Valen, Malbard. The Sin City of Xelha. When you mention Valen, most people think of gambling, and the large neon lights that attract its customers, like moths to a fire. Even during the coldest of times, the lights remain on. But as with all lights, they produce shadows. And these shadows reach far out into the cold, dark, Xelhan night. Hiding secrets that not even the brightest bulb in Valen can reveal.
The snow crunched underfoot as Zee Lin walked along the east side of Valen. It was dark and quiet with the occasional car driving by. Despite wearing mitts her hands were in her jacket pocket, a scarf wrapped around her neck and a woolen cap covered her head. Her boots had reflective neon yellow highlights on them, as did her jacket. As she walked further away from the city center, it became the only illumination on the long, lonely road.
Soon she stops at a cemetery and walks in. Though the gate on the road was closed, a smaller gate large enough for a single person to pass through remained open. The air was still as she walked in, the sky moonless, not that it mattered with the cloud cover. She cut through the cemetery and came to a small lake, partially iced over. She took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling as she looked out across the lake. A gust of wind whipped up and she needed to hold her hat and prevent it from momentarily blowing off her head.
"Your spirits still restless?" Zee remarked as the wind quieted back down. "I can't say I'm surprised, after all you probably thought you were going to get away with what you did," she said with a smirk. "But no one crosses a Lin and gets away with it."
She closed her eyes and took in another deep breath. "Though the land has changed, your tale continues to remain in the shadows, just outside of the lights from Valen. There are more houses now, and the cemetery ever expands nearby, yet as I close my eyes, I can still remember that night. That night I lost my innocence. That night my heart felt more like the cold Xelhan winters than that of a person."
"I remember looking down at my cousin. I'm sure you remember her. Nanako." She opened her eyes, a light turned on in the housing complex across the lake, reflecting a single square in the lake which remained in darkness. "Yeah, that was the first time I truly felt angry at something. Nanako lay there bleeding and bloody, a transaction gone wrong they called it. Despite all the security, they all said it happened just out of range of the cameras. Everyone said it was dark, shots were fired and when the blue lights of the police finally shone on the scene she was lying in a pool of her own blood. I swore vengeance for her that day, and I'd bring her killers to justice."
Another light came on in the housing complex, lighting a square a little to the left and closer to where Zee was standing. "That's when I heard about the cops trying to make good on a situation. After all, who else would have a better idea on how far the lights shone in those dark alleys. You painted the perpetrator as a nefarious crook who slinked in the shadows, but it was you yourself, blinding the populous with the light of your badge as your friends worked in the darkness behind." She let out a small laugh as another light turned on, "Laki you called yourselves. You thought you were the law and you'd take advantage of the chaos that you allowed to happen."
An entire row of lights lit up, connecting the two original lights. "Your resistance was well placed and you blocked our ability to search, but then you forgot the true reach of the hubris of man. You thought yourselves invincible, when all it took was a simple thing to overcome that arrogance."
A light dusting of snow began to fall and Zee held out her hand to catch some of it, "Something as old as the snowy seasons in Xelha would be used as a weapon to bring you down." She formed a fist with her hand, crushing and compressing the snow before letting it slowly sift out between her fingers. "I admit I was apprehensive about it. I shuddered at the thought initially and found the idea repulsive, but eventually it become obvious that there was no other way to seduce an answer out of you. And so the trap was set. The hunter had become the hunted."
The lights on the building went out, once again leaving Zee in complete darkness at the lake. The wind had picked up a bit as she continued her recollection with a smile, "You remember it too, I'm sure. You're probably the very same wind that blew through when I told him that I wanted to pay my respects to my Aunt Sarah. You may have even whispered in his ear to beware, but he didn't listen. The grass is probably the same that caught him as he fell to the ground. Gently caressing his face as he looked back in stunned disbelief." She looked up and the clouds began to break, revealing the stars. "And you, silent watchers probably bore witness to the entire event. Silently judging my actions, and talking amongst yourselves about them. Crying light years away as another one of yours fell from grace." She smiled, as she refocused her gaze back to the lake. "And you my friend, cold and dark just like I was that night. Though I was scared, neither of us have given up our secrets. A surface clear and innocent, but inside that hides much pain and sorrow."
There was a flash and the entire housing complex lit up almost the entire lake. The light stopped just shy of the bank next to where Zee stood. Where at her feet lie some leftover twine. And somewhere beyond that a cement block attached to a bag in the bottom of the peaty mire. A place where the light never reached. Somewhere, just beyond the neon lights of Valen. Where the light comes to an end and the long fingers of darkness extend.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfPqCv1PV5
