Author's Note: I'm a fan of Rumpelstiltskin. I don't think anyone would guess Sephiroth's name either if they were required to know it.
CHAPTER 14: Despair
Time seemed to crawl to a halt. Inside the restaurant, Cloud ignored the ongoing chaos that surrounded him in Chocobo Chow's dining area. The screaming brats, the smoke alarm that soon set off, and the upset customers that demanded their food… none of that mattered. He continued to look out the glassed wall that overlooked the children's playpen. It remained largely desolate, save for a silver-haired boy sitting by himself at the swing set. The more Cloud stared at this child, the more memories of his birthday night flooded back to him. Tiny details emerged along with a chain of events. He remembered…
After passing out, he saw this same boy sitting alone at a bus stop. Some creepy old pervert had arrived and joined him. Cloud had intervened when things got out of hand. A fight broke out. Two men. Blood. Glass. That was how he had ended up with cuts and bruises on the morning after, Cloud realized. As he dived further into this memory, though, he recalled the aftermath. He had rode off on a motorcycle with a brunette-haired young man who had starry blue eyes. He was a… Host.
His curiosity at its peak, Cloud finally passed through the glassed doors that led outside.
The chains of the swing quietly squeaked each time the silver-haired boy pushed up and down on his seat. A breeze of cold air cut through the playground and sent tiny bumps across Cloud's skin. Seeing the child at the restaurant tonight, he naturally assumed he came because of the viral video. Everyone else did. But there was something peculiar about this boy. Something different.
Cloud drew closer and closer until the child stopped swinging. Feet covered in glossed-black laced shoes planted themselves on the ground in perfect synch. Bright green eyes stared at Cloud again. As before, they did not waver.
Cloud didn't make any sudden movements. Didn't blink. Didn't breathe. It was as if he had just stepped into a wolf's den. Briefly, he noted the pools of green on the boy. His shining eyes contained slit-shaped pupils, similar to a feline's. Again, that funky moment of déjà vu hit Cloud. He proceeded with caution and took a spot on the empty swing next to the child. A pleasant scent of vanilla lingered in the air.
"Hey. Um. Are you… doing okay, kid?" Cloud slowly asked.
It was the million dollar question. This was the second time he found the child alone. Granted, Chocobo Chow served as a safe haven for lost or runaway children. But Cloud wondered why this particular kid had a bad habit of wandering off by himself, especially during evening hours. Where were his guardians?
The Chocobo Chow employee waited a while for an answer. None came. The child stayed quiet and sucked on his green lollipop. Cloud noticed silver polish on his long fingernails. Strange little boy, he thought. He might've mistaken him for a girl if he didn't know any better.
"Did you want to talk to me?" Cloud later pressed again.
No response.
Cloud made a face. He recalled the kid's other annoying habit: his refusal to talk. The possibility this boy was mute did briefly cross his mind though. The child hadn't talked during their last encounter either. But according to Wedge, this schoolboy spoke to him just fine. He had specifically wanted to meet with the blonde. Cloud didn't know what to make of this. He was here now. He came. Yet, this child barely muttered a word since his arrival. Did Wedge hear him right? Was it a miscommunication?
An idea popped in Cloud's head at the thought of Wedge. He glanced at the Happy Meal in his hand. Holding it up, he asked, "Are you hungry? Wedge made this for you. It's got a cool toy inside."
The child briefly looked at the item presented to him. His expression actually changed. The reaction wasn't what Cloud expected.
Whereas other children's eyes lit up and danced with delight at the sight of a Chocobo Chow Children's Happy Meal, he only saw a silvery brow arch up. Plush-warm lips twisted into an uneven single line. The child kept his hands on the swing's chains and did not move to accept the present. If Cloud didn't know any better the schoolboy looked… offended.
Cloud placed the meal on his lap and mumbled, "Not a fan of our stuff, huh…"
The child blankly stared back. Cloud recognized that look on his face: it was the exact same look he gave whenever someone asked him a stupid question.
Cloud softly sighed to himself. He was at a total lost now. For a while, the two of them sat side-by-side. In silence. They listened to the non-stop chatter inside the restaurant and cars zipping by across city streets. A plane flew overhead. Lightly moving in his swing, Cloud wondered why the child had come. The boy didn't talk to him; didn't say his name. There wasn't a point to their meeting if all they did was sit next to each other without a word.
Staring at the Happy Meal on his lap, Cloud eventually opened it. He was bored. And hungry. This was supposed to be his break. And yet here he sat…
Cloud spent a few moments chewing on the small-sized burger and fries that came with it. It wasn't too bad. There was enough salt and pepper to give it a kick. As he ate, though, Cloud became self-aware of himself. He had to look away from the child. Even when they didn't speak to each other, the schoolboy still watched him. Every bite, swallow, and lips licked had been carefully observed. Those bright green glowing eyes never left him.
Cloud suddenly felt like an organism stuck under the lens of a microscope. The child was only ten-years-old, maybe less than that. But his presence loomed large over him. It became overbearing. The frigid cold air could not cool the intense warmth that took over Cloud's face.
When the teenager finally finished his meal, a mild moment of curiosity prompted him to check out the 'super cool toy' Wedge had stuck inside. Cloud discovered a plastic-wrapped sky-blue ring. Blue. The color reminded him of his mother's eyes. And his. Cloud removed the wrapping and pressed down on the crystal. A large image of the solar system projected from it. The universe within the palm of his hands… Neat. Chocobo Chow's food may have tasted mediocre, but at least the toys were cool.
Cloud held the ring in his hand and decided to keep it for himself. He enjoyed nerdy stuff like this. Right as he was about to put the ring on his pinky, however, the silver-haired child next to him suddenly reached out and snatched it from him. He slipped the ring on the fourth finger of his left hand.
It belonged to him now.
First his Chocobo Chow badge. Now his ring. Cloud narrowed his eyes at the schoolboy. "You know, you have a nasty habit of taking things away."
"I only take what is rightfully mine," came a prompt reply.
Cloud instantly looked at the child next to him. His mouth opened halfway but he quickly shut it again. At first, he doubted his ears. Then he realized the boy had actually talked. He… talked.
Cloud became quiet. He hadn't expected a response from this boy, let alone, a reply like that. The sudden surprise intrigued him on many levels. For someone his tender age, the voice and words that came out of the schoolboy's mouth possessed all the authority and confidence of an adult's. Each syllable had been pronounced with utmost care.
"So you can talk…" Cloud declared quietly, more to himself than to the boy.
Bright green eyes roamed over his face. The child's tiny wet tongue slowly flicked out and ran along the flat side of his lollipop.
"What's your name?" Cloud asked.
The green-eyed child did not answer. He stuffed the lollipop deeper between his blush-red lips.
"Why did you come here?" Cloud persisted. He looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
The schoolboy refused to meet his inquiry with a vocal answer. Instead, he reached into his jacket's chest pocket. Removing a black card, he passed it to his companion.
Curious, Cloud accepted it. The business card was mat black with round corners. On one side, there was a word in black embossed letters: LOVELESS. Cloud flipped the card over. A line with seemingly random numbers and letters appeared there. It looked like a website. However, the extension ended in 'shallot'. That extension, alone, indicated it could only be accessed by specialized software. Cloud knew what this meant. LOVELESS existed inside the online's Hidden Gate.
"Visit that website," the schoolboy spoke again, his words clear and precise. To the point.
"Why?" Cloud inquired. He had checked the Hidden Gate on various occasions, perhaps more than he should have. It was a dark and often forbidden part of the cyber world. Cloud waited for an explanation. When none came, he repeated his question more forcefully, "Why?"
"Because," the child countered back at last.
"Because…?"
The child removed the lollipop from his mouth and leaned slightly toward him. His pale face glowed against the moonlight. In a soft and low voice, he revealed, "Because of your eyes, boy."
"My eyes…" The teen's brows drew low. He felt lost. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Everything."
Cloud readjusted himself in his swing, feeling uncomfortable. And confused. "I-I don't understand."
"Your eyes spoke to me on the night we met at the club," the child explained.
"At the club? But… we never met at the club." Cloud bit the tip of his tongue immediately after he said that. His shaky unreliable memory insisted they only saw each other at a bus stop. His intuition, on the other hand, argued otherwise. Unsure of himself anymore, Cloud whispered later, "…Or did we?"
A devilish smile shaped across the boy's mouth, one that was subtle and crooked. As if to conceal it, he rubbed the flat surface of his lollipop against his bottom lip. There was a glint in his green eyes now.
Cloud became quiet. Sitting beside this boy, a strong air of familiarity grew from him. Cloud tried to recall the other events that had happened during his birthday celebration. As before, it was cluttered information. Brief spells of words, images, scents, and tastes. Cloud did recall one detail though, something he saw when he had wandered the streets with his companions that night. A shadow baby.
Cloud's eyes found the boy again. "You were the shadow that kept following me after I left the club."
A small, nearly inaudible noise escaped the boy's mouth. It sounded like a snicker.
"Something tells me you didn't appear at the bus stop by coincidence either. You were there. For me."
"I confess, boy," the child began and gracefully crossed his legs, "I thought if I saw you one last time it would have ended my curiosity with you. Alas, a glimpse of your true self during the altercation that night revealed the source of my fascination. A pleasant revelation, that. I knew we had to meet again."
Cloud blinked. Wedge was right about this kid: he was weird. No boy his age talked like that. Cloud's eyes drifted to the ground. Later, he muttered, "My true self? I… don't know what you mean by that."
That intense spark in the boy's eyes returned; a blaze of green. It was followed by a small curve at the corner of his mouth. Tipping his head slightly to one side, the smile bordered between amused and jest. The child didn't bother explaining himself. He didn't have to. Cloud understood what he meant, even as he remained in a state of denial. It troubled him to see how perceptive the schoolboy was with strangers. He saw through him like glass.
"I'm here because of what I saw in you that night," the child continued and ran his tongue across the lollipop. "It's why I searched for you. It's why I want you to visit that website."
Cloud recalled the time the schoolboy had ripped off his badge. He didn't understand why at the time but it made sense now. His last name was stenciled on it. That would've provided enough information on his whereabouts. But still. There were ten Chocobo Chow locations scattered across Midgar City, all with at least twenty stationed employees. This boy must've investigated every damn one of them.
Cloud realized now it wasn't the viral video that brought him here. It was him.
The teen's voice was nothing more than a whisper when he said, "But I… don't even know you."
"I know enough about you." The boy uncrossed his legs and rose from his swing. With his lollipop placed between two silver-polished fingers, he stood in front of Cloud. He gazed down at him with a soft light in his strange eyes. "I can make you forget your sadness, boy. I can replace it with something else."
"My sadness…" Cloud swallowed and realized his mouth had gone dry. "What makes you think I'm sad?"
"Your eyes," the child whispered back without hesitation. As if it was an obvious answer. He reached out and tenderly touched a spike of Cloud's platinum-gold locks. "Like I said, your eyes reveal a lot to me."
Absently, the boy intertwined two fingers with a string of Cloud's hair. He gently twirled and pulled on it. Cloud sat completely still. He kept his eyes low, away from the boy. This small intimate act felt too similar to the times Kyle tugged his hair during a passionate make-out session. Cloud could feel glowing jade eyes on him. He refused to look up, fearful of what the boy might find in them.
Those damn eyes…
The thought of eyes eventually brought up the faces of three blue-eyed Hosts for Cloud. Their stares had cast a brilliant light of blue and burned through the darkness. Cloud mentally saw their tall figures in his head. A holy trinity, he considered thoughtfully. Cloud glanced at the LOVELESS business card in his hand. Ele's words at the club echoed to him as he studied it: They're boys hired for love.
Cloud finally understood the nature of this odd meeting. This revelation both shocked and baffled him.
"You're a Host," Cloud realized out loud. He finally looked up and saw the boy confirm this with a nod. A bit alarmed, he removed the hand that touched his hair. "But you're just a kid."
At this, the young Host laughed and stepped back. His lively sound was neither too high nor too low. The child stuck the lollipop back inside his mouth. Sucking on it again, he murmured, "You'd be surprised by my age, boy. I would've seen you in my actual form tonight. However, it's difficult prowling these streets without attracting unwanted attention. Hardly anyone thinks twice about a schoolboy though."
There he went again, speaking in a way Cloud could not understand. He didn't know which was worse: the boy's deafening silence whenever he refused to talk. Or the enigmatic words he spewed whenever he did speak. Cloud scoffed for a moment. "I'm sorry, but… your actual form?"
"It's complicated."
Cloud halfway rose from his seat, ready to leave. "Listen. It was nice meeting you. But I'm not interested in a Host, let alone, one your age. You should head home, kid. Your folks are likely missing you and…"
"You hate this place," the child cut him off, temporarily removing the lollipop from his mouth. "There's no need to see your eyes to know how much you hate serving dullards every day, boy. Mopping those floors. Scrubbing filth from toilets. Making sure everything stays immaculate so that the process can repeat itself and you can ask your darling customers an essential question: would you like fries with that? A pinnacle moment in your life, no doubt. It is no wonder why you hide that rural accent of yours. Nibel Area, is it? Hah, you would not want anyone to mistake you for some backwater country-boy. Would you?"
Cloud's hands gripped the chain of his swing. He avoided eye contact and found himself slowly sitting back in his seat. Unbalanced. Stunned. The silver-haired child, meanwhile, turned away. He stared into the dining area of the restaurant. His eerie eyes fell on a family of three: a boy, father, and grandfather.
"Time flashes by," the boy remarked softly. "Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Before you know it, you change from seven to seventeen to seventy. That beautiful face of yours shrivels away like a prune while the body rots. Loss of eyesight here. Trembling hands there. You might remember your name. You might even ask yourself: will someone remember me? Have I left behind a worthwhile legacy? And then it dawns on you. You're maggot food to the Planet. You're as relevant as dirt under toenails is." His jade eyes shined and strayed back to Cloud. He licked at his sugary treat with a look of innocence. "Pathetic. Isn't it? And to think, that delightful Happy Meal on your lap will be the only memory left of you."
Inside his mouth, Cloud tasted copper. The lowly Chocobo Chow employee had chewed the insides of his lips a little too deeply. His mouth stung. Meanwhile, the knuckles were white. He'd clutched the metal chains of his swing so tightly that the blood no longer reached his fingers. They felt numb.
This Host… He looked so young and fragile. So pure and beautiful. Like an angel. Yet, his words sliced through Cloud like a razor. It was as if this Host had entered his subconscious and yanked out every fear, worry, and question that plagued him each night. He even knew of his origins. Nibel Area. Cloud did not tell anyone of his hometown. Nor did his accent have a prominent sound. If it existed, it was a subtle one. Either this Host checked his profile or he had the hearing senses of a canine.
With eyes cast down, Cloud took a deep swallow. The food he'd eaten moments ago did not agree with him now. He felt sick.
"I do not come to just anyone, boy," the child confessed and took a step forward. "The type of love I offer is not… typical. And unlike other Hosts, my services are reserved only to those I either deem worthy or fulfill a personal curiosity of mine. In most of the cases, it's the latter. The basic prerequisite remains though. All of my clients must possess a particular emotion I fancy."
Cloud slowly raised his head. He forced his eyes to meet the boy's. His heart pounded as he quietly asked, "And what emotion would that be?"
The scent of vanilla drifted strongly in the air as the silver-haired boy bent forward and drew dangerously close to Cloud. Their lips were only inches apart. A sweet and gentle smile shaped itself across the child's lips again. With a single breath, he whispered: "…Despair."
The weather outside became chillier. While the bright moon hid itself behind a gush of dark clouds, orbs of mako energy brightly glowed in the sky. A baby cried somewhere inside the restaurant and a car honked at the adjacent street. The world existed as it always did. It moved forward. But for Cloud, at this specific spot, time stood still.
Rooted to his chained seat, the blond-haired teen sat in total silence. Some absurd part of him wanted to laugh. Irony was funny sometimes. This child had entered his life right when he stood in the middle of quicksand and debated over his next actions. Cloud realized now why the boy's previous words rattled him: he thought the same damn thing. This child exposed him for the mindless puppet he'd become in Midgar City. His Chocobo Chow uniform and hours serving complete strangers like a slave… he was no different from the next employee who would slip on this uniform after he rotted away into oblivion.
There'd been restless nights Cloud spent thinking about his reality. Was it even a reality? Or did the Dreamers awaken when they slept? On certain mornings, Cloud counted the cracks on his apartment's ceilings. He did that until he felt alive enough to get up. On his way to work, he sometimes wished he brought along his sword and destroyed everything in his path.
Cloud understood now why his eyes meant everything to the boy. In them, the child saw what he tried to hide from the world. The Host saw his despair. It was the source of his frustrations. His rage. His self-loathe. His everything.
"Are you scared, boy?" the child asked; his plushy soft lips still close to his.
Cloud nearly lost himself in those eyes. He watched the pupils turn slimmer, nearly disappearing in green. Everything about this boy freaked him out. His beautiful and alluring presence made Cloud uncomfortable for all the wrong-right reasons. But as to whether he was afraid of him?
Cloud thought back on a particular dark winter night. Unyielding ice-blue eyes had stabbed into his with the promise of despair. In his deepest nightmares, Cloud could still hear the wolf's howl. He could still see the shadow of his mother in the far distance as the blizzard raged on. Blood was spilt that night. Cloud's heart paced faster at the memory of it. Yes. He'd been afraid then. Despair had nearly taken over him. Even so, he had raised his blade and met the eyes of the Fenrir. A swordsman did not yield.
Thinking back on that event and what had happened afterward, Cloud remembered why he hadn't given into his despair just yet. Like Kyle had mentioned earlier, he was too stubborn to quit. Three years working in a miserable job he loathed and he still fucking came to work on time.
"No. I'm not afraid," Cloud answered back at last. Quiet. Calm. Resolved.
The smile on the child's face gradually grew. His green eyes fiercely glowed. "Just as I thought. Despair reeks from you, boy, but there is something else that burns in those extraordinary blue eyes of yours."
The Host reached out with a hand and carefully set a strand of hair away from Cloud's left eye. The teenager exhaled slowly, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. He had trouble working his mouth.
"Who are you?" Cloud finally demanded; his voice small.
"I am the emanations of the Infinite."
That answer stunned Cloud. He stared with unblinking eyes and realized… this child was not a child.
The silver-haired Host eventually pulled away from their close proximity. He stood at full height and revealed, "My name is the final prerequisite. If it is enlightenment you desire then know my name. Solve my riddle. I've already opened the path to the answer but it will not stay open for long."
From his spot, Cloud looked up at the Host. Curious. He wondered what he meant by that last part.
"You will not see me again after this night. The next decision has to be yours to make. That is my gift to you: freedom. Choice. You can choose to soar with me to the Promised Land. Or you can choose to exist as you are now until the day you become dust for the Planet. Think carefully on this. There will be no going back. My love is also not without its consequences, Strife."
Strife. It was the first time the Host addressed him by his name. Cloud could hear the sound of his heart pound through both ears.
"I suspect you won't bore me like the others have. I look forward to seeing the path you choose for yourself." The silver-haired Host stuck the lollipop back inside his mouth. There was a twisted smile on his face. He courteously bowed; his movement fluid and elegant. Then he walked out of the playpen and sang a familiar song in his innocent childlike voice: "Chocobo, Chocobo. Come here, lovely Chocobo. Sit with me by my warm bright fire. I'll wrap my arms around you and kiss you higher…"
For a moment, Cloud did not react. He stayed on the swing and watched this beautiful yet bizarre Host leave. The child's lovely voice still carried as he sang and headed down a long road. Cloud held his breath. A strange feeling of absence enveloped him. Watching the boy's figure get smaller and smaller, a part of him was tempted to walk after him. He almost felt… incomplete. The teen slowly rose from his seat. He took a few steps forward but stopped. The Host faded away into the landscape of the sky city.
Cloud's shoulders sagged. Disappointed. The child was gone. Their meeting had come to an end. So did his break. It was time to return to his suspended reality. Learning to breathe again, the teen made his way to the glassed-door entry. A deep raspy voice stopped him midway.
"I figured you would be his next potential client, Cloud Strife. And I was right."
Cloud reactively flinched at the unfamiliar voice that addressed him. He spun on his heels and caught the outline of a tall figure. It leaned against a giant Chocobo statue that overlooked the playpen. From its shadows, a pair of crimson-colored eyes gleamed back at Cloud. The gentleman did not move from his spot. Instead, he stood there and lit a cigarette with a lighter. The flame briefly cast over his pale features and revealed a man in a dark suit; his arm in a sling.
"Vincent Valentine…" Cloud recognized at last.
The Turk snapped his lighter shut. With the fire out, he was hidden in shadow again. Only the tip of his cigarette and crimson eyes blazed through the darkness. His voice reached Cloud. "I've been keeping an eye on you, Strife. You're hard to miss. I can see why you caught his eye. Not too bright though."
Frowning, Cloud took a step forward to get a better look at Valentine. Having a Shinra operative a few feet away was unnerving enough. But the fact he knew his full name and had been watching him? That unsettled Cloud. He suddenly thought about Wedge's choice of words earlier – sleep with the fishes – and didn't think they were funny anymore.
"Why are you here?" Cloud inquired carefully. "And why are you spying on me?"
Valentine blew out a puff of smoke from his mouth and stood there like a statue himself. A cool chilly breeze blew through. Strands of his smooth jet-black hair swayed against the wind. He finally spoke again. "I advise you to stay away from him, Strife. His light is too great; it'll sear right through you. If you follow his path you'll probably end up like the others."
Cloud had heard similar cautionary words spoken to him before. From who, he did not remember. His curiosity bloomed as he took another step forward. "End up like the others…?"
No answer.
Cloud scoffed; not surprised. Knowing Shinra's shady operative, it was on a need-to-know basis and he obviously did not need to know. This frustrated the teen, however. While Cloud recalled Valentine's possible ties with the black-veiled Host, it did not explain why he was here or actively meddled in his private affairs.
"Do yourself a favor: cut the strings before you go too deep," Valentine advised, "Once you're tangled in his web, there's no turning back. He takes what is his. Burn that card and pretend you never met him."
Leaning his weight to one side, Cloud narrowed his eyes at the Turk. He felt annoyed by Valentine's cryptic words. Did anyone talk normal anymore?
Receiving a lecture from the taller man only aggravated Cloud further. He didn't see what the big deal was. Tons of children talked to him. It was a common experience here in Chocobo Chow. So what? Sure, the young Host wasn't like the others. He gave off a strong magnetic aura that intrigued Cloud and made him feel like an alien in his own skin. The teen didn't mind. He, himself, was a strange guy. Strange understood strange. The pretty boy's creepiness didn't put him off.
None of this should've mattered. The way Valentine referred to the silver-haired Host, he made the child sound like fucking Diablos reincarnated.
Glaring at the Turk, Cloud finally said, "I'll decide on what action to take. Thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me I got work to do, Suit."
"That child is not what you think he is," Valentine replied as Cloud walked away. "He's far more than what you can possibly imagine. Far greater. And far worse."
Cloud waved him off, too tired and irritated to entertain this nonsense any longer. He still had a long three hours left on his shift. The Chocobo Chow employee headed to the restaurant's glassed doors without a word. Only briefly did he look back to see if the Turk still watched him. Valentine was gone.
By eleven o'clock, Cloud was home, back at his apartment. Spent and worn out as usual. The journey back to his residence had been an uneventful one, save for the thugs and whores he regularly avoided during his train commute. There thankfully was no creepy soldier running amuck like last night. Lisp had sounded better too when she'd escorted him to his place. Now was the time to put all of today's wild happenings behind him.
Cloud had already taken a shower and brushed his teeth. He'd also secured his residence; even peeked out his door's peephole to make sure the hallway was empty. The sane and logical part of him wanted to sleep the night off. Tomorrow was class, followed by bike lessons with Jessie. He needed a good night's rest. Cloud stayed up, however, his thoughts too wrapped up by a burning question.
While Ms. Tinker slept at her usual spot, the teen sat cross-legged on his bed with the portable computer in front of him. Its screen lit up his face and served as the only light source in the dark apartment. The neighbors were awake too. They banged against the wall behind him and made annoying sounds from the other side. Cloud ignored them and stared at his laptop's screen.
The Hidden Gate. It was an underground cyberspace world that housed the strange, horrific, and illegal. Designed with complete anonymity in mind, this place provided unlimited freedom for those with inner twisted desires. Not everyone was meant to visit the Hidden Gate. Humanity's dark side festered here. Those who entered this domain often left feeling different about themselves. And the world.
The last time Cloud entered it, a live video had featured a woman who suffered from Apotemnophilia. She'd worn nothing but a cheap plastic Moogle mask over her face and lay naked and strapped on a clinical table, her limps sticking out. Another Moogle-masked nude figure stood nearby and had held a handsaw. Throughout the entire procedure, the strapped woman had moaned in ecstasy until she climaxed and passed onto the Lifestream from blood loss. The clinical table was a real mess.
That video had earned over ninety thousand likes.
For Cloud, the controversial vices and positive feedback they received did not surprise him. The Hidden Gate revealed and embraced all of humanity's darker tendencies. His own morbid curiosities and rebellious nature made it easy to relate to the general discontent for social norms and stale reality. Even so, Cloud kept away from the Hidden Gate whenever he could, fearful his toleration for human perversions would dull his senses and make him as apathetic as everyone else. He'd be no different than the people who created those traumatizing videos.
Of course, Cloud knew himself too well. He struggled to care at times. Every day the teen contended with his sick fascinations and pursuits toward the forbidden fruit. It was why he sought information on the city's corpses. And why he remained awake tonight, checking a site he probably should not visit.
The browsing software required to access the Hidden Gate had already been installed from the last time Cloud entered this place. He remained silent on his bed with the laptop in front of him. The Hidden Gate's page itself wasn't anything fancy, just a simple layout with an area to input a website's address and press Go. His eyes glanced at the black business card on his keyboard.
Burn that card… Valentine's words still echoed in Cloud's head. At first, he considered doing that. It seemed like a waste of time pursuing a silver-haired boy, being led down some rabbit hole. The Host was only a child. And yet the boy's words had stayed with Cloud since their encounter: And to think, that delightful Happy Meal on your lap will be the only memory left of you.
This wasn't the legacy Cloud wanted for himself. He wanted more. Even if he wasn't entirely sure what the child could offer him or if he had the power to remove him from his dull reality, a curiosity grew great enough to investigate this newfound path. On the address bar, Cloud typed in the LOVELESS' website. He pushed Go.
you Have awakened
you are the chosen
through me Salvation waits
In you is Hope
speak my name
walk and you may pass
The Path is Opening
Receive the message
the End came
follow the sequence
This was the message that greeted Cloud on his arrival to LOVELESS' main page. He frowned. With the way Valentine had hyped up the young Host's bad reputation, Cloud somehow expected more from LOVELESS' website. Only three elements appeared on its midnight-black main page.
Aside from the written passage, there was a single-lined textbox with an 'enter' button and a clock timer that stayed at the '24:00' position. The passage's final words – follow the sequence – were highlighted in blue. It was the only link available on the page. Cloud continued studying the page, hoping to find something he may have overlooked. Either LOVELESS remained under construction or the child had sent him on a wild goose chase.
Exhaling quietly to himself, Cloud typed a few words into the visible textbox. He tried to locate the site's forum section or contact information through it. However, when he clicked on the 'enter' button he received only one response: incorrect answer.
Weird.
A few more minutes passed as Cloud looked around again and ultimately decided there was nothing left to do but click on the page's only hyperlink. He pushed on the final words of the passage and was brought to a very similar page. There were notable differences though.
The clock timer now moved. 24:00… 23:59… 23:58… 23:57… 23:56… 23:55… It was a countdown, Cloud realized. He scrolled down the rest of the page and discovered diagrams, bizarre black-and-white photos of places and people, and mathematical equations. There were a total of nine of them. The teen made a face. Math was never his strongest suit. While he could solve a few of the geometric problems presented to him, everything else remained a mystery. Cloud wondered what any of this had to do with the silver-haired boy. And then he remembered his words.
My name is the final prerequisite. If it is enlightenment you desire then know my name. Solve my riddle. I've already opened the path to the answer but it will not stay open for long.
The website started to make sense for Cloud now. This wasn't LOVELESS' main page: this was the boy's riddle. The textbox Cloud had mistaken for a search feature actually served as the designated spot to submit his answer. Perhaps he would be granted access to LOVELESS' website and meet the boy again if he solved the riddle?
The combined nine images and equations likely revealed hints to the answer. As Cloud observed the timer that continued to countdown, however, he soon understood what the child had meant by 'it will not stay open for long'. The business card had 'opened the path' for Cloud. But now there was less than twenty-four hours to solve the riddle. It was the final challenge, the final prerequisite. Cloud had to find out the name of the silver-haired boy.