NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: He Knows
*this is the last chapter for a while, since tomorrow I'm starting my journey towards going abroad for uni. Join my discord servers if you want updates or to just chat with me randomly: https://discord.com/invite/8RcQy2aQ36 -copy paste it into google, and see you all there*
Steadily, they all progressed to the orphanage building, the four of them looking for the crates with the needed supplies. They were right before their very eyes, and yet Bronya did have some concerns.
"These crates have been sitting here for many years, right? Even if they have materials in them, are you sure they are still usable?"
Seele brushed it off, her usual expression coming back.
"Do you think undergrounders care about expiration dates? Even having any supplies is a miracle in itself."
She checked them one by one, only to find that all of them were empty, devoid of what they so sought. Meanwhile, Mark and Stelle, who stood a bit to the side, caught wind of something weird, a sound that was misplaced in that area.
"We've got a big one on our hands!" shouted Mark as a large Fragmentum monster floated before his eyes. It was huge, around Svarog's size, with a deep, chilling blue color that reminded Mark of the everlasting winter in Belobog.
He readied his pipe, taking a hearty swing at it, but the blow did almost no damage. It did rattle the creature a bit, but that was about all. Meanwhile, Stelle was already moving to the side, her steps quick as her bat swung, causing the creature's leg to shatter. Mark's eyes widened at the flawless display of sheer force that could tear that thing down.
The monster swung its hand at Stelle, forcing her on the defense. It formed some ice spikes in the air seemingly out of nothing, but trying to use it was futile.
Bang.
Bronya shot it square in the face, cracking its head with ease. Right as it tried to get its attention back, Seele came in with a swing of her scythe, taking off the head with one swift motion.
"Damn... you guys are all something else..." muttered Mark, feeling the pain in his palms. The shock from his blow traveled through the pipe and right into his flesh. He sighed, pushing back whatever thoughts came upon him. What would he have done, had he been alone?
Seele chuckled as she panted a bit, her quick reaction taking her breath out for a walk.
"Heh, it was fun to fight alongside all of you."
Stelle and Bronya nodded, smiling softly. Meanwhile, Mark walked over to the remains of the creature, striking at specific points with his pipe, the blows lacking any serious bite.
"What are you doing, Mark?"
He turned over to Bronya, then back at the crystalized body, hitting random spots.
"I'm looking for a weak point. There has to be something that's easier to crack than the rest. Stelle packs quite the punch, you have a gun, something that I refused to take, and Seele is just crazy with her scythe. I have to figure out other ways to take things down."
The others walked closer, looking over at his progress. The largest crack was in the central point of the torso.
"That's the weak spot. Ok, noted, I'll know where to strike next time."
His words carried a tinge of resolve, and yet he found himself unable to fully embrace it. What if he'd miss? He lacked even the skill level needed to hit a moving target in a specific place. Still, he had at least some idea of how to go about it—unless swinging on and on relentlessly could work as well.
"Anyway, let's focus on finding the supplies now. If I remember correctly, something has to be in that corner over there. The kids used to get bruises and scrapes all the time, so Natasha kept some supplies over there."
Meanwhile, Bronya was holding her palm on her chin, deep in thought, speaking slowly.
"It wasn't my imagination."
Seele gave her an odd look, and Mark just smiled slightly. Yeah, the moment was right before his very eyes.
"What are you talking about?" asked Seele, confused at the sudden revelation.
"This building, this playground equipment... I've seen it all before."
Seele didn't buy it, and even Stelle was confused.
"What do you mean by that, Bronya?"
She looked around, taking in the entire sight. Her mind was blurry, the memories of a long time slowly creeping out.
"I need to look around a bit more before I can be sure."
Mark crossed his arms, trying to hide the tiny smile on his face, yet he wasn't doing the best job. The group looked around the entire place, searching around, just checking out the swings, listening to Seele's stories about her childhood. In the end, all across the playground, a few crates waited to be opened. Inside, they found the supplies and something else that sent Bronya's memory into overdrive.
"A snow globe with a rabbit and an owl chasing it. How fun."
Bronya's eyes widened as she fiddled with it, cradling it gently in her palms, afraid that even a touch too rough would ruin it.
"It's something from back when I was a child."
Both Stelle and Seele were taken aback, especially the latter, since her whole childhood, she had lived there.
"When you were a child!? Are you sure?"
"You came to this town as a child, right?" asked Stelle, trying to piece things together. Mark simply chose to remain silent.
"No. I remember now. I used to live here. Before the Architects took me away, before Madam Cocolia adopted me... I used to live here! I'm... an undergrounder."
Seele was still struggling to process that, trying to make sense of it all.
"You're... an undergrounder? Wait a minute... you're saying that Cocolia, the Supreme Guardian, adopted you? Then-"
Bronya nodded, letting the information sink in.
"Yes. I'm the successor chosen by the Architects. In the future, I will become the guardian who leads Belobog."
Her voice was shaky, her hand slowly rising to her head, holding it as if to ground herself.
"My memories are so blurry... why didn't I remember until now?"
"Maybe Cocolia did something to make you forget," replied Stelle, who had finally noticed that Mark was unshaken by the information, keeping on the same bored expression with a tinge of tiredness in his eyes.
Slowly, the entire conversation took a more depressing turn, with Bronya nearly crying about her inability to do something, about how she couldn't protect anything, about how she just watched from the side, unable to argue with Cocolia about her choices. It was Seele who made her snap out of it with pure bluntness, anchoring her in reality. In the end, she made it clear that Bronya would have to start acting, which is better than just crying about what she couldn't do up until that point.
Mark met Stelle's gaze, and he just motioned to the side with his eyes, a sign that they should leave those two alone to talk it out. Before his leg could touch the ground and move away, Bronya called out, both her and Seele looking at him with confused gazes.
"Mark, there's something I have to ask."
He turned around, nodding, waiting silently for the question to come in.
"Back when you said that me and Seele are alike in more ways than we'd like to know..."
She couldn't finish the statement, and Mark couldn't find it within himself to try and lie. The rest of her words came without a sound, questioning his knowledge of the past. He simply shrugged and spoke in an emotionless tone, trying to keep a lot of things to himself.
"What does it even matter? I know things, that's for sure, but don't let it bother you. I'm on your side."
With that, he walked ahead, leaving Seele and Bronya behind. Stelle came with him, walking at his side, contemplating something as well. The two made their descent on the stairs, the pack with supplies heavy on Mark's shoulders.
"Must be my fatigue. I can handle labor, but too much is too much."
"Let's find some painkillers, shall we?" asked Stelle, her gaze soft, warming up Mark's being.
"Sure. Let's see what we can find."
Just as they reached the bottom, a robotic voice and that of a child came in together. Before their eyes, the same little girl who had been with Svarog met them.
"Warning! Warning! Intruders! Initiating active defense mode!"
Clara quickly tried to calm down the robot.
"Perkins, stop! I've seen them before. They're not bad people."
Mark chuckled, smiling softly.
"Hey, nice to see you here, Clara. What brings you around these places?"
She smiled back, looking up at them both.
"I've come here looking for painkillers. There are a lot of people hurt at the vagrant camp. I guess things are no different for the miners. If everyone could just get along, things would be easier."
Both Mark and Stelle nodded, switching focus on their discussion.
"Well, I did tell Svarog that I want what's best for the Underworld. Maybe I should straight up push for peace between the two sides. Who knows? It could work, but the people are scared for their survival. It's a huge mess, Clara. Don't let it get to you, though."
He ruffled her hair slightly, to which she giggled. Stelle watched the scene unfold, arms crossed.
"Look at you, acting all like an older brother."
Mark nodded, pulling his hand back. His gaze went numb for a moment as his nightmare came back to him, haunting him with memories that he'd probably never live again.
"I am... was... whatever I should call it... an older brother. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Let's look for the painkillers, the four of us."
Stelle felt a pang of guilt for aiming at the wrong spot, and yet she went along with Mark brushing off the topic.
"Four of us?"
He nodded, smiling down at Clara and the robot.
"It's me, you, Clara, and Perkins. Right?"
The robot made some happy beeping noises, somehow feeling happy at being mentioned. Mark still struggled to wrap his mind around what sort of programming took place when making their software.
"This is one helluva world I'm in."