40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 33 33. About the Blade, About the Mine ([-])

Ghosts can see in the dark.

He had only realized some time ago how different this thing he was used to was to other people.

For a ghost, darkness is not a barrier that blocks vision.In most cases, it is his helper.And, he knew full well that as long as he played it safe, it would always be.

Therefore, he could easily see the shadow moving not far from the faint light source from hundreds of meters away.

Mine, shadow.Sounds fitting.ghost thought.

"...I only see one person, Khalil," he said.

"Did you see the dark green tent, ghost?" Khalil asked.

Instead of answering the ghost's question directly, he turned to another matter.

His tone was calm, a little strangely calm.ghost thought.

"No."

The ghost replied, then asked sharply, "Is this a good thing?"

"The dark green tent is where the miners live."

Khalil said calmly, still not directly answering Ghost's question.

His tone became calmer.Now, it was so peaceful that it made You Hun feel a little uneasy.

"They basically spend their lives underground, and the long-term labor will make their bodies riddled with holes. When the mines they are responsible for are finished digging, the mine owners will no longer pay any attention to them."

"However, they still have a last bit of use value."

". Utilization value?"

"Quintus has many butcher shops, ghost."

Khalil said quietly. "The dark green tents the miners live in are issued by the mine owners and will accompany them throughout their lives. However, in the slang of the butcher's shop, this kind of tent is also called 'cargo cloth.'"

Ghost remained silent, forcibly holding back some terrible impulse rising from the bottom of his heart.

"Unbearable, isn't it?" Khalil asked softly, without looking back.

He was at the forefront and knew the environment here like the back of his hand.His ability to see in the dark isn't as strong as a wraith's, but his familiarity with the place makes up for it.

Kalil walked through dilapidated houses, alleys, and possible potholes on the ground one by one, looking natural and relaxed.

He is even smiling.And this smile was exactly the same as the one he showed on a rainy night, the skin was stiffly lifted by the muscles, and the teeth were slightly rubbing in the air.

"Yes." Ghost replied in a low voice. "But, Khalil, there's one more person there."

"This means that some butcher shops have come to pull the goods."

Khalil said quietly. "They only want the dead. Therefore, those who are temporarily alive are left behind. If there are many, they come again."

He stopped abruptly.

"Khalil?"

"...I'm fine, just a little sorry, ghost."

"Feel sorry?"

"Yes. I wanted you to meet them, but I didn't expect it to be too late."

Ghost heard a chuckle coming from ahead. "Looks like we're out of luck, don't you think?"

"."

The ghost didn't answer.

Next, all the way without words.

Silently, they quickly approached the faint light source.It was powered by wind, and in Ghost's view, the only reason why the people who came to pull the goods did not take it was because it was already on the verge of being scrapped.

He could see the light flickering on and off, and it was very windy now.Obviously, its light is so unstable, not because of the energy source.

And under that light was a shivering, emaciated man slumped on the ground.

Extremely thin.ghost thought.

He was wearing tattered clothes.There was a terribly numb expression on that pale face, which made Ghost give up the idea of ​​remembering this face.

The man was paralyzed on the ground, stretched out on the cold and hard ground, lying there like a toy.The ghost realized after a thousandth of a second that he was not lying like this to relax.

Little by little, the ghost looked away.

He doesn't want to look at him.

He dared not look.

Khalil was different, he just walked forward and greeted him softly, with a natural familiarity in his voice.

"Hakan."

The man's eyes turned dully, looking at Khalil, silent.

"It's me, Hakan. It's Khalil."

The miner shook his neck sluggishly, and finally a little fluctuation appeared on his numb and withered face.He opened his mouth and spit out a hoarse tone: ".ka?"

"Well, it's me."

Khalil knelt down and asked softly. "Is everyone gone?"

"It's a butcher shop, come here."

Hakan answered Khalil's question in broken syllables. "Tent, no. I'm cold."

The ghost saw that Khalil's head was lowered.

".Card?"

"I'm here." Khalil responded softly.

"I want to die."

The miner spoke little by little, and the ghost saw that there were faint tears in those dead eyes. "Tired, me."

The ghost heard a sigh, and then, a word from Khalil.He was in good health, but his voice was as broken as that produced by Hakan's weakened vocal chords.

"I see, Hakan."

".Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm sorry, Hakan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

In the darkness, there is a flash of silver light.

Khalil stood up slowly, and the ghost didn't hear him make any more noise.He saw Khalil help the miner to his feet, his eyes closed.

The ghost saw no wounds, neither on the neck nor on the chest—two places Khalil used to like to inflict, but not today.

"I'm going to visit the ghost under the mine."

"Mine?" Ghost asked sharply. "Are you going to bury him?"

"The rats are gone," Khalil said, his back turned to him. "The pits have been abandoned for at least a week. They're smart enough to know where food is."

"Are you going to bury him?"

"Yes." Khalil said, and then paused for several seconds.This is unusual for him.

"I'm going to bury him. A man deserves a little place to live when he dies."

".Do you need help?"

"No, no need. That place is too narrow for you, ghost, and it's hard to be down there when you're not so tall. I'll just go by myself."

Khalil turned his head, and the ghost saw his profile—he realized that Khalil was smiling comfortingly at him.

But there is no smile in this smile.

He turned around, and the ghost gave a stiff, reassuring smile behind him.Khalil didn't see it, and the ghost began to regret his moment of hesitation.

What's the matter with you, Khalil? ——
"Hakan?" asked the ghost.

"Yes, Hakan. A man who doesn't like to talk much."

Khalil smiled and shook his head.

"He didn't have many friends, but everybody knew him. Because Hakan was a decent fellow, he would leave half his ration every day for those who were punished, so they wouldn't starve to death."

".do you know him?"

"Of course I know him, Ghost."

Khalil replied briskly. "Otherwise, how would I know his name and his personality?"

"Have you worked as a miner before?"

"I've done it for a while, otherwise, I wouldn't have met you in that mine."

Ghost nodded silently, he didn't know what to say.

Before meeting Khalil, he knew nothing about Nostramo.After meeting Khalil, he already knows a little about the world.

But just now, he discovered that he actually knew very little about Khalil Rohars.

He knew next to nothing about him except his name and personality.

"Mining is not an easy job."

Sitting on the edge of the tall building, Kalil said, his voice soft.

He was rarely chattery, and he was also very talkative. In the past, if the ghost didn't ask, he usually wouldn't make such a long talk.

Specter listened silently, he could more or less sense Khalil's current mood.

"The underground environment is very harsh. Except for those who are particularly short, almost everyone has to bend over to work in poor light."

"They have a target every day. If the amount of ore excavated does not meet this target, they will be punished."

"Adamantine is very precious and occupies a very high tier in the indicators. But it is not easy to find. Coal is the most common, but also cheap, and then iron. Oh, and there is also a light blue crystal. "

"It's beautiful, so it gets a high tier in the index. The nobles love it. Most people, though, spend their lives mining coal and iron."

Speaking of this, Khalil smiled, and the ghost noticed that he was rubbing the blade with his index finger in his sleeve very fast.

"Oh, by the way, do you know how coal is formed, Ghost?" he asked suddenly.

"The plant remains buried underground will form coal under the action of a series of complex crustal movements." Ghost replied in a low voice.

He didn't know about it 1 minute ago.But Khalil mentioned coal, so he knew.

These things came to him naturally, like instinct.

No, maybe it's instinct.

"Yeah, the remains of the plant. That means, long, long ago, Nostramo wasn't like this."

Khalil said softly. "Its sky should be blue, day and night distinct, the sun not covered by clouds and plants. Like trees, like grass. And of course, the sea and lakes."

The ghost listened silently, and after a while, he asked.

"How do you know these things, Khalil?"

"Sometimes, I have dreams. Visions from the past."

"Dream?"

"Yes, dreams. People can dream, ghosts. And the scenes in dreams usually have no logic at all. Some dreams are warm, some dreams are absurd, and some dreams are terrifying. However, the word dream is not all Used to refer to dreams produced by sleep."

".Are you dreaming?"

"Sometimes, ghost, sometimes."

Khalil stood up slowly, shaking his head. "Also. I'm sorry."

why are you apologizing?

Youhun frowned, he also stood up in silence, but he didn't know what to say.And beside him, Khalil continued.

"I was going to go to the mine to see if there was any iron ore left, and make you a knife. But I forgot about it."

".I don't care." Ghost whispered. "And, Khalil, forging weapons requires a furnace, and we don't have one."

"Yeah, we didn't."

Khalil smiled slightly, he turned his head, his eyes lit up with a cold blue light: "But we have this."

He took a slow step forward and jumped down the tall building, followed by the ghost.

(End of this chapter)