Bradley stared up at the sky as he walked home.
He was filled with a strange feeling of… hope.
That Lora could be saved.
She's going to get the help she needs.
She'll be free.
She'll be happy.
Finally.
That thought made Bradley happy.
It made him forget everything at home.
Even if his life continued this way, he would be able to deal with it knowing Lora would be happy.
Bradley arrived home.
Upon opening the house door, he could immediately hear noises from the basement.
It was almost as if his dad wasn't even trying to hide what he was doing.
Ba-dump.
Ba-dump.
For some reason, after meeting Steve and seeing him try so hard to save Lora… it filled Bradley with a newborn determination inside him.
He was afraid, but maybe, just maybe, he can change his life… and his father's.
He grabbed the basement door's knob and twisted it open, revealing a long stairway down.
His heart pulsated in his chest every step he took down.
Every step taking him a little bit closer to his father.
And then, he reached the bottom of the stairs.
He was finally in the basement.
Ba-dump.
Ba-dump.
'I can do this.'
Bradley thought to himself as he calmed his shaking.
And just as he was about to take a step forward…
"H…help…!"
Something grabbed his foot.
Bradley barely even reacted, but he did look down at what it was.
He shook his leg and was about to kick it away, when suddenly his eyes widened.
"Hurts… so… m-much… help…"
The thing that grabbed his foot… was alive.
It wasn't an undead.
It wasn't a ghost.
It was a living human.
Ba-dump.
Ba-dump.
All the determination and confidence Bradley had immediately disappeared.
His body immediately stiffened as he couldn't bring himself to move away.
If he tried, he easily could. The grip that the thing had on his foot wasn't very strong, after all, it was on the verge of death.
Half its lower body was missing, and it was drugged to the point it probably couldn't tell reality from delirium.
Yet he couldn't break free from its hold.
Or rather, he couldn't break free from himself.
It was at that moment that a knife was plunged deep into the back of its head, causing the hand to loosen and its body collapsed.
"Bradley! What are you doing down here?!"
Bradley's father rushed over and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"I've told you so many times to not come down here! You know that!"
Bradley couldn't respond, he remained frozen and slightly shook in his father's hands.
"I… I'm not mad Bradley, but you shouldn't be seeing this."
His father wrapped his arms around his body and hugged him tightly.
His body was covered in blood and bits of meat, so his hug was very warm.
"I'll walk you upstairs Bradley, I'm sorry you had to see that. Go to sleep and forget this, alright? And please, remember not to come down here. It's for your own good."
Bradley barely managed to force himself to nod his head.
His father grabbed his hand and led him back up the stairs to the main floor.
"I'll make you some warm milk to help you sleep, alright Bradley?"
His father opened the fridge and looked for the milk, only to realize that there was none left.
"Ah, darn. I forgot I didn't go shopping… its kind of late right now. Bradley, are you okay if I quickly grab some milk from the store? Won't take too long, and you'll get to have some warm milk after."
Bradley just nodded, agreeing to whatever was said.
"Alright, I'll be back real quick. Stay put."
His father quickly changed clothing and waved goodbye before leaving the house.
Once the door was closed and he was finally alone, Bradley collapsed onto a chair and breathed heavily.
It's not often for him to be alone, even briefly, so he allowed himself to relax.
Or at least, he thought he was alone.
"Bradley."
The sudden voice startled Bradley causing him to immediately jump up and whip his head to look at the speaker.
It was Steve.
He was leaning against the wall silently, his semi-transparent body slowly returning to full visibility.
"Your dad… he's responsible for all the missing cases around here, isn't he? He's the fucking serial kidnapper, and murderer."
Bradley's eyes widened as he stumbled back.
"Steve! What… what are you doing here?!"
"I did what you did to me. I followed you. I knew something was off about you."
Bradley grabbed Steve's arm and attempted to drag him away.
"You… you have to leave! Before they come back!"
"Your dad can't hurt me Bradley."
"NOT MY DAD! I'M TALKING ABOUT THEM! LEAVE BEFORE THEY GET AGITATED!!"
"What?"
Steve stood his ground as Bradle frantically did whatever he could to force him out of his house.
Bradley's eyes widened as he stared at something behind Steve.
"…?"
Steve looked around and didn't see anything.
"It's… too late. They're here."
Bradley dropped to his knees weakly and started grabbing his own arms as he trembled.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
It was then that Steve finally sensed something off.
The room was growing darker as he felt invisible entities enter the room.
They were surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of things.
"Please go away…" Bradley muttered as streams of dark black blood poured from his eyes and mouth.
The entities started to close in on them.
Steve couldn't fully see these things, mostly just distortions in the surroundings but based on the reaction, he figured that Bradley could clearly see them.
So Steve used one of his heroic skills to connect their vision, allowing him to see what Bradley sees.
"…holy shit…"
It was some of the most repulsive shit he had ever seen.
The entire room looked like it was made of living breathing flesh.
The walls and floor pulsated as limbs and arms reached out grabbing for any living being.
And then there were the undeads.
They looked exactly like the dismantled corpses he had seen in the basement, except now they were alive.
And these undead ghost things were crawling all over Bradley's body trying to enter him.
They were even trying to touch Steve as well…
He had seen enough.
Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before releasing a small portion of the heroic energy in body causing the entire house to light up.
He abruptly grabbed Bradley by the neck and poured holy energy into him, causing him to shine like a light bulb as torment screams started to escape his body.
It was not Bradley's screams, but the screams of the damned being vanquished by Steve's overwhelming power.
The flesh trembled under every step Steve took and the undeads disintegrated from his mere presence.
Steve was simply too divine for them to exist.
At this point, Steve's entire body was radiating like the sun, banishing the darkness and evil.
It was night but his presence made the entire town bright as day.
People were starting to wake up from all the light and commotion.
Steve turned off his energy before quickly exiting the house with Bradley in his arms.
After making it back to the abandoned house, he tossed Bradley next to Lora.
"Alright, so I guess I'm kidnapping two kids then."
Lora, who just witnessed this, was confused and wide eyed.
"B-Bradley…?!"
She quickly shook his shoulder to wake him up.
"Lora? What's… where…"
Bradley grabbed his head and sat up, only to be met with Steve's face staring back seriously.
"Bradley, you got a lot of shit to explain."
"Explain…?"
"I know you're disoriented so I'll start simple. What the fuck did I see five minutes ago. Ghosts? Undeads? A mix of both?"
Bradley's eyes slightly trembled as he clutched his head.
"They're… they're my dad's victims."
"Right. Onto the next question, your dad. I saw what was down in the basement. He's a serial killer, isn't he?"
Bradley weakly nodded in response.
Steve grabbed a water bottle and handed it to him.
"You seem thirsty. Drink."
"Thanks…"
His mouth was dry so he gulped it all down.
After he was done, Steve spoke up again.
"Well, I could keep asking questions, but instead, I'll let you do the explaining. Tell me your story."
"...oh. Ok…"
Bradley took a moment to gather his thoughts and figure out how to say everything.
"My dad. He didn't always used to be like this, but I caused him to change."
He looked back up at Steve, waiting for him to respond.
"Go on, I won't interrupt you."
"Ah, okay…"
Bradley closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing.
"Well, I guess it started when my mom died. It happened when I was very young. After giving birth to me, she became very ill. Eventually, she passed away. My dad didn't take it too well. Honestly, neither did I. I… loved my mom. I remember crying for days when she was gone, I didn't leave my house and just holed up in my room. I think my reaction made things even worse for my dad.
He believed that a child needs a mother in order to grow up happily and healthily. My dad, he loves me. A lot. So he was willing to go the extra mile, even doing things he would never do. He resorted to necromancy. He wanted to bring my mother back. For me. And the worst part is that it worked. He managed to create something that resembled my mother using the flesh of others. At the time, I was young, so I didn't know it was… an imposter. I was overjoyed that my mom came back.
My dad saw how happy I was… and that must've been the moment when he fully committed to this. His necromancy mother didn't last forever, it eventually rotted and broke down. He needed more bodies to maintain it. So he kept getting more. Eventually, I stumbled into the basement by accident… and saw everything. I remember being shocked. That's probably an understatement. I remember wetting my pants and being so paralysed in fear, that it took several minutes for my dad to realize I was down there and came to rescue me. He told me to forget everything I saw down there.
Obviously, I couldn't. It's forever etched into my memory… and then I started seeing them. I'm not sure what the exact cause is, but I started seeing them. The victims. The people whose bodies and flesh were used to create my mother."
As Bradley started mentioning them, the room started to darken once more as Steve felt something enter the building.
"Wait a second Bradley. I know I said I wouldn't interrupt but I need to deal with this."
Steve stretched his arms and drew something in the air.
After doing that, all the malice that was seeping in was blasted away by a barrier that was erected around the building.
"Continue on Bradley."
"…alright. I started seeing them. At first, it was quite vague. Just like moving shadows in the corner of the room. I didn't even know what it was at first. But slowly over time, it became clearer. They become clearer. More vivid. More real. Eventually, I could see them as they were. Their body and their soul. There are thousands of them residing in my house. And the more I could see them, the more they could see me as well. They know my dad's the one who murdered them.
Many of them hate me and want to turn me into one of them. They want to either kill and turn me into them, or they want to take over me so they can live again. But a few of them don't want to see me share their fate. Some of them became my friends, staying by my side and watching over me, alerting me of danger. They can also help with things I ask then, like spying on you or getting information.
But regardless of whether they're friendly or not, they all despise my father. At the same time, they're afraid of him. He was the one who killed them so they want to kill him as well, but they're also terrified of simply seeing him. They can't even go near my dad, which ironically, means I'm safe as long as my dad is nearby. When he's not around, I usually rely on the friendly ones to keep me safe. But they only help me though, they'll let anyone else die. One time a delivery man came to our house when my dad wasn't home… and he was ripped apart. I was scared that they would do that to you…"
Bradley had spilled everything he had been hiding.
He felt like his insides were turning inside out, he was terrified of how Steve would respond and react.
Would Steve be disgusted by him?
Would he sympathize?
But Steve's response was not an answer, it was a question.
"Did you ever tell your dad about what you see? Ever try to stop him?"
"…no."
"Why not."
"I don't know. I think it's partially because I'm scared… of him. And everything."
Bradley paused to think.
Even he wasn't sure why he didn't try to stop his dad.
He knew his dad loved him and would never hurt him, no matter what.
There was no real reason for him to be scared of his dad.
Yet there was just something that terrified him, just the mere thought of confronting his dad terrified him.
He didn't know why, but it was hard to put into words.
It was just this heavy feeling that coils around him and stops him from ever doing anything.
"I'm responsible for causing my dad to become this way. He's become a horrible person because of me... so I've always known I had to be the one to stop him, but I don't know why I physically can't do it. What would even happen if I did try it? What would I do after? What would my dad do? What would… they do? I just kept hesitating and then it never happened."
Bradley looked down and went quiet again.
No matter how long he thought, he couldn't come up with a good excuse to why he didn't prevent this from happening.
And Steve did not continue asking more questions.
Steve understood pretty much everything that was going on.
"What… what do you plan on doing with us?"
"I don't know. I'll figure that out tonight."
After answering, Steve went silent and continued watching over the kidnapped kids.
They were nervous so they didn't say anything either, resulting in the room being dead silent with a suffocating atmosphere.
Steve didn't like the heavy feeling that was in the room and stood up, breaking the silence.
"I haven't eaten all day; I'm going to go out and get myself some food. You two hungry? I'll get you some too."
Bradley and Lora stared down at their stomachs and realized they had not had proper meals today.
"Some food would be nice…"
"Yes please…"
"Alright, I'll get you guys some."
Steve headed for the door and said one final thing before leaving.
"Oh, and don't bother trying to escape. No one can enter or leave this barrier beside me… and maybe Pethnor, since he's strong enough to break through it."
Bradley and Lora had no idea who Pethnor was, but they understood the message.
Once Steve left, Lora turned to Bradley.
"That's the first time you ever told your story…"
"You already have it rough Lora, I didn't want to make you worry for me on top of it."
"I already knew."
"…you did?"
"Yeah… I asked Sir Monster to… spy on you, so I already knew most of your story. But I never knew the part about your mom, and how you felt…"
"That's funny, because I've been using the friendly undeads to keep an eye on you…"
Bradley and Lora couldn't help but softly smile.
They were like a messed-up match made in hell.
"What do you think is going to happen to us now Bradley?"
"I don't know, but I think it'll be for the better. Steve seems like a good guy, I trust him."
"…"
"You thinking?"
"Yeah… I feel like I recognize him, Steve I mean."
"You know him?"
"No. I don't think I've ever seen him… but I feel like I have. It's a blur, but I remember his face, he looked different, but similar."
"Maybe you met him when you were very young?"
"It's not that either. I was in a completely different place. When I look at him… it hurts."
"Hurts? Did he hurt you?"
Lora shook her head again.
"I remember feeling pain, but he was being hurt as well. I think there was something going on, and a lot of people were getting hurt."
She closed her eyes and saw fuzzy figures of multiple people.
They were bloodied and ran towards a massive glowing ball of light in the center.
She was one of those figures.
Steve was another one of those figures.
What were these memories?
Were they just a figment of her imagination?
All of a sudden, the boogeyman who had been quiet this entire time spoke up.
"T h o s e m e m o r i e s a r e r e a l."
"Do you know something Sir Monster?"
It did not respond.
Lora sighed.
"Why won't you ever tell me anything."
"What even is Sir Monster? You don't talk about it much."
"Sir Monster is… my friend. He makes me hurt less. I was very small when I met him, and he was small too. He was small enough to fit in my hand. I was hiding under my bed from my daddy, and he was next to me there, just looking at me. I don't know why but I grabbed him and just held on to him. And then after that, he kept staying by my side. At night, he would watch over me, making me feel safe. When daddy is around, he hides in my clothes and protects me when I get hit. Now he's big and ugly, but he's still my friend."
"Sounds like you don't know much about it either then."
"I never asked. I didn't need to. It doesn't matter what he is. To me, he is just Sir Monster. He's my friend. Just like you."
Bradley smiled at her words.
She really was one of the few joys he had left in his life.
The two of them kept talking until eventually Steve returned.
However, he was empty handed.
"Were you unable to get any food Steve?"
"Nah, it's just in my inventory. Give me a sec, I'll grab it."
Steve extended his hand forward, and suddenly his arm disappeared!
But then as he retracted his hand, his arm reappeared… and he was holding a ton of food!
He sat down in front of the kids and laid out the food all over the floor.
There was a lot of food.
"I didn't know what you guys wanted, so I got everything. Eat as much as you want."
Chicken, sandwiches, noodles, bread, pork, steak, meats, vegetables, deserts, fruits… and a lot of beer and alcohol.
"I wasn't going to drink, but I think I need one to deal with this shit."
Steve grabbed a bottle and popped it open before chugging it down.
When he put it down, he noticed Lora staring at her.
She was slightly hiding behind Bradley as if she was scared.
"What's wrong? Are you not going to eat?"
"You're not going to hit me, are you?"
"Why would I do that?"
Lora pointed to the beer bottle.
Then it clicked in Steve's head.
Whenever her father drank and got drunk, he would become violent.
She must've ended up associating alcohol with abuse.
"Don't worry. This isn't some angry juice or anything, it just causes people to become stupider. Not everyone who drinks it will hit you though."
Lora didn't seem to believe him.
"How about this. Why don't you drink some? Just to show you it's just a drink."
"You're gonna let Lora drink alcohol? She's underage."
Bradley interrupted after hearing the suggestion.
Steve turned over and stared at Bradley.
"You're shitting me. This city has no age of consent, but it has minimal legal drinking age? Ya know what, I don't fucking care. I won't force you to drink it if you don't want to, but it can't hurt to try."
Steve handed two bottles over to them.
He knew it was irresponsible of him as an adult to be allowing them to do this, but after everything that happened, he didn't care anymore.
"It's up to you."
Bradley and Lora looked at each other.
Considering most of the things happening in their lives, drinking alcohol underage is nowhere near the worst.
They grabbed the bottle and they both took a sip.
Bradley's reaction was, "Ew… that tasted disgusting."
Lora's reaction was, "That… wasn't as bad as I thought. It's kind of… nice."
Steve raised an eyebrow.
"Wow, I thought if one of you were to like it, it'd be Bradley."
"I don't know… it just feels kind of nice."
Lora took another small sip of the alcohol.
Bradley on the other hand was baffled.
"How do you like this? It tastes like an expired soda… and burns my throat!"
"Well, that's not surprising. I wouldn't expect most kids to enjoy it. It's something that grows on you over time, and maybe you'll appreciate it once you grow up."
"Maybe I just don't like this specific flavor, give me another one!"
Steve chuckled and handed him another one.
"So how is it?"
"Hm… this one's a lil better. I'm still not a fan though."
"I got lots more different types if you wanna try more. And you too Lora, eat and drink whatever you want. We got lots."
Steve said as he pulled out more food and beer from his inventory.
He bought a ton, thinking to himself that since food doesn't rot or expire in his inventory, he could stock up for the future.
But if they want to eat and drink more, he wouldn't mind bringing it all out.
"So what do you think now that you've tried alcohol, Lora? Do you feel like you're going to become violent and start hitting people?"
Lora slowly shook her head.
"No… I feel kind of floaty… mhnmm… it's almost relaxing…"
She took another sip of the alcohol.
Her face was already flushed and despite sitting down, she was slightly wobbly.
"I did say drink as much as you want but might want to put down the bottle now. I mean, we got food as well. So don't forget to eat as well."
Steve grabbed a meaty chicken thigh and passed it over to them, before he grabbed his own and started munching on it.
He didn't bother eating neatly and got grease all over his face.
Seeing this, Lora and Bradley loosened up a little, getting more comfortable and started eating as well.
"It's… yummy." Lora muttered to herself quietly.
Steve grinned.
"It sure fucking is! It ain't no five-star gourmet meal, but it's delicious. Nothing beats unhealthy, greasy, junk food! I used to get so sick and tired of eating those high-class foods like A5 steak and lobster and whatever, going out for some junk food like this always hits the spot!"
Steve chugged down some alcohol to wash down the food.
"You're rich Steve?"
Bradley asked as he stuffed his mouth with a burger.
"Used to be. Not anymore. Instead, all I have now is the power to destroy the planet."
"You're that strong?"
"I'm like the second strongest person I know, tied with this nasty demon guy who happens to be my friend."
"You're friends with a demon?! Aren't you a holy man, Steve? Or like a priest or something? How can you be friends with a demon?"
"A priest? What makes you think I'm one of those pricks?"
"Well, the friendly ones told me that there's a bright holy energy around you that hurts them."
"I guess I'm something along those lines then."
Steve just gave some vague answer, since he was too lazy to explain.
But suddenly, Lora asked something that snapped him to attention.
"Steve, are you a hero?"
"Lora! You remember?!"
The sudden enthusiasm in Steve's voice startled Lora.
"Um… no. It was just a guess."
"Dang, got my hopes up for nothing."
"I'm sorry…"
Seeing Steve get disappointed, Lora looked down in shame.
"You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. If anything, it's that damn mage's fault, he brought us all back and then he just up and died after! Man caused half this mess and just dipped! What an asshole."
As Steve was fuming, Bradley asked his own question.
"Steve, if you don't mind, could you tell us about who you are? Because clearly you came here to find Lora for a reason, and there's something going on we don't know…"
"No point in hiding it. I'm from the future. I'm the hero. One of the heroes. Lora over there is also a hero. Another one of the heroes used some spell to turn back time and only some of us kept our memories. I'm trying to gather all the good heroes to stop the world from dying. That's basically it."
Bradley and Lora just stared in disbelief.
"Yeah, it's hard to believe. You don't have to believe it if you don't want to, but it's true."
"I… I believe you… I've been having these weird fuzzy pictures showing up in my head, and… hearing you say that, makes those fuzzy pictures less fuzzy." Lora said in response.
"Fuzzy pictures, huh? I can't tell if that's you being drunk, or if there's a chance of you regaining your memories. Let's hope it's the latter."
Steve sighed and stared at the pile of food in front of them.
"Whatever, we can figure out your memories another time. I'm not in the mood to think too hard right now. I know it's been quite… stressful these past couple days, especially for you two. So let's just unwind. Eat and drink! No worrying allowed!"
They continued eating.
However, it was a little awkward as the only noise in the room was munching.
"You guys wanna play some cards?"
Steve suggested out of the blue.
"Cards?"
"Yeah, we can play black jack or poker, or whatever card game this world has."
"Um… I don't know how to play any card games… I've never played cards."
"Then it's a good time to learn and kill some time."
Steve reached his hand into his inventory again.
He rummaged around the inventory a bit before pulling out a giant pickaxe.
"Nope, not what I'm looking for."
He tossed it away before reaching into the inventory again.
This time, he pulled out a shield.
He tossed it away.
Then a chest plate.
Tossed away.
A rainbow-colored potion that seemed to distort the space around it.
Not it, off it goes.
An Excalibur.
Nope.
Severed head of a dragon.
Into the trash it goes.
"Nope. Not this. Not this. Where'd I fucking put it? Should be somewhere around here… ah! Here it is!"
Finally, he pulled out a deck of cards.
"Alright, let's play."
Steve shuffled the deck of cards and passed the cards around to each of them.
Once he did that, he turned his head over to look at the corner where the boogeyman was sitting.
"Yo, boogeyman. Come join us. It's more fun with more people."
The boogeyman did not move.
Steve turned to Lora.
"Hey, why don't you convince your friend to join us. More players are always fun."
"Huh? Oh… um, Sir Monster? We've been together for a long time and… we've never played together. So if… if you don't mind, I'd… like for you to join us."
For a moment, the boogeyman did not move, but after a moment, it disappeared and then suddenly reappeared next to Lora.
"Hell yeah! That's more like it! Also, we got lots of food left so take any if you want."
Steve pulled out several more cards and dealt it to the boogeyman.
As this was happening, Lora stared down at her own deck.
She had seen people play cards before so she recognized the symbols on them, but she didn't know what any of them were, much less know how to play herself.
Bradley leaned over to her.
"See that heart arrow thing? That's a spade. That card is a 7 of spades."
Lora nodded eagerly.
As the game went on, she slowly learned how to play better.
The more she played, the more unusual she felt.
It was a feeling she had felt before, but it was so infrequent that she didn't recognize it.
She looked over to Bradley, then Steve, then at Sir Monster, before looking back down at her cards.
In her hands were four cards.
She had 4 cards of fours.
"…ehehe…"
Lora giggled.
She didn't know why but it was so funny.
She had four cards of 4s!
"Hahaha!"
Four 4s!
She laughed so hard she teared up and her face turned even redder than it already was.
Bradley stared at her with wide eyes and an open jaw.
This was the first time he had seen her smile, much less laugh like this!
Steve chuckled along with her.
"Seems like she drank too much! Looks like she's having fun though, so it's all fine."
Lora's giggles slowed down hearing this.
…fun…
Yes.
She finally remembered what this feeling was.
Fun.
Lora was having fun.
It was so long since she had this much fun, she forgot how it felt like.
On her turn, she slammed her card down before grabbing another bottle and chugging it down.
"Hey, don't you think you might be drinking a lil too much…?"
"Don't worry Bradley… I'm… I'm fine. I'm just… a bit excited… I can keep playing, who's turn is it?"
The boogeyman waved its hand and slowly placed down its card to finish its turn.
They continue playing for hours, all of them winning and losing several matches.
During this time, they seemed to have forgotten all about the events hours prior and just immersed themselves in the moment.
They enjoyed themselves.
But eventually, they grew exhausted.
It was way late into the night, and it was a very tiring day.
By the time they were done, the entire room was a mess.
Half eaten food splattered everywhere, dozens of empty beer bottles and junk laid out everywhere.
Despite this, Steve, Bradley, Lora and boogeyman all laid on the floor, stuffed to the brim with food and drinks, staring up at the ceiling.
They all felt strangely satisfied.
"Hey, want to see the stars?"
Steve asked, but he didn't wait for a reply.
He flicked his wrist and the roof exploded outwards, revealing the starry night sky.
Together, they just laid there in silence, watching the stars.
It was a calmness and tranquility that they did not expect to be experiencing considering what they had gone through today.
Several minutes in, Lora broke the silence with a question.
"Hey Steve, can I ask something?"
"Go ahead."
"Is… is my daddy's love not normal?"
"No. It's not… well, it's not exactly uncommon though. Doesn't make it any less scummy."
"…"
Lora went silent.
She had a lot to think about.
She had thought that almost everything her dad did was normal.
How he spoke to her.
How he treated her.
How he hit her.
How he touched her.
She knew that her dad was a little strict compared to most because he's a former knight's captain, but she always believed that it was because he loved her.
After all, many people knew about how her dad treated her and yet no one said anything.
So it must be normal, right?
It seems that was not the case.
Lora was slowly starting to finally see that.
She was not the only one reflecting on their situation however, Bradley too was also thinking about him and his father.
He knew that his situation was not normal.
Because of his hesitation, countless people have died.
He may not be the one directly harming people, but he is every bit responsible for it as his dad.
He knew he had to do something about it.
Several hours passed as they were deep in thought.
Eventually, Bradley sat up and glanced at Steve, who was still lying on the ground, his belly rising and falling with each snore.
"Now's the best time to leave."
Bradley said as Lora also sat up.
"Yeah…"
They got up and slowly headed for the door.
As they got closer though, a voice behind them suddenly called out.
"Whatever you two decide to do, I'll accept it."
Lora and Bradley looked back over at Steve, who's eyes were still closed but his mouth was not.
"I know you're both kids, but I've decided you're mature enough to make this decision on your own. If you both decided to keep things how they are, I'll respect your decision and leave. I trust you'll make the right choice. Good luck."
And then Steve went silent again, presumably asleep.
Lora and Bradley looked at each other for a moment, before nodding and leaving to head back home.
Despite the fact they're about to make the most important decision in their lives, they felt weirdly calm unlike they've ever felt before.
Maybe it was the alcohol in their system.
As they neared their houses, they saw lots of guards and soldiers gathered around and there seemed to be some sort of commotion.
Lora and Bradley looked at each other one final time before nodding and splitting up, heading back to their own homes.
From here, their perspectives separate.
Let's start with Bradley, shall we.
Despite the dozens of guards patrolling around, Bradley managed to sneakily slip by all of them and enter his house.
His father wasn't home, so it was dark and quiet.
At least, for a moment before they started to come back.
The friendly ones showed up first, warning Bradley of the danger.
But Bradley shook his head.
"Thank you, but no. I'm not going to hide. I need to do this myself, if I don't, nothing will change."
He could feel the malice slowly returning.
Hundreds of them were once again entering the house.
As this happened, Bradley walked to his kitchen and grabbed a knife.
He stared at it and twirled it in his hand.
By now, they had gotten close to him, completely surrounding him and almost within reaching distance…
THUNK!
Bradley abruptly stabbed his knife in the table.
"Touch me, and you'll die a second time."
They froze upon hearing the coldness in his voice.
"Don't forget who I'm the son of."
They began trembling at the mere reminder of his father.
"Now you're scared, huh? Just because I brought up my dad? Well, go ahead and try taking my body, and I'll show you I can be just as scary as him."
Bradley dragged the knife along the table, scraping off chunks of wood, causing them to flinch and back away.
He realized now that he was the one in control, not them.
He had no reason to fear them, while they had all the reason to fear him.
"I'll grant you your wish for revenge. I swear my life upon it. So back off."
As Bradley walked out of the kitchen, they parted ways for him and allowed him through.
He sat down on a chair and waited.
A bit of time passed, but eventually the front door opened and his father returned.
"Bradley…!? Oh my god! You're back!"
Upon seeing him, his father rushed over and gave him a big hug.
"Where were you?! You disappeared for hours! You know that there have been a lot of kidnappings and missing cases lately, I was so worried something happened to you…"
"Dad. You're the one responsible for all the kidnappings and missing cases."
His father blinked for a second, before completely ignoring that statement.
"At least tell me before you leave. You know how worried I get for you… I don't know what I'd do if I lost you too."
Bradley's father's arms slowly retracted as he took a step back.
"I ordered every single available soldier and guard to look for you. You've caused a lot of trouble today young man! But I'll forgive you since you're safe. Stay here Bradley, and don't move! I'm serious, don't go missing again! I'm going to go out and tell everyone that you're safe now."
As he turned around to leave, Bradley grabbed his father's arm and stopped him.
"Bradley…?"
"Dad… We need to talk."
"Okay? Is something wrong?"
"…y-yes."
The moment he spoke, he felt his mind suddenly go blank.
His mouth dried up and his heart pounded in his chest.
He felt so confident in being able to finally confront him, but now that his father was right in front of him, he felt it all crumble.
It was so much easier to deal with ghosts, or undeads, then it was to deal with his father.
But Bradley had already come this far, he couldn't stop now.
His father must be stopped.
Bradley forced the words to come out of his mouth.
"Dad, I… you…!"
It was at that moment that suddenly his father softly put his hand on Bradley's shoulder.
"Son. I will always be here for you. If you're not ready to say what you want to say… it's okay. You always have tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that."
Bradley just looked up at the soft smile on his dad's face.
There was not an ounce of malice in that smile.
Only compassion and love for his only son.
The same one that Bradley had seen all his life, even before his mother passed away.
"…"
And then Bradley stabbed the knife into his father's chest.
"Bradley…?"
"I'm sorry dad."
His father staggered back, removing his hand from Bradley's shoulder and moved it to the knife embedded inside of him.
"This is… I'm bleeding."
His eyes widened as he said this.
He could feel the pain and heat spreading through his body.
"I'm sorry I turned you into a murderer, dad. I'm sorry I didn't stop you sooner."
Bradley's dad grabbed the knife and slowly pulled it out, squirting blood onto the ground while doing so.
He let out a grunt, suppressing the pain he felt before looking back at his son.
"I should've told you sooner. The people you've killed, I can see them. For a long time now."
The room grew darker as Bradley said this.
They were coming back.
They were always afraid of his father, but now that he was injured and bleeding, it showed that he too was killable.
"I don't know if you can see them, but surely you can feel them… right? They're the people who you killed…. for my sake. And their hatred caused them to remain in this house. They want to hurt you the same way you did to them."
Bradley felt a whirlpool of emotions.
He felt something about to explode inside of him, something threatening to pour out.
But he suppressed it.
He knew that if he were to let it spill out, he wouldn't be able to finish this.
"Dad, you're a horrible person. You've killed dozens, maybe hundreds of people. You're about to get what you deserve."
Bradley's voice shook as he spoke.
Every word that left his mouth felt heavy on himself.
He knew that he was equally as guilty as his dad.
Regardless, this was something he had to do.
"I won't be the one giving you your punishment, they will."
They started appearing in the room one by one.
Standing bodies and corpses inched closer and closer.
Limbs drooped from the ceiling and arms reached out from the ground.
His father had nowhere to go, nowhere to escape.
They grabbed at him from all angles.
They did not intend to give him any mercy. Not for all the crimes and atrocities he's committed.
"Dad, thank you for loving me… but please die."
Nails and bones stabbed into his skin and flesh, drenching him in blood.
And in this moment, Bradley's father looked up at him, and just… smiled.
It was the same soft loving smile that Bradley had seen his entire life.
Bradley flinched.
"I'm so happy you grew up to be a good person."
He wanted to move and hug his son, but the arms that were grabbing him stopped him from moving.
Tears just gently poured from his eyes.
His eyes wandered behind Bradley as he stared at something.
His smile grew wider upon seeing whatever he saw.
Then he looked back at Bradley.
"No matter where you do go, or what you do, just know that both your mother and I will always be watching over you."
Then he was ripped limb from limb.
He did not resist, for even he knew this pain was only a fraction of what he had inflicted to others.
But even until his final moment, enduring horrific pain, his smile never left his face.
"I love you son."
Those were his final words.
Bradley looked upwards, allowing the blood pouring from the ceiling to cover his face.
This gave him an excuse to wipe his eyes.
It wasn't over yet though.
"I have given you your long-awaited revenge. All of you belong to me now. You will not harm another soul and you will not do anything without my permission. Understood?"
They all turned their heads and looked over at Bradley.
Most of them didn't move, but a few seemed to scream in defiance.
Bradley walked over to those who didn't obey and grabbed their heads.
"You will listen. This is an order."
It stopped screaming and just trembled upon the pressure.
"Good. Keep behaving and I won't re-enact what my dad did to you while you were alive."
They seemed to understand as they backed away and dispersed.
They had accepted him as their new master, for he had killed the one who killed them.
Thus was Bradley's conclusion.
This leaves us with Lora.
Unlike Bradley, Lora just walked home normally.
One of the guards who had been patrolling, noticed her and rushed over to her.
"Lora?! Is that you??"
"Oh hello sir. Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? Yes! You've been missing for hours! Where have you been!?"
"I was… lost. I went to go play outside to play earlier, but then it got so dark, I couldn't find my way home. I'm sorry…"
Lora didn't want to tell the truth about Steve, so she just quickly made up a lie on the spot.
"Well, your parents have been worried sick about you!"
Lora looked down and thought to herself, 'Worried sick? They would worry for me if they loved me, right?'
"Well, let's get you home alright?"
The guard walked Lora home to her house.
When they arrived, he knocked on the front door and a few moments later, Sir Joseph answered.
He was bandaged up from his injuries that Steve had inflicted on him before.
"…what is it?"
From the way his words slurred, it was clear that he was drunk again.
He stared at the guard before looking down and seeing his daughter standing there as well.
"Oh, this lil fuck…"
Joseph grabbed Lora's arm and roughly yanked her towards him.
"Now where the fuck have you been?!?"
"D-daddy, I'm sorry. I wandered out and got lost."
Joseph slapped Lora right across the face, knocking her onto the ground.
The guard tensed up awkwardly seeing this, unsure of what to do.
"What? You going to keep staring? Go away."
Sir Joseph barked out angrily before dragging Lora back inside and slamming the door behind him.
When fully inside, he chucked Lora's body into the living room.
"…L-Lora??"
Lora's mom had come out of the kitchen to check on the commotion.
She was about to step forward when she saw Joseph.
She froze for a moment, before shakily looking down and silently retreated back into the kitchen.
Joseph furiously stomped his way to Lora's body.
"Now you come crawling back home huh?! You know how god damn embarrassing it is to tell a dozen guards that my daughter just up and disappeared?!?"
He started stomping his dirty foot into Lora's body.
"Daddy… stop, it hurts…"
"No shit it hurts! Maybe a little pain will cure your stupidity!"
"Please… if you love me, please stop!"
"ARE YOU TRYING TO GUILT TRIP ME?!"
He used his body's entire weight to swing his foot and kick Lora's head like a soccer ball.
She was sent flying into a wall, blood dripping from her head as her vision blurred.
Despite this, Lora's mind was clear.
It didn't even hurt all that much for some reason.
Her body trembled as she forced her body to stand up.
It was the first time she ever stood up during a beating.
She knew it was better to be on the ground when she was being hit, it was better that way.
Yet for some reason, she stood up.
"Daddy… on the nights where you come to my room and sleep with me, you tell me you love me. Is… is that a lie?"
She needed to know.
Did her daddy actually love her?
Or…
"Haaaaa? Love you?"
Joseph actually stopped for a moment to think.
"Bahahahaha! Hilarious. Yeah sure, I love you, I love you the same way I love alcohol and whores! Keep being usable, and I'll keep loving ya~."
His face turned even more red than it already was as he thought of the fun he could have.
Lora felt her stomach churn inside her.
It hurt every time Joseph showed her his love.
But she always endured because she believed that this was his love.
Joseph stumbled over to Lora and grabbed her arm, attempting to drag her into the bedroom.
"Since you're so desperate for my love~."
Slap!
"…the fuck?"
Lora had slapped Joseph's hand away.
She no longer felt like she wanted her father's love anymore.
When she hung out with Bradley and Steve, she genuinely had fun.
A stranger she met for the first time treated her more kindly than her father ever did.
She didn't understand what love was, but if love meant continuing this life, she didn't want it.
Her hands started to move without even realizing it.
Lora lightly pressed her finger against some of her spilled blood on the floor and slowly traced it across the floor around her.
"The heeell are you doing?! You're dirtying the floor!"
Joseph tried grabbing Lora again, but for some reason, he couldn't move.
Something was restraining him.
He couldn't see it, but there were arms that extended from his shadows that were grabbing onto him.
Lora continued spreading her blood across the floor.
Eventually, she had drawn a whole circle around her using her own blood.
She didn't know exactly what she was doing, it was something she just instinctively did.
Almost as if she had done it before.
She started to fill in the circle, with herself as in the center.
She drew stars, triangles and various other strange symbols she had never seen before.
Until suddenly, her finger finally stopped moving.
She was done drawing.
She stared down at her creation.
It somehow felt familiar to her.
Drawing it felt as natural as breathing to her.
She grabbed her head with her hand, gathering a lot of blood onto her palms and pressed it down onto the very center of the circle.
She closed her eyes and felt a flow of energy gather.
The circle started to glow.
Using her blood to draw a summoning circle, and her own body as the catalyst, she performed a summoning for the first time in this timeline.
It was at that moment, Lora collapsed onto the ground.
She immediately went limp, and then silence.
Joseph was suddenly no longer restrained.
Seeing his daughter suddenly collapse, he crouched down and touched her face.
It felt cold to his skin.
But what startled him even more was… she wasn't breathing.
Her heart had stopped.
"G-god!"
Joseph fell backwards onto his butt.
"She's dead."
He quickly scrambled up and shouted out.
"BITCH! Come here! We have to hide this body!"
Lora's mother scrambled to his side upon his command.
Her eyes widened.
"My… my daughter…"
"This is a god damn mess! Help me clean this up, I'll throw the body into the trash can."
"L-Lora… oh… oh my god… she's…."
"What? It's not like you loved her. Fuck, if she had to die, she should've jumped in a river or something!"
She just kept crying and trembling.
Neither of them noticed Lora's body subtly shaking at first.
It was only until Lora's entire body was practically convulsing that they finally turned to look at her.
A black smoke started rising from her body.
"Uhhh, are you seeing this too bitch? Or am I just too drunk?"
At that moment, Lora's mouth tore open as a giant black hand shot out from it, blasting a hole into the ceiling.
Almost like she was just a mere costume, an abyssal entity started crawling out from her body.
"Uhhhhh, what in god's name…"
The entity began spreading its long limbs around the house.
Limbs might not be the right word; it was more like a formless liquid in the shape of limbs.
A large smile formed on its massive body.
Then, it opened its eyes.
It's many many eyes.
An uncountable number of eyes began gazing down upon the mortals.
Oh, how it had longed for this day to come.
Lora had summoned the boogeyman's true form.
And she gave it only one command, "do whatever you want to anyone here who doesn't love me."
For the first time, the boogeyman was given full control.
A wicked grin.
Joseph tried to scream, but the moment he did, his mouth twisted into a spiral, sealing it shut and stopped him from making any noise.
He stumbled backwards until he crashed into a table.
One step.
The boogeyman slowly crawled forward.
Two steps.
Joseph was backed up into a corner.
He couldn't go anywhere.
Three steps.
Every time the boogeyman moved, the sound of cracking could be heard… despite it not having any bones.
Joseph found a knife that had been on the table and he raised it up.
He was the former knight's captain!
An aura started to form around him as he confronted the boogeyman.
Four steps.
Its wicked grin grew wider.
It loved struggle.
Five steps.
Joseph swung the knife, but as he did so, the knife spun of control and embedded itself into his arm.
He tried to scream, but nothing came out.
Six steps.
The knife in his arm started to move as if it had a mind of its own, digging itself deeper and deeper.
It crushed bone as it crawled up the inside of his arm.
Seven steps.
The boogeyman's limbs had engulfed the entire house.
The house was now a living breathing entity.
Eight steps.
This step count is meaningless as the boogeyman was present everywhere in the house.
It could easily at any moment kill anything within it.
Nine steps.
It stood right before Joseph.
It's grin, which was already wide enough to span across the entire room, grew wider as each cheek stretched outside both ends of the house.
Suddenly, the boogeyman remembered something.
Something that Steve had said.
"I'LL TEAR OFF THAT FUCKTARDS CHILD SIZED DICK AND SHOVE IT SO FAR UP HIS DAMN ASS HE'LL KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO DEEPTHROAT HIMSELF IN REVERSE!"
This was what Steve had said before when he was attacking Joseph.
What a wonderful idea, the boogeyman thought to itself.
And it took one more step forward.
Ten steps.
Despite having no mouth, Joseph's screams could still be heard from outside.
"That is… gruesome."
Steve muttered to himself as he watched everything from outside.
However, Steve felt no pity.
If anything, Joseph was more of a monster than the boogeyman.
After some brief shaking, the entire house collapsed.
Steve sat in silence for a couple more seconds to confirm that nothing more was happening before he jumped up and started walking towards the wreckage.
He was going to retrieve Lora.
To his surprise, he saw something he didn't expect.
Underneath the rubble was Lora being held in her mother's arms.
Both of them were still alive.
The command Lora gave the boogeyman was "do whatever you want to anyone here who doesn't love me."
Considering she was still alive, it likely meant that Lora's mother had a minuscule amount of love for Lora.
However, she let her daughter get abused all this time, clearly knowing what that bastard was doing to Lora.
Steve grabbed Lora from her mother's arms and lifted her into his own arms.
He turned away, leaving Lora's mother under the rubble.
He did not intend on saving Lora's mother, because he felt nothing for her.
He did not pity her, nor did he feel anger towards her.
This is because technically, Lora's mother didn't do anything wrong.
She too had been a victim to her husband.
However, she allowed Lora to be abused.
She knew what that bastard was doing to her, and she let it happen.
Although obviously not to the same extent as her husband, she too shared some blame for Lora's suffering.
However, Steve knew he wasn't the one to judge her for her crimes.
So he decided to let fate do its thing.
If she survives, she'll likely live in guilt and trauma, but if she dies… her suffering will end.
As Steve started walking away, he heard whimpering behind him.
"…kill… it…"
"Hm?"
Steve turned around to see Lora's mother had regained consciousness.
She weakly raised her finger and pointed at the child in Steve's arms.
"…it summoned… a devil…! A… a monster… it's… a monster! Kill… kill it…!"
"…"
Steve had misunderstood.
Lora's mother wasn't trying to protect Lora, she was trying to kill Lora but got knocked unconscious due to the collapsing house.
"I gave birth… to a demon… I… I have to end its life…!"
Hearing this, something snapped inside Steve's mind.
Steve walked over to Lora's mother and loomed over her.
Steve raised his foot… and abruptly stomped it downwards onto her head, immediately crushing her skull and ending her life.
Her blood splattered everything, dirtying his pants.
Steve panted heavily.
He was not physically tired, but his conscious was.
"Fuck…"
Steve groaned as he turned away, leaving the crushed body behind.
"I fucked up. Even after I firmly made my decision to not get involved and let fate do its thing… fuck. Why do I keep doing this. Pethnor was right, I really can't control myself."
With a grim face, he carried Lora away to safety before any guards and soldiers arrived to investigate what happened.
He laid Lora down in a park nearby.
As it was still very early in the morning and the sun still hasn't fully risen yet, the park was empty.
Except for Bradley who was waiting for them.
"Hey. Did Lora settle everything on her end?"
"Yeah. I see you did as well."
Steve said as he rested Lora's body on a tree next to Bradley.
Soon, Lora's eyes began to flutter open as she immediately saw Bradley looking down at her.
She took a second to gather her memories before sitting up.
"…both our parents are dead?"
Bradley nodded.
Her body was still wobbly and weak, but she mustered enough strength to stand up on her own.
"So I guess now we're both… criminals now. Since we killed our parents."
"Yeah. I suppose so. I bet they'll put wanted posters of us and try to capture us."
Bradley let out a chuckle at the thought of living a fugitive's life.
Steve interrupted their conversation.
"No. You guys did nothing wrong. I'll make sure of it."
Neither Lora nor Bradley knew what he meant by that, but what happened next was definitely not what they expected.
Steve raised his hand and pointed his finger forward towards their neighborhood.
At that moment a white energy flowed out of Steve's body.
KRA-BOOOM!
A deafeningly loud thunder sound blasted through the entire region as a massive hole tore open in the sky.
The hole grew wider and wider, parting the clouds as a surge of energy crackled around it.
Steve flicked his finger down.
And then a blinding light illuminated the world.
Two pillars of divine white energy shot down from the sky, piercing the ground.
It lasted no more than a second before dispersing and leaving a gaping hole where Lora and Bradley's houses used to be.
Steve had condensed the energy in the pillars so it would only affect the targeted area, and nothing around it so the surrounding area remained untouched.
"As far as the world is concerned, you two are dead. Both of your families have been punished by the gods in heaven."
Both Bradley and Lora stared wide eyed.
They had believed Steve when he said he was the hero before, but they still had some lingering doubts.
This removed all those doubts.
No one other than a hero could display such power, especially of such divinity.
Steve did it so casually too, and he seemed unimpressed by the power he just displayed.
He didn't even bring up the fact he did that and just immediately changed topics.
"It'd be best if we leave as soon as possible. Don't want anyone spotting you two."
Bradley and Lora nodded as their reality was slowly setting in.
They were leaving everything they had known behind.
What happened today was irreversible.
"So, if you two have nowhere to go, why not come with me? Even though I only came here for Lora, I wouldn't mind taking you as well Bradley." Steve offered.
Although Lora had already made her decision to go with Steve, Bradley had other intentions.
"Um, actually… I planned on going on a journey by myself."
Lora turned over to him in surprise.
"Bradley, you're not coming with me?"
Bradley looked back at her and shook his head.
"Unlike you, I'm not completely innocent. I wanted to explore this world and help people to atone for everything. I've managed to tame the undeads, so I think I can do good with them. I'll be like a necromancer, but just in name. A good necromancer who helps people. Maybe by using the same ghosts that my dad created, to help people… I can make my dad suffer a little less in hell."
Steve understood Bradley's decision and didn't intend to force him to come along.
Lora looked sad though.
"Bradley… will I ever see you again?"
"Why wouldn't we? It's not like I'm leaving forever."
Bradley looked down and scratched his head.
"Listen, Steve said you'll become a hero in the future. So when that happens, and you become an amazing hero… I'll come find you."
As Lora nodded, some of the tears in her eyes spilled out.
"But what if I want to… see you? I'll miss you if I don't see you for that long. How will I know if you're doing fine? How will I know if you're still alive? You're just… going to leave me?"
Bradley put on a sad smile.
"I know, I'm sorry. I'd love to be with you but, I feel like this is what I need to do. I'm sorry."
Lora just trembled as she held herself back from crying.
It wasn't just sad tears though.
Lora was happy for Bradley.
She knew how much he went through, and likely how much guilt he felt.
So the fact that he's actually making this decision made her so happy for him.
"I'll be waiting for you. You better come find me… or else I'll come find you first!"
Lora declared with determination, causing Bradley to chuckle.
"That'd be great. If you become a great hero and come find me. Well to make it easier for you, I'll… hm, I'll make a name for myself. Since I'll be travelling the world, I'll probably use an alias. Since I'll be a travelling necromancer who goes around helping people, I'll call myself… uh…"
Bradley paused to think.
He wanted to come up with some kind of nickname to give himself since he didn't want to use his real name as a necromancer.
Well, he wasn't a real necromancer.
He wasn't going to go around killing things and reviving bodies, he'll only be using the undeads he currently has and his abilities to help people.
So he'd be a necromancer just in name.
"A necromancer just in name…"
Just in name…
Just. In. Name.
J.I.N.
Jin.
"Yeah… that's what I'll call myself. Jin. Necromancer Jin. Which stands for a necromancer just in name. If you ever hear of the name necromancer Jin, that'll be me. A necromancer doing good deeds."
All of a sudden, Steve grabbed Bradley's shoulder.
"S-Steve?!"
"Bradley. What'd you just say? Repeat that."
"Uh, what?"
"I need to hear what you just said again."
"A necromancer doing good deeds?"
"Before that."
"Um, if you ever hear of the name necromancer Jin, that'll be me...?"
"…"
Steve stared at Bradley's face.
Bradley found this quite uncomfortable and looked away.
"Ha… haha… hahahaha! Oh my god. Are you kidding me? Holy shit! Necromancer Jin!"
Both Lora and Bradley were confused by Steve's sudden outburst.
"Alright, Bradley, you're coming with us."
"Eh?!"
"Yep, you don't have a choice, you're coming as well."
"Even after I gave such an emotional farewell to Lora?!"
"Sorry, I didn't know you were Necromancer Jin. You're one of the heroes as well, just like a Lora is."
"A hero?! Me? Can a necromancer even become a hero???"
"Yep. Come along now. It'll be a long journey, so we got a lot of time to talk as we travel."
Steve turned around and started marching off into the distance.
Bradley sighed and shook his head.
With no other choice, he started following behind.
Lora held back a smile as she also began walking.
A part of her was glad that Bradley was coming along, even if it was against his will… but she didn't say that out loud.
The sun was rising in the distance, rays of light beaming across the far lands as the three former heroes who fought Lenier began their journey back to Pethnor's castle.
And so, Steve had been successful in not only recruiting one, but two of the former heroes.