A little tavern lit up by white light with some people talking and others sniffing the crystals of this world, giving groans or moans of relief. Broken chairs and empty barrels—it was pretty lively in here. Suddenly, the tavern door opens with the cold wind blowing it. As they walk on the creaky floor of the worn-out black wood, they pass by everyone who is having a fun time.
It was the boy. He looked in disdain as people were getting high off the memory crystals. 'Do these people have no shame?' he thought as he made it to the back bar. The wood was marked with worn-out gray stains, and the bartender was dragging down bottles full of memory crystals in different shapes and sizes.
The bartender looked over at the boy. He had a thick curly mustache with some white crystal powder sprinkled at the bottom. His eyes were cold black, and his hair was a bit messy but also the most well-kept out of anyone else here.
He walked over to the boy, who was sitting on the half-broken stool. "Well, if it isn't M-8, what you looking for today? An intense dosage of pure combat or something nice like wholesome memories with a wife and kids?"
"You know I'm not here to inhale people's memories to get myself off, H-27," the boy responded.
"Well, excuse me," the bartender said in a condescending voice.
Then the bartender sighed and started to speak normally. "Anyways, you just want info, right?"
"Yeah, that's all I'm here for."
"Well, kid, I can't make exceptions anymore, even if you're A-1's pupil," the bartender said in a sad voice. "Big boss restricted me from giving info to you specifically."
"Name your price, H-27."
H-27 jolted back a bit. First, he looked to his left, then his right. Then he put his towel down on the worn-out hanger.
He leaned closer, and with a tighter tone, he said, "Look kid, you have no idea who you're messing with, and if he finds out what happens here today," his voice grew more intense, "he'll cut your throat, and I'll be lucky to leave with my legs intact."
"So what, he's already trying to get me?"
"Yeah, alive. But I'll bet soon he won't feel so merciful."
After those words were said, there was a long pause. M-8 looked a bit down but was also frustrated by H-27's words.
After the long pause, H-27 sighed and straightened his back. "Look kid, I know A-1 meant a lot to you, but you have to learn to let go, run away, far away so those bastards don't catch you and just disappear. That's the best option for you because you know…" he paused for a moment, "you never had an existence to begin with."
M-8's eyebrow twitched. H-27 sighed once more before straightening his back again. "I'll get back to work—"
The doors burst open, with the loud noise of wood hitting wood silencing the lively tavern. A massive black boot stepped in, so heavy it felt like the wood was about to break. It was A-2, with seven men following, their faces covered with cloth. They stared daggers at everyone, trying to find someone as A-2 walked to the main bar. He pulled an extra stool over and sat on two stools at once. It sounded like they were about to break. A-2 tapped his big finger on the table twice, the taps echoing throughout the entire silent tavern.
A cup full of six memory crystals slid across the worn-out bar, and A-2 caught it. These crystals were smaller than the golem's memory crystal. Instead of coming from a monster, these came from human people. With that in mind, A-2 grabbed half of them and crushed them in his hand before sniffing them all in one go.
H-27 had sweat running down his head as he recalled telling M-8 where to escape. Thanks to M-8's swiftness, he was able to leave without anyone noticing.
"So, H-27, that's your label, right?" A-2 said in a calm voice.
"Yes, that is my name. What business can I offer you?"
"I need to know, did a boy with white hair, a bit frail, kinda looks like a girl," he chuckled a bit, "did they come by here by any chance?"
H-27 swallowed his spit. "N-No, sir A-2, I have not seen anyone with that description." H-27's heart was pounding fast as A-2 turned his head to stare into his black eyes.
A-2 let out a laugh, and soon after, the seven-footmen laughed with him. H-27 looked a bit awkward, fidgeting with his hands in a place where A-2 could not notice. After three seconds of them laughing, H-27 let out a little laugh to fit in, but before a second passed, red liquid sprayed on the bar.
It smelled like metal and was thick, so it slowly dripped onto the ground as the sound of flesh hitting the ground echoed throughout the laughter. H-27 looked down to find his clothes covered in blood and his hands were cut off.
A-2 had a short, thick black shape like a dagger. It was rigged to look like it was made of rocks with glowing white imprints on the sides. It had no blood on it, but it was used to cut off H-27's hands.
H-27 shrieked in pain as his knees splashed into the puddle of blood below him. Tears and snot ran down his face. His breathing became more heaving as he looked up at A-2 with the most sinister grin as he got off to this.
A-2 opened his mouth to speak. "A punishment for lying," he snapped his finger. His seven-footmen summoned spears—the exact type that the golem used but sized down for humans. "I'll kill everyone here."
Everyone jumped out of their chairs as the footmen charged toward them, cutting off heads, slashing limbs off, or stabbing them wherever they saw fit. It was as if the ground became a pool of dark red liquid. A-2 turned around to H-27, who was holding his stomach with stumps for hands.
"Now then, shall we see what's in that memory crystal of yours?"
"Please," H-27 thought as his vision got blurry, his neck felt weak. He looked down and saw the blade used to cut off his hand embedded in his chest. 'Escape, M-8. Find a name, find a life, that you can call your existence,' H-27 smiled as his body fell to the ground and slowly dissolved into a pile of gray sand stained by his blood.
Leaving nothing but a memory crystal behind.