Chapter 15: Arc 1: Chapter 15: 2 Thieves

Life is like a journey, at some point, we need to rest, throw away past mistakes and remorse, and move on.

Only when you let go of your burdens, can you move further in life.

Merlin cautiously walks through the metal-casted cabin, the shadows hide his light footsteps, as well as his breathing.

Like a silent hunter on the move.

He examines the fork road in front of it, and once he makes sure that no one was around using his 'second sight', he walks out of the shadows.

He places both hands on the metal grip in front of him, he takes a deep breath, and after muttering something, he pulls outwards.

Cold air gushes out, causing his fingers to tremble a bit.

But as he looks into the metal container, the hope in his eyes turns into disappointment.

"No fruit! No bread either...what's left is some chicken."

Merlin stands in the kitchen on the freight and lets out a wail as he sees the empty refrigerator.

"I hate chicken!"

Although he says so, he proceeds to place the chicken into his lunchbox.

He closes the freezer and inspects the kitchen skillfully, clearly, it was not his first time doing so.

But today's acquisition was not good, Merlin could only find some hardened bread after searching for some time. He contemplates whether he wants to sneak into the crew's quarters to slip some food out, but he abandons this plan.

The world was intolerant to a Demon Walker like him.

Especially for a 'stowaway' who did not buy a ticket, and had been hiding on the freight eating and drinking for almost a month. As soon as he was caught, he'd probably be thrown into the sea by the angry chefs.

There had even been some 'ghost stories' aboard the ship because of Merlin's 'secret activities' in the kitchen and the ship.

But what choice does Merlin have?

It has been nearly 5 months since he left Central City, and he had already spent the money Mr. Henry had given him.

Merlin did not have an ID card, what's worse was his misfortune does not allow for him to take on part-time jobs.

Merlin summons the shadow and enshrouds himself in it once more.

This was a simple usage of his powers Merlin had learned these past few months.

Merlin calls it 'Shadow Cloak".

As he is enshrouded by shadows, he could easily hide himself, his footsteps, and breathing. He knows not whether it hides his heartbeat because he has not been in a fight using this skill.

It was imperfect.

It sounds impressive, but it deactivates under a light source, not to mention, the shadow cloak was unstable, easily disrupted by electromagnetic fields, and even strong winds.

It does not have much practical value, for Merlin, this ability could only be used to steal food from the kitchen at night.

Or slip some essentials from the crew's quarters.

Merlin takes his dinner back to his 'room', it was a cargo hold filled with cargo, he had made himself a small yet safe resting place.

He had little belongings right now, he only had a thin bedsheet, a backpack, a few extra clothes, as well as a rice box he had bought with the little money he had left before boarding the freight.

After all, even while being corrupted by demonic powers, he still needed to eat.

And as the saying goes, a ship is a treasure cove, because there was a lot of cargo in the cargo bay, even if the crew wanted to look for the 'ghost' on the ship, they could not search everywhere.

Even he if manages to encounter them by pure bad luck, he could relocate his belongings quickly using Shadow Cloak.

So he had not been discovered by anyone this past month.

"Let's take a shower first."

Merlin puts his lunchbox in front of his bedsheet, takes out a towel from his backpack, puts on shorts and slippers, then heads to the upper deck in the shadows while humming a melody.

After being on the ship for nearly a month, Merlin had already figured out the crew's daily pattern, at this hour, most of the crew was in bed, and even if there were some night owls playing cards in the dining area, the crewmen on duty would only stay above deck.

As long as he lays low as he cleans himself, no one would notice him.

Merlin takes a quick shower, and 'borrows' a razer from a crewman who prefers cleanliness, to tidy up his face under the dim lights using the not-so-clear mirror.

After shaving his beard and rimming his hair, the good ol' Merlin was in sight.

But he could see, that over the past 5 months, his facial features had changed a bit due to the change in mana.

His skin was paler than usual, like a patient who had suffered blood loss. 

He'd also become slim, but the light in his eyes, who was flickering like a fire, had become brighter, like a burning fire.

He was still the Merlin surrounded by misfortune, but he felt mentally better than how he was before. This meant, that a lot had happened these past 5 months.

He took the train eastwards from Central City, he had crossed multiple cities along the way, and as Henry had exhorted him when he left. Merlin had helped those who needed help, in the best he could.

He helped an old man retrieve his wallet from a thief.

He helped a lost child find his parents.

He contacted the hospital for a wounded officer.

Those were the little things, but they brought peace to Merlin's hesitating heart.

All the things he'd done had made him realize, that being cursed doesn't mean that he cannot do good, help others, or scare some bullies.

Of course, for Merlin to have traveled 5 months peacefully, was that he had found a way to counteract his misfortune.

He was inspired by the train trip and during his stay with the Allen couple.

It showed, that the dark powers inside his body, could be made dull through constant 'usage'.

This gave Merlin a viable option.

Under the dim lights, Merlin holds the sharp razor and swipes it on his arm.

The skin was cut, the wound stung and blood flowed out.

Seconds later, a black fog enshrouds Merlin's wound and causes it to begin scabbing, leaving a small scar 2 minutes later.

Merlin tested, that even this scar, would disappear in a few hours.

He feels the power in his body, and cuts open another wound.

He repeats this process 15 times until he felt a hint of weakness.

This was Merlin's way.

To suppress the dark powers within him, using pain.

"Ah..."

Merlin stretches his body, dries the towel, and places it on his shoulder. He looks at himself through the mirror and says:

"Now I can have a good night's sleep. Leave me alone, nightmares."

He then keeps the sharp razor, as to not let it hurt people. He enters his Shadow Cloak form, and heads towards his 'room' relaxed, as it was time to enjoy his not-so-delicious dinner and this slightly bumping freight.

But even if Merlin had solved his problems for today, it worries him as this method doesn't always work.

Some specific days these past few months, were times when the dark powers inside him were unusually active. One wrong move could cause a disastrous chain reaction.

One of those days was only a few more days away. 

So he must remain focused as to deal with what's to come.

"Hmm?"

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Merlin returns to his room and sits down on the bedsheet, he prepares to eat.

But as he picks up his lunchbox, he notices something strange.

The lunchbox in his hands was somewhat lighter than he remembered.

The young man opens his lunchbox, and while the bread and chicken were positioned just as he had left them, Merlin could still see that some were missing.

Someone had been here.

Someone had 'borrowed' some food from him.

This makes Merlin look up abruptly, he scans his surroundings and discovers a few footprints on the dust around some of the cargo boxes.

Someone was here, someone cautious and scheming.

Merlin does not act, he pretends as nothing had happened.

As usual, he finishes his lunchbox, washes it, and lies on his bedsheet, as though he had truly fallen asleep.

On the other side, in another cargo hold, a different young man with long sleeves was curled up in the center of a few boxes.

He had just eaten the frozen chicken and hard bread.

Frankly, it was the worst food he has had in his 17 years of life, if he was at home, old Alfred would've prepared warm soup and delicious steak, and if he didn't like steak, then the intimate Alfred would prepare something else.

The home cook excelled in cooking dishes from across the world, always making dinner so enjoyable.

And after eating, there would be a nice warm bath, as well as a comfortable bed.

In his mansion, there would not be these sounds of rumbling, water, and footsteps. 

He tries to throw away the wonderful and weak memories of his past, and as if inspired by Merlin's 'room', he had made a hiding spot for himself using the cargo boxes.

This gave the tired and hungry young man some insignificant sense of safety.

He hides in the darkness, trying hard not to think of his hunger, and tried to sleep.

He hates the city of crime he grew up in, as well as his cowardice, the culprit was right there in front of him yet he dared not to pull the trigger.

Those cowardly memories boil in his heart, making him want to flee.

He knows not where to go, nor what to do, he was at a loss. All he knew, was he wanted to be as far away from there as possible.

But under this constant fluctuation of negative emotions, it was near impossible for one to fall asleep.

Under the pressure of barely having eaten, two pieces of frozen chicken and hard bread were not enough, the rumbling of his belly made it increasingly unbearable. 

This young man sits up abruptly and decides to go look for something to eat.

But as he sits up, his body freezes.

On the box in front of him, a shadowy figure was sitting there leisurely, looking at him while dangling his legs back and forth.

As if he was looking at a rookie.

The young man could not see Merlin's face through the darkness, but Merlin could see his face.

This was a handsome young man, he had a well-built face, along with gentle blue eyes, and though his short brown hair was messy, it was clear that it used to be well-maintained.

He was wearing a light green long-sleeved coat, though it was not branded, Merlin could see that it was high-class.

His inner clothing was also exuding the scent of the rich and powerful.

He has a watch in one hand, his other in his pocket, especially after seeing Merlin, his hand grips tightly on something.

If he guesses right, it appears to be a gun.

But Merlin was not afraid, for he sensed no bloodlust coming from him.

Most importantly, Merlin could see the hint of pain in his panicking eyes, it had reminded him of himself, who had left home after a supernatural incident, 6 months ago, and went on exile.

Maybe they were the same people.

And maybe, they could become friends.

"Rookie, you'll starve with so little food."

Merlin lightly jumps off the box and lands in front of the young man, the young man takes a step backward abruptly, as the wariness in his eyes deepens.

"Stay back!"

He warns.

"You stole my food, and now we're both hungry..."

Merlin raises both hands and gestures he's unarmed:

"Now I'm going to go look for supper, so either lower your gun and come with me."

"Or, stay here and starve."

"I'm not a criminal! I won't fall with the likes of you!"

The young man grist his teeth, but Merlin shrugs and says straightforwardly:

"No! I'm no criminal, kid, I just want to fill my belly, just as you were going to do. Talking big won't put food in your mouth so I'll give you 5 seconds. I do need help, but it doesn't have to be you, so it's your choice whether or not you're going to follow me."

Merlin then turns and leaves without hesitation, seemingly unbewildered by the threat behind him.

Behind him, the young man keeps his hand on the gun in his pocket, but his rumbling belly urges him to follow, eventually, he takes off his jacket and walks into the darkness.

Moments later, the two tiptoe to the upper deck, one in front, and one in the back.

Merlin, who's more familiar with the freight, asks the quiet young man behind him:

"My name's Merlin, what's yours?"

The young man does not answer, he wishes not to, then Merlin says:

"If we're gonna move together, I'll have to know your name or even a codename, how am I gonna communicate with you otherwise?"

A few seconds later, the young man speaks lightly:

"Bruce..."

"Call me Bruce."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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