48 Hours a Day

“It’s you???” snorted the lady in shades coldly. “You seem to have gotten braver after I haven’t seen you for a few months. How dare you pretend to be a Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Aren’t you afraid that Pestilence will come looking for you?”

“Hmm... I don’t think he has the time to retaliate against me,” said Fan Meinan, letting out a long sigh. “Let’s talk about our problems. You know I harbor no bad intentions against you. Why can’t you sit down and have a good talk? I just want to ask you a few questions.”

“What then? Are you going to hand me over to the three major guilds?”

“Of course not. As long as you answer my questions, I will let you go.”

“What if I don’t cooperate?” The lady in shades raised her eyebrows, her tone filled with angst and aggression.

“I’m doing this for your own good...” Fan Meinan smiled bitterly. “If you don’t want to cooperate with me, the person behind me will come and interrogate you personally. Trust me. You wouldn’t want to see him in person.”

“When you mentioned that it’s for my own good, you meant bringing in more people to catch me?”

“You have also made me your scapegoat several times. So, if you really want to talk about this, you still owe me more at the end of the day,” said Fan Meinan.

“Don’t forget who introduced you to Loki; without me, you will still be...”

Fan Meinan interrupted the lady in shades. “Okay, let’s not dwell on the topic anymore, okay?”

A strange expression appeared on the face of the lady in shades. “You don’t want your companion to know your past identity, huh? Didn’t you tell your partner about your past? Hehe! How pathetic...’

“And that’s the end of our chat. Let us focus on what we are supposed to be doing now,” said Fan Meinan. “You took the Dreamland of Death from the three major guilds, so you must also know how to lift the curse.”

“Should I have known?”

Fan Meinan walked to the lady in shades and looked her into her eyes. “I know you and the three major guilds are conflicted, and I don’t know what plans you have in mind, but I have never interfered with your endeavors. This time, the victim is an ordinary person, and it has nothing to do with those three guilds. Tell me the way to lift the curse. I swear I’ll only use it to save people, and I’ll not tell anybody about it.”

The girl in shades lifted her head, looked at Fan Meinan, and said softly, “No... you know nothing, sister.”

“So, this is personal?” Fan Meinan was starting to get a little annoyed too. “Is it because you were taken away as a kid, and now, you hold a grudge? Are you angry because of this?”.

“Is that what you think of me?” The lady in shades shook her head. “You keep complaining that I don’t trust you, but the irony is that you’ve never trusted me either. When we first met, I told you that I willingly left the house. I blame no one for it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have recommended you to Loki. However, you, on the other hand, have never stopped wondering if I held a grudge or not. The exciting thing is, I can no longer remember the faces of those two people...

“...after you asked me if I knew a way to lift the curse, I told you that I don’t know anything, but yet, you didn’t believe me. You assumed that I’m wasn’t talking because I have a beef with the three major guilds, which was why I played along and said that I had a way to lift the curse. I could have asked you to do me a favor as well, but I didn’t expect that group to be so unhelpful. You went after me nonstop, and you almost ruined my plan. Now, you’ve come up with a plan to capture... Damn it! Now, tell me, who’s the one being bullied here?”

“Impossible, the Dreamland of Death was in your possession for so long. Are you trying to tell me that you didn’t open it?...” Fan Meinan frowned.

“As I said, it was all business for me. I’m not the one who wanted the Dreamland of Death. I am just the middleman.”

“Who actually took away the Dreamland of Death, then?” Fan Meinan asked.

“You’ve asked me before, and my answer remains the same. It’s better that you know nothing about it.”

“You’re still reluctant to talk at a time like this?”

“I’m doing it for your own good. That guy is not someone that you want to mess with. You pretended to be Pestilence, and yes, there is a chance that he will let you off the hook since it’s nothing serious. However, if you mess with the person I just talked about, he will definitely make you pay for it.”

“Tell me who took the Dreamland of Death!” repeated Fan Meinan, looking serious this time. “Tell me his name, and don’t take any chances. You know you will have to say it sooner or later.”

The lady in shades simply shrugged and blurted the name out. “Well, okay. As you wish. His name is Seth.”

“Who is that?”

“In Ancient Egyptian mythology, the child of the twin gods Gabor and Nuit were said to have brutally torn open their mother’s womb before they were due. Seth was born that way. In the early days, he was known as the God of Strength and was worshipped by many people. His status in Egypt was unquestionable, but with Osiris gaining Egypt’s kingship, Seth’s status was challenged. In the end, Seth became jealous of Osiris, and he killed him. After that, Osiris’ child, Horus, sought Seth in a duel to avenge his father. During the battle, Seth had Horus’ eyes gouged out, but Horus also tore off Seth’s leg and testicles. Finally, the gods exiled Seth to the desert... “...after that, he lived with the Sun God for a while. During that time, he managed to kill Apache, the giant snake. He was known by the people of that time as the protector of the sun. However, as Horus became the country’s main god, Seth became the rebels’ representative at the same time. In the end, he fell into darkness and turned into the God of Chaos. He acquired the Dreamland of Death through me and made a dozen copies of it to spread the chaos.” “Where can we find Seth?” “How would I know? He is the God of Chaos. How could he be at a fixed place?” the lady in shades continued. “To be honest, I don’t want to deal with that guy anymore. If only he gave me a Dreamland of Death copy as promised, I wouldn’t even need to look for Pestilence. Speaking of which, why do you have Pestilence’s cellphone? I already figured out the trick on the bridge, but how did you answer my call to Pestilence?”.

Fan Meinan shook her head and ignored the lady in shades. Instead, she spoke into her communicator. “It’s not ringing. Did you hear me?”