Chapter 17: Death of Nam?

The waitress pondered. Should she shoo them out? Two men have been sitting in the same position since daylight. It was now nearly mid-night, reaching closing time, and they haven't shown any sign of leaving. But for the sake of that handsome young man, she decided to let loose.

"Ding~" The jingle of doorbell drew Nam's attention.

"I'll have black coffee." The pregnant woman who just entered said to the waitress by the door, walking towards the seat beside Nam.

"Let me help you." Nam offered.

The table trembled. Atlas woke up from his deep slumber.

"So, did you get your answer?" Nam turned back, grinning at Atlas.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

[What's that sound?] Atlas's acute hearing picked up the sound of a clock ticking.

He widened his eyes when he saw Nam helping the pregnant lady.

"No!" Atlas pounced towards him.

[Don't let it end like this! Please!!!]

The ticking stopped.

Aura armored around Atlas from his chest to his feet. Extra amount of Aura exerted onto his outreached fingertips— the closest body part to Nam.

Everything played in torturous slow motion, including the time-bomb tied onto the ''pregnant" suicide bomber. The string of Aura shooting towards Nam took forever to travel. As the explosion of the bomb decimated its holder, it scorched Nam's back, charring flesh in form of pixels. With helplessness devouring, Atlas had to watch it all in despair.

The Aura thread finally made contact with Nam, but it only had time to veil his unburnt remains.

Shielding Nam in his strong arms, the impact of the explosion launched Atlas like a projectile. The heat of the blast incapacitated the armor of Aura, burning his skin.

A teenage boy reclined on the window sill, reporters talking about an unsuccessful terrorist attack over the television. Wiping the barrel of a Lobaev sniper with a handkerchief, an abrupt explosion caught the teenage boy off guard, causing him to bang his head on the ceiling.

"Dip crap." He cursed, looking out the window.

Nova had a bird's eye view from the 24th floor in the Kingston Hotel. He saw flashes of light flickering in a quiet alley. The evidence of an explosion.

He assembled his sniper immediately, using it to scope onto the alley just across Kingston Hotel.

A smoky figure dashed out, holding something in his arm. Heavy emotions were written all over the teenager's face. Despair. Helplessness. Failure. Sorrow. Frustration.

The teenager withdrew needles from his left pouch, desperately inserting them on specific parts of the old man's incomplete body, parts which Nova recognized as acupuncture points.

[He sure knows what he's doing.] A sense of approval arose. [He utilises acupuncture points for healing, while I utilise them for slaughter. We share so much in common.]

"Hold on," Nova murmured. An image flashed before his eyes. "That boy. He's my target!"

He immediately reset back to sniper position as an indoctrinated reflex, targeting onto Atlas. He currently possessed the most limpid bird's eye view, the perfect angle and the easiest, most undisturbed snipe he could ever desire. All that was left was a simple curve on his index finger, and an Aura stone will soon enter his pocket. But for the first time in forever, he hesitated. It just didn't feel right.

His finger twitched.

[What am I doing?! The reward is a fricken Aura stone. And it is only in an arms reach. More like a hundred meters away but that's not the point. Argh, darn it.]

His clammy hands slipped off the handle. There was no authentic reason behind forfeiting his best opportunity to deal a fatal headshot. His instincts had convinced him so, and because he trusts his instincts wholeheartedly, he let go. He will never forgive himself if he pulled the trigger.

He again saw the immense anguish in Atlas's reddened eyes through his scope. As a person who takes others' lives for granted, he actually felt empathy.

Atlas was still desperately searching for life force within Nam's withered body, needles distributed along Nam's acupuncture life point. It made Nam look like a miserable porcupine.

"Atlas..." Nam couldn't even lift his finger, colours fading from his skin. "It's... Futile...You'll tire yourself."

"No! No! I can! I can f*cking save you!" The pale shade on Atlas's skin reflected fear and sorrow. He didn't even realise the tears streaming down. His fingers danced; Needles dazzled, intersecting occasionally as Aura transmuted into Nam like blood into a dying patient. Sadly, nothing seemed to work. The colours were still draining. Time was running out. The man who gave him shelter; The man who taught him how to walk and speak; The man who he has yet to convey all his gratitude to, was leaving in his arms.

"I've got so many things on my bucket list." Terminal lucidity had overtaken Nam. The sign of a final goodbye. Nam chuckled heart wrenchingly. "Too bad my time has come. I just wish I could see her for one last time..."

Atlas was still constraining himself, he himself had a face as ghostly as Nam's. "Who? Tell me her name." Atlas slumped on his knee, empty eyes staring at the night sky. He swore to not go berserk in another case of tragedy he abhorred. But it seemed like there was no way for him to not break it. The stars seemed to be blinking. Maybe it wasn't a soulless night.

"Vanessa. A very, very good friend of mine." Nam didn't even try shuttering over the word 'friend'.

Nova witnessed Atlas's lifeless behaviour and Nam's bittersweet grin. He felt his heart jerk. He never had that emotion.

"Hang onto that thought Nam! You still have a lot to live for!" Atlas howled, a glint of determination sparked in his eyes. His mentor has taught him one very challenging technique. 'Blinking Hope'. The needles in his hands were increasing pace once again, but in a different pattern. They were concentrated around Nam's head.

[I can't save your body. But I might have a chance to retrieve your soul!]

A blue mist arose from Nam's forehead in a sedate pace. Another problem occurred. He needed a suitable vessel. Luckily, that problem didn't last for long. His pendant jerked rapidly as it started to suck in Nam's soul, the word '秦' illuminating an eerie red glow.

Atlas panicked, assaulting the pendant forcefully. Nothing left a scratch. The blue soul that resembled hope has vanished, however, Atlas somehow felt that Nam was all right, recuperating inside the pendant he was raised with.

Teardrops sliding slowly down his cheeks, Atlas softly retrieved the needles over Nam's corpse. His eyes bore glimpses of hope, but his face remained expressionless.

[If only I had been strong enough. If only I reacted a little quicker. If only...] Heart ripped, Atlas screamed so silently it hurt his lungs. [Maybe I could have saved his physical body too.]

Soft footsteps approached from behind.

"Don't know why you changed your mind. But thank you for not shooting me." Atlas got up from his kneeling position, his voice croaked so painfully.

"Don't bother. Are you all right?" It was a young voice. As young as his. But not as sad and as heartbroken.

"I'm fine. I will recuperate. Eventually." Atlas answered in a very dry voice. His tattered and charred shirt crumbled into ashes, revealing a intimating tattoo of a majestic wolf, glaring its razor-sharp teeth.

Unintentionally, his pupils transformed into a shade of crimson and crackles of violet spark for a few short seconds.

"A blood-bath will cheer me up." Atlas's whisper echoed in the dark alleyway, the flickering flame of the explosion projecting his shadow on the wall.