Thomas was comfortably leaning against the wall of the bathtub, his arms resting on the edges, smoke coming out of the cigarette stuck between his teeth. This pose, as well as his sunken eyes and ashy tone, made him seem like a madman. Behind him, kneeling on the cold floor of the bathroom, Simon was carefully washing his bck hair yer by yer. It was long, and seemed to grow as Thomas got stronger. If when he arrived in this dimension it reached the bottom of his back, now it was long enough to touch the middle of his thighs. He probably could have cleaned it easily with magic, but the Shaman seemed too out of it to even entertain the idea. He was staring into space with a hollow look, moving his pupils as if he was watching a scene unfold. He was muttering words that were hard to comprehend, Thomas could only understand the name ‘Bael’. It was despairing.

  The commander bit his lips. He had assumed the trauma and the drugs were affecting Thomas’ psyche, without talking about the circutions which were a nightmare for the Shaman, but right now he didn’t seem unwell, he looked completely gone. In an effort to bring him back to reality, he cleared his throat.

  “You didn’t finish your story. What happened after you saw the pink light ?”

  Life gradually came back in Thomas’ eyes as he rolled them to look at the knight.

  “Pink light ?”

  “Yes, you said you were living inside a girl’s head in your original world and then you saw a pink light.”

  “Oh, that…”

  With a monotone voice that didn’t let any emotion transpire, Thomas started to narrate his life after arriving into Hell. The princes, the king, and the aide, the schools days, the room in the dormitory, how it looked like a game, the assault by a thug, how Mariane started to seduce the princes, his gradual fear and disgust, Mariane trying to destroy him, and the way he obtained a new body. The rest of the story was told in a more rexed tone, Thomas smiling lightly while looking in front of him as if Bael was here. He told Simon about how the king would wear gloves to touch him, how he would take care of him, the walks in the garden, the meals together, the way he held his hand at night… And how it all came to an end with Mariane’s attack and his destruction, which brought him here.

  Simon listened attentively, his head lowered. After a moment of silence, he raised it again.

  “So… According to you this is a game ?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the you from the future told you that you need to finish it to go back to Hell and save Bael ?”

  “That’s right.”

  It was a very confusing story, but Simon was inclined to believe it. After all, it was the only story that made sense with Thomas’ strange behavior, his clothes, and the other power he used that made strange circles appear. All of that was not from this world and it was true that the way of doing a circution had shocked the knight when he had first discovered it. If Thomas’ story was true, it suddenly made sense.

  “I’m not sure about this ‘videogame’ thing, but it sure does look like a game people py in brothels, sleeping with people to gain power over the others…”

  “You’ve been in one ?”

  Simon’s face became red.

  “Not on purpose ! I had to intervene a few times when the patrons were getting out of control… It’s not that I like that, okay !”

  “I’m sure you do. You’re into some strange stuff.”

  The knight’s mouth was agape with shame and astonishment. He turned to Thomas to protest, but the Shaman was showing a crooked smile. It wasn’t the chilling one he had shown in the dining room while threatening to destroy a city, or the slight one he had when delirious and on drugs, it was a smile of genuine amusement. It made Simon’s heart beat louder, but he tried to hide it by grumbling.

  “Stop making fun of me.”

  However it didn’t escape Thomas’ sensitive hearing, boosted by the power of two gods. He immediately reverted to his usual bnk face.

  “Don’t fall in love with me, I already have a husband.”

  Simon bit the inside of his cheek, almost drawing blood. It was painful, but much less than the feeling of despair that was growing inside him.

  “You two are… Married ?”

  “No… Yes. Maybe… No…”

  The Shaman’s gaze was forward again, losing itself in the void, prey to delirium once more. His moment of lucidity had ended and Simon didn’t get the answer to his question. He tried to finish washing his hair, but his mind was in a turmoil.

  ‘Why did I feel so hurt when he told me to not fall in love ? Do I like him ? No, Tira told me about the attraction between the Shaman and his familiars, it’s probably that. But there were so many strange instances… Why do I get so excited just seeing his hands ? Why did I ask to wash his hair ? It’s all so confusing…’

  He tried to shut down his thoughts and finished his task before looking at Thomas. He seemed too rexed for Simon to pull him out of the bath, so he took this chance to quickly wash up and go out of the bathroom to find clothes.

  Contrary to usual, they had sex in Thomas’ room, something he would have never allowed in his normal state, so it was hard to find any type of clothes. After all, the Shaman always used his magic to get ready. After desperately searching, Simon finally found a pile of strange attires in the same style Thomas liked to wear, probably experiments he had made with his magic, and put some on. It was a bit big for him, but those clothes had a strange technology that made it stick to his skin. The Shaman had called it ‘estic’ before, it must have come from his previous world.

  “You act as if it was your pce.”

  Simon turned around to discover Thomas, fully dried, looking at him as pink light was surrounding him, tying his hair in a long braid, and making clothes appear. He then moved his wrist, and the messy bed was fully cleaned, made as if a well-trained servant had arranged the sheets.

  “Woah… How did you do that ?”

  “It’s easy, you should learn. Don’t make a mess next time.”

  It was strange to see the Shaman like this, usually he would have been too uncomfortable to even gnce at the bed after a circution. But right now, having reached the butt of his cigarette, he was too far gone to care. Thomas spat the cigarette in a nearby ashtray and let himself fall on the bed.

  “I want to sleep…”

  “I should leave then, right ?”

  “Oh yeah, you’re here… Too te, I put a barrier around the room. Go to sleep too.”

  Simon bit his lips while looking around. There wasn’t a single sofa, the room was barren except for a desk and a few bookshelves.

  “Should I… Sleep on the floor ?”

  “You’re dumb… Come next to me, Bael…”

  “Wait, I’m not…”

  Before he could correct him, Thomas pulled the commander to him with his magic, ying him on the bed as he was holding his hand. Simon covered his mouth, desperately trying to be silent so as to not wake the Shaman up, who was already half asleep. It was so rare to see him get some rest, even if the situation was unbearable he didn’t have the heart to disturb him.

  “If you go I’ll have a nightmare again… I miss you…”

  The commander shut his eyes tightly, listening to the sleeping voice while biting his lips.

  ‘This is not for you. He is not talking to you, Simon, don’t get wrong ideas. He is unwell, he doesn’t know what he is saying.’

  Laying next to Thomas felt like torture, his heart was beating so loudly that he was sure everyone in the mansion could hear it. He wasn’t touching the Shaman, there was some distance between them, but his hand was trapped between Thomas’ finger, and the sound of his breath made the hair on Simon’s arms stand up. It was exhirating, but also painful. When the knight had somewhat calmed down, he took a deep breath and looked at the Shaman’s sleeping face.

  ‘He looks so comfortable and innocent like that. Who could ever want to kill such a perfect existence ? Why do that to someone who has protected you for years, closer than anyone ? Mariane must be the worst person on earth. I understand why he is so unfriendly and emotionless. I think I would have broken down way sooner, before I would have even been transported to Hell. And if I even reached here ? I think I would have killed the twins, or myself, during that first forced circution. He is so strong…’

  He didn’t feel tired, but the figure of Thomas so calm and comfortable was rexing to see. Soon enough, his eyelids started to become heavy. And he fell into a deep sleep.