'I guess we are doing this the hard way.'
After basically being told to buzz, Marcus could tell that simply trying to talk to Miguel was not going to move things forward.
Still, all that stood between them was a door with only decent magical enchantments at best. It would keep out your average person that did not have a key, but to Marcus it might as well have just been an extension of the air.
Shifting into his ghost form he walked right through the door and into the room where he immediately reappeared in physical form.
For Miguel this came as quite a shock and he sat on his bed staring at Marcus in surprise.
However, his shock only lasted but a moment, before Miguel sprung up and leapt towards Marcus with his sword drawn.
His blade arced directly towards' Marcus' throat and was poised to take his head clean off. With how untrusting Miguel was, he went for the kill first and asked questions later.
Except, his blade passed through Marcus' neck without putting a scratch on it. Miguel's attack had not been imbued with any spiritual energy, so no matter how sharp his slash was it amounted to no threat to Marcus.
ραΠdαsΝοvεl ƈοm "Calm down!" Marcus said firmly. I am not here to hurt you. Just to talk. I know you came from Earth, just like I did."
Miguel froze up upon hearing Marcus' declaration. He had not told anyone about his origins except for the individual he met in Borealia that also claimed they were from Earth An individual who just so happened to have been Marcus in a possessed body.
Thanks to Marcus' words, Miguel had stopped attacking, but now he looked panicked in a different way. His mind racing to formulate his best course of action here.
Marcus could see it on Miguel's face that he was conflicted. Weighing his options between running, fighting, or listening.
"You still understand English, correct? This was proof enough for you last time." Marcus said, switching to his native tongue when he used to live back on Earth.
This caught Miguel by even more surprise and his mind quickly processed what was going on until he reached the truth.
"It's you! You're the one that approached me in Borealia!" Miguel said, wide eyed in shock.
"Yes, that was me back then. I understand now that I made a poor choice approaching you in another's body and have come to meet you in my true form this time. Well, one of my true forms." Marcus said, holding back a smile.
He then switched over to his guise as Irene while Miguel was still stunned from processing everything else. This way he could get out all of the surprises in one go and hopefully overwhelm Miguel's thoughts so that he did not think about attacking again.
"I figured I might as well be completely honest about everything up front since I do not want you to mistrust me. Have I done enough now to prove that I do not mean you any harm so that we can have a conversation?"
Marcus now in the form of a young woman held up his hands and looked as harmless as he could while waiting for Miguel's response.
It took nearly a minute for Miguel to get his head in order after having one shocking thing after another reveled to him, but once he had, he nodded his head and agreed to speak with Marcus.
"Very well, you just want a conversation, then talk. What are you here for?" Miguel said, his demeanor guarded.
"Truthfully, as we are both from Earth, I was hoping to form at least some amount of comradery between us. This world can be harsh, and it helps to have friends. I know you have been burned in the past by people betraying you, and I can tell you are still keeping people at arm's length. But if you want to change that and have someone to rely on, you can feel free to take my open hand."
Once Marcus had finished giving his offer to Miguel, he waited in silence for the young man to answer.
"What is it you are playing at? Are you trying to trick me or is it just pity? You feel bad for me, so you want to help me out. You are just doing this to be self-serving so you can call yourselves a good person. You do not really care about me at all. Everyone has some angle that they want to play, which is why I do not depend on anyone but myself."
"If that is your answer, then I will not bother you any longer. However, you have one thing wrong. I have sympathy for you, not pity. The lines between these two concepts might be thin, but I never looked down on you for your plights in this world and our previous one. I have suffered just as you have which is why I can relate. But I am happy here now because of the connections I have made. So, if you change your mind and want to open yourself up again, my offer still stands."
With his piece said, Marcus turned around and phased through the door. Leaving Miguel on his own again.
When he passed out through the other side he had once again taken on his original form and began making his way back towards his own room.
"How did it go?" Mrazivý asked the moment Marcus reentered their room.
"About as well as I could reasonably expect. We will see what happens going forward. Scars don't heal easily after all."
"No, they certainly don't. But you have done all you can. It is up to him now." Mrazivý said.
She then beckoned him over and patted on her lap. Offering it to him as a pillow. She could tell that Marcus was a bit upset he had not been able to get Miguel to accept his offer of comradery.
A small smile formed on Marcus' face, and he happily took up his wife's generous proposal. Nothing good would come of wallowing in his failure.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter