Gunmage-Chapter 16: Ghosts of the living

"Sergeant, you're alive?"

Lugh was stunned, ecstatic even.

"Lugh!—"

She looked just as surprised.

"—you're dead?"

He paused.

"... what?"

"..."

"..."

Then, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, she exhaled and dusted herself off before helping him to his feet.

"Can't you see? We're in the afterlife."

She declared solemnly.

Lugh stared blankly as she gestured toward the corrosive ocean.

"That right there, is the river Styx."

Then she pointed at the glowing forest.

"And those are the sacred gardens."

Finally she turned to him, sighing dramatically.

"I hate to say this, but this is the end for us. The good news is that there really is a life after death. Good news for me, not you. You're an evil spy from Heieg, after all, and I'm a proud soldier who died while protecting my country... sort of"

Lugh watched her antics with an unnerving calm, unable to tell if she was serious or just losing her mind.

He glanced down at his bare feet and tattered clothes, taking a long moment to process the absurdity of her claim.

"Sergeant"

he cut in.

"What?"

"We are not dead."

SILENCE.

She then let out a slow, pitiful sigh and gently patted his back.

"I know it's hard to accept, kid. Trust me, I've been there."

"You've died before?"

"N-no, what I meant was, I've been dead for way longer than you have, and I've learned to accept it. You will too, you just need more time."

Lugh rolled his eyes in exasperation. Is she stupid? No, she wasn't. Thinking from her perspective, he could certainly see why she would consider herself dead, given all that had happened.

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The problem was...

"Like you said, I'm an evil spy from Heieg, and you're a selfless soldier that perished for the sake of your kingdom."

These words flushed her face and her chest puffed up with pride.

"You finally understand ki—"

"—why then, did we both end up in the same place?"

Her expression froze.

"Well, that's—that's just because—"

"Why are the sacred gardens here? Wasn't the river Styx supposed to lead to the underworld?"

Her mouth opened. Then closed. She had no answer for that.

There was silence for a few moments.

"...so where the hell are we?" Lyra finally asked, her confidence crumbling.

"That... is something I don't have an answer to."

She blinked.

"We're wasting time here. We need to find something to eat."

"Oh right"

As if suddenly remembering something, she rummaged through her pocket and pulled out several glowing orbs of different colors and sizes.

"Here, you can have some"

"Where did you get these? What even are these?"

Lugh questioned suspiciously.

"They're fruits. I found them on the outskirts of the forest. I couldn't go in too deep though, there is something lurking in those woods."

Lugh was speechless. She had willingly walked into that forest on her own.

Mistaking his silence for skepticism, she puffed up in indignation.

"Relax, I already ate them. They're harmless."

"You ate them?!"

Lugh pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had to say, this woman was truly impressive. Eating abnormal things from abnormal trees of which you had no knowledge about, especially something as strange and unknown as a glowing fruit.

She was one mistake away from reaching the actual sacred gardens.

Noticing the look on Lugh's face, she flushed with embarrassment, muttering defensively.

"It is said that the fruits from the sacred gardens can heal your soul and give divine powers"

Lyra explained, her voice small.

"Did you get any powers?"

"No," she admitted, visibly disappointed.

Lugh, on the other hand, was relieved.

Considering the constant presence he felt on this island, if the sergeant had gotten some weird powers, they were sure to be anything but divine.

Hesitantly, he took a bite. The fruit was unexpectedly cool and refreshing, easing the dryness in his throat.

"So what now?"

He asked

"Let's just keep exploring, perhaps we'll find a way out of here"

And so, the both of them began a long trek across the sandy beach. As they walked, Lyra pressed him about what happened after she fell into the sea.

Lugh hesitated. Thinking back to those events left a bitter taste in his mouth, but she deserved to know what became of the crew.

When he reached the part about the captain—

"The captain was a spy?!"

Lyra gawked in disbelief.

"Yes, and he has a partner. Also I'm not really a spy, it's... complicated."

Lugh gave her a rough explanation of the situation while carefully omitting details, like the reason the two spies had chosen to protect him.

There was no way he would let her know that they were all attacked because of him.

She eyed him, her expression shifting.

"If you're not a spy, then who are you?"

She asked, casual on the surface, but he sensed the caution beneath.

Lugh hesitated, then spoke.

"My full name is Lugh von Heim."

He kept silent after this.

"Von Heim?"

Her eyes widened.

"That von Heim?!"

"...Yes."

"Wow. Back then, I never missed a single one of your family's balls. They were so much fun!"

She said, her voice full of nostalgia.

Lugh's expression darkened.

"I didn't know the House of Von Heim had a son. How come I've never heard of you?"

"Can we not talk about this?"

It wasn't a request.

Lyra faltered at the shift in his demeanor.

She thought back to his red eyes and scrawny frame, a wave of realization hitting her.

Lyra opened her mouth—then closed it.

For a long while, neither of them spoke.

The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.

And so, like this, they continued their walk in utter silence until there in the distance, they saw another humanoid figure emerge.

"Look, there's someone else over there!"

Lyra suddenly exclaimed, breaking into a jog.

Lugh caught her arm.

"Wait."

She turned, confused by the alarm in his voice.

"That"

Lugh said, voice low and tense

"Is not a human."