Night settled thickly over the city, hiding its silhouette. Only the pale pink light of Venus, like a curved shard of glass, cast soft reflections over the sloped rooftops. Its diffused glow barely reached the floor in the room where the boy sat, leaning against a pillow.
Grey's thoughts circled around Aileen and Irene.
Their voices were too beautiful, thin, almost weightless, like threads of light breaking through the dull weight of everyday life. He couldn't stop thinking about how they were forced to dig through garbage just to find something to eat.
"Senior was right. This world is too filthy, too backward," he thought to himself. "Women are forced to sell their bodies for nothing. Mothers are torn away from their own children. Girls with angelic voices live on the edge of starvation."
"I… I want to change that. I want even ordinary people, mortals, to be able to enjoy peace, not just those with power and wealth."
"But is that even possible? Does a world that beautiful really exist? Why do I remember only grayness and emotionless faces of passersby?"
"Whatever. I just have to strive for it and do everything I can. Wouldn't my life be meaningless if I didn't even try?" he thought, clenching his fists.
The idea of turning "Venus's Embrace" into something more than a brothel had long smoldered in the back of his mind.
A nightclub.
The perfect place to release emotions, enjoy food and music. A place where those in power gather to relax.
If he managed to achieve even part of what Senior had described, he would not only make life easier for the workers here, but also gain the perfect foothold to search for his loved ones. With Aileen and Irene's arrival, that fantasy had finally begun to take on a clear shape.
"Why are you still not asleep?" his own irritated voice sounded in the quiet room.
"I was just… thinking," Junior Grey replied without changing his expression.
"You're always thinking. Why don't you finally get some sleep?"
"I thought we had an agreement. You control the body during the day, and in the evening, it's me. So why won't you leave me alone?"
"Kid, we both need sleep. So just relax and close your eyes already. Do you think I don't know you've been sleeping no more than an hour for the past three days?"
"So what? It's enough for me."
"It's not about what's enough for you, it's about what's enough for our body. Do you think people sleep eight hours and stay awake the other sixteen for no reason? Just because we can act independently and take turns resting doesn't mean we can completely give up sleep."
Junior frowned. "Why?"
Senior sighed and began to explain:
"The body wears out and gets tired too. It needs rest to recover, just like a sword needs constant sharpening and oiling so it doesn't lose its edge. Sleep is vital not only for restoring mental energy, but also for tissue regeneration, hormonal activity, and brain cells."
"Were you some kind of healer or something? Where do you even know all this from?" Junior asked, genuinely impressed by his knowledge.
"No. But I lived in a world where every child knows such basic things. Trust me, three hours is the lower limit we shouldn't cross. Less than that, and we'll just start dying. On a molecular level. Why do you think people sleep longer when they're sick? That's how the body carries out repair work."
"But I clearly remember my mother being able to go without sleep for days, even weeks," Junior insisted. "Couldn't this just be our ability, something that appeared after you showed up? Now we have one consciousness split between two, so it shouldn't be a problem. I was always taught that humanity is extremely adaptable."
"I highly doubt it, kid. Adaptation is a trait of an entire race, not an individual. You said it yourself, your mother is a practitioner, and a very powerful one at that. Even though I'm still getting used to this reality, I'm sure those abilities came from her development. We're crippled, so we have to live by the rules of mortals."
Little Grey fell silent, unable to find any argument to defend his theory. Sensing his companion's gloom almost physically, Senior added:
"That doesn't mean we're completely without advantages. An extra five hours is no small gain. Think of it as extending your life by thirty percent. Isn't that a great outcome?"
Grey froze for a moment, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
Senior was right. Even if he wasn't destined to grow stronger, with such an advantage he would undoubtedly achieve more.
Shaking off his gloom, Grey agreed, "Alright. Three hours. I get it."
The child's body dropped back onto the bed, legs stretching out. He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, but his thoughts buzzed like annoying flies, refusing to let him rest.
He was still thinking:
"Damn swindler…"
"Am I not losing almost half the time given to me by sharing this body with you? I'm left with only ten hours out of sixteen. That's thirty-five percent less."
"But… he's right. Working together, we really will achieve more. His ideas alone are worth it. With the approach he suggested, maybe I really can find Mom and my sister. That would be… wonderful."
Grey slightly opened one eye, then quickly shut it again.
Sleep still wouldn't come. The thought clung to him like a splinter.
"Hey, Senior… Can I ask you one last question?" he asked under his breath.
"Go ahead," came the reply, laced with faint mockery. "Otherwise you'll just keep tossing until dawn. Living with a child is such a pain."
Ignoring the mockery, Junior Grey asked:
"What do you want from life? You must have some kind of goal…"
No answer followed. The silence felt especially sharp.
Grey regretted that, at this moment, he couldn't feel Senior's emotions. Only the "observer" could do that, when the other one controlled the body.
Little Grey had already thought that Senior had simply ignored the question, dismissed it as naive or stupid, when he finally heard:
"I really don't know. Maybe… I'd like to return to my world. I miss my mother and my past life. And you know, as stupid as it sounds, I really want a croissant with hazelnut spread and a flush toilet…" Senior said, either seriously or as a joke.
"What are you even talking about? A croissant? You want a barrel of wine in the toilet?" Junior raised his voice. "If you don't want to answer, just say so. How could anyone even end up in another world? Did you decide to die again?"
Silence fell over the room for a minute, but in the end, Senior continued:
"You know, in my world, stories like this were very popular.
Someone dies and ends up in another world, armed with modern knowledge. Some become heroes. Some become villains. And some just gather a harem of heavenly beauties. Hahaha.
I used to read books like that when I was your age. I even dreamed of being in their place. It seemed cool. Exciting…
But reality… it's just… disappointing…"
He fell silent for a moment, as if choosing his words.
"At first, it was interesting. What could be better than using an unfair advantage in knowledge to achieve what others can't?
But then a strange feeling came. Homesickness. Longing for my past life. You feel something similar when you think about your home in the village, but my feelings are a hundred times stronger.
Your world makes me sick, with its primitive society. I feel like a stranger here.
Well, I literally am a 'stranger.' I just don't fit.
Everything here feels… unreal. And I feel unreal myself. Like I'm the only sane one among madmen. Or the opposite. Maybe it really is the opposite.
And then I realized something else. I barely feel anything. I've lost my empathy.
When I look at Sherrill or Lily, I know I'm supposed to feel pity, friendship, concern. But in reality, there's only an empty reaction, like I'm just used to feeling something like that back in my own world…"
Senior fell silent again. Then, more quietly:
"Sometimes I really wish you had erased my consciousness completely. But now I'm here. And I know only one real feeling. Only one that isn't fake.
Fear.
I'm terrified of dying again.
So if you still insist on an answer, my goal is simple. I want to survive."
Having received his answer, Grey continued lying there, staring into the darkness.
Senior's words rang in his head like a strange echo in a deep cave. He was genuinely confused. That confession… it sounded strange, even a little unsettling.
"Has he really lost his emotions? But I felt them… his emotions, when I was the 'observer.' I admit, they were strange, like they were muted. But doesn't he feel mine the same way? The emotions are still there, aren't they?"
Grey turned onto his side, tucking his hand under the pillow.
His thoughts wouldn't leave him alone, but he didn't want to return to that strange conversation.
Maybe Senior just needed time. He really had ended up in a foreign world. He probably just hadn't recovered yet.
That had to be it. He would get used to it. Open up. Warm up.
Enough. Those were his problems. Better to think about plans.
They had agreed to use their combined knowledge to gain strength and influence. It wasn't so bad that Senior's goal was to survive. It didn't contradict his own beliefs. He needed to find his family. Could a dead man do that?
In any case, they needed to build a solid foundation. A reliable rear. "Venus's Embrace" could truly become the right place.
The people here seemed friendly. Especially Aunt Monica. Even the owner wasn't all that strict. She was simply bored.
Aunt Lydia had said that Lady Veronika cared about all the girls. Even if her care was rather peculiar, Grey couldn't deny it. Otherwise, the medical bills wouldn't have been so high.
There were also Sherrill and Lily, people he could trust. Very good for a foothold.
All that remained was to put this place in order the way they planned and convince the owner that the changes would benefit everyone. That probably wouldn't be a problem. After all, she would gain access to money, pleasures… and… information.
That woman, the "Bored Empress," surely loved all kinds of rumors, didn't she?
Little Grey wanted to create his own force. Gather people he could help grow stronger and take them under his wing. Sunny and his sisters seemed like perfect candidates. I wonder if Garen's group made it out? They would be useful too.
Senior Grey, meanwhile, dreamed of forging weapons from his world. If he wasn't lying, they should be truly powerful.
And then, structure. Rules, a base, a foundation, so their organization wouldn't fall apart on the very first day.
And then further. Higher… stronger…
Until they found his mother, Grace, Cassia, and all the others…
"Mom… Sister…"
At last, his thoughts stilled. He drifted into a calm sleep.
=============
Author's Note:
To distinguish between the two personalities, I decided to call the younger one Junior and the older one Senior. But honestly, I'm not sure how natural that sounds in English. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Also, don't forget to support the book with likes, reviews, and power stones. It means a lot to a beginner author. Don't underestimate how much your support can influence the story's progress.