The Hellwalker Experience, Hanna’s PoV.
It came out of nowhere.
The Nobles of Lumin Kingdom had been introducing themselves to Her Excellency Natasha for the past hour and a half.
It was painfully obvious to anyone with the slightest drop of situational awareness that Her Excellency was a novice in the ways of Nobles and Royals.
A few comments laced with sarcasm, openly scowling whenever commerce or politics were brought up, long blinks that betrayed her rolling her eyes- or resisting the urge to do so-, tired sighs whenever a Noble overstayed their presence before her, and short responses accompanied by insipid questions that inevitably killed the conversation no matter how hard the other party tried.
And everyone understood that. Halves are not beings of subtlety. Quite the opposite, actually.
Still, Her Excellency held eye contact, spoke clearly, and treated people as if they were her equals. The last a mindbogglingly wrong notion, but appreciated by most when it came to respectful exchanges.
The circumstances were unfortunate for most. Nobles wanted to introduce themselves and engage in their games with Her Excellency, but she wasn't told how it worked.
Perhaps she simply didn't like it.
It was a pleasant surprise for everyone when Lady Dabrak of Riverfield presented herself before Her Excellency and the Halve had a genuine conversation and threw a few jokes. Her Excellency Natasha inquired about Lady Dabrak's employee, Tay, an Alchemist, and her progress with a few potions the Halve sold.
That got the attention of the other Nobles around the Hall of Dawn.
Halven Items.
The way in which the Nobles' masquerade of politeness almost broke in a flush of envy was hilarious. If one were to guess, most were cursing Lady Dabrak's boldness and insolence. Purchasing Halven Items from a newly born Halve could be considered a sacrilegious act worthy of a thousand years of torture under the supervision of Clerics to ensure pain tolerance remained at its lowest.
If the Halve was an empty shell of ignorance, that is.
Her Excellency Natasha is many things. Ignorant is not one of them. That much was obvious to me.
An individual does not learn about 'life' in two and a half months. The tragedy of life is understood only after going through it. That is something that can not be faked no matter what one tries, and it would become obvious to any keen observer.
Much like Her Excellency's lack of knowledge in the Noble and Royal ways, a person who fakes having gone through tragedy will have their own lie exposed by their behavior.
An example would be Her Excellency's behavior while talking to Nobles. She does not demand respect, but requests it instead while offering it to others as well through her gestures, tone, and expression. That is something mortals are expected to do when living in civilized society, but not something a Halve should engage in.
Hopefully that will change in time. I am willing to aid her in that endeavor. To become a being no mortal would dare to cross.
Her Excellency is on that path already, fortunately. The face bereft of pity, regret, hesitation, and empathy she wore when dispatching Zalan was the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life.
To see that same person talking with Nobles as if they are her equals is troubling, however.
I would not be as insolent as to think I have the right to change Her Excellency to fit my own expectations, but I hope I can advise her on how to act as a Higher Being... though I suppose it's the same thing in the end.
While harboring such thoughts, it came.
A chill. A warning. A threat. A promise. A taunt.
Breathing became difficult. The high pitch signaling the body going into flight of fight struck the ear. Muscles became taught, ready to sprint away as fast as possible. Blood pumped faster to ease oxygen in reaching the vital body parts to facilitate survival.
Death was coming.
No.
Death was already next to everyone. Standing there, in the middle of the room with silver teeth revealed by curved golden lips.
A blade was placed on the throat, slowly pushing into the flesh, threatening to carve the life out of the body the instant any decision was made.
That's how it felt, at least.
A memory surfaced in my mind.
In my youth, I used to sneak out from home and go on little Chases to sate my childish curiosity. I would leave through my bedroom's window and go behind my family's home and towards the town walls. I used the sewers to leave town and into the wilds. One day, I left later than usual and night soon fell. I was below level ten so I felt the cold eat into my bones. Snow had piled up and turned the land around my city into a white canvass in which almost nothing could be seen... not at that age, at least. It was that day I ran into my first monster. It was a level 28 Rodska. Laughably weak in the grand scheme of things, but certain death to a seven year old girl. When I saw the monster, the feeling of impending death was similar to the one I felt now. That helplessness that eats the mind. Naturally, people had seen me sneak out. I was seven years old, after all. There was no way I could hide from people from the Church whose responsibility is to take care of children. When the beast attacked, the Crusader that had followed me felled it with a single swing of his sword.
The terror I felt that day was something I thought I'd never experience again. Even less after acquiring a third Class.
Yet there I was, frozen in place.
“Hmm...” Her Excellency hummed in both joy and interest. “Lord Punten. I see,” she muttered.
The Human was pale and sweating. Sef Punten tried smiling several times but failed. “Y... Your Excellency?” he managed to squeak out, fear and confusion palpable in his voice.
“Say,” Her Excellency began, narrowing her eyes. “When did you become a Noble?”
Sef Punten blinked twice, most likely confused by the question. “1...1710,” he stuttered single numbers.
“One, seven, one, zero...” Her Excellency repeated with a nod. “Two hundred and seventy years ago, then...”
The Noble quickly nodded a few times.
“You took good care of Lapia,” Her Excellency pointed out their previous exchange. “You must be a good person, right?”
The man tried chuckling, which resulted in coughing. He gulped, then cleared his throat. “I... I-I hope I a-am...” he croaked, still trying to smile.
“I am going to try this only once, Lord Punten,” Her Excellency announced. “I do hope you cooperate.”
Sef Punten fervently nodded.
Everyone around us was in a similar state of primal fear. Eyes were wide open, sweat poured out of every centimeter of skin, and a few had a more unbecoming incidents.
Then, Her Excellency Natasha whispered, “Ó̸̧̮̫̼̮̠͈̪͈̮̰̑̾̔̓̊͒͛͗̍̓͑̋͂̓d̷͎͉̼͊̾͐̄̋͑̈́͘͝a̸̛̹̩̫̝̱̟͍̳̤̯̼͊̈̉̌̃̀̈́k̶̬̗͂̾̽͊͐ ̷̧̢̛̩͔͙̬̹̣̪̠͈̺̥̓̄̋̉̿́̒͋̈́͌͠ủ̷̹̘̗̣͚̭͒̉̈́v̴̯̞̮͚̒́̈́͌̃͊͐͗̈́̀̕͝i̷̼͔̪̲͔͇̪͎͌̊͂̒̅̕͠m̵͖̠̠͕͐̄͆̇͆̑̽͜ ̴̨̧͔̠̝̤̬̩͍̼̞̙̼̤̈́ͅk̵̛̮̮̜̤̟̅͋͒̈͆͑͜õ̴̡͎͈͓̙͓͍̮̘̺̺͕̏̊̽͒̈́̆̑̀̕͝͝?”
A snarl that sounded like worms wriggling under the skin. The air vibrated, echoing in the bones. It felt like a rotted finger trying to plunge itself into the ear canal.
My instincts tried to activate every defensive skill at my disposal, but I prevented it with every gram of willpower available to me.
No matter the circumstance, I would not insult a Halve that way.
Sef Punten's eyes widened to the very limit. Understanding dawned on him and his expression turned grim. The man nodded.
After his gesture, the feeling of having the entirety of the ocean's weight suddenly lifted off the shoulders. The blade on the throat disappeared. The body relaxed.
The promise of death was no more.