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When Remnan first heard the alarms, his heart almost stopped from sheer terror.
For a brief, blinding moment, he thought that she managed to find his trail, and that she was on his heels, ready to torment him further.
But then, Liu-An's airwaves became filled with instructions on evacuation, interspersed with precautions about Gnosia infectees. He couldn't stop the relieved sigh that escaped him.
Oh, so it was just the Gnosia plague. It wasn't her. He was safe, at least, from her clutches. For now. It was more than he could ask for, really.
He was singularly focused on avoiding her, that he didn't even realize that there was someone near the alley that he found himself hiding in.
"...What a strange reaction." The voice came from the mouth of the alleyway. Daytime radiance made Liu-An's streets shine bright, and it functioned as a spotlight for the other's presence. "You're relieved to hear that this planet is overrun by the Gnosia?"
Remnan hunched his shoulders, even as he peered at the other person. After a while, his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He saw plenty of colors, which was a rarity for him. He grew up in monochrome domes of an AI-overrun planet; he was tormented in a place that had only blood-red darkness. The other person had colors that Remnan didn't even know existed. They looked like those peaceful green meadows that he had read about in those electronic encyclopedias.
He stammered out an explanation when he noticed the impatient slant of those full lips. "...I... I just thought that it's... Not the worst-case scenario."
He didn't know how to put his situation into words. He didn't even know if the other party would be interested to hear more details. But he knew that there was no way this person was related to her. She didn't want anything that could make him lose focus on her torture, and she wanted to be the flashiest tormentor that there was. She wouldn't associate with someone who appeared even more eye-catching than her.
The other party placed a hand over their hip. Their clothing shimmered in the daylight. Around them, Liu-An's airwaves howled with panic and static. "Most people would consider being infected by the Gnosia plague or eliminated by a Gnosia infectee to be the worst-case scenario."
"...Um."
He knew that was the consensus. When he fled from her grasp, he didn't mind wherever he went, as long as it was far away from her. He didn't mind whatever happened to him, as long as it didn't end up with him under her heel. He heard about the Gnosia plague, but it honestly didn't sound so bad to him. Most of the humans that he'd stumbled upon were her cronies, or those who gave the same vibe as her. Everyone looked at his face and his body and they all wanted to possess him and mess him up. More than once, Remnan wanted to ruin his own face, if it meant that he'd be able to escape from their covetous gazes.
...That was why, an ending where humans are eliminated by the Gnosia didn't seem so bad to him. The Gnosia infectees worshipped Gnos, they wouldn't care about someone like him. At the very least, if he was killed by a Gnosia, they wouldn't look at him like they'd want to torture him until he forgot his own soul.
Instead, they'd probably look at him like he was someone inconsequential. Yes, it would be like how the other person—no, the Gnosia—was looking at him right now. "You've already figured me out?" There was a positive note of appraisal. Red flashed on the other's eyes, as if to reward him for figuring things out. "Are you what they call those... AC Followers?"
Remnan frowned a bit. "I just... am running away from her. I... haven't really looked into things."
"It is a religious cult that worships Gnos and Gnosia like me." The other man stepped further into the alley, but it didn't make them appear less eye-catching. They walked until they were right in front of him. They bent down slightly to meet his gaze, and they gave the impression that it would take a major miracle for them to assume anything like a half-kneeling position. "You don't seem like it at first glance, but you must harbor a lot of resentment towards humans, if this is how you react to a Gnosia invasion."
Remnan didn't know if he was the odd one, or if the other was. He wasn't sure if people spoke like this upon first meetings. Then again, they weren't normal people per se. One was a pet that was stubbornly running away, while the other was a Gnosia. Perhaps, for those like them, an incisive conversation that peeled into their real personalities was just right. "...Uh. It's just that I... have a lot of experience. On how terrible... humans could be."
"...Hmm."
For a few moments, there was only silence punctuated by the swell of collective panic. But it felt so far away. Like this alley, this particular spot, was encased in an impenetrable bubble. The existence in front of him seemed so strong that they could eclipse all sorts of things. He knew that she was still out there, but things suddenly seemed a little less bleak, even just a little bit.
"I'm Raqio. Why don't you come with me?" The tone with which Raqio uttered this invitation made it clear that such politeness was far from their norm. "In the northern dock, D.Q.O. is accepting refugees right now. I will take over that ship. If you want, you can join me in that journey back to Gliese."
There was an overload of information in those sentences. Even prior to his capture, Remnan had already heard of that planet. It was supposed to be a rigid, caste-based society that prized logic and intellect above all else. He had heard that it was a planet awash in monochrome too, when it came to how strictly they enforced rules. He wanted to say that there was nothing logical about a Gnosia inviting someone like him this sincerely.
Of course, there was no doubt that this was simple courtesy. Regardless of his response, he knew that Raqio would proceed to D.Q.O. and accomplish his own tasks. He was a tag-along at best, a nuisance at worst.
Even so, he found himself reaching out to grasp the hand offered to him.
He shrank a bit, as he shivered at the contact. The tactile sensation that wasn't a prelude to pain and suffering was such an alien concept that it was difficult for him to wrap his head around it. For his part, Raqio seemed taken aback too. That wasn't surprising; the other gave off the vibe that he was untouchable.
That was probably why Remnan felt so at ease with them; they seemed like they'd find carnal desire and nihilistic pursuits to be vulgar and beneath them. This person didn't act mysterious either. It wasn't like his time with her, when he would receive sweet words and saccharine tones, even as she covered the room in gore. Raqio appeared incredibly straightforward in comparison. Remnan wouldn't have to second-guess anything with them.
"...I'm... Remnan. I look forward to... working with you, Raqio-san."
There was a very real chance that this was just a trap. There was a very big chance that he would just end up killed. But Remnan found himself wanting to drift closer to the other's presence, in hopes that the brilliance the other exuded could shine just a bit over the darkness that had clouded his vision for the longest time.
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