In the middle of the booming restaurant, Foreigner burped out a breath full of steak while caressing her belly.

  It had been five days since the train departed the Merv Station. And within those five days, the atmosphere on it changed significantly enough for Foreigner to forget how it was when she first boarded it. The population on board bloomed drastically after taking multiple stops, and while it was slightly annoying how crowded the hallway became, the mere fact that the services that were on hold were fully functional was enough to forgive the inconvenience. And while she still felt uneasy about the empire, the train surely delivered service every day in the form of a warm dinner in a cozy car.

  “I’m so full…Wish I could stay here forever…“ Foreigner swept the remaining steak sauce on her plate with her finger and licked it thoroughly in her mouth.

  “I must fully agree. Truly shameful, only two days remain onboard.“ Pafnuty said as he played with the mashed potatoes he refused to eat.

  “Well, the bad news is that this will be the last time to have a fancy dinner like this for a while. I don’t have much savings left, and we will need to work to earn some cash for our journey once we arrive at the capital.“ Octavia bluntly threw out the harsh truth as she picked some leftovers from her teeth with a toothpick.

  “At the very least, my friends, it seems like we have the cabin to ourselves. I do not know about you two, but I have not seen that strange Gelip ever since the first day. And for heaven's sake, I wouldn’t have been able to have a minute of sleep if she were ever with us at night!”

  Pafnuty released the statement of relief, and Foreigner crunched her face as she was still a bit salty about him taking up the remaining bed and leaving her to be stuck under that Gelip’s bed. Still, it was true that she never showed up after leaving the room in her lingerie, and that was the only thing keeping Foreigner from punching Pafnuty’s face while he was in deep sleep.

  “By the way, what is this ‘Gelip’ you two are saying?“

  Foreigner raised a question that, surprisingly, she never thought of until now, and even Octavia was shocked that she never told Foreigner about it.

  “You know. I keep forget that you are amnesic.” Octavia spat out her toothpick onto the plate. “It’s the name of the race that lives on an island country called ‘Sen’. That ‘roommate’ of ours was one of them. Their iconic traits are dark skin, a third eye on their foreheads, pointy ears, and four fingers.“

  “So, there are Demerii, Aranaim, Vaz, and Gelip. Are there any other races I need to know?“ Foreigner asked, as she sided her eyes to the family of Vaz sitting at the table next to theirs.

  “Let’s see. The other three major races are Shakh Sah, Sirenetani, and Horaidian. You never met those three, but I already told you about Shakh Sah, so I’ll skip them. For Sirenetani, they live close to the ocean and can breathe underwater. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t breathe on land. Also, they are known to be good at using Rhe—”

  “Waitwaitwait, Octavia! Did you see that?“

  Octavia frowned at a sudden interception, but still allowed Foreigner to pull her sleeves down and point to the other side of the room.

  As Octavia left the cash on the bill and stood up, Foreigner pulled her sleeves down and pointed at the other side of the room.

  Where Foreigner directed was a large table housing the single Vaz in an opulent outfit with grease dripping down from his face. Countless guests surrounded him in order to gain his attention even for a minuscule amount of time, and he clearly enjoyed the moment while not lifting a single finger in order to cherish the feast laid out for him. Instead, their ‘ex-roommate’ was sitting on his side and sliced the steak for him, then the piece of meat simply floated into the air and landed inside the giant mouth.

  “Hey, stop gazing at someone like that. Especially him, that’s dangerous.“

  Octavia landed a light fist on top of Foreigner’s head as she tried too hard to figure out the magic trick the Vaz was performing. She whispered into the ear as she wrapped her arms around Foreigner’s shoulder before dragging her out of the restaurant car.

  "Anyhow, that’s what I was going to say. Rhea.”

  “Rhea?“

  “It’s like…um…you know what. I don’t really know much about it either. Doc, what about you?“ Octavia noticed something was off with Foreigner’s tone as she seemed to be having a light migraine, but she left it to flow away.

  “Well, this isn’t my area of expertise, but you can think of Rhea as an invisible matter that flows around you. Similar, but unlike air, it does not affect or is affected by the physical realm. There still is no answer on how this is possible, but all we know is that Rhea functions as if it is on a different plane of dimension. However, there is a way to bring Rhea temporarily to our dimension. From what I saw, this looks as if the air is controlled at will to move objects freely, but I do not know how any of that truly works. But I do know that only a nanoscopic population can control Rhea, and those people are called Roeh.“

  Pafnuty swayed his hands constantly in the air while making his explanation, and Foreigner used her precious time chasing his hands instead of focusing on the content of the lesson.

  “Pro tip: you don’t want to mess with Roeh. Especially if they are Gelip or Sirenetani. Damn, those guys are nuts to fight against.“ Octavia rolled her eyes around with annoyance passing through her irises.

  “Soooo, I’m guessing that you two aren’t, um, Roeh?“

  “Not at all! We can’t even sense it to begin with. Only the people with a high affinity to Reah can feel its presence, and few of those minorities are considered Roeh. Say, my friend, by any chance, do you feel something wriggling around your body?“

  As Pafnuty observed her keenly, Foreigner closed her eyes and focused her senses on the atmosphere surrounding her. But no matter how many wrinkles she formed around her eyes, all she could feel was the chill running down the passage from the air conditioner, and she shook her head with a confused look that clearly showed how much she failed at understanding the lecture. Pafnuty looked a bit disappointed, but at the same time he fully expected such a result.

  “Okay, boys and girls. That’s the end of the class. We are here.“

  The three of them arrived at their cabin, and Octavia opened the door. She quickly scanned the room to confirm that nothing changed since they left and blew air through her nose in relief. Once everyone was inside and the door behind them closed, Octavia went straight to her bed and pulled out a book with a religious cover that looked to be fresh from under her mattress.

  “You guys take a rest. I’m gonna head out.“

  “Are you going to the casino again?“ Foreigner made a disapproving face because she knew how Octavia behaved when she lost money.

  “What do you take me for, a gambling addict?“

  Octavia said so, but it was sound logic. After all, she did spent the last four days at the casino. Foreigner remembered clearly how she returned with a fury overtaking her body and trampling the ground while rambling about how the machines were all rigged and the dealers were cheating. Then, the next day, she returned with a wide grin and praised herself about how she was the best player in the entire world and that she was truly done with gambling for a while. And those were the words that never took root in this cruel world.

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  Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Octavia knew what Foreigner was thinking too well, and she said with a shameful voice followed by a sigh. “Bar. I’m going to a bar. But you guys should stay here.” Then she left the room.

  Foreigner lay on her bed and watched the bottom of the upper bed. While the bed was more comfortable than the natural one in the wilderness, it was still far from what is called ergonomic. Still, there was no fund coming out of her empty pocket, so she could not make any complaint about it.

  As the food inside her turned into nutrition, her brain functioned to wonder about the strange Gelip that she was supposed to be a bed partner. Even though the interaction was only a fraction of the time, something did not make sense about her, especially how she never showed up to the room for the night. Perhaps she was staying with that Vaz she saw at the restaurant? If so, why even get a room when she could have just boarded with him.

  But soon, her digestive system worked too hard to give her a food coma, and thinking became hard labor. A natural yawn came out of her mouth, but it was too early to fall asleep. She wondered if there was anything else to do outside of the arcade she spent most of the days already, then rose up abruptly and called out Pafnuty, who was cleaning the empty flasks in his bag.

  “Hey. Wanna check out the bar?”

  The moment she stepped into the bar, Octavia knew this was where she truly belonged.

  With the brawls and gambling happening at every corner, the chaotic nature of the place gave a strange hospitality to its visitors. Under the influence of a foul stench of alcohol, sweat and vomit, the gibberish in various languages bloomed throughout the room where all kinds of races existed in one place with the unified goal of forgetting about the harsh life and drench themselves in a poisonous pleasure.

  Normally, Octavia would join one of them that seemed to be the most fun and naive to get free alcohol and some change from the unsuspecting victim’s pockets. But tonight, she had a goal in mind and walked straight to the bar top where a tranquility that was not fitting with the surrounding existed. There was a Vaz with a prosthetic leg for his left, drinking solely to soothe his loss at the casino, and Octavia placed her hand on top of his shoulder.

  “Well, if it isn’t Ghorban. I see you still have that old habit of getting drunk after losing a bet.”

  Octavia sat next to him as she snapped her fingers to grab the attention of the bartender, who soon brought her favorite drink before she ordered. The generous tip she gave three days ago must have been paid, Octavia thought to herself as she smiled at her little achievement.

  “Gah! Get lost, Octavia. I don’t have time for your scam today.” Ghorban lifted his glass as he threw his other hand, but once he saw the half-melted ice rolling around the glass on top of the water-drenched alcohol, he placed the glass down without taking a sip.

  “Oh, come on. Don’t be shy. I’m just here to help you in covering the loss you had on a slot machine.“

  Octavia took her first gulp of the drink. Not bad at all, she thought to herself. For a damned train like this, that was.

  “Great. Just what I needed.“

  Ghorban was about to order a fresh booze, but the only thing left in his wallet was dust and a coin that he could not bring himself to use. After a long sigh of reality, he bluntly spewed while swirling the wasted booze in the glass.

  “What’s the job.“

  “Background check.“

  Octavia slid the book she carried from the room across the bar top. Ghorban opened the first page, and there was a lively drawing of Foreigner, depicting every minor detail, including the left pupil fractured into seven different pieces.

  “Find out about her. Anything you can.“

  “Your new nemesis?“ Ghorban took round-shaped glasses out of his chest pocket and placed them on his face.

  “An acquaintance. I suppose.”

  Octavia shook the glass in her hand lightly. The ice in the drink turned a complete cycle, making a satisfying clanking noise as it struck the wall of crystal.

  “She lost her memory. I’m helping her recover it.“

  “How did you meet her?“

  “I found her dying near Abaskan.“

  “Her name?”

  “She doesn’t remember.”

  “Race?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Anything I need to know?“

  “She does use a knife pretty well. That’s about it.“

  Ghorban slowly took his glasses off and held them in his firm hand. “And why are you involved in this?“ He asked with pure curiosity, something he rarely does.

  Octavia stared at the dim reflection of herself on the waves of alcohol. She never knew how ugly she looked through the refracted lights passing through her favorite drink, but that wasn’t something she could be caring about right now. She gulped the remaining drink at once to keep her mood high and said as she wiped the remaining on her lips with her sleeve.

  “I just want to see where she’ll take me.“

  Without a word, Ghorban placed his glasses back on to inspect the picture once again. It did not take him an effort to know that there was something else going on in the head of the Demerii next to him. After all, he spent too much time with her in the past, time that he wished to erase from his memory but only made it more vivid with every attempt. For a split moment, he wondered if it would be better to reject this job, but that empty wallet of his was not going to be filled by itself.

  “Six thousand dukelt. Up front. No refund.“

  “Forty five.“ Octavia immediately responded, and Ghorban knew that he once again became a player in the game.

  “Fifty six.“

  “Forty eight.“

  “Fifty four. That’s final.“ Ghorban closed the book with a thud and slid it slightly towards Octavia.

  “Deal.”

  Octavia responded by raising her chin at Ghorban, and he opened the middle of the book to find a pile of money placed within the carving made through the stack of papers. Only then did he realize he was never part of the game and gave a hollow laughter at the outcome. Meanwhile, Octavia grabbed the bartender’s attention to order a new round, and soon the fresh glasses were placed in front of her and Ghorban each.

  “This round’s on me.“

  Ghorban lifted the glass. It contained rich booze, not the kind he usually drank except on unusual occasions. And Octavia knew this well enough to get the same for herself. The two struck their glasses together to make a clear sound of celebration, perhaps of the reunion of today, or perhaps of the survival of the past.

  “You have changed,“ Ghorban said before he took the sip.

  Octavia looked at the reflection of herself in the glass. This time, on the clear colored surface with a gentle wave swarming the little ocean, a fine-looking Demerii with a scar on her face stared back at her. Once she saw those two eyes desperately searching for the path designed for her, she placed a sour smile on her face.

  “No, I haven’t.“

  But Octavia couldn’t get a chance to taste the poison, as a huge brawl at the back of the bar took her attention away.

  Foreigner grabbed the sticky handle of the door and opened it wide.

  The first thing that entered her sight was a bunch of drunk muscular Vaz creating an ordered chaos in the room. The moment she saw how much of a mess the car was, she knew she came to the right place. With the excitement about the noble experience, she entered the room with a stride while Pafnuty stayed right behind her back.

  The second thing she did was to look for Octavia, but it was simply impossible to perform a search amidst the shambles. The best she could do was to walk through the crowd, but with every step she made, she noticed a shift in the atmosphere. The roar of the crowd calmed down one by one, and a singularity of interest rose among the drunkards.

  “Hey, fellas! Look what we have here! A rat snuck into the party!“

  A particularly huge Vaz stopped punching another on the table and approached Foreigner through the crowd making a way for him. She knew who this Vaz was; he was the one with the Gelip at the restaurant, the one Octavia warned her not to mess with. As she raised her hand to show her innocence, the Vaz pushed her to the side and kept marching ahead.

  “What business could an Aranaim have on our glorious land?“

  “Well, excuse me, gentlemen. I simply wish to have a good drink. Please, no need to raise our voices, do we?“

  Pafnuty tried his best not to provoke the beast. Although he could be reckless, he was clever enough to distinguish between a fight that was winnable and one that was not.

  Suddenly, the flow of air changed. The Vaz was keen on the attention he was receiving, and he had no intention of passing up his chance to become the protagonist of this stage. He grabbed Pafnuty’s head with one hand and threw him across the room, with the clear intention of breaking him apart. The poor Aranaim flew and crashed on an innocent table and yet rolled his way into two more to get crushed under the fragments of what used to be furniture. The crowd of Vaz cheered upon the brave action of their fellow, and spat on the misery given to Aranaim with pure joy.

  “Go back to your swamp, Aranaim! The holy empire of Vaz has no place for your blood!“

  Violence fueled yet another violence. The Vaz walked over Pafnuty and kicked his abdomen to create a coherent sound that resembled hitting a punching bag.

  Through the pain he was struggling against, Pafnuty coughed out the blood through his mask and waved at Foreigner. His signal was heading outward, and Foreigner understood it clearly. At the moment, the topic of the show was entertainment. But once Foreigner joined, it would become a challenge. And that was the last line for the Vaz to cross before crushing a skull instead of a leg. Foreigner understood this deep down in her heart. So she took a step. One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven steps.

  “Hey, fat face.“

  But knowing that wasn’t enough to stop her.

  As the Vaz turned his face to the voice of a weakling, the punch that was strong enough to collapse the heavy body of Vaz onto another pitiful table struck his chin. When he lifted his head through the dust and wooden molecules fogging his sight, he saw a damning female with determined eyes standing with her fists raised and yelling foul words out of her lungs at the gorgeous body of his.

  “Get your dirty hands off my friend, swine!“