Thirty-Six strolled around the room, inspecting everything. “I like looking at all the different machines. It kind of reminds me of being back underground.” Kano raised an eyebrow, and Thirty-Six hurriedly added, “N-not in a bad way, though.”

Yon, still occupied with her own examination of the room, paid them little mind, though there was a certain tension to her posture that gave Kano the impression she’d have been happier without them there. Well, regardless of how the necromancer felt, she’d have to suffer through it. Kano was the reason they were in here in the first place.

“What about it reminds you of that place?” Kano asked, curious. She couldn’t see much of a resemblance.

“Umm… I’m not sure. The metal and the machines, I guess? It smells much nicer here, though.”

Noticing Thirty-Six’s eyes growing distant, Kano said, “It’s okay. Whatever happened down there is in the past. Try to focus on the present.” As the words left her mouth, Kano wondered what was happening right now? She hated feeling out of the loop, but she knew even if Yon tried to explain, she probably wouldn’t understand. After a moment’s thought, she corrected that to definitely wouldn’t understand.

Unaware of Kano’s mental floundering, Thirty-Six met Kano’s attempt at reassurance with a warm smile. “You’re right. I’ll try not to think about it.”

“What do you want to do, anyway?” Kano asked.

Thirty-Six cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“In the future, once we get out of here, what do you want to do? What sort of life do you want to live?”

Thirty-Six replied without hesitation. “I want to be with you.”

Embarrassed, Kano tugged at her long hair and glanced in Yon’s direction. The necromancer didn’t seem to have heard. “That’s fine and all,” Kano said, clearing her throat, “but what else?

“Um…” Thirty-Six closed her eyes and swayed side to side in thought. “It could be fun to be like her.” She pointed at Yon. “She seems like she knows how to do a lot of interesting stuff. Do you think she’d teach me?”

Kano’s eyes widened. “You can’t be a necromancer.”

“Why not?”

“They manipulate people’s souls.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Yes! Besides, you can’t learn to be a necromancer. It’s a different state of being altogether to people like us.”

Thirty-Six pouted. “But it seems fun. Can I definitely not be a necromancer? Can’t I at least ask Yon?”

“No,” Kano said, shaking her head, “absolutely not.”

“But why not?” Thirty-Six asked, not giving up. “If necromancers are so bad, then why are we working with her?”

“Because I need her help. That doesn’t mean I think what she does is right.”

Crossing her arms, Thirty-Six’s stubbornness subsided, though Kano could tell she was far from pleased by her decision. Even if it was what Thirty-Six thought she wanted, Kano could never condone it. She’d just have to be upset. It probably wouldn’t take her long to get over it. If she didn’t, well, Kano would deal with that further down the line. She had enough of her own problems to worry about right now. “You should do something more worthwhile.”

Thirty-Six pouted. “Like what?”

Kano paused. What was something worthwhile? Particularly something Thirty-Six could do. She couldn’t imagine the little ghoul was suited to leading others or anything like that. What did that leave? Not a whole lot as far as Kano was concerned. Work for the most part struck her as a bit pointless. “I’m not sure. You’ll have to find something to do on your own.”

Thirty-Six scratched her head. “What about you? What do you do?”

“Whatever I want.” There didn’t seem to be much to say beyond that. She certainly didn’t work for anyone else or run any sort of business.

“Well, why can’t I just do that, then?”

“That’s simple,” Kano said, glad to have something she could answer. “Because you’re weak. Only people with power, like myself, can do what they want. Everyone else either has to work for those people or stay out of their way. That’s just how the world works. Does that make sense?”

“Oh.” Thirty-Six lowered her head. “It makes sense, but…”

“But what?”

“Well, it sucks. Why do things have to work that way?”

“Why?” Kano couldn’t understand the question. That was how the world worked; there was no why to it. “That’s how things are. There’s no why to it.”

“Then there’s no reason or anything to it?”

Kano could think of a few reasons, but none of them seemed significant. “No, not really.”

Taking a deep breath, Thirty-Six exhaled and went back to looking at the machines. Kano felt a pang of concern. What she was saying just didn’t seem to be getting through to Thirty-Six. Was she not explaining it well enough or did the ghoul not yet understand enough of the outside world? Kano decided it was probably the latter. Leaving Thirty-Six to her own devices, Kano went and hovered behind Yon.

It took a while, but eventually the necromancer grew tired of ignoring her. With great reluctance, Yon tore her herself away from inspecting the medical equipment. “All right, I have a decent idea of what these things do. I’m not certain that I’ll be able to help you, but I should be able figure out what’s wrong.”

She took Kano into a small sealed room within the larger section, leaving Thirty-Six on the other side of the glass. Laying Kano down on a bed, Yon wheeled a machine over on its stand. It was shaped like a white tube split horizontally in half, and it slid into place over her and whirred to life.

Forced to stare at the blank white interior, Kano felt a little nervous. Was this really a good idea? She felt vulnerable, exposed. As the machine continued… whatever it was doing, Kano’s eyelids grew heavy. Yawning, she closed her eyes. She decided she may as well have a short rest while she waited for Yon to do her thing.

Sleep came easily, drawing her into its warm embrace. The real world faded away, and Kano entered the realm of dreams.

Instead of the sleek metallic walls of the research center, the surrounding space was wide open. The sun shone down through the clear sky onto rows of humans dressed in rags. Under the watchful eyes of ghouls armed with sub-machine guns, they marched across the parched earth.

Most were malnourished, some were even barefoot. Even with the slow pace they set, some of the humans wouldn’t be able to keep up. The only punishment for slowing down now and again were threats and the occasional blow from a closed fist. But when an old man collapsed, too tired even to cry out, a guard dragged him out of line. Without saying a word, the ghoul fired right into the man’s back.

They left him facedown in the dirt, lying in a pool of his own blood. The black-robed man Kano was traveling with paid no attention to the spectacle, but Kano couldn’t take her eyes off the dying man. Was this how humanity would end? Culled like diseased animals? No, not if she had anything to say about it. There was little she could do now, but she was sure an opportunity would come. It had to.