"The ball landed on twenty-six."
"Vigil, you know we lost much more than we won? Why the hell did I thi—" Elyon was waving his arms in the casino, trying to explain to Vigil that what they did was the worst thing they could do.
Vigil didn't care, not one bit.
Eight.
"The ball landed on eight."
"What do I do, what do I do?" The cries of a distressed man were heard in the air.
Behind Elyon was a roulette table. Vigil walked past him once he reached the roulette table. Two people were waiting for him. A shorter man with big eyebrows and a sweating forehead. In front of him, the one who turns the wheel, with slicked-back hair and a cleanly shaved face.
It was obvious to everyone that the shorter man was losing everything he had.
Vigil took out the five coins from the last game pot.
"Eleven," Vigil spoke softly to the dealer. The short man next to him fidgeted slightly with his money, and he did the same. His last five coins went towards the number eleven.
Elyon opened his eyes, and he realised that Vigil was not listening to him. He quickly turned around, and he saw him playing again.
This damn gambler.
Elyon started walking towards him. "Vigil, what the hell, man? You are a degenerate!"
"Number eleven, congratulations," the dealer mumbled under his breath.
Elyon's eyebrows rose in confusion when he saw that Vigil and the guy next to him were handed money. Elyon walked up to them, and he just observed them.
Vigil leaned into the short man's ear, and he whispered, "Bet the same as me twice, and the third time bet whatever you want. Repeat if you want to win."
The man nodded, and both of them placed their bets.
"Three."
"Number three, congratulations."
For the next few hours, both the man and Vigil were bleeding the casino dry. After a while, they were kicked out of the table.
As the three of them prepared to leave, Vigil handed Elyon a giant sack full of money. Elyon was almost exploding in joy; he took the sack in haste.
"VIGIL! YOU WONDERFUL MAN, I HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT MUCH IN MY WHOLE LIFE! THIS IS AT LEAST A THOUSAND GOLD COINS. LET ME KISS YO—"
Vigil dodged Elyon's attempt at "flirtation." He bent down to look right into the eyes of the short man.
"Burmser."
The man looked taken aback when Vigil addressed him by his name. He didn't reveal his name. So how would he know?
"I m-must th—"
"Shut it," Vigil interrupted him. "Your daughters, Anya and Darcy, will find your corpse on the side of the road if you don't take care of them. You won... use that money wisely. Don't come back here."
Burmser paled, then nodded slowly. He turned around and started hurrying up the stairs, not caring about the weight of the massive sack of gold.
But on the other hand, Elyon did care.
"Why the hell is this heavy? Hey Vigil, help me carr—"
"No."
Elyon pouted in frustration.
"Fine!"
Vigil began to walk up the stairs.
"Get a grip, Eve is waiting for us outside, and it's already raining."
Elyon was behind him, groaning in frustration.
"How do you even know it's raining? We are underground."
"I know."
After what Eve and Nightfall had gone through, Eve fell asleep on the bench outside the bar. The downpour never ceased. She clutched Nightfall while she slept. Eve looked like nothing more than a wet dog guarding its last bone.
Truly a gluttonous flower.
When Elyon saw her, he dropped the sack to the ground. His makeshift glasses stopped biting a while ago. The rain covered them in droplets. The glasses wept, and yet, Elyon didn't. He didn't know what to think since thinking meant hurting himself further. So he didn't.
Everything is going to be fine.
Elyon walked over to her while Vigil remained with the sack of money. Elyon began to shake her gently.
"You are going to catch a cold, idiot. Wake up."
Eve stirred awake, and the lingering cut was still visible on her cheek. She smiled softly.
"What took you guys so long?"
"We made money, let's grab something to eat at the inn, then we can head to bed."
Eve nodded slowly.
She didn't really care about the newfound money. She didn't really care about the promise of food. She didn't really care about the expectations of dreams.
She just wanted to be with Nightfall—not Elyon, not Vigil. Not anyone, just her and Nightfall.
The six of them wandered towards one of the inns, where they had a normal meal. No one really talked. Elyon tried to make some quick chats, but no one cared enough to answer him.
With their newfound fortune, Eve and Nightfall got a room while Vigil and Elyon got another room.
In Eve's room, she was sprawled on the bed. One of her hands was under the fuller part of Nightfall, her other on top. Her head rested on the hand that was on Nightfall. Eve's legs were intertwined with the hilt, while the blade bit lightly into her chest. The blanket was pulled down so the sword's eye wouldn't be buried under it.
Nightfall just stared at the ceiling, while Eve stared at it.
Eve spoke softly, "Nightfall?"
Nightfall's pupil looked at Eve. "Yes?"
"What actually happened at the Colosseum? All I remember is that Gladys killed me. Then I woke up in the spectators' row."
"You died. I controlled your corpse. And with me, your scars and sins have disappeared."
Eve looked surprised when she heard that. She clutched Nightfall tighter, but she remained quiet. She didn't know how to feel. How do you even react when someone tells you that all your scars and sins are gone?
"I had no means of reviving you since I didn't know what it took to do so. Yet Elyon showed me that you required blood. And so your soil drank it."
Eve died, and she came back to life. Did she even have time to experiment with the afterlife? No, to her it felt like she blinked.
She suddenly sat upright. "What about the defilement? Why was her name almost the same as mine? Why did sh—"
"Eve," Nightfall interrupted her.
"Yes?"
"I don't know everything. That woman was beyond my grasp of knowledge."
Eve nodded silently.
"I never got the chance to talk with you about Elyon and Vigil. I mean, I had a while walking in the streets today... but I kinda forgot. What do you think about them?"
Nightfall stayed silent for a while.
"Do not trust Elyon. Do not trust Vigil also. For Elyon, I already have my reason why. But Vigil reeks the same as him."
Eve was left shocked. Why?
"Why?"
"Doubt everything."
"What do you mean?"
"Doubt everything. The words that come from my mouth. The bed you are standing on, the people you talk with. Doubt Elyon, doubt Vigil. Doubt even the air that leaves your lungs. You are human, Eve, doubt even that...You challenge. You question. You inquire. Therefore, you are, Eve. You are what you doubt. Doubt everything, and perhaps you will become someone. Or you will lose yourself inside this grimy synthetic ecstasy called life, never realising what truly exists beyond your little bubble."
---
After a while of sleeping, Elyon stirred awake. He and Vigil had bought a room for the night. Vigil was sleeping peacefully a few feet away from him.
"Hmm?"
Elyon saw something—two glowing green orbs from where Vigil was sleeping. He tried to squint his eyes, but he realised he couldn't see since he didn't have his glasses. Elyon put his glasses on, but those two glowing orbs were gone.
He took them off, then went back to sleep, unconcerned about whatever those were.
Once Elyon closed his eyes, Vigil opened his. The two green orbs appeared again in the dark room. Vigil got out of bed, and he walked over to Elyon's bed. He looked down at the peaceful Elyon sleeping.
"From now on, do not trust a single word I will say."
"Because every word will be a lie."
"That was a lie."
Elyon turned to the side, sleeping just like a baby.
"You won't wake up, Elyon. I could plunge my knife into your eyes. And you will just die. Uncaring about me in your slumber."
𝐅̶𝐨̶𝐫̶ ̶𝐭̶𝐡̶𝐞̶ ̶𝐧̶𝐞̶𝐱̶𝐭̶ ̶𝐬̶𝐞̶𝐯̶𝐞̶𝐧̶ ̶𝐡̶𝐨̶𝐮̶𝐫̶𝐬̶ ̶𝐕̶𝐢̶𝐠̶𝐢̶𝐥̶ ̶𝐬̶𝐭̶𝐚̶𝐫̶𝐞̶𝐝̶ ̶𝐚̶𝐭̶ ̶𝐄̶𝐥̶𝐲̶𝐨̶𝐧̶'̶𝐬̶ ̶𝐬̶𝐥̶𝐞̶𝐞̶𝐩̶𝐢̶𝐧̶𝐠̶ ̶𝐟̶𝐨̶𝐫̶𝐦̶
"I spent the next seven hours staring at Elyon's sleeping form."