Chapter 358: 358. Deadman Talking

“I thought you were dead,” Dallion said.

He couldn’t remember the man’s name, but knew that he was high up in the mirror pool organization… or at least had been. From what Dallion had last heard, the tattooed man had been killed under mysterious circumstances not too long after Dallion had cleared the Vermillian ring. The fact that he was here posed a lot of questions, almost as many as the fact that he had managed to enter the room unnoticed.

“I thought you knew Bellal better than that,” the man cracked a smile. “Or did you believe in notions such as honor among thieves?”

Dallion knew better than to believe that, however, he also knew how leadership changes worked. Creating a power vacuum in an organization wasn’t something that was done for fun. Splitting into four instances, Dallion tried drawing his sword, leaving one in which he remained as he was. All the attacks were abruptly stopped, with the man breaking Dallion’s arm.

“But you’re right. I was supposed to have died, but you don’t climb that high up in the pool without taking some precautions.”

“Does that mean Cloud’s alive as well?”

The tattooed man shook his head.

“I see.” Dallion closed the door and stepped closer. He couldn’t read a single emotion coming from the man. Clearly, he had a blocker ring with him. “How?”

“That’s what you want to ask?” The man arched his brow. “I’m a bit disappointed.”

“That’s what I want to know before listening to you further.” Dallion held his ground. “The only reason you’re here is to ask me for a favor. And before I even consider it, I want to know how you managed to survive.”

An instant of hesitation flashed over the man’s face. For someone to have allowed it to become visible, he had to be desperate.

“Doubles,” he said at last. “You’ve seen artifacts that mask one’s face, right? I happened to come across one that was defective. Instead of distorting its owner’s face, it copied it. No wonder that the merchant who had it wanted to get rid of it. However, he didn’t see the ring’s potential. Normally, the ring would switch to the face of the person wearing it. However, once I linked the ring to my realm—"

“The person carrying it got to have your face,” Dallion finished the sentence.

“Indeed.” The man looked at his left hand. Each finger, with the exception of the thumb, had one between two and three rings on it. “A pity that I had to part with it. Dead people don’t wander off digging up their corpses for jewelry. Now that you know, can I proceed?”

Dallion gritted his teeth. It was obvious that in a direct fight, he’d lose. However, there had to be something that only he could achieve, otherwise the man wouldn’t have risked coming here. Reciting the names of the Seven Moons, Dallion nodded.

“I want to get out of the city,” the man said.

“That’s all?”

“You make it sound as if it’s easy,” the man sighed. “With the festival going on, there are three kinds of guards roaming the city. Not to mention that the mirror pool still has its eyes open. They might not dare do business as usual, but that doesn’t mean they’re not active.”

“Why come to me, then? You know the overseer’s watching me, so it’s not—"

“The Overseer will have other concerns soon,” the tattooed interrupted. “All I need you to do is walk me out of the front gate. Do that and we’re even.”

“Even?” Dallion asked. “I don’t owe you a thing.” In fact, it was the pool that had to make up for all the things they had pulled.

“Oh, how careless of me. I did you a favor by keeping your pure-blond friends alive. Help me get out of Nerosal and they’ll remain that way.”

Instinct was faster than thought. Dallion had already drawn his harpsisword and performed a slash towards his enemy. The blade never made contact, freezing in the air inches from the man’s neck. The strange thing was that it wasn’t the man who had made the weapon stop, but the nymph guardian.

“Good instincts,” the tattooed said, looking at the tip of the blade. “You’ve grown a bit since we last did business.” He pushed the blade gently away with his hand. “Even if you manage to defeat me, that won’t help you. The girl has been poisoned. I’ve given her brother enough antidote for a while, but that’s a temporary measure. I’ll only give the cure once I’m out of the city. Of course, if I’m caught or trapped in here, you’ll get nothing.”

A dead man’s grip. Dallion had seen it used in movies and comics a lot, but never thought he’d witness it in real life. It was just the sort of thing the mirror pool to do. Dallion wouldn’t be surprised if they had resorted to blackmailing people through this scheme. If they hadn’t, it was only the city nobles that prevented it.

“Do we have a deal?”

Dallion pulled back his weapon.

“Let me sweeten the deal. Help me, and I’ll tell you something quite interesting regarding that ring you leveled up. Who knows, maybe it’ll prove useful for you going forward?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I told you. All you need to—"

“I can’t smuggle you through. The moment I’m seen with you, I’ll be in as much trouble as you are. You won’t make it anywhere near the gate.”

The man laughed.

“It’s always funny when you try making excuses. You already know exactly how you’ll get me out there, but are trying to weasel your way out. Probably think that I don’t know what’s been happening with you.”

Dallion remained silent. In truth, he hadn’t given the matter too much thought, more concerned with what was going on with the Luors. Thinking about it logically, he couldn’t come up with any realistic ways for it to work, not in the real world, at least. If this were a realm, or if Dallion had the means to place a person in a realm for longer than a split second, maybe there was a way to smuggle him out.

It was impossible. There was no realistic way Dallion could manage to get the man through the city unnoticed… unless.

“I know about the shardfly,” the man said out loud, shattering any illusions Dallion had that he had been mistaken. “I was heavily involved with the Drum. Before this unfortunate event, Bellal used to work for me.”

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“No,” Dallion said. “It can’t be done.”

“Oh, but it can. All you need to do is put in a little bit of effort.”

“In order to affect the real world, I need an item to make her the guardian of and I don’t have one right now.”

“What about that?” the man pointed at the whip blade. “That’s empty, if I’m not mistaken.”

Dallion clenched his fists. “It’s not mine.”

“Right, it belongs to the general.” The man smirked. “Just on loan for the tournament? Sounds like something he’d do. Of course, you can always make another deal with him. The general is good at that. I’m sure he’ll let you keep your sword under certain conditions. The bottom line is, who do you want to lose? Your childhood friends, or your familiar? Keep in mind that there isn’t a deal in this world that will let you have the pure-blonds back, if they happen to die.”

No matter how he looked at it, Dallion was in a bad situation. He could try and overpower the man, relying on Jiroh jumping in to help. From Dallion’s experience in Grey Harbor, he’d most likely be dead before Jiroh managed to reach him. If he refused to help, Veil and Gloria would end up dead, but if he agreed to help, there was a real chance that he might lose Gleam. At the very least, he’d have to enter another arrangement with the general.

Go for it, the shardfly said.

Are you sure? Dallion asked.

I’ll be with you the next few fights. That should be enough for an easy win. Also, I’ll enjoy hunting down that creep once he’s in the wilderness.

You know him?

Yes. As he said, he used to be involved with the Drum. It’s a lot more than that. He’s the one who bought me along with so many other items.

“Alright,” Dallion hissed. “I’ll help you leave the city, but if—"

“I knew I could rely on you.” The tattooed man stood up from the bed. As he did, his face suddenly morphed out of existence. He was already using a defocus item to make himself unrecognizable. “Meet me in one hour at the Broken Chestnut near the gate. You’ll be able to recognize me.”

“Isn’t it reckless walking about in public?” Dallion asked.

“Worried about me?” the man snorted.

“If something happens to you, my friends die.”

“Yes. Remember that.” The man went to the window and opened it. “No one pays attention to a pool member unless they’re doing something they shouldn’t. Not during lunch in any event. Besides, you’ve not the only one who owes me favors.”

Without another word, the man jumped out onto the roof and rushed out of sight. For several seconds Dallion remained there, still and speechless, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Five minutes ago, he felt on his way to the top of the world. Now he felt back in the gutter, pushed there by someone who’d only caused him misery.

It’s fine, Gleam said. Dallion could tell she was lying. I was itching for my own place, anyway. Vermillion’s islands aren’t my style, and your realm proper is as bare as a bag of bones. This way I get to add my own special touch to the ocean.

Slowly, Dallion put his gear in its place, then sat on the bed and took off his holster boots. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and counted to ten. While he counted, he isolated and discarded all his thoughts and fears. Upon opening his eyes again, nothing was left other than pragmatic determination.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

The awakening room appeared. Both of Dallion’s echoes were there. Walking past them without a word, Dallion went to Harp’s domain. The weather was perfect, as usual, but it didn’t bring Dallion any joy.

As he stood, looking at the islands in the distance, the shardfly fluttered in, landing on his left shoulder.

“Where do you want it?” Dallion asked.

“I want it to go all the way from your realm to the last of the islands,” Gleam replied.

“Sure. Anything else?”

“That’s enough for now. We can change the details once you’re strong enough.”

“Sure.”

Dallion nodded and linked the sword to his realm. Part of him hoped that he’d receive a red rectangle warning him that he didn’t, he was missing some vital requirement. No such thing occurred. Instead, an endless bridge emerged, connecting the main mountain of Dallion’s realm to the Vermillion islands. Bridges of gold stretched between silver pylons, continuing further than the eye could see. Next came the painful element.

“Gleam, you’re the guardian of this place,” Dallion said, each word making his heart ache. “Take care of your new home.”

The moment he finished, the bridge changed, becoming a sight to behold. The silver and gold it was composed of disappeared, replaced by semi-transparent crystals that shifted color as they went. Dallion knew all that to be an illusion, but he couldn’t but feel impressed.

“It’ll take a few tries to adequately match this place. I don’t want the nymph to be upset. I might also move the pylons a bit. Just for aesthetic purposes.”

“It’s fine,” Dallion smiled. “Have as much fun as you want.”

The shardfly fluttered off his shoulder.

“Oh, and Gleam? I’ll keep on fighting for you. No matter what happens, I won’t let the general have you!”

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