Xaloc sighed as he looked out the window, "I am helping myself."
He ignored the look Ozias gave him and counted the gold outlet handing them over to Ozias who peered over them and counted them carefully, more relaxed than he would have done if they were at a public booth.
"Three hundred and ten!" Ozias pushed back ten coins on the table towards Xaloc. "You don't have to. I already owe you so much." The questions were equal payment. Both of them knew this.
"You should think of it like this, you already owe me a lot so what is one more?"
"That is not the right outlook to have. Debt upon debt until you're crippled and used. Better off dead." He lowered his head as he pretended to play with the table cloth.
"You sure you don't want fuck." He asked again.
"Why do you think that sex is the answer to everything?"Xaloc flagged down the waiter and paid him. The man smiled and cleared their table.
"Please patrons come again soon."
Ozias also stood up from the table and shrugged his shoulders. "It is fast. Five minutes and the deal is done. You leave. No baggage." The daylight made Ozias uneasy and he pushed down the cap and resettled the glass, moving in such a way that his shadow and Xaloc melded together.
Xaloc hummed and they both continued their walk. They were not very familiar so a comfortable silence filled the air. Well, comfortable to Xaloc.
They passed different streets before Ozias suddenly stopped.
Not far from them, probably in the next two streets. up to an arch signboard that read Atlantis-Destination. There were various booths selling tickets and a feathered man stood in front of a door checking the tickets.
There were also lines and lines of benches as people waited to be called upon.
Xaloc blinked. How? Did his eyesight just get better overnight? He was sure that he could not see that far normally.
He turned back to face Ozias. "We would need to separate here. Thanks for the ticket."
Ozias nodded as he pulled his cap. He was still waiting. Out of loss on how to say goodbye. They were not friends but...
"And one more thing."
Ozias smiled. Finally, it is here. The reason for all these kind intentions. He looked at the boy and saw him wearing a smirk. It was out of place and at the same time perfectly natural.
"Five minutes, dream on. If I do sleep with you, don't dream of being able to get up the next day."
And after the words left his mouth, the other stared at him with stunned eyes. No, Ozias was not like an untamed wolf. At this moment he reminded Xaloc of a wild puppy.
He had always wanted a pet. He smiled and patted the other's head.
"I will see you again." Xaloc said before leaving.
Ozias turned to the next corner and placed his hand on his head. It felt really warm. He could remember someone patting his head when he was younger but that was before Ragnarok. He could remember someone patting his head and tucking him to sleep.
Ozias shook his head. He should not think of such things. That boy that liked to carry around mundane clothes, had a pouch full of money and was kind even though he claimed it was for himself belonged to a different world.
Even though the mark did not hurt like when it was newly branded, Ozias could still trace the slave mark that was branded into his foot with his mind.
He was a slave. He might have killed his mistress but the mark remained where he was, only a god could take it off. A god? Ozias's golden eyes burned with both hatred and fear.
For a second, he could feel the lightning that had run through his body when a god had slapped him. He hated them. All of them. He wished the Ragnarok had destroyed them. They deserved it.
With the hatred and anger burning in his chest, Ozias forgot the warmth of the pat and moved towards Duat. He would first get stronger then go to the black market and find a way to remove this damn mark.
He walked faster and made his way to the port of Duat. He planned to board to Thebes, the former capital city in the realm. It was the place with the largest collection of lower-ranking descendants and creatures he could blend in there.
Most gods and powerful gods lived in Alexandria. It was the most beautiful city in Duat and from what he had heard, even though Ragaronk destroyed a good part of the city, the rest remained as pristine as before.
He needed to avoid the place like fire.
Memphis too, it was just second to Alexandria and should be avoided.
He headed for the fourth building when he froze.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see someone walking in from the other entrance.
He was massive with a cross-cut scar on his cheeks. His skin was a warm shade of olive and his long sleek black hair was swept back from his face, coiled into a low ponytail.
Lord Hovodan of the Einherjar!
Ozias bolted.
He ran through the next ones before he reached the last building and dashed inside. His heartbeat uncontrollably and the fear made him stutter, "I need a ticket."
'Cynopolis?" The woman smiled. "We don't get a lot of customers nowadays."
The woman took the money and gave him a ticket. The ticket was a metallic card with a small silver button by the side.
She nodded to a young boy who came over and led Ozias to a pod. "Please stand here. Let me confirm that there is no one boarding before I input your destination. If I raise my hand, please press the button on your card."
Ozias could not hear the boy clearly over the pounding of his heart in his ears. If Lord Hovodan finds him, he would take him to the deputy leader and frothe stories he had heard from his mistress even death would be better.
They would not let him go. He had killed a Valkyrie after all.
With that thought, Ozias pushed the button on his ticket.
"Wait!" He heard the boy shout as he scrambled to open the pod but Ozias was falling.
Falling and falling.
It has been over an hour and Ozias has calmed down. He wished he could smash his head on a table. He had lost his reason and had panicked so much that he might just be on his way to a monster's belly.
How pathetic! He sneered to himself.
Bang!
He bumped his head against a stone and fainted.
When he woke up, it was evening, he touched the blood on the side of his head. It had dried up. He felt dizzy. He had probably lost a lot of blood.
He looked up and saw himself in the middle of nowhere. No in the middle of a burial ground. For miles and miles, all Ozias could see were stone tombs, large and small littered around. Goosebumps spread through his spine. He needed to find his way out of here.
Thump!
Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps getting closer. Each stomp was like it was on his chest. He was standing in a sandy desert, how was the person able to make noise while walking?
Thump!
The footsteps got even closer.