13 Chapter 2: Exastrand (2/2)
After everything was put away, Magnus made his way to the barrel to wash up and get rid of all the dust and dirt that he collected.
When Magnus looked down into the crystal clear barrel, the face that looked back at him was not that of his own, but of a totally different one.
The reflect was that of a little child who looked to be 7 years old, thin and wiry thanks to not eating much with olive dirt-stained skin. The reflection had some baby fat, but you could notice the high cheekbones were coming in. This child also had a messy tangle of azure-colored hair with a deep-set of luminescent violet eyes, topped with an s-shaped eyebrow and sharp aquiline nose.
This kid… what was his name again? Yes, Edger.
Magnus could tell right away that this old host of his would have eventually grown up to be quite the looker one day, but now this body is his, and it is nothing more than a little kid.
Magnus dumped a bucket into the barrel filling it up and then using it to wash himself up with a piece of rag. After that, Magnus cleared all the items on his footstool and prepared it to have his meal.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor with the stool in front of him with his dinner, Magnus digs in.
After finishing up the meal, which was filling after going hunger for most of the day, Magnus cleaned up his plate and put it away.
What followed after that was hygiene, Magnus brushed up using a twig as a toothbrush, then finally he made his way to his bed.
As soon as Magnus hit the hay, he was out cold, the only thing that registered before sleep embraced him was a goodnight from Codex.
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Deep into the middle of night, Magnus fitfully slept, sweat glistened down his face as he rolled around in his bed. Then all of a sudden, Magnus woke up, screaming.
”Are you okay, Magnus?” Codex asked in a worried tone.
Magnus took in a deep lungful of breath as he surveyed his surroundings and started to calm once he saw that he was in his room at the top of the Memorial.
”Magnus?” Codex said tentatively.
”Oh,” Magnus said as he finally noticed Codex, then seeing the awkward situation he is in, Magnus tried to downplay things.”I am alright, Codex, there is nothing to fret about.”
”There is NOTHING to fret about, you say!?” Codex shout, feeling displeased. ”You wake up EVERY single night screaming since we came to this new world, and you say it is Fine!”
”Look, Codex...” Magnus said, trying to placate Codex, but she quickly cut him off.
”No! Do not give me that bullshit. I have stayed quiet as long as possible, waiting for you to come forth and talk about it. But it seems like that had been too much to expect from you. So, Magnus, I am going to ask this again, are you okay?”
For a long while, Magnus stayed silent, just sitting upright in his bed without saying a peep, then suddenly, without any warning, Magnus spoke up.
”I-i have these nightmares,” Magnus started off with, and Codex, who was in the background, stayed silent as she listened.
”It is this one nightmare that haunts every single night, just this one” then Magnus paused but not for long this time as he took in a deep breath to give himself the courage to carry on.
”I am back at that hill every night, and there I am butchering them all,” Magnus said as he shivered and held himself tightly for even uttering his worst terrors.
Codex, who was curious at what 'them all' meant, couldn't help herself from asking, ”What do you mean, Magnus.”
”Everyone,” Magnus whispered, and once the secret was out in the open, Magnus couldn't stop himself from continuing as he just wanted this off his chest. ”I am at that hill every night, killing all of them! First, it was just Michael and his brother, then Lobal and Jovel, after that it was Bret and Anthony, next it was Aunt Avril and Grandpa Richard, finally it was Mom and Dad.”
Once Magnus finished telling his dark deeds, silence reigned upon the room as nobody said a single word. Then it was all broken down by Codex, who took on a clinically detached tone and said, ”Magnus, it is just a dream nothing more, and as you said, there is nothing to fret about.”
Magnus shook his head from side to side, clearly not agreeing with Codex's view on the matter. ”No, it is clear what this means… I am a Monster!”
”Come on, Magnus, that is not true at all. You would never do that at all,” Codex said in an unhappy tone while trying to reassure Magnus.
Magnus chuckled in a bleak tone as he asked, ”I would never do that? Huh?! I already killed three of those people from my nightmare!”
”You know what I had enough of this!” Codex shouted, ”the only reason why you killed those three was because of self-defense. Not because you are some monster. Never!”
Magnus looked up from his finger as Codex timbre took on a softer approach, ”Magnus, a monster is a person who does not care a lick about those he or she hurts. However, you, on the other hand, feel anguish whenever you have to lift your hands. That is the making of a compassionate and benign person. So tell me, do you think you are a monster?”
After a long while, Magnus spoke up, ”You know how to cheer up a guy, Codex,” he said in an amused tone. ”Did I tell you that? Well, I am saying it right now.”
Then just as Codex was about to add something to Magnus's statement, a loud moan filled with agony echoed throughout the whole Memorial. The two of them, both Codex and Magnus, paused right where they stood, then Magnus broke the stillness as he said, ”Not this again. Come on!”
There is a reason why nobody in this part of town did not occupy this prime real estate, and it is because this place is haunted. Or that is what common medieval folk think.
Magnus, who is a modern man, knew better than falling into the common trapping of the ignorant folk. Seeing that everyone is avoiding this place like the plague, Magnus decided to take up residency here.
The first night when Magnus woke up to the screaming and wailing, he nearly ran out, right there and then, but after a whole night of staying awake,, Magnus saw that the damage was not substantial. Yes, he would get woken up in the middle of the night, but nevertheless, he does have a roof over his head and a place to call home.
So now all this noise is just nothing more than a nauseous.
”Do they never get tired?” Magnus asked Codex rhetorical, ”Every single night, this fucker just goes on and on.”
Codex just chuckled and asked in amusement, ”Why don't you go check it out, Magnus?”
Magnus sneered to hide his discomfort, although he would not admit it, he does feel a bit of trepidation towards whatever continuous to makes those awful noises. From what he gathered around the block this racket has been going on for hundreds of years: if the other beggars where to be believed.
So, Magnus came to the right and proper judgment of never going down to the lower floor if it can't be helped.
”Do you think I have the time of day to mill about and go on some pointless search?” Magnus asked.
”Whatever you say,” Codex said riley.
Magnus scowled but did not add anything then curled back into bed. Tomorrow Magnus has to rise up and early since it is going to be a big day, he is going to see that old witch again.