Gates of Penance-Chapter 38: Lone wolf

Once Nacht returned to his room he immediately focused on the new thread he had gained in the meeting. This new thread was both unique and similar to the other threads that extended from his body. It was similar to Alister’s thread in which it didn’t have a single colour. The new thread was a calm white and had a golden tinge to it. Nacht focused on the thread which caused his perception to warp and change.

He saw a woman with white hair and bright golden eyes seated at a table speaking with four other sinners.

"What do you all think?"

Mirad spoke in a careless tone.

"Well, he seems normal enough... I think? Maybe a bit rough around the edges but besides that he’s like every other sinner."

Armon spoke in a grave voice.

"Except he’s from Ashenbale. From district Nine no less!"

Magi tilted her head.

"Does it matter really? As long as he’s able to do what is necessary Magi doesn’t care where he’s from."

Armon shook his head and looked around the table.

"Have any of you ever been to Ashenbale, let alone District Nine?"

The room went silent.

"Well, I have... and I think if you could see the people there, you wouldn’t put your faith in him either."

Nora shifted in her seat causing everyone to look at her.

"We might not have a choice."

Magi asked in a slightly hopeful tone.

"Lady Nora, did you sense anything?"

Nora looked at Magi and smiled.

"You can drop the lady... we are friends are we not?"

Magi blinked.

"Sorry, Magi keeps forgetting."

Nora seemed to ponder for a moment.

"His emotions are peculiar, but I can’t tell if that’s because they are being hindered by a relic or one of his traits... maybe even both. However, one thing is for certain, He’s not innocent. He wasn’t being completely honest with his abilities either... well, with what little he told us anyway."

Historia slid Nora a note.

She picked up the note and read it before exhaling in defeat.

"I certainly hope so."

The conversation then shifted into a different direction. They talked about everything that needed to be done for tomorrow. Apparently they had intel about a couple of abstracts lingering by the camp that they needed to take care of as well as some preparations.

Nacht cut off the connection and his perception shifted back to his room.

He frowned.

’It seems like I didn’t make a good impression.’

He never was good at coming across as an upstanding person. In fact, many people’s first impression of him was that he was a troublemaker. Maybe that was the reason he didn’t have any friends. Well... that paired with his distrust and dislike of most of the people he has come across. Still, the prospect that he didn’t have any friends troubled him deeply.

’I’m not that lonely am I?"

Nacht thought for a moment and smiled.

’On second thought, I do have a friend! I’m not a complete loser.’

Alister had said something close to them being friends in the crucible hadn’t he? Even if he did somewhat resent him, they had both survived a daunting ordeal and fought side by side against abstracts and sinners alike. So Alister definitely counted as a friend. Granted, he did try and almost kill his only friend, but what are friends for if you can’t rough each other up a little once in a while? The man had even saved his life on a number of occasions even if he was forced to. Without Alister he would have died in the first gate.

Nacht’s smile faded.

However, now he was alone. There was no one left to rely on, and that could end up getting him killed. After all, if you’re by yourself, you don’t look strong, you look weak. A lone wolf is more often than not a dead wolf and Nacht didn’t wish to die. He knew that to survive in this world he couldn’t rely on himself alone. He saw it all the time growing up. A group of people ganging up on a singular person and stripping them of everything they had. He had survived due to the help he received from his uncle.

However, Now the stakes were much higher. He was now facing against abstracts who had the power to kill him in an instant. Unlike humans, the abstracts don’t want any valuables you have, they only want to infect you with the vile corruption of sin. They want to kill you and damn you to penance for all eternity, thus spreading the infection when you inevitably and painfully transform into one of them.

Nacht didn’t need to become friends with the enlightened he dislikes so much, but he did need their help.

’Although, I would ideally prefer to get along with them.’

Nacht still hated the enlightened but he still hoped that maybe they weren’t all bad. He wanted to see the good in them even if deep down he knew he wasn’t going to be able to. They had different ideas and ideologies of how the world should be and that would inevitably cause some sort of conflict. However, there was another reason he wanted to get along with enlightened sinners he had found himself stranded with.

’...I still feel cold.’

He was afraid. He wanted to feel human again. Ever since leaving penance, all of the symptoms he had been feeling were constantly nagging at his mind. The cold, the dullness... the silence. He hoped that maybe making a couple friends would help him to feel human again.

His thoughts turned to the women with golden eyes.

’An empath, quite a useful trait... maybe she could help.’

She had most likely detected Nacht’s slight dishonesty due to the fluctuations in his unorthodox emotions. It was a useful trait that he needed to be careful of but it could also provide some insight into his situation. Nacht began to think about everyone else that had accompanied him at the meeting.