Gun of Ashes

The old Pope found it simple to kill the new Pope; all he had to do was speak the truth. That knowledge, like a curse, would unleash disaster when uttered. Yet, he refrained, right until the new Pope touched the forbidden.

She recalled the new Pope sitting by the Well of Ascension, his head bowed, gazing into the pitch black depths, lost in thought.

Too much had happened in a single day. The madness of pursuing secrets, extinguished by the old Pope’s demise. At that time he said, compared to the old Pope, he was the one deserving of death, for he had overstepped the boundaries and called forth disaster.

The most despairing aspect was the so-called secrets, the world’s truth, the looming apocalypse, the endless cycle.

Watching the bewildered new Pope, Watson decided to leave at that moment. This man of iron had begun to waver; the secrets of the old Pope had overturned his understanding and fury, rendering him utterly ridiculous.

Unbeknownst to the new Pope, the hatred he had amassed towards the old Pope revealed that it was the old Pope all along trying to protect him, to protect everyone. For the new Pope, this was nothing but a grand irony, as dramatic as the truth of the Night of the Holy Arrival.

Everyone is toyed with by fate, parading in the most wretched manner, pleasing fate’s sinister grin.

Watson was unsure if he could endure, but she was certain she could no longer place her bets on the new Pope.

She left Lorenzo hoping someone else would shoulder these burdens. Lorenzo had already done enough; he needn’t sacrifice any more. Yet, just like a curse, Watson returned in the end.

”Eve, tell me, where is he?”

Watson spoke weakly, realizing it might be the first time she interacted with Eve — not anticipating it to unfold this way.

”You know my name?”

Eve felt this situation was growing increasingly strange.

”I know more than just you; I know Bola, Blue Jade, Joey, Red Falcon...”

Names surfaced in her mind, memories from the time shared with Lorenzo. To Eve, these names evoked complex emotions.

”I am Lorenzo’s friend; I bear no hostility.

Knowledge is cursed.”

Watson said, hoping Eve could understand the meaning behind her words.

Eve was taken aback. She indeed understood; the curse impeded communication, restricted comprehension.

”So, what I wish to inquire involves the curse, doesn’t it?”

Watson nodded silently.

Can she trust this woman? Is she trustworthy? Could she be deceiving me?

Eve’s mind wavered slightly. She stared wide-eyed, unknowingly falling into a predicament. Watson’s appearance was itself remarkably peculiar; Eve couldn’t fully trust Watson, and Watson couldn’t fully disclose all information for Eve’s protection.

Like a hedgehog and a rabbit, the hedgehog wishes to protect the rabbit, yet the rabbit fears its spikes. The hedgehog wants to embrace the rabbit, expressing goodwill, but those very spikes render such gestures impossible.

Humans are shackled by such chains, struggling painfully within cycles of forgetting, only to remember again through the sacrifice of blood.

The Folding Blade trembled slightly. Faced with uncertain intelligence, Eve hesitated.

Watching Eve struggle, Watson grew weary.

On her journey, she pondered, if she fell into the old Pope’s predicament, unable to convey messages and others unable to understand her, what would she do then?

Watson couldn’t fathom it. Hence, she fell into a scenario akin to the old Pope’s.

She became annoyed. After all, Watson could barely be considered human anymore. What drove her now were mere remnants of will and fading traces of humanity.

Watson had no time to engage in idle chatter, nor did she wish to cultivate relationships with riddles attempting to convey her intentions to Eve. The information Watson needed lay within Eve’s mind. If she could invade her mind quickly enough, minimizing the severity of intrusion, she might still evade the Silencers’ pursuit.

Though it could potentially kill Eve.

[Indeed, you and Eve are two individuals utterly unconnected. You know all about Eve, but only through seeing with Lorenzo’s eyes. You are an outsider, unknown to anyone.]

Voices echoed in her ears, like a crowd whispering.

Since acquiring forbidden knowledge within the old Pope’s [Gap], Watson often experienced auditory hallucinations. She felt these weren’t effects of erosion; she was herself a source of erosion, the origin of Demons.

Thinking of this, she sensed the mockery of fate.Eloquently she discovered that she seemed to be one of the disaster’s sources.

Fate mocked everyone, whether Watson or the new Pope.

[Eve doesn’t matter.]

The voice arose again, tormenting Watson’s mind.

Throughout the long journey, these hollow sounds had intensified. Initially meaningless murmurs, they gradually formed comprehensible yet obscure words, now evolving into spells capable of affecting decisions.

[Today is merely your first formal meeting with Eve. Any sentiments or connections are fleeting encounters, irrelevant compared to what you must do. Eve’s life is insignificant; you needn’t dwell on such matters. Transformed by Ascension, you’ve transcended human existence, ascending to a higher being. Viewed from a species standpoint, you and Eve are like humans and their pets.]

[Do humans need to care about their pets’ thoughts?]

”No need, nor should one bother considering such things.”

She murmured, responding to the hollow voice.

Watson, no longer 016, was now Watson — a distorted and contorted existence.

She had long set foot on the path of Ascension, elevated to an inhuman state, freed from the constraints of human ethics and morals. Human nature itself was a burden for her.

Something ascended from the depths of her will, waking from the cradle’s slumber, extending claws to gently caress Watson, with an evil anomaly smile, watching all unfold.

It was a soiled entity from the soul’s depths, indescribable, unknowable, untouchable; black liquid surging, bone and flesh growing and decaying within.

Under shadows’ cover, it whispered softly in Watson’s ear.

[Yes, that’s right, join us, abandon useless humanity, ascend to a greater being.]

Watson’s pupils slightly dilated.

Too much weight shackled Watson’s soul, trapping her on this filthy land, yet if... if she could abandon them all.

First her feeble fleshy form, then her ludicrous name, followed by meaningless emotions, finally erasing humanity entirely...

[Ascend to a greater existence!]

The sinister voice, like the cawing of crows, wailed beside her, urging Watson towards a decision.

”I’m sorry, Eve.”

Her hand rested on the crown, seemingly trying to remove it. Eve witnessed all this, and fear welled inexplicably within her heart; it appeared as if once Watson removed the crown, something terrible would occur.

Eve was unsure what would happen, yet she distinctly sensed erupted fear; countless voices screamed inside her mind, urging her to flee. But her body had already been seized by nameless forces, muscles rigid and immobile.

Something was coming — darkness from the soul’s depths, a filth detested by all creation. Swarming and multiplying in God’s shadow until strong enough to engulf the silent night over everyone.

Watson’s hand lifted the crown above her head, releasing the binding will.