Mirror Sky. Part 1 - Blissful Nemesis

29 - Tree of Knowledge

Alexander had changed locations every day: from an apartment to a classroom, from a closed-down nightclub to an abandoned restaurant, from an uninviting basement full of humming machinery to the top shelf of a quiet warehouse. The move from place to place was sudden and nerve-wracking.

Sometimes Zhen or Valentina yanked him out of his bed in the night and dragged him somewhere safe. Sometimes they had to run in during the day, his defenders snatching him away from reading, studying, or playing.

Alexander's life was a carnival of activity. He saw people every day. Some chased him down, only to get shot by Zhen or Valentina. Most went by him, attending their businesses and oblivious that they just brushed shoulders with the infamous Spawn of Twilight. When there was no one to see, there was someone or something to hear. Every night, Alexander woke up to the sounds of gunfire, parties, fights, breaking furniture, screams, protests, and some mysterious sounds that adults refused to identify. As he pressed his hands against his ears, it left him longing for the deaf days. Hearing proved annoying, and he wished he could turn it off.

The nomadic life was exhausting for all three, but most of all, for Alexander. He had a modest wish: a calm day followed by an uneventful quiet night. After the incident with the Enlightened lady, he got his wish granted. With it, he learned an adult lesson – to be careful what you wish for.

Alexander, Zhen, and Valentina settled in a new area near the top of the Pyramid, dead in the middle of the City of Libra. He did not remember much about how he ended up here. After yet another confusing night full of action, he woke up in a dated classroom that had been abandoned for a long time.

The floors were made of several kinds of wood and assembled in an elaborate ornament. The ceiling, held up by the columns shaped like muscular men, was covered by a weathered-to-dust mural. The same fate was reserved for the murals between the columns: the paint flaked off, making the works of the long-gone artists unrecognizable.

He did not think much of his new arrangements. The room was fancier than usual, yet it was another hole to spend the days in. However, soon he began to realize how quiet this place was. During the day, he heard no sounds that were not Zhen, Valentina, or himself. Enjoying it at first, he spent a day, a night, then another day and another night undisturbed by anyone, with no surprises or interruptions.

Then, he started hearing voices again.

Your mother is dead...

Your family is not coming back...

Zhen and Valentina are lying to you...

Why did you trust them? Weren't you taught better?

Don't trust them. Trust no one...

Kill them. Kill them and escape.

The voices provided Alexander with something he most desired - clarity. They made everything certain, even if this certainty consisted of horrid facts. Alexander preferred the sour truth to sweet lies.

He held onto his fears like he was taught, fears of losing his family forever. He remained hopeful that his mother, father, and uncle were out there, searching for him. That hope hurt more with every passing day. Giving it up would feel like a relief. The voices made sense.

Join me, Alexander. Let them go.

"That is what Nought wants," said Custos, who came to visit him one day. "It wants us to embrace the void: a place of no pain. Never let go of your humanity, Alexander, no matter how painful it is. Once you step into the blissful void, there is no coming back from it."

"Is my mother dead?" asked Alexander.

This question has been in his mind since his first day in Libra. Why else would he be alone? He could not remember much of his mother, but he was certain - she would never abandon him.