Doomed to Die in 3 Minutes

Radiant Beauty

Well, I know what I’m going to be doing in a few days but until then I’m going to wind down. If I end up getting beaten black and blue again… that’s a problem for later. I bid Vis farewell as I climb down the stairs and pull open the doors and leave. Everywhere I go it seems people start partying, dodging death tends to make people want to hold onto life. Singing, running, dancing, and uh… hm. I spot a few couples basically tackle one another and are well, going all over each other. Quite furiously. I’m sort of impressed. 

I make my way through the group of lively people and head deeper into the city. I’ve been out for a few hours and been fighting non-stop, I also chugged a bunch of alcohol a minute ago. I’m freaking starving. Everything else can wait. I’m going to stuff my face. I walk down the cobblestone paths where I was beaten bloody on this morning until I get to the markets. Stalls and stores are selling pretty much everything you can expect. Cheap beer, quickly grilled meat of every kind, roasted potatoes, and cheaply made confections. 

The scent of all manners of things being dipped in boiling fresh oil. I go to a nearby stall and sit down and drop a bunch of coins on the table. “One of everything, for everyone!” There’s a cheer from the table I’m at and I am swiftly given a mug of beer which I raise to toast with everyone else. If I were dressed as Zelo, I’d probably get this for free and be the life of the party but that’s very troublesome. I’ve seen fellow stars forced into place by a mob of admirers. Not for me, no thank you. 

I bite into a drumstick of fried chicken and let the natural juices flow into my mouth. Thank the gods that this world knows how to make cheap junk like food. It’s amazing. This craving of mine grows larger by the second as I begin to scarf down everything brought to my plate. Ah, sheer bliss. Just chugging my mug between bites and the group I’m with just grows merrier by the moment. I started a trend and everyone is buying something for someone else. Past grudges can be forgotten tonight, and instead, treasured memories can be repaid and made.

A stool is dragged by my side and I have someone new next to my left. “Hey, I thought it was you.” A smile as radiant as the sun in the height of spring. Alisa Raunheart, the hero. The entire crowd grow even louder and order another round for everyone else. Still, by their reactions, I’m guessing she’s already made the rounds. I mean, it has been what, 16 hours minimum. I think the whole welcome back from the dead fascination is done by now but the way the table grew so much brighter in seconds is a testament to her charisma.

I hurriedly drop my food back on a plate and try to get some napkins to clean my face as quickly as I can. She laughs at me but she’s still smiling. “You don’t need to do that. Messy eating is part of the fun for this. Besides, I like it when a man viciously eats. It shows they have plenty of… hunger, in them.” I can’t help but feel the word hunger here means way more than one thing to her. “However, if you insist.” She takes a napkin and starts cleaning my face of oil and crumbs slowly, gently, and while keeping complete eye contact with me. I hear my heart begin to pound and a sound like a set of war drums being banged with fury sing through my entire body. She’s doing this on purpose. I gulp and she giggles.

“So, are you doing anything tonight?” She winks and I look away. She continues her conversation with a whispered tone that sets my ears aflame. “Hahaha… that’s cute. I like that a lot. You did well out there today. Fighting with all you got even when you would normally lose… challenging the odds. That’s what I love to see. I don’t blame all the people who wouldn’t fight Phonom. They were protecting themselves, their friends, and their families, but I’m not going to pat them on the back for that. People like you? Who fight the bad guys no matter what? I’ll sing your praises everyday and anyway you’d like.” She takes a slab of grilled meat, cuts a small piece with a fork and knife and offers it to my lips.

“Say ah!” I sit there stunned. Is she really doing this? In front of everyone? I think I can feel daggers in my back from all the stares, no not daggers, freaking laser beams. I feel like I’m being burnt to a crisp just from the eyes locking on my back. She pouts and laughs all at once. “Don’t keep a lady waiting. I’ve been waiting seven years in the afterlife to have a little fun, so let me have it, alright? You won’t deny a request from a beauty like me, please?” I gulp again but I open my mouth cautiously as she puts the food into my mouth. I nervously, slowly chew and swallow.

“Good. Here’s another.” Wasting no time at all she’s ready to feed me again and the glares grow even stronger. A menacing aura surrounds me while a goddess sits before me… can I never have just the right amount of peace and quiet?