Hood lowered, holding a lard lamp that barely illuminated the filthy alley, his other arm swatting away the swarm of insects that approached; Rargnes hiccupped, half-drunk, wandering through the dark, putrid streets filled with the stench of decay and dead rats.
With a drunken chuckle, he collapsed onto a bench and looked up at a red star that seemed ready to collide with the earth at any moment. Then, silence fell, and his mind regained a fleeting clarity. No thoughts, just a focused gaze on that single red mass cutting through the violet and white stars, its immortal magnificence mocking the men below.
He only felt like himself at night when, tired, with a good bottle. In those moments after, when all the madness of excitement drained from him, only the remnants of the wisdom he once had as a child remained.
"Is this how it's going to end?" he murmured into the alley, where he could hear the sounds of arguments from the first floor of the houses leaning haphazardly over the alley. Beyond the lamp's halo of light illuminating a small part of the alley strewn with filth on the worn cobblestones, the rest was shrouded in darkness where his imagination made him see shadows merging into the gloom with every blink.
A cold gust swept through the alley. Rargnes' clothes fluttered, but though he sensed the wind should be cold, it wasn't enough to chill him. Not anymore.
Suddenly, he felt nostalgic. It wasn't the right time—the coming days would be spent observing before the attack where his life would be at risk—and yet... an irrepressible urge overcame him, and he felt the need to cry. He could feel the tears rising, but even as he tried to force them out, his face remained clean of tears.
Slumped on the bench, his gaze shifted between everything in sight, each transforming in his current state into something more. His mouth twisted into a grimace; the place was uncomfortable, and he didn't want to leave.
"A single word and my life was played out," he finally said. "A marriage… what was I thinking?"
He thought about his future child.
"What kind of life... could I offer him?"
Would his wife Ava's child even be of his own blood? Would they have a normal body, a gigantic one, or be an unrecognized hybrid harassed by all two races like they were in this world?
"...."
He recalled some memories, and anger flared in his fist, which stopped short of striking the stone bench, afraid of the pain it would cause despite his current strength that could easily break it.
He raised the bottle to his mouth, took several swigs, then stood and staggered out of the alley. He felt ashamed, yet if every day could pass like that one or the day before, he felt the current him would not revolt. It seemed more like a medieval fantasy world than an apocalypse.
"If only this was but a dream, an eternal night." He burped before a premonition made him break out in a cold sweat. He suddenly turned around and saw a shadow dart across the alley from where he had come. "Kill!" Rargnes heard an unknown voice, followed by a terrible groan of agony screaming in his ears.
He blinked, terrified, and sprinted out of the alley as fast as possible. In seconds, he was out, his eyes scanning left and right for any exits, movements, or signs of life, human or not.
Nothing emerged for a good while.
Regaining his breath, Rargnes gradually averted his eyes, sighed, and continued on his way.