4 - Nacht’s Relic

[PRAGUE]

“What a shame.”

“You held so much knowledge, and yet, I still don’t have the answer.”

Aizawa walked around the library behind her ‘throne room’. She knew every single book there, she knew everything about their authors, their content and their message.

“But you’ve set my plans in motion.”

Her figure looked astonishingly beautiful, and yet, one could not look at her without feeling scared, or even beyond that - instead of fear, a feeling of acceptance would be instilled in those who stood before her, acceptance that spelled out their own powerlessness against a force like her. And her eyes still retained that pitch black, even blacker than her long straight hair which were the color of absolute zero. Her pale skin shone under the library’s dim candle lights, her steps were quiet and her presence was low, almost unnaturally low for someone of her caliber.

“I could not use this on you. It would be foolish, no matter how useful your soul expression is.”

“Had I known you would jump into my arms, unprovoked and with no ulterior motive, I would not have sacrificed one of my soldiers to attempt capturing the ice manipulator.”

“What a shame...”

She reached for one of the shelves. She pushed a green and yellow book at the same time, and a sharp clicking noise echoed throughout the room. The shelf was pushed back, and the row of books was divided in two - revealing a single book cozily hidden in a small wooden cabinet.

“But when a smaller firearm is disposed of, a larger one arrives on the frontlines.”

“The Black Book.”

“The result of many sleepless nights, and an even greater desire to create a perfect soldier of the Servata Cordis.”

“Nacht’s failure is only mine to blame, but such is the beauty of evolution and knowledge. Had I not failed, had I not attained that information, I would have never acquired this brilliance.”

She held the book dearly, despite there being not a single threat nearby that could destroy it, she took care of it as if it were her own child. And in a way, it really was.

She left the library through the main exit and took one of the circular staircases that led to the dark and shady underground of the castle. The cold cobble walls had already accepted their fate as accomplices of the questionable acts taking place in the deeper layers of the castle.

Katya and Nightseer were never fans of that place either. Aizawa descended more and more, reaching the underground area where Nacht, formerly known as Aleksei, was once kept. In fact, the advanced hospital equipment that used to keep his body intact was still there. And so was the sound of droplets hitting the floor, attempting to break open the prison, not realizing that it only led deeper underground. She passed through the hallways and finally reached a room that appeared to be much better fortified than the rest.

She took an access card out of her dress and swiped it on the reader attached to a pair of heavy metal gates.

“I’m sure that the three of you will do great.”

The doors opened, and the room didn’t have enough time to light up yet. But Aizawa still walked forwards. She knew where everything was, she had no problem navigating even the darkest of the holes in her castle. She glanced at the book, the cover of which looked even blacker than the darkness.

“Ah, Nacht.”

“Perhaps this way, you will do better.”

The lights were finally turned on. They were soft, but what they illuminated could cause one to vomit. Instead of just one person being chained and equipped with hospital machinery, there were three of them. A teenage boy with a rather unmemorable body, a girl with pale skin and red-and-black hair, and a man with a thin dark beard. Aizawa glanced at them and expressed a subtle smile.

She then approached the desk in the room and looked at the various papers scattered all over it.

“The ‘Nacht’ experiment.”

“A way to test a theory and to develop the creation of a perfect servant.”

“Nacht, by design, was never a human, nor was he supposed to be one or to become one. Nacht is merely a set of instructions for ‘Memory Manipulation’. A payload that aims to reprogram a human into what the world truly needs.”

“And it is thanks to this experiment that I had to spend quite some time almost completely rewriting the black book.”

“Aleksei was no ordinary human. He was a dormant soulful who suffered from schizophrenia. The condition was medically confirmed but laid relatively dormant, that is, until my interference.”

“I injected the payload into him. Eventually, courtesy of Aleksei’s condition which I attempted to increase the severity of, the personality became a recurring hallucination, and Aleksei was convinced of Nacht being a real person.”

“The result, which was his realization that his perception of the world is fundamentally flawed, triggered an event of severe disillusionment combined with a powerful awakening event, which caused Nacht’s construct to be imprinted onto the soul instead of Aleksei's self. Following Nacht's awakening, Aleksei was effectively killed in his own body.”

“Nacht, now realized as a human being, even developed its own divine acclamation...”

“I thought it would run around and cause good enough chaos, maybe even kill a GSC member or two...but it ended up acting as a rather humbling lesson for me.”

“I assumed that utilizing the emotion of hatred in Nacht would allow it to be a more fierce combatant, but it only revealed that the result would be Nacht spiraling into a nihilistic insanity and threatening the integrity of my operations. It taught me that the payload must completely annihilate any and all emotion, only leaving the Servata Cordis as its sole purpose of existence and absolute devotion.

“It was proof that if it was strong enough to develop its own divine acclamation, it would reach tremendous power when deployed into a pre-existing vessel with a soul expression.”

She gazed at the book.

“The black book.”

“It contains the instructions for the latest version of Nacht.”

“It injects a personality that has no mental barriers when it comes to taking action. It holds no empathy, and it seeks the most efficient ways to achieve its objective, no matter what. Things like ethics or collateral damage are not of its concern.”

"Nacht’s vessel understands me, and sincerely devotes its very existence to my whim. A soldier so loyal is impossible to come across due to the instructions that nature itself gave to humans. It understands that...”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“The salvation of humanity requires saving it from itself.”

Aizawa approached a control panel on the other side of the room, inputting a set of commands. The medical equipment made some noises, and a few moments later, the three individuals slowly woke up.

“Now, it is your time.” Aizawa smiled. “Nachtvessels Alpha, Beta and Gamma. You will spearhead the transformation of the species you are unfortunate enough to be a part of.”

“The brain and the soul are bound to one another through the mind.”

“When the brain is modified by Nacht, even if the memories are altered...”

“The capabilities of the soul persist, and can be evolved to their absolute peak.”

...

“It feels lonely.”

“I’m not alone, but...the fact that Reiner’s gone still doesn’t sit right with me.”

Nightseer laid on his bed. His sight glued on the ceiling, the pattern of the small cracks imprinted in his mind as one of the many traits of his private corner. Despite the castle’s intimidating nature, the living quarters were somewhat cozy, even welcoming. Katya’s room had over-the-top decorations everywhere, with ‘cute stuff’ being the predominant trait. Reiner’s room was the opposite - it was filled with ‘cool stuff’, mostly sci-fi junk that he managed to cop for a cheap price.

And Nightseer’s room was simple - everything looked clean and organized, well, except for the small cracks in the ceiling or the walls. Despite the dull color of the walls, the high quality dark wood shelves and desk fit in greatly, creating this image of an old domain being enchanted with a modern bliss.

Now, unfortunately, one of those three rooms was empty.

“He was a good guy. He was a good soldier too, he rarely ever questioned Lady Aizawa’s orders.”

“He was just Katya. He didn’t recall anything about his past, he was also awoken from a deep coma following the first global soul event.”

“I’m like that too.”

“The first thing I remember was the feeling of wanting to reject something. The second thing was me waking up in the same hospital as Reiner and Katya. The third thing I remember was getting used to how I saw the world.”

He took a deep breath, and before his thoughts would attempt to dig further towards his soul, he heard a knock on the door. It was gently kicked open a few seconds later, and Katya slowly entered. She held two cups.

“Nighty, I made some sweet tea.” She said, approaching him. Nightseer sat up on his bed and accepted the gift. “It’s the one we used to have at breakfast all the time.”

“You got the old teapot out?” Nightseer asked, grabbing the hot cup and taking a small sip of the dark liquid. “Tastes a bit different.”

“Yeah.” Katya said. “It was the recipe that Reiner taught us.”

“Mhm. I remember.” Nightseer sighed. He took another sip, this time, it didn’t taste sweet or sour, it tasted empty.

“It feels...” Katya said, in a much quieter voice, after a brief but difficult silence. “So much emptier without him. It feels quieter than it would if no one was here.”

“I guess...”

“We...” Katya suddenly said, tearing up a little. “We were gonna continue playing cards when we’d be back...”

“That’s just what happens in our field of work.” Nightseer said. “Soulfuls tend to be unpredictable. We had no way of knowing that we would be up against...whatever she was.”

“Then why did we go in the first place?!” She said, a bit louder this time.

“Because we had to.” Nightseer said. “That’s just what we do.”

“And what happens if we have to fight someone again? Will one of us die?” Katya asked.

“There’s a chance.”

Katya couldn’t reply. Her face just became more sour and she cried a little more intensely.

“But I don’t want you to die.” Katya said.

“I don’t want to die either.” Nightseer said. “Katya, we both know the risks that come with this.”

“And we’re just supposed to accept that?” Katya lashed out. “We’re just supposed to accept that one day we might never see each other again?”

“Pffft. If one of us dies, I bet it’ll be Reiner. He’s weaker than us.”

“Hah, what, you're scared of dying?”

“Ah, fuck that! Risking death doesn’t mean guaranteeing it!”

“I-”

“I don’t wanna lose you, Nighty.” Katya said. The fierce and somewhat arrogant monster of a soulful was reduced to a sad and vulnerable girl.

“Is this the first time you lost someone you cared about?” Nightseer asked.

“It’s the first time I lost someone like Reiner.” Katya said. “I-”

They froze in place. They sensed an indescribable presence approaching the door, and despite their familiarity with it, not even for a second could they imagine themselves not feeling shook under its immense pressure. Aizawa entered the room.

“Katya? Is anything the matter?” Aizawa asked. Two other figures approached her from behind.

“Who are they?” Katya asked, trying to quickly wipe her tears away. Confusion struck her like a bullet.

“These are our new reinforcements.” Aizawa said. The figures behind her were the bearded man and the woman. “Nachtvessel Beta and Nachtvessel Gamma. Nachtvessel Alpha is currently taking care of different affairs. These are the new additions to our strike force.”

“They...are supposed to replace Reiner?” Katya asked.

“Yes.” Aizawa coldly replied. “Katya, are you not supposed to be in a different location right now?”

“I wanted to see Nighty.” Katya said, sounding almost insulted.

“I understand that the Thomas family’s base is not currently under attack, but you must return to your piloting station.” Aizawa said. “You must not let your LV2’s remote controllability assure you of its immunity to potential dangers.”

“I’ll go.” Katya said. “I just want to-”

“Katya, go now.” Aizawa repeated, now a little louder. “You are required to be present at the piloting station.”

Katya put her cup down on the bedside table by Nightseer’s bed and slowly walked out. But she stopped for a brief second after leaving the room.

“Reiner just died and you’re acting like nothing happened.” She said, before continuing her exit.

“Lady Aizawa, please forgive that behavior. She’s under a lot of emotional stress right now.” Nightseer tried to cover for her. “Reiner was a good friend to us.”

“Let us hope that those emotions do not hinder her performance.” Aizawa stated, before turning around. “Nightseer, continue improving on your combat capabilities. You may need to assist me sooner or later.”

“I...I got it.” Nightseer said. She left, and the intimidating figures followed her.

“She’s using those bodies as vessels for Nacht...fucking hell, they don’t even look human anymore.”

“I guess that’s the whole point.”

He took a good look at the cup. He took a sip again, and this time, it tasted bitter. But he felt like drinking something bitter at that moment.

“Lady Aizawa saved us from potentially dying.”

“She gave us this life. Me, Reiner and Katya... we could hang out and have fun, as much fun as we wanted to. But the price for getting to live like that was to serve whatever cause Aizawa is loyal to.”

He sighed.

“Why does she even want to dismantle the GSC anyways?”

Katya, at the same time, made her way through the castle. She seemed upset, but accepted that her responsibilities as a soldier, in the eyes of Aizawa, at least, were her biggest priority and even her defining value.

She went into a room that was filled with various types of equipment - medical monitor, computers, and storage cabinets. In the middle of everything was a bathtub. It looked like any other bathtub, aside from the many wires attached to it.. Katya took her clothes off and stashed them in the cabinet, she stretched and entered the bathtub, it felt rather really nice as the water was just the right temperature - a little on the warmer side. Since Katya noticed that her body tended to get cold while she was remotely piloting, the bathtub allowed for a safe way to warm her. She attached some of the equipment to her hands - they were mostly bio-monitors for keeping track of her vitals. Before connecting to LV2, a mech that she could control over a great distance, she spent some time just thinking about stuff.

“Katya?” Nightseer entered the room.

“I heard her say something about you having to train.” Katya answered, her voice sounding dead tired, her tone of speech - slow and empty.

“I’ll manage.” Nightseer said. “I'd rather make sure you’re alright.”

“If you want to see me naked, just be honest about it.” Katya said. “LV1 is different because I’m inside of it. It’s not like I’ll die if LV2 gets destroyed.”

“But you still feel the pain that is inflicted on LV2’s body.” Nightseer said.

“And?”

“And I want to be here with you.” Nightseer said, offering her the cup that she had to leave in his room. Katya looked at it, pleasantly surprised. She smiled, and while her smile was a sad one, it was an indication that her mood was made just a little better.

“Thanks.” Katya said. “Thanks for being here.”