Gates of Penance

Chapter 43: Utopia is a lie

They found an open clearing to stay the night amidst the shivering trees and blackened sky. None of them were too keen on going to sleep since you’d have to be a fool to sleep during the night in the land of the dead.

They did create a small campfire however, since they trusted in Magi’s ability to detect any abstracts well in advance and the night was dark enough to diminish most of the light anyway. Now that it was dark, Nacht was also able to sense anything that got too close as well since his perception got a boost thanks to the [Herald of Darkness] Trait.

Gazing into the fire made him a little nostalgic.

"You know, I survived many nights like this. Surrounded by the darkness of night and staying by a fire for warmth."

Mirad and Magi looked at him in surprise and maybe even a small amount of pity graced their faces.

Magi spoke in a sympathetic tone.

"It must have been hard."

Nacht nodded.

"It was. Me and my mother used to find one of those metal barrels used for shipments. We would tear it open and put anything that could catch fire into the barrel. A small spark was all it took and we were able to get through the night."

Nacht shifted slightly.

"On a night like this, she told me about a city."

Nacht looked at them without any particular emotion on his face.

"Have any of you ever heard about the city of Omylas?"

They both shook their heads.

"I’ve never heard of it. Is it a real city?"

Nacht shrugged.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t."

He lingered for a moment.

"Omylas is a utopia in the middle of a wasteland. Everyone who lived in the city lived long prosperous lives and didn’t have to work. The city was extremely safe, every abstract would avoid the city like a plague and would never dare to try and penetrate the city’s walls. The people of Omylas ate the most delicious foods and drank the cleanest water. They never got bored and lived the happiest lives."

Mirad gave a reminiscent smile.

"That does sound like the perfect city. No abstracts, no duty, and a fulfilling life. "

Nacht nodded.

"It does. In fact, I’ve even dreamed of living in a utopia like Omylas on many occasions. A perfect city where everyone could grow old and die with their loved ones.

His face suddenly soured.

However, Omylas wasn’t perfect. Everyone who lived in Omylas could only stay in the city on one small condition. Do you know what that condition was?

Magi shook her head.

"What was it?"

Nacht frowned faintly.

"In the heart of the city, in the basement of a small irrelevant building, down a flight of creaky stairs was a single dark room. The room was enclosed by four walls with only a single semi functional light bulb that would flicker between on and off at irregular intervals. In the center of the room laid a person whose body was too weak to walk let alone crawl. This person was extremely afraid of the darkness and would suffer immensely whenever the light flickered off."

Nacht looked at both Magi and Mirad with a somber expression.

"As long as the people of Omylas knew that this poor soul was suffering, and where they could go to save him, they were allowed to stay in the city."

Both Mirad and Magi went silent, perhaps not knowing what to say.

Nacht paused for a moment.

"Most of the people in Omylas accepted this condition. After all, they didn’t want to give up their precious happy lives. If only a singular person had to be sacrificed for the collective well being then that was a more than good enough trade. However, not everyone in the city accepted this condition.

Many of the people left Omylas in favour of the wasteland that resided beyond the walls and lived a life that was nowhere near as good as the one they lived in Omylas, many of them died to the abstracts beyond the walls as well. But they didn’t live with the guilt of knowing that someone else was suffering for them.

Nacht looked at both of them with dark glare which he doubted they’d be able to see in the dark.

"So which one will you two be? Would you stay in Omylas? Or would you be the ones who walked away?"

Both of them stayed silent for a while before Mirad finally spoke.

"I don’t know... neither option seems to be ideal."

Magi scratched the side of her head, she seemed to be pondering deeply.

"Magi would rather suffer for herself than have someone else suffer for her... but it is only one person."

Mirad seemed to be struggling as well.

"I would want my loved ones to stay in the city since leaving would be more dangerous but I don’t think having someone else suffering for me seems right either.

In the end, they each chose different options. Magi decided she would rather leave Omylas since she didn’t want to have anyone suffer for her just so she could live a luxurious life. In contrast, Mirad chose to stay since he was more concerned about the abstracts on the outside and wanted to stay with his family and friends who he would inevitably force to stay inside since it was safe.

After that, Nacht sat alone as he waited for the sun to come up. He just sat there alone with his thoughts as he heard the rustle of a few leaves on a nearby branch. Well, he was alone until he heard an annoying whisper in his ear.

[They never asked you what you’d choose. So I’ll be the one to do the honours. What would you do? Or rather... what was the correct choice? To leave or to stay?]

Nacht looked to nowhere in particular.

"Both choices are wrong, but at the same time, I didn’t tell them everything about Omylas."