Soul Digger-Chapter 42 - 42: Breath of fresh air?

As usual, Cole remained on pins and needles regarding his next course of action.
Sandra's invitation provided the opportunity he needed for a heartfelt conversation with his newfound sister; whether she would agree or prove stubborn would be determined by how he relayed his words.
Over the course of several days, Cole studied Gothel's behavior and realized she was awfully clingy. Though he understood why—to her, the brother she had long lost had finally come to rescue her.
It was something one would only hear in fantasy stories.
'I have to find a subtle way to tell her this,' Cole thought, his eyes drained.
He stroked his chin and introspected for a moment. 'She's also pretty strong and capable. Maybe I should bring her with me?'
"Haa... aah, what am I saying? Dragging her back into the fire I saved her from is pretty disgusting." Cole paced like a homeless beggar.
'Did I really just say that?'
"Sir Cole!" A voice called from behind.
Cole turned around, the evening sun playing on his features. The person was none other than the Village Mayor himself.
'This guy is here to pester me about politics again.' Cole's eyes twitched.
The Mayor walked gracefully towards him, wearing a robe-like attire, the hem of the fabric adorned with stunning diamond beads. His face wore a firm yet respectable pride that shone like a bright light.
Cole was captivated by its radiance. 'Is this the same man I spoke to just a few days ago?'
'Sandra said he changed, but I wasn't expecting it to be this drastic, and in such a short amount of time!'
"Sir Cole, you look dazzled. May I ask why?"
"What's with the sudden boost in morale? If I remember correctly, you were a mopey, clever old man who bore his duty as a burden."
"You're right about that, but after that discussion with you, I understood something."
'Please don't tell me some emotional nonsense.'
"These are my people, my family, and thus my responsibility. I can't let the death of my wife hinder me from my duty."
Cole's lips folded in a cringe. 'Ahhh... shit, I was expecting this.'
Stretching out his hand, Cole silenced the Chief. "As far as you know, that's fine. You don't need to explain your resolve to me."
"Truly wise words, Mr. Cole."
'For real?' Cole wondered.
"Anyways, I'm just here to invite you to the funeral we'll be having a short time from now," the Mayor swiftly changed the topic.
"I've already been invited by the Welfare General," he responded.
"Not as a guest," he uttered, puffing out his chest. "You'll be performing the rituals along with the other authorities of Sant Flores."
Cole stared blankly. 'Please be a joke.'
"If I refuse?" Cole asked in a cold, threatening voice as he pulled an intimidating grin.
"You can't. Those people's deaths were mainly your fault."
"So, are you forcing me to take responsibility?"
"You could simply run away without doing it, but I don't think you'll be doing that."
'Sandra told him, didn't she?!' His eyes twitched intensely.
The Mayor smirked. "As long as you are in Sant Flores, you must obey the laws. Section 24 of the City Law: All miscreants must atone for their crimes."
Cole inhaled a sharp breath of air. "Since I'm under obligation..."
The Mayor burst with excitement. "Excellent!"
Cole watched him skip away with disturbingly vigorous movements.
'He's also acting weird.' Cole's body shivered as though he had caught a cold.
"Now that I think about it..." He raised his gaze to the lowering sun as its rays fell off his skin. "...How did those people die?"
"The first time was my doing, I'll admit; my careless actions led to the sacrifice of human lives," he muttered as he curved his finger over his lip. "But the second time? I thought the Guarding Tree was supposed to prevent things like that."
'Could it be because the bullets were fired by them, and that Old Woman merely deflected them?' He pondered. 'So there was a loophole this entire time! Was she aware of it? Did she plan the intense clash as a failsafe in case I didn't succeed?'
'That makes sense, considering the people that died suffered from blood loss due to bullet wounds and not her attacks.' Cole widened his mouth in disbelief. 'From the very start... was she pulling her punches, and nobody even realized it?'
'It explains why she acted so menacing to me the first time yet barely did anything to...'
'She didn't do anything to us; in all honesty, she didn't even scratch us.' Sandra's words played like a recorded voice in Cole's head.
Cole shook his head in dismay. "No, I'm just overthinking things. Everything is settled, so I'll leave it at that."
His face went dry, as if a drought had deprived him of blood. 'But if this assumption is true, then Indulgers are...'
'A menacing species of humans, all at once.'
A swirl of leaves dashed past Cole; he stood rigid in place as he drowned in a sea of thought.
'Shit! Shit! Shit!'
'That old hag got the best of me!'
'She swept the rug from beneath my feet. I feel like an imbecile!'
'How did I not notice? It was right in front of me the whole time!'
'Is she an exception? Or are all Indulgers above a certain level as good, or even better than her?!'
'Damn you, Atasa! This is your fault; you brought me into this hellhole!'
'I can't get Gothel involved in this mess.'
"Why so distressed, big brother?"
Cole's stacking thoughts tumbled all at once.
He slowly turned back, just to see his sister staring at him with a blunt, honest smile and grateful eyes.
"It's getting dark, you know?" she spoke softly.
In the distance, floating lamps lit the sky and covered the surface of the atmosphere, radiating a somber yet sharp yellow color.
"Shall we go, brother?"
Cole wore a fraudulent smile and a composed face. "Sure, there's no problem," he responded smoothly. "I've been forced to perform some send-off rituals, so I was going to go anyway."
"FORCED!!"
Cole noticed the rage sparking within her.
"Not exactly forced, more like pleaded with to go there," he explained. "I couldn't simply refuse all their pleas."
"Oh, that's okay then." Her rage simmered.
Cole was battling to keep the questions he had for Gothel caged within him—not because of trust issues, but rather because of the many intriguing things about her.
Her backstory, the reason she was sealed, her past misdeeds, her experiences... for some reason, all these questions inflated him like a balloon.
Little did he know, he had barely scratched the surface of the average life of an Indulger.
$@-^¥¢¥£π¢§Ω