Solitary: Compass Of Fate

Covered in greyish ash, Walker expressionlessly stood by the door and snapped, "Wash up and get dressed."

"Alert me if more appear." He turned and closed the door, standing nearby.

Frightened but not paralyzed, Lucille stood up, went into the bathroom inside the room and washed her face. 

She noticed something strange—her neck looked like it was collapsing inward, as if something was sucking her flesh into itself. It was a tense vortex of her flesh, with hints of her veins visibly red.

She was startled at first but quickly assumed that the spirit from earlier was the cause and if it was anything else, Walker would have an answer for it.

After washing up, she went ahead and dressed up in one of the clothes Walker brought her. It was a dress with a complementary mix of grey, white and black. She picked that over the others in order to not stand out. And a black coat to go with it.

Fully ready, she left the room and entered the living room. There she saw Walker fully equipped, a sword on his waist and bottles of sanctified water hanging on his belt. On top, he wore his newly bought coat with silver linings.

"Let's head out." He twisted the door open and descended the stairs. Lucille followed along.

Winter had already taken its step as flakes wafted through the air like whispers. The surrounding buildings had all begun forming foams of snow on them.

The cold extended to her even through the thick clothes. Lucille thanked Walker under her breath and descended the stairs.

She followed Walker from the restaurant to the main road where carriages passed by. But even through the crowd, she noticed him scouring every part of his surroundings.

He was finally able to rent a carriage as a single horsed carriage stopped, its driver a man in his 50s with a thick grey beard.

"Oh, Good mornin', Mr. Soliraine." He greeted them, gesturing to get in.

Walker set foot into the back of the carriage and helped Lucille up then responded, "Good morning, Miles."

Miles adjusted his ivy cap and did not bother asking who the unfamiliar face was and directly asked for the destination, "Where to?"

"To Erdwin Byword's."

Miles let out a chuckle, humoring. "That crazy fellow? Well, I'm sure ye got yer own reasons." He turned his head forward and lashed the horse, moving the carriage forward.

Walker for a while, looked at the streets and the people, but not out of caution.

Eventually his gaze returned to Lucille, he noticed her shivering even through all the clothing.

He grabbed his sleeve and was about to take off his coat before he was stopped.

"It's fine… you don't need to." Her teeth were softly clattering against the other, Walker found the dichotomy of her speech and body reaction humorous.

He took off his coat anyway and handed it to her. "I don't feel cold, this… it's for fashion." 

Lucille didn't want to believe his words but was forced to after witnessing his still and indifferent form.

She put on the extra coat Walker lent her without inserting her arms, firmly clutching both sides of the coat. It did make her feel warmer.

Walker withdrew his sword and continuously tapped the sharp tip of it on the ground, it lasted about 5 times before Miles chimed in.

"A sword in this day and age? Isn't it about time you acquired yourself a gun."

Walker looked in his direction and answered, "I did get one—well, several but they were all confiscated."

"Is that right?" Miles didn't look back and focused on his ride.

Walker tapped his sword three more times, his head down as he thought to himself.

I was never really scared of death, sometimes I wished I did but the thought of just rotting somewhere terrified me but gradually, I thought "Why is it that the aftermath terrifies more than death itself?" then eventually, I felt nothing at all… He raised his head and looked at the shivering Lucille as she observed the streets.

But now there's someone else on the thread of life and death, what am I supposed to do? What would you do, William?

Memories flashed through his mind, back a few years ago on a similar cold day…

Armed with a longsword, Walker pushed and slayed off Echoes.

Unbeknownst to him, one of them jumped straight at his neck and he didn't have time to react.

His eyes shut and he was about to accept his fate but seconds passed and nothing happened.

He opened his eyes to heed William, one relative to Walker in age. His hair black and long, usually combed back but the battle has made it messy.

He wore white shirt with pants of the opposite color but even with that, he mended a good organized style. One could call him handsome.

"Don't let your guard down." He said calmly. 

Emerging from the ground were more Echoes, stronger than before. They had plants growing out of them but more so on their faces.

William and Walker laid their backs on the other's, covering each other.

Faced with such danger, William took a brief moment to speak. "Listen Walker, life is all about trials and errors. The same principle lies in everything we know as an intelligent species. So if you ever get disheartened when odds are against you, just take a step forward because that's all you can ever do..."

They disembarked, took swings and slayed an Echo. "And if you still don't know what to do…" 

They returned to their original place and William slid a compass in Walker's hand. "Then trust this compass and where it points to."

Ha! Each of them attacked Echoes on different sides and Walker snapped to his senses.

He reached into his pocket and brought his compass out and stared at it, softly stuttering. And sighed.

"We're here."

The carriage stopped. Walker reached for his wallet and fished out a bill and handed it over to Miles, the carriage driver.

"Hopefully that covers everything I owe you." Said Walker before stepping out.

Miles used the brightness of the sky to verify its validity and was satisfied. "That's more than you owe me, thank you."

Lucille stepped out and followed Walker like before, she still didn't trust anyone in the Wainwright Settlement but at this point, she didn't have a choice.

With a melancholic expression, she said inwardly, "Brother…"

The carriage went past them, leaving them alone in the streets where only a few other people were seen. And from the structures of the buildings, it seemed to be a lower-middle class neighborhood.

Walker stopped before a one story house which looked relatively new to the others but looked the most deserted and rang the bell.

Knock! Knock! He was growing impatient.

He was about to ring the bell again when the door suddenly creaked open. A tiny gap was opened, where they saw an eye peeking.

"Mr. Soliraine…" the woman behind the door said with a raspy voice and the door fully opened.

The woman opened the door. She wore a baggy dress and her curls were so wild, she looked struck by lightning. Her eyes were dark grey.

"Miss. Byword. Good morning." Walker nodded, his hand placed on his chest.

"G-Good morning." She greeted in return but ran upstairs right after.

Lucille was perplexed before she calmed herself down and waited for Walker to make a move.

Walker, who was used to this, welcomed himself in and closed the door after Lucille entered.

He entered the living room and sat down on one of the three white couches organized into a square almost with the direction of the living room's doorless passage being empty.

The living room walls were filled with shelves of books of all kinds and times.

Lucille couldn't help but curiously ask, "If it's not rude to ask, why did she look so nervous?"

Walker waited for Lucille to sit down on the couch in the middle before answering.

"She's the wife of Edwin Byword, a peasant wife of an ex-aristocrat. He was kicked out of his status for being overly obsessed with the supernatural then one day, his maid got possessed."

He sighed before he continued. "Thankfully, he had his own share of knowledge on exorcism so he saved her, physically at least. It was rumoured, the despicable spirits from the underworld had done unspeakable things to the poor girl so he took it upon himself to wed her." 

"He actually had been in love with her long before anything happened to her but could not do anything about it because of his family's reputation, 'people' this, 'people' that. When Edwin got kicked out of his family, he felt freer than ever before and started a family with the maid, and there she was. She's unwell mentally but a kind woman, nonetheless."

Lucille who had only heard propaganda about how good nobles and the rich were at home was appalled, it was like she had learned something completely new.

"I didn't know you knew so much about us, Mr. Soliraine. I'm flattered—and a bit worried." Edwin Byword, a man in his thirties came with messy blonde hair wearing round eyed glasses. 

He wore a grey shirt under a golden vest and a chained watch connected across his chest.

"It has been a while, Mr. Byword." Walker showed his respects in the same way he showed it to his wife, by placing his hand on his chest and nodding.