Chapter 7: The Neon City Of Hope!

The neon city was alive with pulsing energy emanating from every glowing sign and buzzing power line. Raven walked down the slick sidewalk; his head bowed against the deluge of rain that hammered down upon him.

Clack!

He pulled out his dragon stick, the crimson tip ready to be lit at any moment; with skilled movements, he managed to light it easily with his finger, the former minty taste now replaced by a powerful cherry ice flavour, a favourite of Raven.

'Why couldn't I control myself? Her eyes were so scared... fuck.'

Raven's foot stomped down as he walked; the rain beat a steady rhythm on the pavement, punctuated by the occasional thunder that echoed through the neon-lit streets.

"Whatever... phew... Let's get going."

"This damn city, it makes me feel cramped."

Whenever he was nervous, he would speak more to himself, feeling regret for taking her first kiss; however, he still believed his second action, to make it a good one, was correct...

Raven began to observe the city; he rarely had the chance to see the city at night because he was usually working.

The city seemed to take on a life of its own at night, the colours of the neon signs bleeding together in a dazzling display of light and shadow. Raven moved in a gloomy atmosphere, his shoulders hunched against the relentless rain.

He didn't seem to be in a hurry, instead choosing to take slow, measured steps through the neon city.

Occasionally, he would pause to take a drag from his stick, the orange glow of the ember casting his face in a warm light; he was handsome with a dark charm as his tall frame and almond skin caused the women out for some fun to look his way.

Orc males were popular, as rarely were they allowed to leave their villages.

'Stupid women... I don't have time for you.' Raven thought, his pace speeding up to brush past them, ignoring their hopeful eyes and their attempts to enhance their cleavage and lips.

Despite the constant din of the rain, Raven seemed lost in thought, his gaze fixed on the ground before him. His dragon pipe firing sounded, his Almond skin illuminated by the street lights as his hulking body slogged down the steps.

"7:37 huh... the next bus should arrive in a few minutes..."

His eyes peered upwards; a female with barely anything on her body was holding a phallic object covered in a strange goo; these ads would show after 6 pm every night as the sun would go down by 6 pm and rise at 6 am, extremely long nights lead to a more night based society.

'30 credits an hour, huh?'

Raven slowly took a deep sip of his sweet cherry mana stick, the formed dull mood fading; his body energised as his small mana pool began to flow around his body, revitalising him and filling him with a burst of energy and positive feelings.

"So a normal family needs 300 credits for a month for bills, food and leisure... This poor woman has to fuck more than 25 different males just to break even, and that's with the government's lowest ratio of payment for legal prostitutes.... how lamentable.... she is pretty, though, probably owned by a local cartel or millionaire."

This kind of nonsensical thought ran through Raven's head, and he began to feel a bit cold, his body shuddering after noticing his white shirt was almost see-through.

'I forgot my jacket and coat....' He thought, irritated at himself for letting a kiss affect him so badly.

Thankfully, on the way out is a small porch, which in the past was filled with his clothes for work; otherwise, he'd be standing here now in his jogging shorts and half-naked.

'Can't complain much... at least I'm not naked...'

After taking another drag, Raven began to jog lightly, trying to arrive at the bus stop faster, tired of the feeling of the rain falling on his skin.

"Why are feelings so complicated... phew..."

With his goal not far, his feet stopped, taking a deep breath as he felt a little winded, looking at the surroundings, bright neon signs, pretty women and males on the corners with various outfits calling to people who looked good as they walked past, Raven shook his head.

This shit was nothing to do with him; as the strong icy mint flavour filled his mouth, the situation and surroundings became irrelevant.

'I don't need these things, just time...'

Creak!

Raven's tall frame leaned against the shabby bus stop, as a small male in a suit and messy shirt stood at the opposite side; neither of them said a word of greeting; this city wasn't as friendly as most were led to believe in the brochures before moving.

'A happy, friendly and welcoming community..... That was the city slogan?

So stupid...

He began to hum a quiet but melancholic melody under his breath, a song both his mother and Philis enjoyed, a piano piece written by a man who lost his wife and child to an accident, proclaimed himself to join them; however, when he attempted to kill himself...

The man claimed to have seen the spirits of his wife and daughter telling him to keep going and make more of their beloved music, which created his first Piano Sonata in D-Minor writing this song for his departed loves, a sad and melancholy song, slowly switched and became a song about pushing forward and never giving up, the haunting melody used for many movies over the past ten years.

He took a moment to revel in the memory with a sarcastic smile pasted across his lips.

'Imagine your favourite song reminded you of your late mother and ex-lover... What a cursed song...'

Trying to change the state of his mind, he began to watch the surroundings, people rushing past almost in a craze; Raven wondered if they were rushing home to meet their other halves, a warm and delicious dinner waiting for them as a strange feeling filled Raven's chest.

Memories of the past began to flood his mind, as the cherry ice flavour filled his lungs, days with his mother fighting for his life through her training, as she would sing this song under her breath when he rested on her lap or when he suffered a hard day, Philis would give him a massage and comfort him while the composer's album was playing.

The man who created this piece was lamentable, he lost his wife and daughter in an accident while attending a concerto in Parina, a city known for its wonderful history of music, from the western sirens to the elven tribes in the south, but the day he learned of his loss, in desperation, he tried to take his own life, jumping into the ocean of Parina city.

Surprisingly, the man awoke from severe brain damage and flooded his lungs, his recovery was slow, but when interviewed, he claimed the voice of his late wife and daughter reached out to him, telling him to continue onward and keep playing the music they loved to hear.

Thus upon recovery, this song called "The Pianist's Lament" was created for that purpose, a melancholy song written for Piano in D Minor about loss, despair, and then surrender until finally, a sense of hope and peace at the end of the song.

"Tsk...!"

The mixture of thoughts and memories as he watched the people caused him to feel annoyed, stepping closer to the male in the messy suit, causing the man to recoil as orcs were much larger than humans, causing them to feel a sense of threat.

"P....please... Don't hurt me...."

"Huh? What the fuck are you saying?" Raven replied, his deep and powerful voice added to the thick smog from his exhaled Cherry Ice stick, causing the man to instantly break, his back slamming against the bus shelter before dashing away like he would be killed.

"H-help.....!" The man called before vanishing into the crowd.

Raven stood silently, wondering if the guy knew the bus would arrive soon; why cause such a fuss?

'Well, it is close to the slums, a pretty easy mistake... Those bastards would stab you for a few credits...'

Wrrrrr!

The old red bus began to power down the road, its old chassis filled with scars, as Raven spotted the same driver as always.

"Damn, this old bastard never takes a day off... I've seen him almost every day, bar Sundays..... and the day of the great flood.... in the south."

Negative emotions filled Raven's face as the bus stopped ahead of him; with a loud sound, the hydraulics of the door opened, revealing the old man's shit-eating grin as he gave a slight chuckle.

"Oh, the usual orc lad, why are you out so late? Strange indeed..."

"Ah, Old man! Are you still not fucking dead, eh? I need to go to the wailing caverns.... so can you take me to the closest stop?"

Raven's body moved forward with more grace than usual as he hopped onto the bus, his huge frame and muscles causing the bus floor to lower slightly, tipping it to the left, while the driver looked at him, fumbling around his pockets, looking for his money and phone.

"Hmmm?"

Strange...

The old driver was a little different from usual; although his grey hairs and nasty beard were the same, there was a strange look of concern and worry in his eyes when Raven got on the bus after hearing his words about the dungeon.

The same old driver as always, but a look of concern and worry before curiosity took control.

"Old man... I think I've forgotten..."

"No worries, lad, just rest up. You look terrible.... one fare won't make me bankrupt... how is the girl... from before? The old man asked with a slightly hoarse but friendly voice, his sentence towards the end a little more broken and concerned.

'Ah, thank god... My phone is still on the table next to Lilith... I hope she doesn't manage to unlock it and see the gallery....'

Raven was grateful; with a tired smile, he took the last drag of his cherry ice stick before tossing it into the safe disposal unit, where pure mana would break it down into energy to power the bus; a small stick would last 24 hours.

'Since the old man did me a favour...'

He also had the same device for his home, which would lower the bill by 30% a month, as it would only last a few hours in his apartment. His ass slammed down into his usual spot, a slight thud as the dust began to burst from the seat.

Slowly, his body relaxed, the issue from earlier finally dealt with, as he looked at the old man, who still hadn't set off. Since he asked, Raven replied with a deep but cheerful voice, as if the gloomy him was something from the past.

"Eating the dinner I made, even stole my portion... stupid girl. Haha."

'He made? Are they living together?' The old man wondered, turning to face the front, a sense of worry after seeing how much of a size difference between the two.

The old man gripped the wheel, feeling mixed emotions; he couldn't forgive that girl's mother, even if she were his son's, beloved woman. But he never wanted things to get this bad.

Turning the ignition, there was a small postcard with an image of three people, a cute girl with white hair and a little tattoo on her belly, a mature woman with the same looks as the girl and an identical tattoo, with a frail-looking man standing beside her, who looked almost identical to a younger version of the old man.

He looked down at the bleeping Adventurer Card for members above B-class, which would give regular news, his still locked on the day of the great fall ten years ago that terrified him of approaching her; the words, 'manticore, all spawn for termination.' Showing as he slowly turned the corner.

'Boy.... please protect my only remaining family, this useless old man would only cause her death if he tried... Lilim... Darren, my boy..... your cute girl is safe and finally off the streets... in the home of your idol's son... haha ironic... you caused their death when they protected you, but still, their son chose the same path...'

"Please, if there is a goddess... bless the two of them a happy future; this old man will give you all the time he has left... a year... even a few months...."

The outside of the bus began to be pelted with rain as lightning sounded in the distance, as if replying to the old man's whisper, his fingers almost crushing the reinforced steering wheel as the bus began to move towards the next stop, empty apart from two lost souls who currently had little to lose.

The bus sped up, ignoring some who stretched their arms, causing Raven to wonder If the driver was going blind as the neon signs and boards flashed by.

'Mor'Grana, I will protect your boy with my life. Since he saved my granddaughter, he's as good as a family now... My debts to you keep piling; this old man can never repay them...'

While unaware the old man was thinking about him, Raven began to worry about the serious face of the old man; he was even smoking a cigarette, the type that humans seemed to love, which could cause addiction and serious health problems, most other races were immune to the chemicals like nicotine.

Thus they had little appeal to them.

'He looks a little weird... Maybe his wife scolded him for smoking Tobacco? It is bad for you though...silly old man.'

"Little Orc, please be on your guard when you enter that place... Even the weakest monster can kill an unprepared hero..."

The old man's last words sounded as the drive quietly continued in the night, only the dull streetlights and neon signs guiding their way.

"I understand... old man..."

Raven knew all too well; even the most courageous could die to a mere goblin... Just like his parents ten years ago.

Leaning against the window, as if by a curse, that song began to play The Pianist's Lament; his head rested against the reinforced glass as the gentle vibrations of the busses movement and engine soothed his mind.

Slowly, Raven fell into a light slumber... one last dream of happy times with his parents.