Gun of Ashes

The nights of Old Dunling are always like this, countless factories towering over this land, with thick smoke rising from their chimneys, turning into gray-black silhouettes in the hazy light. The steel whale wanders in this gray-black ocean as usual, occasionally shifting its gaze to the ground, followed by a splash of light.

Joey leaned against the window, it was already deep into the night, the world outside was silent, with only the faint clamor of machines coming from afar, where the furnaces never extinguish and the machinery never stops operating.

Perhaps the day’s work was a bit too exhausting, Joey looked extremely fatigued, and from the room behind came the ticking sound, with a large Geiger Counter standing inside, working day and night in this outpost.

The others were already off work, and the room was empty. Joey rubbed his eyes, relieved that he wasn’t on duty tonight, planning to go to bed early. Just then, someone pushed open the door, and Red Falcon came in.

”Is it your shift tonight?”

Joey was a bit surprised, although he lived in the outpost, he was just an ordinary person, couldn’t stay alert twenty-four hours a day, so someone would come to keep watch for him. He just didn’t expect it to be Red Falcon.

”Who else?”

Red Falcon said with a face of displeasure.

”I’m just a working guy, I don’t want to either, but the roster is arranged like that, I can’t just take a knife to Arthur, right.”

Red Falcon said while also leaning against the window, seemingly wanting to see what Joey was looking at, his gaze swept back and forth over the night view.

Joey didn’t speak, just stared blankly outside, after a long time, he inexplicably smiled.

”What’s so funny?”

Red Falcon curiously asked, Joey’s behavior was strange.

”You know, those doctors at Black Mountain Hospital often tell me that people tend to become negative at night, to become... very sad, so they suggest I should sleep well at night, not to overthink.”

”So are you overthinking now?”

”Probably.”

”Then what are you thinking about?”

It must be said, as old colleagues, with one word from you and another from me, a conversation somehow started.

The two stood in the empty room, with papers filled with writings blown up by the night wind. Red Falcon had also forgotten he came to take a shift, and Joey had forgotten he intended to go back to his room to sleep after the handover.

”Lorenzo once told me, he’s a person prone to overthinking, letting his thoughts diverge, constantly thinking, maybe I was influenced by him, sometimes I also...”

”Like what?”

”For instance, I saw those factories at the end of the horizon...”

Joey said, stretching out his hand, pointing to the factories that grew like dense forests, displaying gray silhouettes, with chimneys extending like twisted branches, bizarre and strange.

”I saw those factories and inexplicably thought of those news about Duke Salicardo, you should still remember, in the ’Research of Bloody Words’ case, the oppression of the Exiled People led to the attack on Duke Salicardo.”

Hearing Joey say this, Red Falcon also recalled those times, it was the first time they encountered Dean Lawrence.

”Was that incident really over? Actually no, the issues regarding the Exiled People were still unresolved, the status quo remained unchanged, while Salicardo began developing civilian airships, the factories work non-stop day and night to speed up the process.”

Joey rambled on.

”The result was several riots in the industrial district a few days ago, it was those Exiled People, and the Ingwigs.”

”You’re starting to care about these things?” Red Falcon frowned slightly.

”No, just a product of overthinking, I know it’s useless to think about these things, but people have empathy, that’s a flaw, it makes us understand others’ sadness, even if they are not Ingwigs, not even human... Even we, who fight against Demons, have this kind of heart.

When seeing a pitiful little dog, one would feel compassion, feeling like one is enduring the same pain as it...”

Joey paused for a moment, then continued to say.

”Actually, I also don’t know what I’m saying, just randomly voicing my thoughts, but Red Falcon sometimes I feel this world is somewhat too despairing. I know we should have gotten used to this by now, but being used to it doesn’t mean not being afraid, even warriors familiar with war will feel fear when gripping their weapons.

There are many factories like this, the entire world is a gigantic factory, we seem free, but we’re actually just in a bigger prison.

Everyone’s like this, being forced into the machine, becoming a tiny gear, maybe the size doesn’t fit, but over long-term operation, I’ll also be worn into the right shape... Actually there are times I almost forget what I’m living for, not referring to those basic needs, but something more advanced... something more worthy of pursuit.”

Red Falcon looked at Joey somewhat dazedly, he knew Joey was someone with higher thoughts than himself, but didn’t expect he could... relate so much.

”I feel like you’re a philosopher.” Red Falcon said.

In Red Falcon’s eyes, Joey indeed had the temperament of a philosopher, a Scholar type, coming from a noble family, disciplined and understanding of manners, unlike someone like Red Falcon who crawled out from the Lower City District, and Joey was always so approachable, like a peculiar compulsion and obsession with cleanliness, he was always so tidy.