Awakening

It was already very late, but Karen remained propped against the headboard, reading the newspaper. Even though he had told Alfred that they should turn in first and that Purr and Kevin would make their own way back, Karen found himself unable to sleep until they did. Any ordinary household would be frantic with worry over a lost cat or dog, not to mention that the cat and dog in his home had long transcended the definition of pets. He glanced up at the wall clock; it was already past three in the morning. Lowering his head with a sigh, Karen turned another page of the newspaper. Finally, sounds came from the stairs leading down from the rooftop. Karen threw back the quilt and got out of bed, spotting Purr as the cat walked in. Purr was soaked through, standing on the floor and shaking vigorously, spraying water droplets in all directions. "Where's Kevin?" "Watching over something." Karen walked into the bathroom, retrieved a dry towel, squatted down, and began drying Purr. "Watching over what?" "Corpses. Two corpses." "Whose corpses?" "Inquisitor Pavaro, and the other is a female believer of the Mills Faith. If nothing went amiss, she should be that Annie from the notebook." Karen's hands froze. Purr was left to nudge and rub its body against the towel on its own. "Dead?" "Yeah, dead. Killed by people from the Church of Order. Mr. Pavaro was ambushed first by a Whip of Order squad. Annie showed up and rescued him, but before the two could run very far, they ran into an Adjudicator and were pierced like honeycomb by the Sword of Adjudication." Karen resumed his movements, continuing to dry Purr. By then, Alfred had also heard the commotion and came up the stairs. "Radio goblin, I need a cup of hot coffee right now." "Understood." Alfred headed downstairs to pour the coffee. Purr continued, "Both corpses were swept down into the river canal. The silly dog and I took the opportunity to jump into the water and drag them into a nearby drainage ditch to hide them. But the Whip of Order people are probably still searching for the bodies. We should go retrieve them right now. If there's danger or the hiding spot gets discovered, the silly dog will warn us. Running back and forth is truly exhausting. If that silly dog weren't mute—fearing it would just 'woof woof woof' at you for half a day leaving you all guessing—I would've stayed behind to watch the bodies." "Kevin can write." "Deciphering its chicken scratch is worse than just guessing 'woof woof woof.'" "Then let's go right now." Karen tossed the towel aside and stood up. Alfred walked up carrying the coffee. "Can't you wait until I finish a cup of coffee? You know coffee is scalding hot, it needs to be sipped slowly." Alfred smiled. "No need. I added plenty of ice cubes to your hot coffee. Drink it now, while it's cold." *** Alfred drove, while Karen sat in the passenger seat cradling Purr. Purr provided a general location first, and once they drew near, gave specific directions. "Don't drive too slowly," Karen reminded him. "We can't let anyone notice that we're searching for something." "Yes, Young Master." "Right there, beneath that slope," Purr said. "Understood. I'll pull over by the slope." As soon as the car stopped, a golden retriever dashed up from beneath the slope. Karen opened the car door and stepped out. "Is it safe?" Kevin nodded vigorously. Karen surveyed their surroundings. "Then let's make it quick." "Young Master, please stay in the car. I'll head down to fetch the bodies. Once they're loaded, we can drive off immediately. That will be the most efficient." "All right." Karen agreed to the plan. After Alfred and Kevin went down the slope, he slipped into the driver's seat, Purr settling onto his lap. Karen turned on the car radio, which was playing a sorrowful love song. The lyrics were ordinary, the melody was ordinary, and it held virtually nothing distinctive. Next, Karen took out a cigarette, lit it, held it between his fingers, reclined the seat, drew up his right leg, and rolled the window halfway down. The rain drifted inside, quickly dampening his face and upper body, though the lit cigarette tip remained shielded from the downpour just beneath the car door frame. "What are you doing?" Purr asked. "Providing cover," Karen replied. "You really are cautious." "It's a good habit." Every now and then, Karen waved the lit cigarette in his hand, looking entirely like a heartbroken man parked on the roadside in the rainy night, venting his romantic sorrow. When the cigarette was nearly burned down, he flicked it out, lit another, and continued holding it. Purr had intended to tease Karen with a few more words, but suddenly seemed to sense something. Lying on Karen's lap, it pretended to sleep face down, but opened its mouth and gave Karen's thigh a nip as a warning. Karen tilted his head back and began singing along to the music on the radio, somewhat off-key, but quite loud. In the rearview mirror, a dark silhouette flashed past. Karen noticed it was a man carrying an umbrella and wearing black robes, walking past briskly. After a moment, Purr rolled over and muttered in disbelief, "We actually ran into one." "Someone from the Church of Order?" Karen asked. "I'm not sure. Definitely a priest, but there is a chapel of the Church of the Abyss nearby." Just then, the golden retriever ran up to the road, glanced left and right, and turned back down. Moments later, Alfred came up carrying two corpses on his shoulders. Sitting in the car, Karen reached back ahead of time to open the rear door. Alfred set both corpses onto the back seat. Without bothering to arrange them, he vaulted over the roof, dropped down, and slipped into the passenger seat. Kevin took a running leap through the window, caught cleanly by Alfred. Karen immediately started the engine and drove away. On the return drive, Karen drove fast, frequently checking the rearview mirror. Alfred constantly adjusted the radio, his eyes glowing with a persistent red tint. The golden retriever rested its head out the window, keeping watch on the outside. In short, the atmosphere inside the car was quiet, everyone vigilantly watching for any signs of pursuit. After driving into the apartment compound, Alfred hoisted both corpses onto his shoulders once more and went up the side stairs. Karen picked up a towel to wipe down the back seat, removing the lingering traces of blood. Once the cleanup was complete, Karen took the stairs into the apartment and headed to the second floor, where Alfred had placed Pavaro's and Annie's corpses in the bathroom. Only now did Karen have the opportunity to examine the two bodies closely. Mr. Pavaro's death had been the most gruesome. His body bore various wounds, likely sustained during the initial fight. Ms. Annie bore only one kind of wound: holes punched through her by the Sword of Adjudication. Furthermore, there was a hole right in Ms. Annie's forehead—dead center between her eyebrows. As she lay on the bathroom floor, one could even see the white of the tiles beneath through the hole in her forehead. Mr. Pavaro also had many holes through his body, but his head was intact. The golden retriever pulled down a bath towel, spread it across the floor, and lay on its side, rubbing itself dry. Alfred asked, "Young Master, can they undergo 'Awakening'?" Karen shook his head. "The damage to the corpses is too severe. It's unlikely an Awakening would succeed." "Woof!" *(Both of their corpses are valuable materials worth processing and collecting.)* Purr glared at the golden retriever and translated, "It says, what a pity." Karen nodded. "Still, I'd like to try." Alfred stepped back toward the bathroom doorway, and Purr retreated there as well. The golden retriever picked up the bath towel in its jaws and shifted over to the door. Karen decided to attempt Awakening on Ms. Annie first, because excluding the wound on her head, the overall damage to Ms. Annie's corpse was slightly lighter than Mr. Pavaro's. The principle of Awakening lay in rousing the lingering spirituality within the corpse. Memories were stored within this spirituality, bearing little actual relation to the physical brain. Karen closed his eyes, silently focusing within his mind as he sought the sensation from his previous Awakenings. Soon, a cluster of black chains emerged at Karen's feet, beginning to revolve around him. Unlike the previous Awakening performed on Count Rekar, the chains this time were distinctly more dynamic, no longer rigid, and even adjusted their form according to the layout of the bathroom. Karen opened his eyes, looked at Ms. Annie, pointed a finger at her, and declared in a low, resonant voice: "Great and supreme God of Order, here I borrow Your power, by the rules of Order, awaken the being before me!" The chains extended outward and sank into Ms. Annie's corpse. Yet for a long time, Ms. Annie's body remained completely motionless, showing not the slightest hint of awakening. The chains slowly withdrew, returning to Karen's feet. Karen spoke, "The residual spirituality inside her is far, far less than I anticipated." Purr chimed in, "It must be because of the Sword of Adjudication. When the Sword of Adjudication kills, it also obliterates any other remnants within the body, effectively achieving a degree of purification." Alfred remarked, "So, this is a relatively high-quality, purified physical vessel?" Such a thing was very important to aberrant demons, as it could help them assemble their own physical forms, much like Ms. Molly back then. Alfred continued, "Then Mr. Pavaro has even less of a chance. His corpse is more severely damaged, and he was also pierced by the Sword of Adjudication." Karen nodded, acknowledging Alfred's reasoning. Even so, Karen turned to Mr. Pavaro's corpse and chanted once more: "Great and supreme God of Order, here I borrow Your power, by the rules of Order, awaken the being before me!" The chains at his feet extended toward Mr. Pavaro. For Karen, this was merely a gesture of closure; even knowing there was little hope, he felt he should at least see the process through. Yet unexpectedly, the moment the black chains sank into Mr. Pavaro's corpse, the body began to tremble faintly, the signs of Awakening unmistakable! Purr was bewildered. "That doesn't make sense. Why wasn't the spirituality inside him wiped clean by the Sword of Adjudication?" Karen looked at the scene before him and answered: "Because he truly believed in Order."