Soul Digger-Chapter 61: FALSE ACCEPTANCES

’I need to create a separate personality with this new identity.’

A bright crimson eye snapped open inside a load of heavy snow. The sky sprinkled the ground with crystal flower petals as the weak sunlight complimented their stunning, fragile constructs.

Rolan thrust his head out and inhaled a large gulp of air; the freezing weather tickled his warm body.

BADUMP! BADUMP! BADUMP!

His heartbeat jump-started and stabilized. Cole’s hair bleached itself white and reconfigured into Rolan.

The inexorable cold made him recall the situation at hand, along with the uncertainties the future held. Rolan stood on his feet and continued his journey to the north, leaving the graves as they were, undisturbed.

His organs, tissues, and limbs healed completely and returned to their original healthy state; his body also reverted to its normal temperature, for the meantime. After walking miles, Rolan reached the North Pole and entered the set.

The warm feeling of nostalgia made him feel fuzzy to an extent. Since he didn’t have anywhere to live or money to book an inn, he strolled around the city, tired as he walked with a sluggish gait.

A smell floating through the air grabbed his attention; similar to the smell of smoke, the choking ash was miniscule yet bothered Rolan nonetheless. He followed the smell all the way to the Western Nickel Side and arrived at the burning structure.

Gripped by shock, Rolan studied the area. There he saw the unconscious woman, and Ceaser sitting on the floor in a depressed manner. The sight was agonizing to gaze upon; however, Rolan couldn’t risk exposing any of his true personality.

Instead of heading towards the scene in a way Cole would, he went with a clear mind and intent to deceive Ceaser. Be it right or wrong, Rolan’s actions had meaning; that alone put his mind at ease, though the opposite could be said for his heart.

"What did you do?" Ceaser’s voice had a poorly tamed aggression lingering.

Rolan answered bluntly, "I did nothing. In fact, I just got here."

"Then why didn’t you try and do anything?"

"What could I do? The damage was already done when I arrived."

Rolan and Ceaser exchanged tense glares; Rolan, however, was more composed than his counterpart.

"What the hell happened here!" Nagita shrieked from the distance.

She, Snider, and Gordon darted towards the scene. The other members were on damage control, reassuring the unaffected civilians of safety.

They also watched the broken remnants burn to ash, unable to intervene until the fire wore down.

Gordon crouched by Ceaser and whispered, "Do you know what caused the fire?"

Ceaser twisted his neck, replying with an eerie glare. Intimidated, Gordon slid back and apologized. Snider, on the other hand, was busy examining the unconscious girl crippled on the floor.

Nagita was different; instead of trying to help in some way, she skimmed Rolan and Ceaser, picking up traces of the animosity hiding beneath their shadows. After which, she turned to the fire and wore a puzzled expression.

"Seriously though, what could have caused this fire?" she muttered in an obvious tone.

"I... I don’t know. It was too late for me to investigate anything," Ceaser answered, his words sounding more distant than his position.

"Were there casualties?"

Ceaser’s gaze fell to the floor; devoured by self-disappointment, he slumped his body like a maltreated puppy. Nagita understood his body language far too well.

In a grieving manner, she closed her eyes and sighed. "There’s nothing we can do. The flame most likely disfigured their corpses; trying to recover them would be a waste of time."

"..."

"We’ll assure the civilians of safety and sweep it under the rug as an accident. We’re going to have to lie about the casualties as well and clear any possible evidence," she suggested.

Rolan’s veins rose from his arms all the way to his neck, but his face was impassive, neither emotional nor burdened by her words. "That’s a more logical decision," he agreed.

Nagita went towards Ceaser and crouched to his ear. "We’ll investigate this later as inconspicuously as possible. I have a feeling you know what was behind this."

’The poser must have tried to erase capable threats. Out of all of us here, Ceaser is the most likely to thwart its divide-and-conquer plan. At least this proves my previous assumption was spot on.’

Ceaser whispered softly to her in return, "Before the fire, I saw something watching me. We might be dealing with Soul Drainers."

Nagita locked Ceaser in a tight hug, squeezing him as she displayed consoling affection. In truth, she passed a message in a coded, damp voice: "You and I will discuss this later."

He nodded and mashed his face as he clung to her; on the surface, it appeared as a kind emotional exchange between friends.

’I don’t buy it.’ Rolan picked up on the discrepancies in their act.

The abrupt emotional outburst, the random hug, the closeness to the ears, and how they wrapped their hands around their mouths to disguise speech. Being a former mercenary, he was accustomed to their tricks.

"Oh Rolan, did you meet up with that aunt of yours?" Gordon shot him a stray question.

Rolan gave him a short glance and lowered his eyes. "Yeah, turns out she’s missing."

"Are you being for real?!" Gordon exclaimed

"I am. It was very mysterious."

Ceaser paid attention, suspicion boldly written on his face. He didn’t believe a single word Rolan spoke. Nagita didn’t either.

"This is serious. I think an Indulger is orchestrating these events," Rolan uttered with a firm certainty.

Nagita answered, "I doubt that’s the case."

The other Indulgers of ceasers group brought people with buckets full of water, splashing it on the burning pile. The fire put up an admirable fight but lost to the determination and stubbornness of the people. All that remained were crisp materials, ash, and blackened wood.

Rolan observed the people’s hard work; indeed, they were just as unified as the first time he stepped foot in the North Pole. There weren’t any familiar faces amongst the crowd, thus Rolan receded to the back like a background decoration.

Ceaser gripped his hair; a suffocated feeling plagued his body as his throat ran dry. Nagita supported him up, helping to maintain stable footing.

Ceaser shook off the guilt with a few simple jumps, restoring his disoriented mind to a more collected state.

Since the group was split, Ceaser had the right to begin the investigation of the North Pole. The trial had begun the previous day, and time didn’t slow down for a moment.

"I’ll go bathe and freshen up in another inn; you guys start looking through the rubble for any clues or evidence."

The people spectated with tormented faces and sorrow-filled attitudes. Rolan couldn’t help but get the feeling they had been suffering in silence for some time; not the average misfortune, but a lurking menace was playing with their lives.

On top of which, the murky air he felt grew stronger. Unlike before, Rolan was already sunk at its bottom, held down by an oppressing force trying to subjugate him. He was probably the only one who had such a sensation; carelessly babbling with the others could expose reliable attributes such as his danger sense. Putting up a constantly self reserved facade was the best way to avoid such.

The only personality Rolan thought up to make himself less approached by others was the edgy, reserved type. ’I’m not sure how I’m going to pull it off. Being edgy is my thing, but will it drive the majority of them away, though?’

"If you find a manageable corpse, please make sure you bury them like other deceased. Being victims in a war that wasn’t theirs is a heart-wrenching thing." He pointed at the girl in Gordon’s arms. "That girl lost her brother before her eyes moments ago."

"Make sure she’s adequately treated and that she heals psychologically and physically," he ordered.

"Don’t mind me asking, Ceaser, how are we going to pull this off? Our current financial status and situation stand against your orders." Nagita added

"Leave the financial aspect to me." Ceaser regained his tough resolve.

Rolan was touched in the heartstrings. "I’ll create the graves. Leave the burying to me."

"Thank you for helping, Rolan." Ceaser grinned.

’That has to be one of the best false smiles I’ve seen,’ Rolan thought. ’No matter, I simply wish to reap benefits. My aunt and the trial are the most important aspects right now.’

Ceaser recalled the screams of the people in the inn, along with a deeper memory of loud crying and begging from a crowd of people. He squeezed his eyes shut and looked at the inn one more time.

Ceaser took another glimpse at the crippled girl Gordon was carrying. The citizens were being deceived by Nagita, which reduced the merging grief waiting to implode inside them. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I’ve seen worse, yet this is still so painful to see. Live on, woman; there’s a reason you were spared unlike the rest," Ceaser rambled before vanishing into the distance.

The truth behind the inn was written off as a careless use of cooking electronics—a simple lie turned true by Nagita’s lenient words and polite demeanor.

Rolan held his waist and chuckled within himself; the view was amazing in a way. ’These Indulgers continue to intrigue me.’