. Seriously, though, I’m quite surprised with how things turned out. Everything was tied up neatly in the end. Except the 2Ms’ base—that place is trashed. Did you see when I ate that huge monster? At first, it was so annoying that I couldn’t bite… Wait. You’ve already seen what happened. You probably know more about it than me; that werewolf brain took control half the time.”

Tell me all about it. You don’t have anyone to share it with, might as well share it with me.

“True. Not like I could tell Deen about this.” I narrated to Spooky Erind about everything that I could remember, from forcing Overdrive to be my chauffeur, to attacking a speedboat, and finding Mr. Ogre.

I rarely talked at length with anybody. Even with Mom, I wouldn’t just go on and on about stuff. I was quite reserved, careful with the words that might affect a future face. Probably, I was just introverted at my core. Not the artificial one. Talking with Spooky Erind didn’t tap into my social energy.

If anything, it felt like I was just talking to myself. I do that a lot in my head. Maybe because Spooky Erind’s an Adumbrae, so I didn’t really mind blabbing to her. 

Spooky Erind didn’t respond to my thoughts. She simply congratulated me. You’ve done a way better job at the docks than others.

“The other people you’ve infected are fighting the 2Ms, too? They’re in this city? Oh, you probably mean the Red Island people. They seem like a really big organization.”

Are you going to succeed where the others have failed? Spooky Erind asked, twirling her hair with a claw. I was used to not getting any answer from her.

“I am going to succeed,” I said. “This is my movie. It’s not in the tragedy genre, so that means I’ll have a happy ending. But my goal isn’t the same as yours.”

It is. I want what’s best for you. I want you to survive, too. Because we’re one. Sing it with me! Meyoumeyoumeyou!

“Uh, I’m going to point out that it’s not to my benefit if my body’s appearance changes.” I raised my hand in surrender. “Just keeping it real. Sorry if you’re going to get angry.” Let us see how she’d react. I made her happy with my actions thus far.

I’m not going to react negatively, she said, wagging a finger at me. It’s probably pretty inconvenient that you’re experiencing these changes.

“Yes, it is,” I quickly replied. I was going to push more on this. “That’s why I tried all sorts of ways to stop it. I mean, it’s against you, so you’re—”

It’s not against me. We’re one. Spooky Erind stood up from her chair and sat on the sofa’s armrest on my side. She combed my hair with hair claws. This situation… Enemies will come. I don’t control them. That’s just how it is. You can’t live peacefully as you are now.

“I’ve accepted that I’m an Adumbrae,” I said. “This was the only way I could’ve lived during the Adumbrae attack. What you’re saying is that I’ll be continuously hunted?” I clicked my tongue. I could see where this was going—a downward spiral. “The 2Ms are after me. Maybe the police now, too. Wouldn’t take long for the BID or even the Corebrings to join the picture. This isn’t even taking into account Dario and the Professor. I don’t know what their deal is.”

We need to be stronger to survive. SpookyErind let the sentence trail as she traced the side of my neck behind my ear with her claw. But as meyou grow stronger…

“The more enemies there’ll be,” I finished the sentence as I leaned away from her. The claw was tickling me. “I have to outpace the challenges.”

Become stronger, faster, yes.

“That means transforming more. It’s a catch-22 situation. Or was it twenty-three? Anyway, the point is, I just have to deal with the, uh, changes to my body. The Core seems to help…”

Spooky Erind laughed. Are you trying to pit me against the Core? Cheeky, meyou. She pinched me.

“If it works,” I said, trying to get away from her reach. Sleeping Deen, who had turned into a statue, kept me in place like a seatbelt. “Help me out here. You want me to survive, don’t you?”

I’ll give you a tip. Here. Spooky Erind knocked on the side of Deen’s head. I’ve always been pushing you to get more friends.

“You have?”

The others were loners. Some got occasional allies, but they were mostly alone.

“Um, I have Deen. I can use Overdrive, I guess. Any help beyond just tips? Like, concrete help?”

Make friends with a new power.

“What kind of power will you give me? I hope I can still hide the changes to my body after—Oh!”

Spooky Erind’s gauntlet glowed while golden liquid rose out of the white gem in the middle of her palm. I’m offering you this. The golden liquid slowly turned silver and formed the shape of a mask. It was the face of a mannequin, but with no eyeholes. There was a weird symbol on its forehead. Use this well.

I touched the mask and then…

…woke up.

“Wha-what?” I stammered.

“Erind?” Deen looked up at me from my lap. She stretched, having just woken up like me. “Is anything wrong?”

“Wrong? No, no… I’m thinking we should order a bucket of fried chicken for dinner. And don’t make the excuse that you’re dieting.”

(Author's Notes: My previous idea for the AoE Core effect needlessly added complexity to fights. I have to keep track of who attacked Erind. There are other issues, too. It's better to simplify the power, giving us leeway to upgrade it someday. I also clarified that Erind had golden hair and added some more descriptions about the tail and the fights in the last chapter. I'm thinking we'll eventually get art for Super Saiyan Blanchette, maybe make it the cover of Book 2. The next mask as cover art might not look that attractive.

Speaking of the next mask, we now have it, just in time to be used for Book 2. It'll be the "Core power" that Erind presents to Dario's group. Erind still doesn't know how the Core power actually triggers anyway.

In the Prior Cycle of REND, I post an Author's Retrospective after each major Arc/Book. I talk about ideas, things to improve on, and plans for the next Book.  We'll have that after Book 1 finishes on Royalroad and Scribblehub. We'll head into Book 2 this Friday. Thank you very much for your support! REND couldn't make it here without it.)