CHAPTER 245: Old Colleagues

CHAPTER 245: Old Colleagues

The train departed with a long, deep whistle.

Fenix watched through the window as the station began to recede. The buildings blurred little by little, transforming into stains of light and steel under the gray evening sky.

Berlin.

Pronouncing that name again in his mind produced a strange mixture of nostalgia and anxiety.

He rested his head against the seat back and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

He had survived.

Again.

He had lost friends.

Again.

He had won a war.

Again.

And, even so, the world kept turning, completely indifferent to the pain of those who inhabited it.

Maybe that was how it should be.

Maybe life consisted precisely of that: of continuing to move forward, even if a part of oneself had been left behind.

A tired smile appeared on his lips.

Now everything was beginning again.

New enemies.

New wounds.

New opportunities.

The eternal curse of staying alive.

The seat beside him creaked.

Fenix opened one eye.

Then the other.

He turned his head without too much hurry.

And he went completely still.

For several long seconds, his brain refused to process what he was seeing.

The man was dressed in black, with that old-fashioned elegance that seemed to defy any era. The hat rested on his knees, and that sharp smile was as unmistakable as it was irritating.

—It can't be…

The stranger raised an eyebrow.

—What a greeting. I was expecting at least a hug.

Fenix blinked several times.

—Alucard.

The vampire's smile widened.

—In flesh, bone… and the occasional substance difficult to classify.

Fenix let out an incredulous laugh.

A genuine laugh, one of those that had not been born from him in far too long.

—I thought you were dead.

Alucard settled into the seat with total calm.

—I was just sleeping.

He made a dramatic pause before smiling with amusement.

—A twelve-year nap, nothing out of this world.

Fenix watched him as if he feared he might disappear at any moment.

But he was still there.

Real.

Smiling like the immortal idiot he had always been.

And, against all odds, Fenix felt something inside him light up again.

—You don't know how glad I am to see you.

Alucard tilted his head slightly.

—I know.

Fenix did not think twice.

He lunged at him and hugged him tightly, as if he feared he were another illusion, a mirage created by exhaustion or by the countless wounds he still carried.

But no.

Alucard was there.

Solid.

Real.

Annoyingly real.

The vampire let out a brief laugh and returned the embrace, giving him a couple of pats on the back with that familiarity of always.

—I'm glad to see you too, pup.

Fenix pulled away, still with a smile that seemed to refuse to disappear.

It was strange. After everything that had happened, after so much death and so much loss, reuniting with an old friend felt almost unreal.

Alucard settled into the seat with that carefree elegance that seemed to be part of his very nature.

He observed him from head to toe.

His gaze stopped on the mechanical arm.

A raised eyebrow.

A malicious smile.

—Well, I'm gone for a few years and your life derails.

Fenix let out a laugh.

—Long story.

—Excellent. I have time.

Fenix could not help but laugh.

And so, while the train advanced toward Berlin, he began to recount everything that had happened.

The wars.

The losses.

The fall of Enid.

The death of Marcus.

The years of blood and ashes.

And, for the first time in a long time, Fenix felt that perhaps the future would not be so dark after all.